Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Monthly Wrap Up

It's been a busy month here on the Pebbles blog. We've definitely kicked off the New Year in a big way with the announcement of our 3 latest collection releases for CHA Winter 2012.

Our first reveal was for the lovely Country Picnic collection.  Picture a sunny afternoon lying in the grass sipping sugary lemonade and you've got the feel of Country Picnic. Rosy pinks, sage greens and a heavenly light kraft combine into a lovely collection blooming with florals, polka dots and stripes.


Next we revealed the cheerful Hip Hip Hooray collection.   Hang the banners, throw some confetti and start the party with this birthday-inspired line. Hip Hip Hooray is bursting with bright, bold colors and designs that are perfect for all your birthday paper crafting needs, from layouts and cards, to decorations, favors and invitations.



Then we shared our patriotic Let Freedom Ring collection.  With this line, memories become timeless with traditional red, white and blue designs and a classic feel. It's a versatile collection for honoring memories of military service or capturing the fun of hometown parades, picnics and fireworks.


And finally we revealed a new addition to our vast range of Candy Dots - Crystal Candy Dots!  Shimmering morsels in six tasty colors, Crystal Candy Dots jump off the page to make the ordinary project extraordinary. These little gems come in red, black, green, white, blue, and two shades of pink — A dazzling addition to the Candy Dot family. Self adhesive Crystal Candy Dots go anywhere brads or buttons would go. They're perfect for card making, as well as scrapbooking and other crafts.


Whew!  It's been a busy month hasn't it?  And last but not least I have a winner to announce from last week's "Guest Designer" giveaway. Thank you all so much for your comments. And the lucky winner is ...


Congratulations! Please email your full name and mailing information (including your phone number for shipping purposes) to pebblesincdt(at)gmail(dot)com and put "Guest Designer Winner" in the subject line.

Thanks so much for stopping by and here's to a fabulous February! 

Monday, January 30, 2012

Mix & Match Monday


It's Monday again, which means we'll be mixing and matching some Pebbles products to show you just how well our collections can be used with one another.

First up, design team member Stephanie Baxter created this striking layout using patterned papers from several Pebbles collections.  Here's what Steph had to say ... "I saw this image on Pinterest and thought that it would be great to use it as an inspiration piece with a bunch of Pebbles products. I picked some of my all-time favourite papers in really bright colours and cut some leaf shapes from them to use on my page. I finished the layout off with some Button Candy Dots in different complimentary colours, white spray mist, Thickers and some hidden journaling on a gift tag from the With Love collection, which I slipped behind my photo.”




Pebbles supplies used:
Fresh Goods Flower Basket (751183)
Fresh Goods Signage (751186)
Fresh Goods Front Desk (751187)
Fresh Goods Window Display (751189)
Fresh Goods Freshly Picked (751193)
Fresh Goods Button Candy Dots Spinach (744275)
With Love All Mine (751209)
With Love Gift Tags (747160)
New Addition Girl Love Bug (751142)
New Addition Girl Button Candy Dots Baby Pink (744233)
Floral Lane With Delight (751124)
Floral Lane My Darling (751126)
Floral Lane Button Candy Dots Pink (747114)
Floral Lane Button Candy Dots Aqua (747113)

Other supplies used:
Cardstock (American Crafts)

Thickers (American Crafts)
Spray Mist (Studio Calico)



Design team member Elizabeth Carney created a love themed layout by mixing pink patterned papers from our New Addition Girl and With Love collections.  Here's what Elizabeth had to say ... "Mixing and match New Addition collection and With Love collection as well as other Pebbles products were an easy fit because of the pinks! I loved the fact that I could use New Arrival without it being overly baby for my Love layout!"





Pebbles supplies used:
New Addition Girl Calendar (751139)

New Addition Girl Layered Embellishments (747120)
With Love So In Love (751204)
With Love I Heart You (751203)
With Love Kiss Me(751211)
With Love Be Mine (751201)

 With Love Gift Tags (747160)
With Love Mini Clothes Pins (744280)
With Love Heart Clips (744281)

With Love Ribbon (780014)
With Love ABC Stickers (732082)
Fresh Goods Front Desk (751187)

Ever After Pearl Pins (747096)
Ever After Pearl Candy Dots (747088)

Other supplies used:
Corner Rounder (Creative Memories)

Punches (Fiskars)


Finally, I (Lynn Ghahary) created a pair of cards using a variety of Pebbles collections.  I wanted to focus on some of the current "hot" trends right now in paper crafting - banners and chevrons.  To create the banners I simply cut strips of patterned paper in varying widths and snipped the edges into a banner shape with my scissors.  To create the chevron pattern I actually used my photo corner punch.  After punching several "corners" I placed them together on my card front to form the chevron pattern.  These cards came together so easily because the colors carry seamlessly from collection to collection.  






Pebbles supplies used:
Fresh Goods Flower Basket (751183)
Fresh Goods Daily Special (751185)
Fresh Goods Signage (751186)
Fresh Goods Window Display (751189)
Fresh Goods Freshly Picked (751193)
Welcome Christmas Deck the Halls (751177)
New Addition Girl She's Here (751055)
With Love Love Letter (751206)
With Love Mini ABC Stickers (732087)


Other supplies used:
Cardstock (American Crafts)
Punches (EK Succss)
Twine (Divine Twine)

Friday, January 27, 2012

Guest Designer: Nicole Samuels and a GIVEAWAY!


Hi everyone! I am so excited to introduce you to this week's Guest Designer Nicole Samuels.  Let's get to know Nicole a little better ...


Describe yourself in 3 words … laid back, sometimes quiet, always playing catch up!

My guilty pleasure is … shopping by myself!

You’ll never find me without … my iPhone.

You might be surprised to know that I …dislike talking on the phone.  (strange given the answer above!)

My least favorite chore is … cleaning toilets! Hello ... there are 4 boys in this house!

I started scrapbooking in ... 2002.

My favorite thing about this hobby is ... the creative outlet it provides.

If I were a Pebbles product I would be … the mini letter stickers.  They can multitask on a page ... title, sub title, journaling.  They do it all, just like all moms!

Nicole created so many amazing projects for us today including this sweet layout about her daughter and her youngest son.  Here's what Nicole had to say ... "As soon as I saw that title chipboard sticker I knew I wanted to use this photo with it.  My 6 year old daughter and 2 year old son are best buds.  She was the "baby"  for a few years and I think she really enjoys having a younger sibling to play with now.  Or boss around ... not sure which!  :) Anyways, I also love the tags and wanted those to be a focal point of the page."


Pebbles supplies used:
Fresh Goods Front Desk (751187)
Fresh Goods Simple Joys (751188)
Fresh Goods Come Again (751191)
Fresh Goods Freshly Picked (751193)
Fresh Goods Dimensional Phrases & Icons Stickers (732076)
Fresh Goods Embossed Borders Stickers (732077)
Fresh Goods Chipboard Flowers (747155)
Fresh Goods Dimensional Butterflies (747154)
Fresh Goods Toothpick Flags (747153)
Fresh Goods Mini Clothes Pins (744278)
With Love Gift Tags (747160)

Here's what Nicole had to say about her next project ... "This is a pretty random page for me!  I just started spelling out the kraft words on the kraft background paper without pre-planning too much (which I often do!). I LOVE the Pebbles kraft designs!  To add some color I layered some of the chipboard stickers and buttons."


Pebbles supplies used:
With Love Sweetheart (751204)
With Love ABC Stickers (732081)
With Love Dimensional Word Stickers (732083)
With Love 12" Border Stickers (732084)
With Love Mini ABC Stickers (732087)
With Love Hearts Candy Dots (744279)

Nicole  also created a project to go along with our "inspired by" theme this week.  Nicole found inspiration for this layout from one of the shapes available in the Silhouette store.  Here's what Nicole had to say ... "This page was initially going to look much different. But as I was looking through my Silhouette library I found the circle/butterfly design and knew I wanted to use it somehow on the page.  On a whim I decided to cut it really big to see if it would look neat almost as the background to the page rather than a small accent.  And viola ... the page design went a totally different direction."


Pebbles supplies used:
Fresh Goods Flower Basket (751183)
Fresh Goods Signage (751186)
Fresh Goods Mom & Pop (751194)
Fresh Goods Denim ABC Stickers (732074)
Fresh Goods Dimensional Butterflies (747154)
Fresh Goods Chips (744118)
Fresh Goods Fabric Brads (744277)
With Love ABC 2 Stickers (732082)
With Love Mini ABC Stickers (732087)

Talk about inspiring!  Thank you so much Nicole for creating so many amazing projects with Pebbles!  And now for a GIVEAWAY!  To enter simply leave a comment on this blog post telling us which of Nicole's projects was your favorite.  One lucky winner will be chosen at random to win a prize pack full of Pebbles goodies.  Submit your comments by Monday at midnight (EST).  I'll announce the winner Tuesday morning. Good luck!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

More Inspired Projects with Aphra and Kim

Design team member Aphra Bolyer found inspiration for her Valentine's themed project from Pinterest (a popular source of inspiration among our design team members) ...






Here's what Aphra had to say ... "My go-to place for inspiration is Pinterest.  To narrow my choices down a bit, I did a search for Valentine.  I was immediately drawn to several of Melissa Phillips' floral, frilly, feminine projects.  There were even a couple of gorgeous projects that she created with the Fresh Goods line, but I decided that wouldn't be much of a challenge for me.  So I settled upon a lovely quilted heart sachet as inspiration for my Valentine Gift Bag."




Pebbles supplies used:
With Love Be Mine (751201)
With Love I Heart You (751203)
With Love Sweetheart (751204)
With Love So In Love (751205)
With Love Love Letter (751206)
With Love Dear Valentine (715207)
With Love You're Sweet (715208)
With Love Mini ABC Stickers (732087)
With Love Adhesive Notes (732088)
With Love Toothpick Flags (747159)
With Love Candy Dots (744279)
With Love Mini Clothes Pins (744280)
New Addition Boy Fabric Brads (747139)

Other supplies used:
Kraft Gift Bag (Michael's)
Cardstock (Bazzill)
Baker's Twine (Divine Twine)
Scissors (Fiskars)


Design team member Kim Kesti used these ruffle headbands as inspiration for her adorable layout ...


Here's what Kim had to say ... “Since the advent of Pinterest, I find there is almost too much inspiration online. But, when I saw these cute headbands on a friend’s board, I quickly added them to the stack for future layout ideas. I was inspired to pleat and stitch paper instead of fabric, but I still wanted to add that cute stack of embellishments. So fun!”



Pebbles supplies used:
Fresh Goods Front Desk (751187)
With Love I Heart You (751203)
With Love Gift Tags (747160)
New Addition ABC Brown (732064)
New Addition Girl Ribbon (780010)
New Addition Girl Tooth Pick Flags (747122)
Button Candy Dots Pink (747114)
Dimensional Phrase Stickers New Addition Girl (732059)
Felt Layered Embellishment New Addition Girl (747120)

Other supplies used:
Cardstock (American Crafts)

Spray Mist

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

More Inspired Projects with Eva and Mel

Design team member Eva Pizarro found inspiration for her project from this movie poster ...


Here's what Eva had to say ... "I love to search sketches for my pages, this one is from a movie poster. I love all the writing in the ad and decided to make a really long title. After that I didn't have place for so many embellishments so I put two tags and a heart paper clips garland."




Pebbles supplies used:
With Love Be Mine (751201)
With Love I Heart You (751203)
With Love Sweetheart (751204)
With Love Love Letter (751206)
With Love Dear Valentine (751207)
With Love You And Me (751212)
With Love ABC 2 Stickers (732082)
With Love Mini ABC Stickers (732087)
With Love Gift Tags (747160)
With Love Mini Clothes Pins (744280)
With Love Heart Paper Clips (744281)

Other supplies used:
Cardstock (American Crafts)
Baker's Twine (The Twinery)


Design team member Mel Blackburn found inspiration for her cards from this fun image she found on Pinterest ...


Here's what Mel had to say ... "I found this imagine on Pinterest and knew that it was the perfect piece to replicate on a card or project. Pennants are still a very popular design item and I couldn’t wait to incorporate them on my cards. On the Love Forever card I did an exact replica of the image, adding ribbon to the middle to give the card a softer feel. On the Be Mine card, I created a pennant banner, adding different elements from the With Love collection. I hope this inspires you to add some pennants to your projects."



Pebbles supplies used - "Love Forever" card:
With Love Sweetheart (751204)
With Love Love Letter (751206)
With Love You’re Sweet (751208)
With Love XOXO (751210)
With Love Candy Dot Hearts (744279)
With Love Ribbon (780014)

Other supplies used:

Cardstock (American Crafts)
Spray Mist (Studio Calico)
Die Cut Machine (Making Memories)

Pebbles supplies used - "Be Mine" card:
With Love All Mine (75120)9
With Love Sweetheart (751204)
With Love Love Letter (751206)
With Love XOXO (751210)
With Love Toothpick Flags (747159)
With Love Mini Clothes Pins (744280)
With Love Heart Paperclips (744281)
With Love Ribbon (780014)

Other supplies used:

Spray Mist (Studio Calico)
Die Cut Machine (Making Memories)
Twine

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

More Inspired Projects with Ashley, Laura, and Melinda

Design team member Ashley Stephens found inspiration for her Valentine's themed project from this project she found on Pinterest ...


Here's what Ashley had to say ... "I don't have any Valentine's Day decor in my house (I know, I know), so when I found this image on Pinterest I knew I had to make a paper version. It cut out the heart shapes with my Silhouette and sewed around the edge creating a pocket. It will house Valentine's and love notes, and I can hang it on the wall or over a door handle!"




Pebbles supplies used:
With Love Be Mine (751201)
With Love Sweetheart (751204)
With Love You're Sweet (751208)
With Love All Mine (751209)
With Love Ribbon (780014)
With Love Toothpick Flags (747159)
With Love Gift Tags (747160)
With Love Acrylic Stamps (747162)
With Love Candy Dots - Hearts (744279)
With Love Mini Clothespins (744280)
With Love Masking Tape Stickers (732086)
With Love Mini ABC Stickers (732087)
New Addition Girl Ribbon (780010)
New Addition Girl Felt Layered Embellishment (747120)

Other supplies used:

Die Cut Machine (Silhouette)
Ink (Colorbox)
Twine (Craft Supply)
Sewing Machine

Design team member Laura Craigie found inspiration from this awesome wood patio.  I just love how she translated it to her layout ...


Here's what Laura had to say ... "I stumbled upon this image on Pinterest and was instantly inspired by the circles of the wood.  I used my electronic cutting machine to cut out the design on the bottom of my layout, and filled in some of the circles with striped pattern paper, I chose an odd number as it usually looks more pleasing to the eye.  I wanted to document my relationship with my oldest son, and the With Love collection was just perfect."




Pebbles supplies used:
With Love Kiss Me (751211)
With Love Masking Tape Stickers (732086)
With Love Toothpick Flags (747159)
With Love Gift Tags (747160)
With Love Candy Dots (744279)
New Addition Ribbon (780010)
New Addition Spiral Paper Clips (747129)
Fresh Goods ABC Stickers (732075)

Other supplies used:

Cardstock (American Crafts)
Die Cut Machine (Silhouette)
Ink (Jenni Bowlin)

Design team member Melinda Spinks was inspired by this image of a wine cork heart she found on Pinterest ...


Melinda decided to replace the corks with chocolate (good choice!) and created this delicious treat box instead.  Here's what Melinda had to say ... "Inspiration comes from all different places but I will readily admit that Pinterest is a huge source of inspiration rolled into one website and I get lost in there for hours. So, my inspiration this week comes from a cork heart that I spied which gave me the idea to recreate a similar heart using Hershey's Kisses. After careful consideration I decided to place the heart inside a box card for my husband with Valentine's Day just around the corner... that's if the chocolates last that long, he he!" 




Pebbles supplies used:
With Love I heart You (751203)
With Love So In Love (751205)
With Love Clear Stamps (747162)
Welcome Christmas Mini ABC Stickers (732087)
Welcome Christmas Ribbon (780012)
Pearlescent Chalks Jewel Tones (42005)

Other supplies used:

Cardstock (American Crafts)
Ink (American Crafts)

For a tutorial on how to create a treat box of your own be sure to stop by Melinda's blog and see her step by step instructions!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Winter 2012 Sneak Peak Winners

Wow! The response to our Winter 2012 lines was great! We loved reading the comments and sharing in your excitement. Thanks!

It's time to announce the winners of the new lines, from those who commented on each of the reveal blog posts. Here it goes:

Winner of Country Picnic is Heather:

(Love the mustache, Heather.)

The Hip Hip Hooray winner is Romy.


Let Freedom Ring goes to Linda.

And finally, the Crystal Candy Dots winner is Calamity Jane.


Congratulations to our winners! And thanks to everyone who participated. We sure appreciate all of you.

Winners, go ahead and email your mailing addresses (no P.O. Boxes, please!) to contest@americancrafts.com and I'll get your prizes on their way!

Have a great Monday, and don't forget to come back daily for more inspiration!

Theme: Inspired By

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  This week on the Pebbles blog I have asked some of our design team members to create projects based on an inspiration piece of their choice.  I've loved seeing how our talented designers gather inspiration and translate it into their projects and I know you will too!

First up, design team member Mandie Pierce created not one but two projects for us today.  Mandie found inspiration for her first project via this adorable birth announcement ...



Here's what Mandie had to say ... "I repinned this cute birth announcement from Stephanie Baxter on Pinterest.  I thought it would make a fun layout for the birth announcement for my nephew.  (Isn't he adorable???)  This was a REALLY fast layout.  I used stars instead of hearts.  I just punched them out with a couple of punches and glued them down in random spots."


Pebbles supplies used:
New Addition Boy Adorable (751155)
New Addition Boy Baby Of Mine (751157)
New Addition Boy Calendar (751151)
New Addition Boy Cutie Pie (751154)
New Addition Boy Fabric Brads (747139)
New Addition Boy Layered Embellishments (747133)
New Addition Boy Toothpick Flags (747134)
Brown Button Candy Dots (747138)

Other supplies used:
Punches (Fiskars)
Staples (Tim Holtz)

Here is Mandie's second inspiration piece ... 


And here's what Mandie had to say ... "I LOVE the elephant in the New Addition line and was very excited to see it in the Silhouette store!  I also love the font of the "hello" rub-ons and was even more excited to see that in the Silhouette store as well.  I like the elephants standing on top of each other.  I thought this would make a really cute wall hanging for a kids' room or a baby shower." 




Pebbles supplies used:
New Addition Girl It's a Girl (751140)
Floral Lane With Delight (751124)
Floral Lane My Darling (751126)
Fresh Goods Toothpick Flags (747153)
With Love Candy Dot Buttons (744279)
Elephant & Hello Silhouette Cuts (Silhouette Store)

Other supplies used:
Die Cut Machine (Silhouette)
Patterned Paper (Basic Grey)

Design team member Anna Sigga's inspiration piece made me giggle when I saw it - I mean who doesn't love a ruffle bum? LOL!  

 source

Here's what Anna had to say about her project ... "I found this cute skirt on my www-walk and I just loved the colors, polka dots and all the layers. The New Addition Girl collection was the perfect match for my inspiration piece and this cute photo of my younger daughter."



Pebbles supplies used:
New Addition Girl Calendar (751139)
New Addition Girl Little Hands (751144)
New Addition Girl Little Sister (751150)
New Addition Girl Beautiful Baby (751148)
New Addition Girl Love Bug (751142)
New Addition ABC Stickers Pink (732057)
New Addition Dimensional Phrase Stickers (732059)
The Mr. & Mrs. Stickers - Pearl Flourish (747081)

Other supplies used:

Thickers (American Crafts)
Ink (Ranger)
Punch (Martha Stewart)