wall art (diy project no. 1)

Blank walls intimidate the heck out of me. Like this one in my office that I've been staring at all year long. But no longer. I'm bidding it a fond farewell.

good bye boring blank wall, hello mosaic of photos + layouts

I got this fabulously ingenious idea from Domino (oh how I miss that magazine) + Rita Konig's collection of photos (Oct 2008 issue).

The photos are 5x5 in size (printed through whcc). I decided to go with a square format so I could include both photos and layouts in the mosaic arrangement. All of the photos were printed with a white border. I like how the white borders "frames" each individual photo and also acts as an anchor, visually bringing together all of the photos. The layouts were printed without the borders.

Below is a template so you can easily create your own mosaic wall display. It's 5x7 in size and includes the white border, a clipping mask, and also the cut lines. If you choose to get them printed as 5x5's you won't need the cutting guides, but these will definitely come in handy if you're printing them as 5x7's. note: if you don't want the white border edges for your layouts, don't use the clipping mask included in the template. Instead, resize your layout (to 5x5, 300dpi), then drag and drop your layout file to the template while holding down your SHIFT key (holding down the shift key ensures that the file is centered with the document).

ETA - download link is fixed!

Enjoy the free download!! If you use it to create a wall project, I'd love to see it. Link me to your projects in the comments section below or email me.

I'm signing off now to finish up the newsletter that is going out tomorrow for Digital Scrapbook Day. I'm really excited about this issue...and I think you should be too. :) It contains a little surprise/token of my appreciation to presslist subscribers. Are you on the list?

eta - updated with instructions per reader request

These are the materials I used to assemble the wall display:
1. a leveler (+ pencil)
2. mounting squares

Tip 1: define your space
The first time I assembled the photo wall, I "eyeballed" the positioning and the entire arrangement ended up looking like the leaning tower of pisa. So, I (carefully) peeled off the photos and drew horizontal guide lines on the wall using a leveler and pencil. If you're really good with eyeballing/guess-timating, then you can feel free to skip this step.

Tip 2: adhering photos to wall
I used double sided mounting squares to stick the photos to the wall. No specific reason for using this adhesive over another except that they were in my stash of craft supplies (left over from my paper scrapping days) and readily available. Place mounting squares along the entire top edge of the photo, then place on the wall.

dear digital scrapbooker: do you print your layouts?

I just set up a survey here --------------------->
please take part if you are a digital scrapbooker

I've been wondering how many of us actually get our layouts printed. My guess is that a lot of us, maybe even as much as 70% of us, do not get our pages printed. I love digital scrapbooking. I love the ease of creating without having to clean up a physical pile of papers + embellishments. I love that I can instantaneously share the layout/story/memory with my friends and family via emails or online galleries. And then to actually get your layouts printed, to be able to hold it in your hand, display it on your bookshelf, look at it without having to turn on your computer + click on a file.....well, that's quite another experience. A pretty awesome one. :)


One of my ct member recently confessed to me in an email that she's *never* had any of her layouts printed. As I was composing a response to her, it occurred to me that I was guilty of the same thing. I've gotten lots of things printed - little mini albums, quick albums and most recently, the 296 page blurb book, but none of my 12x12 layouts have been printed. The things that I have printed were easy to do because they were created as part of a collective so the pages were cohesive and went well together. And I think that is precisely the reason I haven't printed any of my 12x12 layouts. I mostly scrap one page layouts and I scrap out of order. As a result, none of my 12x12 layouts necessarily go with one another. The thought of having to print them out and then figure out how to organize them in the album in a way that's aesthetically pleasing is one of the reasons I haven't printed 12x12's. That, and the fact that I'm not thrilled with the idea of having to store bulky 12x12 photo albums.

Maddie's blurb book has motivated me get more things printed. When I saw this post over at the daily digi about Janet's album system, it was like a eureka moment for me. It never occurred to me to have my 12x12 layouts printed as 8x8's. Genius. Now I can't wait to send all of my layouts to print. The only thing that's holding me back now is finding the perfect 8x8 top loading cloth album. I've heard alot of great things about the We R Memory Keepers linen albums, but I'm not ready to take the plunge yet. I currently use kolo cloth albums to store my 4x6 photos and I would LOVE it if kolo would hurry up and offer a top loading album in the 8x8 size. Does anyone have the ins with this Kolo? If so, can you put this idea in their head and make something happen?

With regards to aesthetics and creating a cohesive look with layouts that are created as one pagers, this task is surprisingly easier than I originally suspected. As scrapbookers we have a certain style and are drawn to certain things that we consistently apply to our layouts. In that sense, it will be easy to pair layouts side by side. I pulled a couple of pages from my gallery that were posted between August 3rd - September 23:



I think I would be able to pair any of these layouts and side by side and it would look like they belonged together. I like that they look coordinated but aren't necessarily "match-matchy". Of course, this system will not work for everyone. For those of you that prefer to tell your story in chronological order, or for those of you that aren't concerned with creating a cohesive flow (on an aesthetic level).

Today's new release, a set of coordinating quick pages designed by Cindee Bae, is a great tool for scrappers who scrap out of order yet want to be able to put together an album that looks cohesive.

These quick pages are 30% off for the next 24 hours, then will remain on sale at 15% off thru Nov. 8th.

and all quick pages designed by cindee bae are 50% thru Nv. 8th


Look at how great they look printed.
They are 8x8 prints, ordered through whcc.

Do you print your layouts? What system have you created that works for you? If you don't print your layouts, why not? Inquiring minds want to know. :)

Tomorrow I'm sharing a photo wall project idea. Hope to see you then.

fall + love

new set of presslines wordart

edition No. 15 is about fall + love

It's 30% off for until tomorrow, Nov. 4th at 1:00PM PST. After that you can still grab it at 15% off.

inspiration from the creative team

by lorraine

by lia

by tali

by therese

by marina

by lorraine

by audrey

by nancy

by dunia

in good company

Happy Monday folks! Guess what? I got the awesome opportunity to collaborate with Leora Sanford again! I love working with her. Not only is she one of my favorite designers, Leora's also a very dear friend. She's one of the first friends that I made when I first started scrapbooking waaaaaay back in 2004. That was when we were both paper scrapping. I fell in love with her design style from the first moment I laid eyes on her layouts. She has this unique way of adding whimsy and fun to all of her pretty + sophisticated designs. May I present to you...

in good company
a paislee press + leora sanford collaboration
{an evening with friends. good food. engaging dialogue}
This sophisticated, modern kit celebrates the good times had when you’re in the good company of friends and family. This collaboration project from paislee press and Leora Sanford Designs is only available for a limited time so be sure to pick it up while you can.

In celebration if iDSD, our kit is 15% off thru Nov. 8th
AND
this set of 4 quick pages is FREE when you purchase our kit.
Be sure to add both the kit and the quick pages set to your cart and the discount will automatically apply when you check out.

Check out the awesomeness from our creative team members!!!

I love the invitations that our ct gals made with the kit!

here's a photo of what the invites look printed up. Audrey printed on photo paper.

I'll be back tomorrow with another new release. In case you missed it, I posted sneak peeks of new products that are coming out this week HERE. Follow me on twitter if you want to know when new products become available!

and so it goes...

Do you find yourself waiting (wishing) for life to slow down so you can relax or finally get around to doing the things that you never have the time to do? Yeah, me too. The only problem is life doesn't slow down and instead proceeds to do just the exact opposite. I had all these grand plans to post some fun things on the blog and then before I knew it the week came...and went. But hey, the good news is the weekend's here!

Speaking of news, I am excited to report that I have some fun things planned for this upcoming week, in celebration of iDSD (international digital scrapbook day). Select items will be on sale in my shop beginning on Monday, Nov. 1st and new products will be released throughout the week. Here's the schedule + sneak peeks:

MON | a new collaboration kit 15% OFF thru Nov. 8th

TUES | new set of presslines 30% off for the first 24 hours, then 15% off thru Nov. 8th

THUR | new set of quick pages (designed by cindee bae) 30% off for the first 24 hours, then 15% off thru Nov. 8th

FRI | DIY photo wall project idea + free download

New releases will be announced via twitter as soon as each product becomes available. Be sure to sign up and FOLLOW ME on twitter so you don't miss out on the additional savings that I'm offering during the first 24 hours of each release!!

I'll be back on Monday to debut a new collaboration kit with one of my favorite designers (so geeked that I got to work with her again!!). Until then, have a wonderful weekend!

wild things + the winner is

The terrible two's has officially set in for Audrey (she's only 21 months). Lucky us huh? I hope this is a phase that will pass quickly. When she's not throwing tantrums though, she is as sweet as can be. Take yesterday for instance. She actually requested that I take a picture of her. "Mommy picture," she said, holding her hands to her face like this:



I happily obliged and that made her happy. It was happiness all around. :)


here are a few more photos...

max and the wild things (audrey with her auntie hannah)
photo taken by george lee


max and maddie


maddie and max
photo taken by george lee


and the winner of apothecary frames is...





Congratulations Crystal!! Please email me at elizzylee at yahoodotcom for your prize.

in other news...

I'm working on a few collaboration projects that I'm really excited about and I'm hoping to find some time to work on a post, per your request, about my photo processing. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful rest of the week. :)

decidedly modern + a giveaway

Introducing a new line of vintage inspired yet decidedly modern frames + clipping masks:



They are so versatile and will work well with just about any project: minimalist pages, shabby + layered pages, single photos layouts, multiple-photo layouts...pretty much any type of layout! But don't take my word for it, check out these amazing pages by my creative team:

by Tali


by maria w


by nichole


by dunia


by diana




by lorraine


by audrey | by lorraine



by maria w

by audrey


by som


by marina


by shaui




by cindee

and one from me


I'm using these frames for my project 365 album. You can see more of my layouts in this post.

a giveaway
I'm giving away a set of these apothecary frames. To enter for your chance to win, simply post a comment below. You have until Tuesday, October 20th at 11:59 pm (PST) to enter. The winner will be drawn at random and announced here on Wednesday. For an extra chance to win, simply add/follow me on twitter, then come back and confirm in the comments that you are following me. If you're already following me, tweeting about this giveaway will earn you an extra chance too! Be sure to come back and post in the comments section with a link to your tweet.

Good luck and thank you for participating!