Denise Price's Scrapbooking Résumé

Denise M. Price

Minnesota, United States

http://greendenise.blogspot.com

dmprice at dflytech dot com

My Style:

• colorful, playful, eco-friendly
• mostly 12x12" layouts, occasionally smaller layouts
• occasional cards, mini albums, home decor projects 

Design Team Work:

• Child's Play Challenges Blog--2014 calendar year
• Scrap for Help Challenge Blog--2013 calendar year 

Guest Designer Work:

• City Crafter stamping blog--October 2015
•  From Scrappers~For Scrappers blog--October 2013
• Child's Play scrapbooking blog--August 2013
• Scrap Melody blog--June 2012

Projects Published in Scrap n' Art e-zine:

• Thanksgiving card--November 2013
• Fourth of July card--July 2013
• 12x12" layout "Graduation"--May 2013 
• 12x12" layout "Old-Fashioned Romance"--February 2013
• altered items: Peppermint Gift Set--December 2012
• 12x12" layout "Turkey Bingo"--November 2012
• 12x12" layout "So Very Thankful"--November 2012
• 12x12" layout "Fall Fave"--October 2012
• 12x12" layout "N is for..."--September 2012
• 12x12" layout "Trees of Summer"--August 2012
• beach house altered frame (home decor project)--August 2012
• 12x12" layout "Victory Parade"--July 2012
• 12x12" layout "Vows"--June 2012
• 12x12" layout "Chillaxin' at Home"--May 2012

Projects Published in Scrap Street e-zine:

• 12x12" layout "Colorful Leaves"--November 2012
• 12x12" layout "The Corn Maze"--October 2012
• 12x12" layout "Dr. Seuss's Wisdom"--July 2012
• 8.5x11" layout "Ice Cream"--July 2012

Projects Featured on Manufacturer Sites:

• "Smile When It Rains" friendship card--winner of April 2013 Lily Bee Design challenge 

Projects Featured on Challenge Sites:

• winner of "Geek Chic" stamping challenge at City Crafter Challenge Blog--Oct. 2015
• card set featured for palette #175 at the Color Room--December 2014
• 7x7" layout "Lucky Find" received Honorable Mention at Berry 71 Bleu--March 2014
• Easter card featured at Cupcake Inspirations--February 2014 
• snowman card featured at Cupcake Inspirations--January 2014
• artistic photo featured at Our Beautiful World--January 2014
• 12x12" layout "Donuts" featured at Needle~Cloth~Thread--August 2013
• 7x7" layout "Delicate" featured at From Scrappers for Scrappers--July 2013 
• 12x12" layout "Magic Moment" featured at CSI--July 2013
• 12x12" layout "Zoo ZZZ" featured at Child's Play Challenges--June/July 2013
• altered album cover featured for palette #151 at The Color Room--June 2013
• 12x12" layout "Scott's Roses" featured at Once Upon a Sketch--April/May 2013
• 12x12" layout "Blog Love" featured at the Color Room--February/March 2013
• I was the "spotlighted artist" for the December 2012 challenge at Once Upon a Sketch, where three of my layouts were featured
• altered journal featured at both Scrap for Help and Shopping Our Stash--November 2012
• 12x12" layout "Winter Market" featured at The Color Room--September 2012
• 12x12" layout "Have Dinosaurs, Will Travel" featured at Scrap Africa--April 2012
• 8.5x11" layout "Fave Song" featured at Keeping the Best--March 2012
• 12x12" layout "Harvest Time" featured at Scrap Africa--March 2012
• shadow box (home decor project) featured at Scrap for Help--February 2012
• 12x12" layout "Simplicity" featured at Scrap Africa--February 2012
• 12x12" layout "Road Trip" featured at Scrap for Help--January 2012
• handmade Christmas ornaments featured at Scrap for Help--December 2011

My future objectives:

• continue to create eco-friendly craft projects
• continue to participate online in the international scrapbooking community

Christmas in July: Outer Space

Supplies: all patterned paper by Bo Bunny; large & small red alphabet stickers by Basic Grey; all other stickers by Bo Bunny.

July is almost over, so it's time to wind up my "Christmas in July" series.  For my final post in this series, I'm sharing the first page in my 2010 family scrapbook.

It seems like Christmas is the only time that all three of us manage to be photographed at once.  For that reason, our Christmas photo is usually on the first page of our family album each year.  So, here we are, in our toasty warm Christmas sweaters, on a page decorated mostly with Bo Bunny's "Blast Off!" collection.

Yes, that's right, a Christmas photo paired with outer space products.  It seems like a good fit to me, since stars are a major symbol of Christmas.  :)

As was the case with the page in my last post, this Christmas layout also boasts a media-inspired title.  Fans of the Scottish actress Karen Gillan will recognize the quote "Got my spaceship, got my boys!" 

Thanks for joining me in my wacky little Christmas in July celebration!  Come August, I'll be back to blogging about summer layouts and projects.

Infinite Alphabets: Christmas in July Edition

Tip: to make title stickers pop, outline them with a mechanical pencil.

So far, most of my posts under the tag "infinite*alphabets" focus on Lily Bee and October Afternoon letter stickers.  Today, though, I want to spotlight Bo Bunny Press.  Bo Bunny is another company that regularly repeats sticker fonts.  This is a godsend for those of us who like to mix and match different colored letter stickers.  Not only is this eclectic look fun, but it also allows you to stretch your supplies--you can use up leftover consonants from an older sticker sheet, for example, by mixing them in with vowels from a newer sticker sheet.

Supplies: All papers and stickers by Bo Bunny; pen by Sakura; journaling line template by Creative Memories.

My example, which you see pictured above, uses 2011 red "Blitzen" and 2010 blue "Midnight Frost" alphas for the title, "Party Dudes."  Both alphabets use the same font--the color is the only difference between the two.  I must admit, I had been watching the movie Framed right before I made this layout, and I'm sure that the film influenced my choice in title.  (Have you seen Framed?  It's hilarious!)  This layout is about my family's process for throwing parties, and the journaling reads: "We've got our routine down pat.  I cook & bake, A. entertains, and S. takes photos (which is why he isn't in any photos)."

This is my only Bo Bunny infinite*alphabet sample so far, but the opportunity to mix and match Bo Bunny alphas is extensive.  For example, the "Hello Sunshine!" alphabet is the same font as "Alora."  The "On the Go" alphabet uses the same font as "Ad Lib."  I could go on and on.  :)  Have you ever tried mixing and matching Bo Bunny alphas?  Let me know what you think.

Christmas in July: Paint, Trends, Snow, and Ice

We are continuing to have a lot of hot-hot-hot weather here in Minnesota.  Sometime I feel like I'm melting!  Luckily, the last couple days have been a bit cooler, which has been a relief.

I'm continuing with my "Christmas in July" theme by blogging a pair of wintery layouts today.  A lot of the trends that are so popular at the moment work well for these snowy and icy designs.

Supplies: patterned paper (October Afternoon), cardstock (Bazzill), alphabet stickers (Simple Stories), blue border sticker (Bo Bunny), brown border sticker (Simple Stories), decorative stickers (Basic Grey), doily (Royal Consumer Products), faux brads (Candi by Craftworks Cards), pens (Zig), acrylic paint (DecoArt), glitter paint (Stickles by Ranger).

First up is a snow-related layout called "Walking in a Winter Wonderland."  Paints and inks are über-trendy at the moment--especially when used to create glittery splashes and drips.  For this layout, I employed my own variation on this trend.  I mixed together a dollop of white acrylic paint and a squirt of gold Stickles, then watered down the mixture until it reached a milky consistency.  I dripped the mixture onto my layout, and after it was dry it looked as if glittery white snow had fallen on my layout.  (You can see the glitter better in the closeups below.)

My second layout, "Making a Splash" (pictured below), celebrates the kings of winter--polar bears!  Using the "continuous" mode on my camera, I snapped these photos at Saint Paul's Como Zoo.  The bear in the photos is enjoying "enrichment," a type of playtime that keeps zoo animals stimulated and challenged.  He had an empty plastic barrel, which he pushed under the water.  When it popped back out of the water, it made a big splash.  The zookeeper explained that polar bears exhibit a similar behavior in the wild--they push chunks of ice under the water as part of the seal-hunting process.

Supplies: patterned paper (Lily Bee Design), journaling spot (Lawn Fawn), rub-on (My Mind's Eye), alphabet stickers (Lawn Fawn), faux brads (Candi by Craftworks Cards), pearlescent paint (Liquid Pearls by Ranger).

Grey is a trendy color for patterned papers at the moment, and it's also a great color to use on wintery pages.  Blue zigzags add to the feel of icy-cold, splashing water.  (All the papers I used on this layout come from Lily Bee's "Buttercup" collection.  The fact that a spring collection can also work for a winter layout is a testament to the versatility of Lily Bee products.)

Trendy paint also makes an appearance on my polar bear layout.  As you see from the closeups above, I dotted on Liquid Pearls paint to add interest and dimension to the rub-on flourish, the Candi & title, and the journaling box.

I hope to head to Como Park again soon.  The zoo is hosting two seals and a polar bear from the Duluth Zoo, and I'm eager to see these newcomers.  There is also a summer flower show going on at the conservatory.  I enjoyed sharing photos from the spring flower show with you, and I hope to get some more good photos at the summer show.

What kinds of activities have been keeping you busy lately?  Zoo trips?  Vacations?  Other adventures?  I hope you're having fun!

Christmas in July

This summer has been a strange one for Minnesota.  It's been much hotter than usual!  I need to think cool thoughts.  So, I decided I'd do something kind of fun and quirky on my blog for the rest of the month...I'm going to celebrate "Christmas in July!"  To kick things off, I'm sharing two Christmas layouts in this post.

Supplies: background paper (Bo Bunny), white-on-white patterned paper (Crate), doily (Royal Consumer Products), journaling card (Lily Bee), brown alphabet stickers (October Afternoon), red alphabet stickers (Crate), decorative stickers (Basic Grey), number board die cut (My Mind's Eye), pen (Sakura), ink (Tsukineko), corner rounder (Creative Memories).

The layout above is called "Cocoa for Christmas," and the journaling reads: "Since she couldn't come visit us this year, my friend Beth from California sent us a special treat: gourmet hot chocolate mix and ginger-flavored marshmallows.  Yum!"

Supplies: train patterned paper (October Afternoon), all other patterned paper (Teresa Collins), circular stickers and large alphabet stickers (Basic Grey), mini alphabet stickers (Lily Bee), thin label stickers (Jillibean Soup), square label sticker (Lily Bee), tag stickers (Crate), photo corners and file tab stickers (Bo Bunny), ink (Steward Superior).

The second layout, which you see above, is called "The Train Store at Christmastime."  It features a spiral made of torn paper, which symbolizes a model railroad track.  Instead of writing a block of journaling, I sprinkled little label stickers all over the page and used mini alphas to spell out captions (see detail shot below for example).

Both of the layouts in this post are a bit different from typical Christmas layouts.  They don't involve big events, like putting up the tree or opening gifts.  Instead, they are about small, special moments that occur during the holiday season.  I used the portrait and macro modes on my camera to capture most of the photos on these layouts.  I think it's important to capture life's details.  :)

For the Love of Books

Maybe it's because I'm an English teacher by training, but one of my favorite parts of being a mom is reading aloud to my son.  I have two layouts published in the current issue of ScrapStreet ezine (click here to read the issue for free), and I'm so happy that one of them (the one on page 14) is a book related-layout.

Supplies: cardstock (Wausau Paper), patterned paper (Graphic 45), stickers (October Afternoon), flowers (Petaloo), ink (Stewart Superior), circle templates (Fiskars), corner punch (Creative Memories), glitter (Stickles by Ranger), pen (Zig).

I'm not allowed to share my published layouts on my blog during the time that they appear in ScrapStreet.  However, I do have a different book-related layout to share today.  It's called "The Magic of Oz," and you see it pictured above.  The photos on the layout were all taken a couple of years ago at the Saint Paul Children's Museum, during a Wizard of Oz exhibit.  I loved reading the Oz series when I was a kid, and it was really fun for me to share my love of  Oz with my son and husband at the museum.

Are you doing any summer reading?  I'd love to hear your recommendations.  My son is currently working his way through the "Puppy Place" and "Kitty Corner" series by Ellen Miles.  As for me, I've already read three books from the Aunt Dimity series of cozy mysteries this summer...in particular I would recommend Aunt Dimity Down Under.  Happy reading!

Let's Celebrate with Cake

For the third month in a row, I have a layout published in Scrap n' Art magazine.  I really do not know how I got so lucky.  All I can say is that I'm overjoyed.  Scrap n' Art represents all that I love in the world of papercrafting: a mix of styles (from graphic to shabby chic), a mix of contributers (from all over the world), and a mix of projects (including layouts, cards, off-the-page items, mixed media, and more).  I would encourage anyone to submit to Scrap n' Art; working with this publication month after month has been great.

Each month, Scrap n' Art publishes work centered around a particular theme.  For July, the theme is flags.  Each reader submission project published in Scrap n' Art features the colors of a different country's flag.  My Russophilia is on display for all to see, as my submission this month features the colors of the Russian and Soviet flags.

Of course, I can't show my published layout here on my blog right now.  But, I can show you a different flag-related project that I made recently with my family: the American flag cake that you see pictured above.  Happy Fourth of July!  I also have a layout to share (pictured below) that includes the recipe for this cake.

Supplies: all patterned paper by My Mind's Eye; journaling card by Lily Bee Design; alphabet stickers by October Afternoon; butterfly and floral rub-ons by My Mind's Eye; border rub-on by Hambly Screen Prints; pen by Sakura; misc. items: stapler and natural kitchen twine.

I love using 6x6" mini pads of patterned paper, but I always end up with tons of teeny-tiny scraps.  I decided to create a layout that would reduce my bundle of scraps, and the layout you see above, "Easter Cupcakes," is the result.  Creating it allowed me to use up almost all my scraps from my "Stella and Rose: Gertie" and "Follow Your Heart: Be Amazing" MME mini pads.

And, okay, I know what you're thinking.  The layout shows Easter cupcakes, but the photo above it shows an Independence Day cake.  Well, don't let appearances deceive you, because I used the same recipe to make both cakes.  The difference is just in the decorations.

My husband and my best friend are both gluten-intolerant, so in recent years I've looked high and low for a good gluten-free cake recipe.  There are more and more gluten-free products becoming available in stores, however... a lot of them taste like cardboard.  But, after much experimentation, I've finally come up with a GF (gluten-free) cake recipe that actually tastes great.  So, without further ado, let me share it with you now.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• In a large bowl, beat together 3/4 cup MILK, 3/4 cup SUGAR, 1/3 cup OIL, 2 teaspoons VANILLA, and 2 EGGS.
• In a second bowl, stir together 1-2/3 cups GLUTEN FREE FLOUR, 1 teaspoon BAKING POWDER, 1/2 teaspoon BAKING SODA, and 1/4 teaspoon SALT.
• Combine wet and dry ingredients until just mixed.  Batter will be lumpy--don't let it worry you.
• Pour batter into cake pan or cupcake tins.  Bake 30 minutes or until done.
• When cool, frost and decorate as desired.

I've given American measurements for this recipe, but there are many web sites that you can use to convert to other measurement systems--metric, for instance.  Hope you enjoy the cake.  And, if you're celebrating today, then I wish you a Happy Fourth of July!

Yo-Yo Flower

Supplies: patterned paper (My Mind's Eye), Rub-ons (My Mind's Eye), alphabet stickers (October Afternoon), plastic buttons (October Afternoon), wooden button (Blumenthal Lansing), white thread (Singer), brown thread (DMC), household items (denim fabric scraps, stapler).

If you blinked, you might have missed this layout.  I only had it posted for a few days, then it was accepted for publication, so I had to remove it from my blog temporarily.  The waiting is over, though, and "Chillaxin' at Home" is back on Green Crafting.

This layout was published in the May issue of Scrap n' Art, in an article on flowers.  The layout features a handmade bloom made from an old denim work shirt.

Want to make your own denim yo-yo flower like this?  Using a saucer or small dessert/salad plate as a template, cut a circle from denim fabric.  (Tip: scraps from soft, flexible denim shirts are easier to manipulate than scraps from stiff blue jeans.)  Sew a running stitch along the edge of the circle, bunching the fabric as you go.  Tie off the thread when you are done forming the flower.

Next, layer a fussy-cut hexagon and a button atop the yo-yo flower, AND layer a small scrap of paper underneath the flower, directly below the hexagon.  Sew all these layers together.  By doing so, you will create a decorative center for your flower with the hexagon and button, and you will also create a place (the scrap of paper) to adhere glue dots to your flower.  Add your glue dots and attach the flower to your layout.

Thanks for "chillaxin'" at my blog today!  I'll leave you with a few more detail shots of the layout.

Like I mentioned before, I've been addicted to using staples on my layouts lately.

What looks like a stamp is actually a rub-on!  Thank you, My Mind's Eye! 

There are so many uses for denim scraps!