Creative Escape had 8 teachers each teaching a different project. Over the course of two days, each attendee gets to attend each of the 8 classes. The variety of teaching styles and projects was really varied which made for a great mix of classes during the weekend.
Here's a look at what we were up to on day one of CE.
Heather Bailey's Birdie Album. I totally love the bright, happy colors from Heather Bailey's paper line we used on this project. This was probably the most intense project because there were so many pieces to put together. Thankfully almost everything was cut, painted and ready to assemble. This was finished by the time we walked out of class and I was very happy about that.
Most of the pages had something interactive or had a very thoughtful touch. This page included a pocket that held a separate mini album we assembled.
This page has a flap on the right side of the page that has another half page tied inside. It was such a clever way to add small extra pages to the album.
Tim Holtz's Enjoy the Journey Album. This was one of my favorite classes at CE. The pace was very manageable and Tim had an entertaining, inspiring teaching style. We got to work with grungeboard for the covers of this book and I really liked it. I'm thinking that I need to order some sheets of grudgeboard and play with it.
This little (2" x 3") album was something that could easily be adapted to many projects. We alternated sanded/inked paper pages with plastic photo holder pages and pages made from tickets. I really enjoyed using the small Tim Holtz brand metal findings: snaps, bookplate, safetypin, washers and brads. They add such a great finishing touch to things.
Carol Wingert's Pyramid Project Class. When I first arrived at CE and received a booklet with all of our projects, I'll admit that I wasn't so sure about this one. But I kept an open mind and was excited to see what ideas the teacher had in mind. This ended up being a favorite project from the weekend.
This is a clever pyramid box that is perfect for gift giving. This box still will get lots of embellishing, but I chose to keep a neutral palette until I decided how I wanted to use it. This would make a great holder for a small wedding gift. If could also be decorated for a teacher and house a wrapped candied apple. Another idea is to decorate this for Christmas, place and ornament in it and give it to neighbors.
The front panel is clear acrylic which I think is a great idea.
This is easy enough to replicate and I'm sure with practice, it could be done somewhat quickly. I'm excited to figure out how I'm going to use it.
Debbie Crouse and Paula Cheney's cool bookboard project. Our final project of the day was built from 7 Gypsies bookboard. We layered the bookboard which gave a great dimention to the project.
This has some fun interactive elements. The photo lifts with the knob at the bottom of the photo to reveal a journaling space. The panel with the little flower vase also opens like a book to show another journaling space. I really love the mini vase with flowers, the metal key and all of the layering.
What a day! We finished off the night with a sit down dinner and an inspiring talk from Heidi Swapp.
Not bad for one day's work!
The patterned paper is all from Lily Bee including that great round die cut. The buttons, memo card, label stickers and alpha are also from the kit.
I really wanted this layout to have a beach feel, so I painted the background paper using a dry brush using a paint color that resembled sand. I really like the blue/gray paper because it fits the overcast mood of the photos.
Here's a look at the card I made for her.
Everything for the card and envelope came from the September Scrapbook Circle kit.
After playing with glimmer mist at Creative Escape, I decided it was time to dust of my bottle of mist and use it on a layout. I think it ended up giving a subtle and interesting effect.
Then I trimmed the red border off so that I could just have the scrolling edge of the journaling block.
Next I figured out where I wanted to use the spray and used this journaling paper as a mask. Just set the paper down and sprayed right over the top of it. I sprayed 2 different areas on the page. (The 3 technique photos were taken with my phone, so sorry for the lower quality.)
Here's an up close look at one of the finished mask areas. 
Everything on this layout is from the September Scrapbook Circle kit.
I've never put an album together just for me with my stuff and I think this will be a fun project once it makes it to the top of the to do list.
Marah Johnson's Heart Box. This class was all about inking, sanding, misting, painting and getting your hands dirty. Most of the paper we used is flocked and it gave such great dimention to the project.
Not only did we decorate the box, but we also decorated the covers and spines of books that fit inside of the box. Still not sure if I will do anything with the insides of the books, but for now, this box is a great home decor item.
Heidi Swapp's Once in a Lifetime Album. This was one of my top favorite projects. I love it becuase it is a place where I will put meaningful photos and it is a home decor item (which I love!) Heidi talked about how each moment is a "Once in a Lifetime" opportunity and how we are able to preserve and remember so many of those special moments through scrapbooking.
This album has many layers. The front falp folds up to reveal a gated opening.
Next is this star envelope that opens to a card that opens to a little envelope that opens to another card. Very interactive. Love the design!
Lynette Carroll's Unforgettable Wall Art. This project involved building a piece of wall art out of 6 different panels. We had to be very precise to have it all fit together. Maybe I was just getting a little worn down since this was the last of eight classes, but I didn't find the tedious work very enjoyable. Plus, I'm more of a bright colors girl, so the black and white palette wasn't as apealing to me. This was a well thought out project, just not one of my favorites.
That's it! It felt so great to get to create so many things is such a short amount of time. Hopefully I will be lucky enough to go again someday!
Most of the pages had something interactive or had a very thoughtful touch. This page included a pocket that held a separate mini album we assembled.
This page has a flap on the right side of the page that has another half page tied inside. It was such a clever way to add small extra pages to the album.
Tim Holtz's Enjoy the Journey Album. This was one of my favorite classes at CE. The pace was very manageable and Tim had an entertaining, inspiring teaching style. We got to work with grungeboard for the covers of this book and I really liked it. I'm thinking that I need to order some sheets of grudgeboard and play with it.
This little (2" x 3") album was something that could easily be adapted to many projects. We alternated sanded/inked paper pages with plastic photo holder pages and pages made from tickets. I really enjoyed using the small Tim Holtz brand metal findings: snaps, bookplate, safetypin, washers and brads. They add such a great finishing touch to things.
Carol Wingert's Pyramid Project Class. When I first arrived at CE and received a booklet with all of our projects, I'll admit that I wasn't so sure about this one. But I kept an open mind and was excited to see what ideas the teacher had in mind. This ended up being a favorite project from the weekend.
This is easy enough to replicate and I'm sure with practice, it could be done somewhat quickly. I'm excited to figure out how I'm going to use it.
Debbie Crouse and Paula Cheney's cool bookboard project. Our final project of the day was built from 7 Gypsies bookboard. We layered the bookboard which gave a great dimention to the project.
What a day! We finished off the night with a sit down dinner and an inspiring talk from Heidi Swapp.
Thanks to my sister, Michelle, for sharing the recipe. And thanks to my parents for the extremely delicious tomatoes from their garden.
I think I know what I'm having for dinner...
