Bountiful Buttons

From the LM Archives

Bountiful Buttons By: Melissa Thigpen, Design Team Member
Buttons, Buttons, who’s got the Buttons? The LM design team, that’s who! For a while buttons seemed to go out of vogue as they seemed to be associated with country and cute. Now they are back and the design team is finding some sophisticated, funky and graphic applications for the latest batch of buttons to hit the store. What is the latest in buttons you ask? My Mind’s Eye has released Tres Jolie, a collection of gorgeous buttons of many shapes, sizes and textures. These come in little glass jars that are perfect for displaying buttons that come in colors like Bonjour Vert, Mon Cheri Bleu, Je t’aime Corail and Oui Oui Peche. For a wider range of colors, Autumn Leaves has a Bag of Buttons to match each of their three new collections, Foofala Bella, MOD Primary and Rhonna Farrar French Twist. Or for something different, check out the new wooden buttons sets from Sweetwater. The buttons coordinate with theClassic, Sprinkles, Squeeze and All about me collections. The sets come with wooden buttons and stickers that fit in the center of the buttons. Don’t go by the image in the store, instead take a look at the layouts by Madeline and Vickie to see the true cuteness of these buttons in action. But what to do with all of these buttons once you have them? Well, as one team member commented recently, buttons are very handy little items for some of the following purposes: Frame a photo or element in buttons. Create a button border. Anchor a tag, journaling strip or other element with a button. (Notice how Miranda used buttons to accent and anchor several elements in her layouts.) Create a shape (heart, star, square, etc.) from buttons. (Cecilie creates a trio of circles using two Heidi Swapp bling circles and repeating the shape with a third circle of buttons.) Use buttons to accent a patterned paper design. Use one or more buttons as a flower center. (This is a staple technique. Notice how Madeline uses it on one of her layouts. And her favorite variation is to tie narrow ribbon through a button hole for added decoration.) Scatter buttons among other elements as an embellishment. (Miranda uses a scattering of buttons on her Doodle Butt layout.) Substitute buttons for "o" or the round parts of other letters. Anchor or accent the edges of photos or shapes with buttons. Tie a tag to a button. Tie an envelope closed with two buttons and some string or ribbon. Use buttons as a bullet points for journaling. Anchor the folded corner of a paper. Create a pull tab for a journaling card with a button (and maybe a folded over ribbon or paper strip as well). Use buttons to accent the scalloped edge of paper or element. Embellish large letters with buttons. Yes, buttons are very handy indeed. Then again, one of my favorite things to do with my buttons is to dump them all in a big glass jar, set it on my scrap table and enjoy how pretty it looks. On or off your pages, you can never have too many buttons.
Design Team Examples To view all layout ideas and products used, please be sure to visit the Design Team Gallery: Bountiful Buttons Or Click each image below to see a larger view! Melissa Miranda Madeline Vickie   Tracy Sonya Cecilie

Terrific Ribbons and Trims

From the LM Archives

Terrific Ribbons and TrimsBy: Franny Lesniak, Design Team Member
What is it about ribbon that is so very alluring? I don’t know about you, but when I see a pretty ribbon it’s hard to look away. I want to feel it, stroke it, and own as many varieties as I can possible get my hands on. If you are like me - bewitched by ribbon - then you will want to pay attention to the new generation of ribbon that is finding its way into the hearts (and onto the shelves of the Lifetime Moments store) of many-a-scrapbooker. It’s not as if we haven’t seen it all before - or so one might think. But alas, the newly available ribbons and trims present a fresh twist on an old standby. Fancy Pants and Making Memories (soon to be arriving at LM) have taken crocheted and lace trims a step beyond the traditional white and ecru shades that one might scavenge from her granny‘s sewing basket.American Crafts and Maya Road have “Journeyed East“, taking printed ribbon and velvet blossom trim, ribbon and ric rac to all new horizons. This new generation of ribbons, trims, and lace are now available in richer hues, more vibrant colors, and positively luscious textures. There are so many ways one can incorporate ribbon embellishments on her layouts. Our Design Teamput their creative minds to work - here's a few of our fun ideas: gather and stitch wide trim in a fan shape to make a flower weave thin ribbon through holes in wide trim or lace knot the ends and hang embellishments off the edge of your page machine stitch small strips of various ribbon to create a border create gathers by running a thread through ribbon and pulling knot two ribbons and criss cross them to frame your corner fold and make a flower If you still find yourself stumped as to how to make use of your ribbon, here are a few ideas (fromShimelle’s list of 101 Things to Do with Ribbon - you can find her whole list here in PDF format) to get you jumpstarted… Make a flower with loops of ribbon plus a button in the middle. Use ric rac as the stem for a flower accent. Use frilly ribbons with rustic elements, mixing girly trims with twill tape or a wooden tag. Grab your favorite ribbon of the moment and work your entire layout around that inspiration. Print your photos in black and white so you don’t have to worry about color clashes and just have fun. Take my word for it - this new generation of ribbons and trims has some positively delectable offerings!  If after my testimony you still have a smidgeon of remaining doubt, the old adage holds true in this case… seeing is believing.
Design Team Examples To view all layout ideas and products used, please be sure to visit the Design Team Gallery: Terrific Ribbons and Trims Or Click each image below to see a larger view! Franny Melissa Madeline Wendy Nancy Margaret Vickie