Mother’s Day Giveaway!

We all have women in our life who we love and cherish.  Simply Renee wants to honor special mothers throughout May.  Email us why a woman in your life deserves some extra attention and then make sure you follow our blog.  In May we'll randomly select different women to blog about and she'll receive a special Clip it Up prize.  Don't miss out on this great way to show an amazing woman in your life you think she is great.

Email us at clipitup@gmail.com before April 30, 2011.

Rules/Regulations

• Email a picture and a short reason why you think the mom you nominated deserves a Clip it Up product. 
• All nominations must be received by April 30, 2011 11:59 PM MST
• Winners will be randomly selected and they will be announced on our blog along with the picture and reason why they were nominated.
• Prizes will vary and will be announced within the post
• Simply Renee reserves the right to make changes at any time during the promotion

A mother holds her children's hands for a while...their hearts forever. -- Author Unknown

Nikki Sivils Designs

Good Morning, everyone!  Can you believe that it is almost APRIL!!!!  Where has the time gone!!???  I am still finding leftover Christmas candies that were forgotten about, and it is almost Easter! Has it really been 3 months since Christmas?  My, how Time Flies! 

Speaking of time...do you ever find that it seems to evade you, RUN away from you, or just plain laugh in your face? 
I do.  I feel like there are never enough hours in the day sometimes.  Between kids activities, laundry (ENDLESS PILES) and house work, family, my various volunteer positions, etc..I have to squeeze in my scrappy time in the 'nooks and crannies' of my day.  Trust me when I say, Organization is the key to success! 
Prior to my Clip it Up Jumbo, I was digging through bins, baskets, and piles looking for the papers and embellishments that I wanted to put on a layout.  More often than not, I  would end up frustrated because I could not find exactly what I was looking for.   Now...with my Clip it Up Jumbo, I search NO MORE.  I have found that it is ideal for holding kits, paper packs, embellishments, and so much more. I have a variety of paper lines with matching embellishments...as I am sure most of you do, too!  I decided to try something...WHAT IF????...I hang a few of my paper lines onto my clip it up, and then all embellishments in front or behind???  Would that help me save time and actually FIND what I am looking for? I decided to give it a shot.  I pulled a few of the lines that I KNEW I would be working with soon, along with any embellishments that coordinated and I started Clipping them Up.

Once I had my Clip it Up filled with my lines...Nikki Sivils, My Little Shoe Box, Jillibean Soup, My Minds Eye, and a few others...I decided to time myself making a layout.  From the moment I started pulling papers and embellies, to the moment I put the finishing touches on this layout, it took me ONE hour and 22 minutes.  That is a record for me!  My normal scrap time is upwards of FOUR hours.  Honestly. And...if I say so myself...the results weren't too shabby.

Here is what I did using the "Max & Mollie" collection from Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker. 

Of course, my Clip it Up Jumbo will not hold EVERY single line I own. Rather than putting everything on it, I change it out.  I like to keep my current projects and assignments within arms reach.  Once I am finished with a line, I will swap it out.  I will put the used line back into my bin, and replace it with the next assignment, kit, or paper line.

I have some new Crate papers that I am DYING to scrap with...those are next up on my Clip it Up!!!!! 

The Grand thing about a Clip it Up  is it can be used and re-used-and re-purposed many many many times!  This month it is holding my kits and embellies to help me save time...next month could be completely different!  Tell Us, How would you use a Clip it Up to save YOU time?

Misty

Quote of the Week

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.  ~Proverb

Audrey’s Craft Space

I wanted to share with you today a short little tour of my scrap space. It’s been about a month since I took the video below, in which you will see how I have organized my Clip it Up. As I describe in the video, I wanted to use my Clip it Up for my most favorite things.

I am HONESTLY going to say that since I have taken this video, I have actually USED the things on my Clip it Up way more than I even though I would!!! It is so so SO handy having my favorite things in my stash right there at my fingertips! I don’t even have to leave my seat!

But alas, it is already full, yet I keep buying more supplies with all the new CHA releases coming out! So I am going to do TWO things: 1) Use up the things that I have on my Clip it Up now, and 2)stop buying more things. JUST KIDDING on #2!! But honestly, #2) perhaps buy a Clip it Up Upper Tier to add on to the top or get another Main Base.

So here is a quick video of my scrap space. Hope it doesn’t bore you! I had fun making it. After I shot it, I realized there were a few things I forgot to show you, so there are some photos after the video.

A few things you didn’t see:

My stash of ribbons. I don’t use a lot of ribbon on my projects, but I really want to start using it more. I used to have it on spools on a rod, then as my stash grew I placed it into one of those clear plastic bags with the holes (didn’t like that), and I finally decided on this system. I took some foam board an cut it into 4x6” pieces and wrapped ribbon by color onto the cards. I secured the ends with tape and wrap rubber bands around them so they don’t come unraveled. It is working well so far, except I have been bad about adding new ribbons to cards! Gotta get on that!

My closet. There is a reason I didn’t show this on video. It’s a disaster. This is my collections of years of different hobbies. I have cross stitch and watercolors and canvases and crochet and sewing patterns and jewelry and a ton of other things. This is also storage for our winter coats, hubby’s baseball cards, and my old classroom stuff and school files (if I ever go back into teaching!).

I also keep my scraps in here in pull out trays. Scraps are sorted by cardstock or pattern paper, and then by size. Anything smaller than 6x12 in one bin and larger in another, for a total of four trays. I NEVER use my pattern paper scraps, as you can tell by the mound. I wish I did, but I love new things and it seems like there is something new out there every month! I am going to start sorting through these soon.

So there you have it. A look into my creative space! Thanks so much for joining me. I will be back in a few weeks with a wall mount project!!

Audrey

Geisha Girl

I was completely thrilled when I opened my newest shipment from Simply Renee’s Clip It Up! The box was full of goodies for me to use on products from very kind scrapbook manufacturers such as My Little Shoebox. I received the most adorable, fun, and full of color Oasis line from My Little Shoebox, and I just couldn’t help but dive right into these fun goodies! I immediately knew that I was going to use photos of my oldest daughter from Halloween a couple of years ago when she dressed up as a Geisha Girl…..I know right, could the photos and the Oasis line be any more perfect for each other!

I also want to share with you how I am using my Clip It Up Main Base and Upper Tier. I often receive boxes of scrapbook product, just like how I received the My Little Shoebox products, from either design teams or my personal online orders. I was beginning to run out of space in my scrapbook room to be able to store each of these product lines separately. I knew that I didn’t want to mix the entire matching lines into my bulk scrapping items for fear that I would never be able to locate all of the individual pieces every time I wanted to use the entire line. So, my Clip It Up Main Base and Upper Tier were the perfect solution for keeping all of my product lines together and keeping them at easy access for whenever I want to use these products.

I keep all of my alphabet stickers on one section of the Clip It Up, longer letters on bottom and smaller letters on the top. The other sections of the Clip It Up are used for the coordinating embellishments such as stickers, rub-ons, flowers, die cuts, etc. I can use the hanging metal clips to clip together multiple packages of coordinating products, and the best part is that there is still room to spare!

I hope that this has given you ideas on how to store all of those favorite products lines that you just keep going back to time and time again.

Have a great day,

Sarah

Quote of the Week

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"  ~Robin Williams

Signs of Spring

Spring is almost here!! I see signs of grass, lots of mud, and the birds are singing loud and clear! There is just something about spring time that energizes me! And I can sure use it after the long winter full of sick kids that I’ve had!

So, to celebrate the “almost” arrival of spring, I have a springy project for you today!! I have seen these around a lot and decided that it was time for me to make one for myself!!

Birdhouses… they are everywhere! And since making this one… I’m hooked! I can see many more bird houses in my near future! I also have an idea for the décor in my new scrap space… can you guess??? ;) Anyway… on to the project!

I purchased this wooden birdhouse at Michaels for just over $1!! I could hardly believe it! I knew that it would look fabulous all fancied up! Here’s what I did…

1. I began by painting the entire bird house using paint that we had bought for the trim in my daughter’s room. It’s white with a hint of pink in it. I used a small paint brush to apply it… then right away wiped it off using a soft rag. It left it with a nice whitewashed look.

2. Then I trimmed the patterned papers that I wanted to use. Each piece was inked heavily to add dimension and an aged look. I adhered these papers using Helmar Acid Free Glue.

3. Using a script stamp, I stamped on the facing edges that you can see.

4. I then embellished it! This is the fun part!! There are unlimited ideas for embellishing these little beauties! And it’s SO easy! Give one a try!!

As you may or may not know… I am in the process (slow process) of renovating to get my own scrap space. While I am waiting, I am trying to go thru my supplies and get a bit more organized… preparing to organize things in my new space! While working on this birdhouse project, I made use of several things on my mini. I want to share a tip with you today that I use a lot… especially on my mini! It helps keep things so organized for me!

I LOVE to use binder rings to group things together!! I think the one I use the most is my ring of bling… it’s my pearls, jewels and such that are my most commonly used.

I also have rings that group together families of ribbon. Ribbon that comes by the yardage is always looking for a place. Since I do not have my ribbon organizer up yet, this is what I do with some of my favorite, most often used trims…

I will use these rings of trims when I have my ribbon organizer up as well! They will hang so nicely!

I hope that you have been inspired today! Inspired to create… and inspired to organize!

Until next time… Happy Scrapping!

Tina McDonald

Clip it Up Review by Scrapbook Etc.

Polly Maly just emailed us a great review she did on the Clip it Up for her Scrapbook Etc. blog. 

Check it out here!!!  Make sure you leave her a friendly comment. Leave me a comment if you left her a comment and we’ll enter you into a drawing we’re having very soon :)

Simply Renee

Quote of the Week

"Behind the story I tell is the one I don't...Behind the story you hear is the one I wish I could make you hear."
- Dorothy Allison

Organizing Lace

Hello and good morning! My name is Barbara Lochridge, and I am sooo excited to be on the Simply Renee Clip It Up design team! I feel privileged to be amongst such talent! I have been married for 26 years to a wonderful man and I have two grown sons. The youngest made us very proud by following in his father's footsteps in the United States Navy. The oldest who we are also proud of,  made us grandparents last year to a beautiful baby girl. She is definitely being spoiled by Grandma!  Enough about me, on with the show.

I love lace and try to use it on everything!  So I have a different use for the 36" Ribbon Organizer. I am using it as my lace holder, well, there is a bit of ribbon in the top, but now that I have this, it will all be lace soon. It is wonderful to have my rolls of lace where I can see them. Before the rolls were in a drawer and I would forget about them. Now they are displayed where I can see them.

I put my yards of lace in baggies. I can see exactly what I have, and what I am running low on. I love how I can see all my lace now. It's so much easier and less messy. Before I would dig threw a basket, and things didn't always make their way back in, because I was intent on finding what I needed and getting my layout finished  (if you know what I mean)! It really has saved me time on cleanup! I absolutely love my 36” ribbon holder!

I love to do heritage layouts and almost always use lace. That's why I have so much of it. Today's layout is a heritage layout using Graphic 45's Once Upon a Springtime collection. I love their collections!  And yes, you will notice lace on this layout. It is a picture of my Grandmother when she was still in high school.

  

Couldn't resist adding pearls to the lace.

I hope I have inspired you to use your Clip it Up in a different way. I plan to have more organizational tips for you in the coming months!  See you again in a few weeks!

Barbara

Welcome Barbara

We still have more new designers! Welcome Barbara to our new team.  We’re so excited to share her ideas and projects with you.  Check out her first post tomorrow!

I am a 45 year old mother of two sons. I recently became a grandmother and have endless material to scrap.  I work on all kinds of projects, but my favorite is creating heritage layouts. I am very dedicated and outgoing. I enjoy new challenges and love to meet new people. I love sharing my work and enjoy looking at other's ideas. I believe I would be a great addition to your design team.

Barbara

http://scrappygal-scraphappenings.blogspot.com/

Quote of the Week

"When nothing is sure, everything is possible." - Margaret Drabble

My Clip It Up: A Wheel of Fortune

Hello everyone! I’m so excited today to be sharing this fun layout I did, and have included a sketch for you, too!
In a few weeks, I am going to share a bit with you about how I have organized my Clip It Up Main Base to suit my needs. In a nutshell, it sits right next to my desk and holds some of my favorite things. ..you know, the things that you love so much that you hoard them instead of using them? I think a few of you probably know what I mean!

So for my project today, I challenged myself to actually use some of my favorite things from my “Wheel of Fortune”. That’s what I’m calling it. I guess you could look at my Clip It Up as a “Wheel of Fortune” in two ways: 1) I have spent a fortune on scrapbooking supplies and now they are hanging on my Clip it Up where I can USE them, or 2) I am so “fortunate” to have this awesome Clip It Up to store my “riches” on. I’m goin with #2.
I placed my Clip It Up on my floor, and placed my scissors on top as my “pointer” and gave ‘er a whirl (don’t spin too hard!). I know there are probably easier ways to randomly pick products from your Clip It Up, but I was going for the dramatic effect, plus it was fun and I love looking at my fully loaded Clip It Up from this angle!

After I spun three times, I ended up with these three packs of embellishments: some cork accents from Pink Paislee, some stickers from Sassafras, and some felt embellies from American Crafts. I challenged myself to use all three on a layout.

I was inspired by the bright colors of the felt pieces, so I had to do a page about Spring. I used some new papers from American Crafts “Hello Sunshine” line. The orange in the felt sun really picked up the orange of my daughter’s watering can, and the felt flower went along perfect for the theme.

I used some of the smaller stickers from the Sassafras sheet and layered them in clusters with the cork accents from Pink Paislee. The cloud stickers and the phrase sticker are from American Crafts.


I usually draw out a sketch in my notebook, then do my layout, and then convert the sketch to a digital image to share. So here is a sketch for you to jumpstart a layout! And I challenge you to use some of the things that you have on your Clip It Up when you create your page!

Thanks for humoring me and letting me share with you today! I am looking forward to using all my goodies on my Clip It Up and sharing my projects with you over the next couple of months!! And here is just a sneak of a project that I will be working on!

Audrey

Misty’s Spring Clip it Up

The day my Clip It Up Jumbo arrived, I FELL. IN. LOVE. WOW! It was amazing and could hold soooo much stuff! It was even bigger than I expected, which made me super happy! Love at FIRST SIGHT I tell ya! Perfection in a box! My only thought, was that black was not my color.

NOT A PROBLEM! I decided I would alter it!

When I got ready to alter My Clip It Up Jumbo, I first had to decide what “Feeling” I wanted to have for the overall decoration of my scrap room. I am in the very beginning stages of setting it up, and colors have not even been on my mind yet!

Well, I decided I wanted a calm, serene feeling for my own space. It is my get-away…my sanctuary of sorts…so I wanted it to feel relaxing. What relaxes me the most, is sitting out on my back porch in the middle of spring…listening to all the birds chirping, seeing all the new flowers blooming, and looking up into a clear blue sky…free of those “wintery” grey clouds. That was my starting point.

I immediately set to work.

I chose my Krylon spray paint…and painted the base a calming color of blue…to reflect the sky on a clear day. You will want to take the clips off and remove the top ring…this photo is of it all reassembled.

After spraying and allowing it to dry, I took it in to my scrap room and got to work. I decided to use a magnolia vine that I picked up at Hobby Lobby (for about $6) , a bird’s nest ($4), and a bird (2pk $4). Using my hot glue gun to secure the bottom of the vine and the nest in place .

Then, I just wrapped the vine up the post of the Clip_It_Up Jumbo, clipping of the end just below the tri-arm and securing with hot glue.  Do not attach the vine to the tri-arm.

Next, I removed my handle from the top, and did the same, placing the “Mama Bird” up top to look over her babies. I wanted to make sure that I could remove my handle, so that I can add my top tier when I get ready to.

Now, all that is left is to assemble and ORGANIZE! (My favorite part!)

I loved how my Clip it Up Jumbo turned out when I altered it to fit the colors/theme of my scrap room and it is soooooo easy to do! When you receive your Clip It Up Organizer, don’t be scared to alter it to fit your own personality or scrap room! You will fall in LOVE with it All OVER Again! I sure did!

~Misty

Our March 2011 Newsletter featured Misty’s Clip it Up as well as some other fun ideas.  Sign up to receive a copy of our monthly newsletter with great organizational ideas.

Welcome Audrey

We’re excited to introduce Audrey, a new member to our design team.  Make sure you check out her first post tomorrow.

I am a SAHM to 19 month old Charlotte.  Hubby Charlotte and I live near Houston, and we moved here about 3 ½ years ago from central New York State.  I love to do all kinds of crafts, spend time outside walking and going to the park, and cooking.  I love the color green, listen to hard rock, and LOVE chocolate covered pretzels!

I started scraping about 6 years ago when I was inspired to create an album of a fun Halloween party that we had. I was so in love with all the papers and do-dads for creating pages that it was easy to fall into this as a hobby. I have become a lot more serious (ok, OBSESSIVE) about my scrapping the past 3 or 4 years. I would define my style as contemporary; I love to work with new products and techniques.

Audrey

 http://audreysreflection.blogspot.com