Guest Designer: Laura Vegas and a GIVEAWAY!

Hi everyone! I am so excited to introduce you to this week's Guest Designer Laura Vegas.  Let's get to know Laura a little better ...

 Describe yourself in 3 words ... sarcastic, procrastinator, multi-tasker.

My guilty pleasure is ... Starbucks Java Chip Frappacino, which is a must have every day.

You'll never find me without ... my IPod Touch. I love to use it to quickly check on emails, and I'm very addicted to Words With Friends.

You might be surprised to know that I ... have been changing diapers for almost 16 years straight, even though my daughters are almost 13 and 16 years old. I started doing daycare in my home when my youngest was only 2 years old, and have always had babies and toddlers here. I've never had a gap in time when I wasn't changing diapers, and I don't see one in sight.

My least favorite chore is ... cleaning the kitchen. I avoid cleaning the stove, microwave, sink, etc, unless I absolutely have too.

I started scrapbooking in ... 1995. Does that date me? ;) I started shortly before my first daughter was born, and I never looked back.

My favorite thing about this hobby is ... playing with fun products and making pretty projects. Scrapbooking is very much a creative release for me, and I enjoy the entire process.

If I were a Pebbles product, I would be ... the pink glitter alpha stickers from the Hip Hip Hooray collection. I love having just a little bit of sparkle in life, and these do just that on my projects!

"I knew this happy and fun birthday collection would be perfect to finally get my youngest daughter's 11th birthday party photos scrapped. We have lots of swimming birthday parties, and it's not always easy to find birthday themed products that work with pool photos. I love the little banner stickers, and wanted to carry the same banner idea into my title. I used my Silhouette machine, to cut a banner shaped "Birthday" from the Woo Hoo patterned paper, and then used the Pink Glitter alpha stickers to add on the "Happy" to complete the title."

Pebbles supplies used:
Hip Hip Hooray Party Time
Hip Hip Hooray Woo Hoo
Hip Hip Hooray Pink Glitter ABC Stickers
Hip Hip Hooray Glitter Flag Banners
Hip Hip Hooray Pinwheels
Hip Hip Hooray Twist Ties
Hip Hip Hooray Candy Dots Circle Sequins
Country Picnic Blush Mini ABC Stickers

"I am always in need of birthday cards, and yet they are the one kind of card that I never seem to have on hand. While I had my supplies out from working on the layout, I decided to use up a lot of my scraps to make a set of birthday cards. For the smaller strips of pattern paper along the bottom of the cards, I used the UPC strips from different patterned papers. I love that a piece that you might normally cut off and throw away, can be put to good use just by flipping it around and using the design on the backside."

Pebbles supplies used:
Hip Hip Hooray Party Time
Hip Hip Hooray Woo Hoo
Hip Hip Hooray Good Times
Hip Hip Hooray Celebration
Hip Hip Hooray Pink Glitter ABC Stickers
Hip Hip Hooray Glitter Flag Banners
Hip Hip Hooray Stitched Dimensional Circles
Hip Hip Hooray Dimensional Flowers
Hip Hip Hooray Candy Dots Square Sequins

"I love the fresh and clean colors of the Country Picnic collection, and right away, I thought about these photos I had taken of my friends daughter. I love to layer my pattern paper, to create "frames" around my layout. While it look like I used 3 full sheets of pattern paper for this layout, I actually cut out the insides of both the green embossed dot paper and the white hearts paper, so that I only used what would show when I layered them together. Now I have the insides of both paper left over, to use on other projects. I love the Masking Tape stickers, and layered a few together along the sides of my photos, adding some staples to each one."

Pebbles supplies used:
Country Picnic Greenhouse
Country Picnic Back Porch
Country Picnic Meadow
Country Picnic Cobblestone Kraft
Country Picnic Spinach Corrugated ABC Stickers
Country Picnic Blush Mini ABC Stickers
Country Picnic Dimensional Flowers
Country Picnic Embossed Masking Tape Stickers

"When I saw the Layered Kraft Tags, I knew they would be perfect for some quick cards. The layering is so detailed, and makes it appear that you put a lot of time and effort into making the tag. I love products that do all the hard work for you! I started with my white card base, and added a strip of patter paper along the bottom of each card, and a punched strip of cardstock along the sides. Then I simply adhered a tag to each card, adding a few Masking Tape stickers to the side of the tags, and using a mini staple to hold down the tag strings."

Pebbles supplies used:
Country Picnic Secret Garden
Country Picnic Meadow
Country Picnic Layered Kraft Tags
Country Picnic Embossed Masking Tape Stickers

WOW!  Thank you so much Laura for creating so many amazing projects with Pebbles!  And now for a GIVEAWAY!  To enter simply leave a comment on this blog post telling us which of Laura's projects was your favorite.  One lucky winner will be chosen at random to win a prize pack full of Pebbles goodies.  Submit your comments by Monday at midnight (EST).  I'll announce the winner Tuesday morning. Good luck!

Sketchy Thursday

For today's edition of "Sketchy Thursday" we asked some of our design team members to create a project based on this fabulous sketch by Becky Fleck.

"This sketch was perfect for showcasing this photo of my brand new nephew John (who we call Jack).  I kept the design very similar except I replaced the tickets with a large 'J' cut with my Silhouette for my title.  I have been waiting to use this calendar paper from the New Addition collection and celebrating Jack's arrival was the perfect occasion!"  - Lynn Ghahary, Pebbles Design Team Member

Pebbles supplies used:
New Addition Calendar (751151)
New Addition It's A Boy (751152)
New Addition Little Prince (751161)
New Addition Special Delivery (751066)
New Addition Dimensional Phrases & Icons Stickers (732065)
New Addition Dimensional Border Stickers (732066)
New Addition Chips (744116)

"I love using sketches as starting points for my layouts and this was no exception.  I definitely changed it to meet my needs, but the bare bones are based on the sketch.  I used two photos instead of one and used tags instead of ticket embellishments.  I layered several papers on the top, and added more journaling at the bottom.  That’s why I love sketches … once you get started, you always “make it your own,” so even if you used the same sketch 10 times, each layout would look different!  (Also, I am loving this new Country Picnic collection – I can’t stop using it!!)"  - Wendy Sue Anderson, Pebbles Design Team Member

Pebbles supplies used:
Country Picnic Courtyard (751242)
Country Picnic Picket Fence (751241)
Country Picnic Orchard (751249)
Country Picnic Terrace (751246)
Country Picnic Meadow (751243)
Country Picnic Gift Tags (747173)
Country Picnic Masking Tape Stickers (732100)
Country Picnic Layered Paper Flowers (747172)
Country Picnic Mini ABC Stickers (732099)
Country Picnic ABC Stickers (732094)
Country Picnic ABC Stickers (732097)

"I love to work with sketches because I feel like half of the work is already done. For this layout I changed the tickets for little hearts that I sewed to the page. I love the bright green and pink combination that you can get mixing the Hip Hip Hooray and the Country Picnic lines."  - Eva Pizarro, Pebbles Design Team Member

Pebbles Supplies used:
Country Picnic Courtyard (751242)
Country Picnic Patio (751245)
Country Picnic Back Porch (751248)
Country Picnic Dimensional Stickers (732101)
Country Picnic ABC Stickers (732094)
Hip Hip Hooray Let's Party  (751227)
Hip Hip Hooray Good Times (751228)
Hip Hip Hooray Surprise (751235)
Hip Hip Hooray Dimensional Flowers (747165)
With Love I Heart You (751203)

Dear Pebbles

Good morning everyone!  Today we are featuring cards created by some of our design team members using their favorite Pebbles products.

"I love how the bright, sunny colors of the Hip Hip Hooray line contrast against white. It inspired me to make these clean, graphic cards with a focus on the playful patterns. You can't help but make cheerful, happy cards with this fun line!"  - Valerie Mangan, Pebbles Design Team Member


Pebbles supplies used:
Hip Hip Hooray Cheers (751229)
Hip Hip Hooray Let's Party (751227)
Hip Hip Hooray Surprise (751235)
Hip Hip Hooray Good Times (751228)
Hip Hip Hooray Happy Day (751232)
Country Picnic Masking Tape Stickers (732100)
Lollipop Button Candy Dots (74113)
Yellow Button Candy Dots

"I just adore how easy it is to whip up a batch of cards with the Hip Hip Hooray collection. Our family has tons of April birthdays, so it feels awesome to stock the stash a little bit. All three of my cards start with the same basic white card base – just adding different patterned paper strips and embellishments make each card look different and unique. I think the name of one of our papers says it all 'Woo Hoo'!"  - Kim Kesti, Pebbles Design Team Member

Pebbles supplies used:
Hip Hip Hooray Happy Day (751232)
Hip Hip Hooray Celebration (751231)
Hip Hip Hooray Woo Hoo (751236)
Hip Hip Hooray Pinwheel Flags (747168)
Hip Hip Hooray Dimensional Flowers (747165)
Hip Hip Hooray Dimensional Circles (744290)
Hip Hip Hooray Clear Stamps (747170)
Hip Hip Hooray Mini Clothespins (744287)
Hip Hip Hooray Sequin Candy Dots (744285)
Hip Hip Hooray Stickers (732091)
Hip Hip Hooray Banner Kit (747163)

How To Tuesday

"I love making use of paper scraps and creating my own custom embellishments.  Here's a fun way that utilizes what we already have to create something new.  Using a paper border punch or chain punch, you can quickly transform paper into what I call a paper collar embellishment - a base for which you can add ready made dimensional embellies on top of it or a layered base to add a floral embellishment.  So many possibilities once you get started!"  - Pearl Liu, Pebbles Design Team Member

To start, using a lace border punch design of your choice, punch out a strip of paper chain/border with at least 4-6 segments.

Cut your paper chain into 4 whole segments.  I trim my  border strip to a width of about 1/2" when using a border design. 

Glue the first 3 segments as shown here, at right angles to each other.  I used my tape runner for adhesive but liquid glue is also fine.

Here's how it looks with 4 pieces all adhered. 

Add your embellishment of choice on top of your paper collar for a fun new layered look.  Pebbles papers are two sided so you have the happy option of choosing one of 2 colors to match your project.

Experiment with different border punch designs to get more out of your Pebbles' paper scraps and border punches!  And here are my quickly altered wooden clothes pegs that I've made with my new embellies.

Pebbles supplies used:
Country Picnic Meadow ( 751243)
Floral Lane My Darling ( 751126)
Hip Hip Hooray Dimensional Circles (744290)
Country Picnic Layered Paper Flowers ( 747172)
Floral Lane Dimensional Sticker Flower ( 732056)

Mix & Match Monday

It's Monday again, which means we'll be mixing and matching some Pebbles products to show you just how well our collections can be used with one another.

"With bits from various collections, I was able to expand on the Hip Hip Hooray collection. I seem to always be in the search of Birthday cards, so I took this opportunity to create a trio of cards to keep on hand. I had a couple of sheets left from With Love, and Country Picnic that I chose to use as the background for a couple of the cards. I pulled in embellishments from Fresh Goods, and With Love collection, too. Love how easy these came together!Pebbles continues to create products that blend well together nicely, making the design process fun, and super simple!"  - Suzanne Sergi, Pebbles Design Team Member


Pebbles supplies used:
Country Picnic Back Porch (751248)
With Love XOXO (751210)
With Love Gift tags (747160)
Fresh Goods Toothpick Flags (747153)
Hip Hip Hooray Party Time (751225)
Hip Hip Hooray Celebration (751231)
Hip Hip Hooray Surprise (751235)
Hip Hip Hooray Woo Hoo (751236)
Hip Hip Hooray Confetti (751233)
Hip Hip Hooray Stitched Dimensional Circles (744290)
Hip Hip Hooray Pinwheels (747168)
Hip Hip Hooray Flag Banner Kit (747163)

"I created these two quick and easy cards for an excuse to drop a line to some girlfriends I haven't spoken to in a while. By using papers with a similar feel (in both pattern and color tone) I was able to use three different Pebbles lines for one cohesive design, and the kraft elements help to tie it all together. I slightly changed the colors in the second card just for some variation."  - Ashley Stephens, Pebbles Design Team Member

Pebbles supplies used:
Fresh Goods Front Desk (751187)
Fresh Goods Mom & Pop (751194)
Country Picnic Courtyard (751242)
Country Picnic Stamps (747171)
Hip Hip Hooray Confetti (751233)
Hip Hip Hooray Surprise (751235)
Hip Hip Hooray Stitched Dimensional Circles (744290)

More Favorite Things Projects with Anna and Steph

"I love my collection of patterned papers and I don't like wasting those pretty things. When I am finished with a layout I usually store all my left over paper pieces in a drawer and use them to create more layouts or cards. And one of my current fave pattern paper uses it to cut them into strips and make banner-cards and when you ad those cute dimensional stickers from Pebbles to the mix it is easy to stock up on those everyday cards."  - Anna Sigga, Pebbles Design Team Member

Pebbles supplies used:
Fresh Goods Come Again (751191)
Fresh Goods Flower Basket (751183)
Fresh Goods Front Desk (751187)
Fresh Goods Daily Special (751185)
With Love Sweetheart (751204)
Floral Lane A Little Hello (751118)
With Love Masking Tape Stickers (732086)
Fresh Goods Dimensional Phrase Stickers (751183)
Floral Lane Dimensional Phrase Stickers (732054)

“Over Easter I made two batches of one of my favourite snacks, Rocky Road (naughty, naughty!) using some of my all time favourite ingredients: chocolate, marshmallows, maltesers and digestive biscuits. I wanted to document this on a layout using some of my favourite Pebbles products: the Hip Hip Hooray Dimensional Flowers and Circles and the Country Picnic Gift Tags and ABC Stickers. It’s a great way to get a lot of favourites on one page!”  - Steph Baxter, Pebbles Design Team Member

Pebbles supplies used:
Country Picnic Meadow (751243)
Country Picnic Back Porch (751248)
Country Picnic ABC Stickers (732094)
Country Picnic Mini ABC Stickers (732099)
Country Picnic Gift Tags (747173)
Hip Hip Hooray Dimensional Flowers (747165)
Hip Hip Hooray Dimensional Circles (744290)
Hip Hip Hooray Decorative Twist Ties (747169)

More Favorite Things Projects with Mandie and Sarah

"I tell each of my kids that they are my favorite.  I tell my daughter she is my favorite daughter.  I tell my boys that they are my favorite 7 and 5 year olds.  My daughter has caught on and usually responds with, 'I'm your only daughter!'  Oh well.  The boys still love it.  To make this layout, I used my Silhouette and sketch pens.  I simply 'sketched' the design onto the cardstock and then cut it out from a few sheets of paper.  Inked and glued.  A very easy layout!"  - Mandie Pierce, Pebbles Design Team Member

Pebbles supplies used:
Hip Hip Hooray Yipee (751230)
Hip Hip Hooray Happy Day (751232)
Hip Hip Hooray Woo Hoo (751236)
Hip Hip Hooray Dimensional Circles (744290)
Hip Hip Hooray Sequin Candy Dots (744286)

"My favourite embellishment from all the Pebbles lines are the Button Candy dots. They are perfect for a touch of colour, to add a little dimension, or as that final detail for any project. I decided that I really wanted to create something that would feature these buttons. I originally started out trying to build a star, but that just didn't work. ;) After more time than I care to admit, I found my way to a heart. The stitching was added to better define my shape and of course a little flag to finish it off."  - Sarah Webb, Pebbles Design Team Member

Pebbles supplies used:
Fresh Goods Front Desk (751187)
Button Candy Dots Pink (747114)
Button Candy Dots New Addition Girl -light pink (747125)
Button Candy Dots New Fresh Goods (744276)
Button Candy Dots New Addition Boy (747137)
Button Candy Dots Lagoon (744274)
With Love Clear Stamp (747162)

More Favorite Things Projects with Laura and Mel

"I loved this weeks theme and thought I'd incorporate it in two ways.  First is a page where I list some of my son's current favorites, and secondly I decided to use polka dots and banners - two of my favorite things in scrapbooking!  I then made a matching card since I had all my supplies and a design ready to go."  - Laura Craigie, Pebbles Design Team Member

Pebbles supplies used:
Hip Hip Hooray Party Time (751225)
Hip Hip Hooray Surprise (751235)
Hip Hip Hooray Dimensional Circles (744290)
Hip Hip Hooray ABC Stickers (732090)
Hip Hip Hooray Flag Banner Kit (747163)
Country Picnic Mini ABC Stickers (732099)
New Addition Girl Button Candy Dots (747126)

"For this week’s challenge I decided to feature my favorite technique, stitching on a layout! I can not complete a layout without adding a bit or a lot of sewing. For this particular project I went all out, I stitched around the larger pattern paper, the ampersand and the tag, only to name a few. Since I was adding so much stitching to my layout I decided to use a neutral color, this doesn’t overpower the paper and embellishments, it just compliments them. If you do not have a sewing machine, you can easily add hand stitching to your layout using DMC floss.  One funny fact, I rarely use my sewing machine for clothing, only for scrapbooking projects! ;) Happy stitching!!!"  - Mel Blackburn, Pebbles Design Team Member

Pebbles supplies used:
Country Picnic Terrace (751246)
Country Picnic Meadow (751243)
Country Picnic Secret Garden (751240)
Country Picnic Courtyard (751242)
Country Picnic Vineyard (751250)
Country Picnic Gift Tags (747173)
Country Picnic Dimensional Stickers (732101)
Country Picnic Masking Tape Stickers (732100)
Jewel Candy Dots (747103)

More Favorite Things Projects with Jill and Kim

First things first, I have a winner to announce from last week's "Guest Designer" giveaway. Thank you all so much for your comments. And the lucky winner is ...

Congratulations! Please email your full name and mailing information (including your phone number for shipping purposes) to pebblesincdt(at)gmail(dot)com and put "Guest Designer Winner" in the subject line.

"I was so excited to capture a moment in time of my daughters with their best buddies. The funny thing about these photos is that they clearly capture their personalities. One has just a few close friends and the other has many, many dolls and animals with a couple that are well loved above the rest. I combined several Pebbles collections - Fresh Goods, With Love, Country Picnic and Hip Hip Hooray - for an eclectic, pieced together, simple project."  - Jill Cornell, Pebbles Design Team Member

Pebbles supplies used:
Fresh Goods Local Market (751190)
Fresh Goods Window Display (751189)
Fresh Goods Simple Joys (751188)
Fresh Goods Dimensional Border Stickers (732077)
Fresh Goods Toothpick Flags (747153)
Fresh Goods Chipboard Buttons (747152)
With Love Toothpick Flags (747159)
With Love Mini ABC Stickers (732087)
Country Picnic Corrugated Natural ABC Stickers (732093)
Hip Hip Hooray Cheers (751229)
Hip Hip Hooray Happy Day (751232)
Hip Hip Hooray Multi ABC Stickers (732090)

“My latest Pebbles project combines quite a few of my favorite things: the classic grid design layout, machine stitching and of course, cute photos of my youngest daughter. Thanks for letting me share!” - Kim Kesti, Pebbles Design Team Member

Pebbles supplies used:
Country Picnic Orchard (751249)
Country Picnic Secret Garden (751240)
Country Picnic Gift Tags (747173)
Country Picnic Mini ABC Stickers (732099)
Country Picnic Dimensional Stickers (732101)
Country Picnic Masking Tape Stickers (732100)
Country Picnic ABC Stickers (732095)

Theme: My Favorite Things

This week's theme is "My Favorite Things."  I've asked some of our Pebbles design team members to create projects either focusing on some of their favorite things (e.g., a favorite photo, subject, etc) or using some of their favorite things (e.g., a product, technique, etc).

"I created this quick and easy layout with a little twist on banners. I cut a traditional banner shape out of several pieces of Hip Hip Hooray papers and then arranged them horizontally, with the negative shape next to them. It's a fun way to incorporate a lot of different patterned papers but with a bit of organization. I added my list of "favorites" directly on top of the strips and punctuated each with a sequin candy dot as sort of a bullet point. You can tell by my list of favorites that I'm an easy gal to please!"  - Ashley Stephens, Pebbles Design Team Member

Pebbles supplies used:
Hip Hip Hooray Party Time (751225)
Hip Hip Hooray You're Invited (751226)
Hip Hip Hooray Let's Party (751227)
Hip Hip Hooray Good Times (751228)
Hip Hip Hooray Cheers (751229)
Hip Hip Hooray Yippie (751230)
Hip Hip Hooray Confetti (751233)
Hip Hip Hooray Pink ABC Stickers - Glitter (732089)
Hip Hip Hooray Flag Banner Kit (747163)
Hip Hip Hooray Dimensional Flowers (747165)
Hip Hip Hooray Pinwheels (747168)
Hip Hip Hooray Circle Sequin Candy Dots (744285)
Country Picnic Mini ABC Stickers (732099)

"The Hip Hip Hooray collection has such fun colors in each paper. The one’s that spoke the most to me were the cute polka dots. I love polka dots! I knew I wanted to make circles on my page using the polka dots as inspiration. Since this week was all about our favorites I coupled my love of polka dots, circles with my family! This photo is my absolute favorite that we took recently. It pretty much sums up who we are together as a family full of life, full of fun! I love all 3 of these things!" - Elizabeth Carney, Pebbles Design Team Member

Pebbles supplies used:
Hip Hip Hooray You're Invited (751226)
Hip Hip Hooray (751331)
Hip Hip Hooray Party Time (751225)
Hip Hip Hooray Embossed Stickers (732091)
Hip Hip Hooray Dimensional Flowers (747165)
Hip Hip Hooray Dimensional Circles (744290)
 Hip Hip Hooray Sequin Candy Dots (744285)
Hip Hip Hooray Twist Tags (747169)