*Today we are delighted to feature a great tutorial from our wonderful guest designer, Lisa Truesdell!

Sometimes, the journey is as much the story as the destination.  I had some photos from a walk that my family took to a local ice cream shop, and I really wanted to include them on a layout about the night.  I started playing around and came up with the idea of mapping out our walk.  Now, this map isn’t accurate by any means – the photos are out of order and we took a slightly more direct route. ;)  But it definitely conveys the idea that these were things we saw along the way.  This technique would be fun to use for a vacation overview, a favorite walking or running path that you frequent, or even for some of your most visited places in your town or neighborhood.  My path starts at a paper pieced house and ends at the page’s main photo, and has lots of bits and pieces to see along the way.

Here’s how to make your own map:

1.    Lightly draw out a grid on white cardstock.  I made my lines 2.5in apart, and started the grid 1 in from the edge of the cardstock.

2.    Stitch across all of the lines using white thread and erase your pencil lines.

3.    Sketch out your photo placement so that you can figure out what route your path should take.

4.    Mask off your path.  Masking tape was too wide for what I wanted, so I cut it in half.  I found that if I stuck it to the edge of my desk and ran my scissors along the edge, it was easy to get a quick, straight cut.

5.    Spray your mist over the page.  I started with green and then decided it wasn’t dark enough, so I switched to turquoise.

6.    Peel off the tape.

7.    Trim patterned paper to 2×2in and arrange in the grid.

8.    Make a house from a 1.5inx1.5in square and a scrap cut into a triangle.  Stamp the house with the home sweet home stamp.

9.    Add your photos (I printed my small ones at 2inx1.3in, the larger was 3×4.5in).
10.    Journal on strips of kraft cardstock and add to the empty squares.
11.    Use a border punch on some scraps of paper and add alongside the photos.
12.    Border punch 4 strips of paper and add to the edge of the page.

13.    Add ric rac and baker’s twine to some of the squares.  Tie baker’s twine through buttons and add to the trim.
14.    Add journaling block about the main photo.  Spell out “destination:” with stamps, and then add your title in chipboard.
15.    Stitch a border around the page, through the title and through each set of journaling strips.

THANK YOU LISA!!!!!!!

**& don’t forget our Christmas in June – A Color Gallery Challenge…if you would like to enter your project into the challenge, please be sure it is linked up to that challenge post by July 5th, 9pm PST**

happy wednesday!!!

xoxo

gi

today we have a fun sketch challenge provided by our sweet and amazing guest designer joleen.  simply use the sketch to create any layout, project, card or more. post your creation on your blog or in a gallery or our flickr group and then link it up here in the comments section {so we can see & chose a winner} and you can win the sold out all in a row kit from our may release.

projects must be linked here by june 7th at 9pm pacific. winner will be announced on wednesday june 10th. and our international friends are welcome to join in. :)

and make sure you check what the kenner road creative team did below, with joleen’s sketch, for some extra inspiration.

joleen

dina

gigi

jessi

kl

lisa

happy wednesday!

xo

oh. and the newest newsletter has gone out which includes a little introduction to our next guest designer. if you don’t receive it you can view it here. however, you can also sign-up here so you don’t miss out on any of our announcements, giveaways or kit sneak peeks.

xo

december’s main kit ‘dorothea’ excites me. the colors are stunning. the products are stunning. and, it is completely inspired by one of my all time favorite documentary photographers {who i fell in awe with when i was an art history major in college} and her dust bowl era pictures. if you don’t know who she is go see her work, the emotion you feel when you see her pictures is remarkable, even after all of these years.

and then there is our december guest designer, rachel denbow.

back in july, before i began kenner road, rachel had asked me to guest for her at rvkc and i was beyond flattered. she loves vintage and handmade as much as i do and everything she has created is a source of inspiration for me. after i decided to open kr i wrote her and explained my new venture and that i would still love to gd {if she would still love to have me :)} but only if she would join us here too, because i believe that you can run similar businesses in this industry and i love supporting others who have passions as strong as my own. so thanks rachel, i am SO happy you’re joining us this month!!

and finally … we’re having so much fun in the ‘joyeaux noel’ class. if you missed out on a kit there are still some left in our etsy shop, or you can simply purchase a class pass and use your own items.

xo

oh and ps : we’ve got a new permanent girl on the kr team. look for her reveal on friday!

i love this woman, seriously i do. becky has been a dear friend to me since the moment i met her online. she is honest. she is always sincere. she is true and open and beautiful. she is a grandmother to eight and a lover of all things vintage and worn. her style is timeless and it always makes me want to go get some paper and make something which makes me that much more excited to see what she creates with sugarville!

i have so many great memories of this last year that involve becky. one of my most favorite memories is sitting on her living-room floor scrapbooking at 2am when i was in omaha at silver bella last year with gigi, eating chex mix and laughing with becky and becca. her words on her blog have always inspired me and i am a better person because i have her for a friend.

i have always told her she is my mentor, and i feel it with every ounce of my heart.

thank you becks, i’m so excited to be working with you again! love ya!

xo