Saturday, March 10, 2012

Scrapbook Steals Blog Hop!- Basic Grey Buttons and Brads

BG: Buttons, Little Black Dress tuxedo,classy chic, & charisma
I am so excited to be a part of the very first  Scrapbooksteals.com blog hop featuring Basic Grey Buttons and Brads.  It is an incredible honor to be featured among so many amazing blogs, and by a company I adore. Thank you Scrapbook Steals, Basic Grey Buttons are one of my favorite scrapbooking basics, and the buttons in the    pack were perfect to embellish this winter photo of my hubby and I at the Pt. Defiance Zoo on Christmas Eve.  We were able to sneak this picture while the girls played away on the otter slides.  The buttons match the muted grey of a Pacific Northwest winter sky.  This layout makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, I need to grab a hot tea and a blanket to snuggle in front of the fire.
I think buttons offer just the right accent to a layout.  My youngest daughter, Bridget is the perfect mix of sweet and sassy.  She adores running around the house in her vampire teeth, and loves all things pink and flowers.  At daycare, the little kids are all into names, and when she said hers, the teacher misheard her middle name as "Evil".  I thought this picture really fit that story.  She is such a girly girl, so I wanted to include some frilly elements to contrast the chevron paper and her vampire grin.  The buttons added a strong graphic element to the layout that reflected the colors in the chevron and mimics the dots in the black and white paper.
I have to be honest and say that I have been scrapbooking since 2004, have a stash of buttons in my scrapbook supplies and have used all of maybe two brads in eight years.  After having to overcome my brad aversion for this blog hop, I wonder what I was thinking.  If you are a brad novice, it is super simple to use brads, and there is so much you can do.  On this layout, I wanted to highlight the frilly side of my girl, so I threaded the hot pink ribbon through the buttons. I also wanted to tie in the softer pinks, and the brads were a great way to emphasize the pink in this pretty layout.  I have adored pink and brown since my daughter was born,because her onsies were pink and brown.  The color combination always makes me think of her.

Brads are so versatile, I used them to emphasize the faux quilting on this card, and to hold together the layers of the handmade flower embellishment on this card.  Below, I used brads as a mixed media element on a card for those of you that may like to include doodling or hand-drawn elements onto cards.  After playing with Basic Grey Buttons and Brads for this blog hop with ScrapbookSteals.Com, I adore brads as much as I have adored Basic Grey's buttons.  I hope you enjoyed the projects I have shared with you.  Remember, if you leave a comment on the participating blogs, Scrapbook Steals is picking a random winner for a great prize!  To add to the celebration, I am sending out a prize slected randomly from my blog followers. My prize pack will include one pack of American Crafts This to That Square Foam Adhesives, Basic Grey Rub-Ons, and a pack of Sassafrass Paper Whimsies!  To enter, follow winningatfailing.blogspot.com.
I love making embellishments and buttons are the perfect accent to add to paper flowers.  What fun colors in these sets!  I can't wait to find a project for these beauties.
So keep hopping!
So far, you should have visited my friends at:
ScrapbookSteals: www.scrapbooksteals.com
Staci Jones: http://cheaperthantherapy.posterous.com/
Amber Sheaves: http://allamberallthetime.blogspot.com/
Cristine Redmond: http://onescrappynovice.blogspot.com/
You are here!-----------> Venetia Holbrook: http://winningatfailing.blogspot.com/
I cannot wait for you to go visit the extremely talented and amazing Charity and Van!

113 comments:

  1. the title on the buttons for the first layout is SHEER GENIUS!!!!

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    2. This mosaic thing is not letting me see the comment form. So I am commenting in a reply (sorry Charity!). I also love the title on the buttons in the first one and your quilted card is super awesome!!

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    3. Same here with the reply rather then comment?
      I love brads too they are so easy to use but can add the perfect touch to any project!!

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    4. Such fun layouts! i love how you used the buttons!

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  2. Your projects are all great!! What talent!!

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  3. Awesome projects. They are so inspiring! I am so going to start using my buttons and brads more.

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  4. Also...I loved the faux quilting, title on the buttons and raining hearts. Thanks you for your inspiration

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  5. Those cards are so cute and different. Love it!

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  6. I love your last layout, and how you used the brads as a decorative swirly thing- great idea! :)

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  7. Great LO's! I love how you put the ribbon through the buttons!

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  8. Love the raining hearts! Nice!

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  9. The raining hearts is perfect and I love the flowers those are great.

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  10. I never would have guessed you had an aversion to brads, because you used them beautifully!

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  11. Really nice use of brads and buttons! I like the faux quilting and the Heart cards. TFS :)

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  12. Love it all, but my favorite is that card! Very cute. Great job, Venetia!

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  13. You know I love each piece SOOOOOO much!!! Loved playing alongside you!

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  14. Great job Venetia! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  15. I love the wonderful variety of your projects.

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  16. What fabulous layouts and cards! I just love your style and you always do such fantastic work!

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  17. I have not seen your blog before - but I'm following you now, sistah! The projects and layouts you have created are A.Maz.ING

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  18. What wonderful ideas. What a cool way to make flowers out of hearts. I'll be back to check your ideas.

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  19. These are great! I love how you used the buttons on all the layouts, especially that large cluster on the first, and the button/flower embellishments are so pretty!

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  20. Those paper flowers are gorgeous!

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  21. Great layouts and cards!! I will definitely be taking some ideas from here for my next scrappy projects!!

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  22. Love your layouts and cards! I'm glad you've overcome your aversion to brads ;) - I love them on everything and am always glad when there's another brad lover out there :) And I liked your ideas so much that I now follow your blog!! Thanks!

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  23. Great projects and the stories crack me up! Love the "evil" one. :) I'm also dying to try the quilted card with brads layout. Love it!!

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  24. You are so freaking talented - it scares me a little - lol!! LOVE what you did with the ribbon and the tutu picture! I will def be stealing that idea!! Gracias!

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  25. Seriously? You never really used brads? I never would have known. I adore every single project! The card is absolutely beautiful!

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  26. Love what you did with the brads on the heart card!!

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  27. Love the wonderfully created cards best! Wonderful projects!

    Kathleen
    Blog: Creo by Lady Katutz at http://creobyladykatutz.blogspot.com/

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  28. you fill my heart with all of this wonderful eye candy. SO AWESOME!

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  29. I love the story on the vampire layout! You have such an eye for color Venetia. I love looking at your projects! So glad that you were a part of this hop!

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  30. Love all of the cards and the pretty in pink page, adorable!

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  31. Love your layout with the Little Black Dress. Everything was wonderful though. Thanks for sharing.

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  32. I love your layout with the ribbon and buttons. Too cute!!! Thanks for sharing.

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  33. Your flowers are amazing and I adore your cards!

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  34. Love your layouts and cards! Great use of both the buttons and the brads! I especially like the look of the ribbon threaded through the buttons!

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  35. You such have a unique and gorgeous style. I love it. The scored quilted card is just brilliant. And you can thread ribbon through buttons?!? Who knew! Love it!

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  36. Wow! What a fabulous group of projects. Love that "tufted" black card!

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  37. Love the buttons on the layouts - perfect! And that faux quilting is STUNNING!

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  38. LOVE your layouts!! my favourit was the ribbon through the buttons! never thought of that at all!

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  39. love your cards and am def a brad novice! thanks for the great ideas!

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  40. Oh I love the idea of the "brads trailing along". I never thought of that before. I also love the word "Love" layered on top of the buttons. Fab idea!

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  41. super pretty projects! I am similar to you... have tons of brads, hardly ever use them... now thanks to you, I have some more inspiration! Thanks!

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  42. Love the quilting in the card, and the beautiful flowers!

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  43. Really loved the way you used the large grouping of buttons in the first LO, and how you really utalized the brads as a design element in the third LO and the cards.

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  44. I love the "Pretty in Pink" layout! So cute!

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  45. What a plethora of ideas! I also forget to use my brads, thanks for sharing your inspiration.

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  46. The layout with your husband is really nice--not too girly.

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  47. I love your layouts! The one of you and hubby is FAB - love the colors and those buttons worked perfectly with your papers! Love how you used the brads to make the flourish on your 'pink' layout and those cards are just adorable! Thank you so much for the inspiration :-) x

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  48. That faux quilt is amazing. You need to do a How To'sday on that one!

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  49. I love how you used the brads in the heart card and the quilt card. I am sometimes at a loss for how to use them and these are some great ideas.

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  50. FANTASTIC layouts - your daughter is a hoot! :) And the "quilted" card is amazing!

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  51. never thought to put letters on the buttons, what a great idea! and i absolutely love your cards, the brads really make the quilted card stand out and love the rock candy look of the heart card. thanks for all the inspiration!

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  52. Fantastic projects! Love the faux quilting card and the layout with your husband is perfect!

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  53. Love the quilted card. After seeing all these ideas, I've decided I need more buttons :)

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  54. The card is cute--I like the paper you used for the flower.

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  55. I really like the layout of you and your hubby- the "Love" buttons are cute!

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  56. Wow! You have so much talent for one person! I hope you work with brads alot more from now on, because your ideas & projects you created with then are extraordinary!! Using brads for a flourish within a title = genius! (I think I'll be stealing that idea;) love it!) Great work!

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  57. new ideas for brads, thanks!

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  58. Very cute stuff! My favs are the buttons as "bullet points" on the LO and the brads to accent the embossed "tufts!" What great ideas! :) -- SharonDoesBaskets

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  59. You did those so well! I'm stealing these ideas

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  60. Lovely layouts. Love the flowers.

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  61. Thanks, for the ideas. I, really, loved your use of the brads as 'faux quilting' and then, again with the flower on that card. It tied things together, so nicely. I, also, appreciate a crafted who, like me, sometimes needs a boost to use a product(i.e. brads), only, to learn to fall in love(or at least, like) with them. Thanks, again~Kristin

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  62. Seriously love all of your projects. You didn't hold back.

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  63. I really love the quilted look card.

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  64. Love what you did with the buttons and brads and must admit that I, too, have brads that I haven't used...maybe I should really give them more of a chance ;)

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  65. Love, love, LOVE IT ALL! Amazing, Venetia!

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  66. Beautiful projects!!! Thanks for sharing!!

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  67. Wonderful layouts!!! I especially like the layered buttons inside your flowers! Great idea!

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  68. I like the way you threaded the ribbon through the buttons !

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  69. i love the ribbon through the buttons, it is all so cute!

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  70. I too loved the ribbon through the buttons!!! Amazing as usual!!!

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  71. Your layouts are wonderful Venetia! I love the heart card...that is a great idea!

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  72. I absolutely love your layouts, thank you for sharing! I love how you threaded the hot pink ribbon through the buttons, great idea! I am a new follower! Love your style.

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  73. Lovely projects.. thanks for sharing and for the inspiration.

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  74. Great projects. The cards are super cute, thanks for sharing!

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  75. I loved all of these...thanks!

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  76. I enjoyed seeing all of your ideas. Great inspiration!

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  77. Love every one of your creative projects...TFS!

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  78. fun colors! I love how these add so much dimension to the projects.

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  79. I LOVE what you did with the brads on your cards! So creative, unique and beautiful!

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  80. like the buttons on the first layout

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  81. I love the 'You fill my heart' card, so cute!!

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  82. I kind of have a brad and button phobia, but I think your layouts are helping me get over it...!

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  83. I love the ribbon through the buttons idea! Great job all around :)

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  84. Love the use of all those buttons on your first scrapbook page!

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  85. Great projects! I love the brads on the faux quilted card the best of all! TFS!

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  86. I love your comment "Winning at Failing" It is difficult at times for me to create outside "my box" without feeling like a failure. I especially liked the muted colored buttons selection in the layout with you and your husband and then sneaking the love buttons in the middle. Perfect for the picture. Every failure is a win....thanks for that!

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  87. Your layouts are beautiful and so adorable. Great way of using buttons. I love them.

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  88. I love how you incorporated the buttons!

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  89. I love a hop. Thanks for being a part.

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  90. Love how you stacked the buttons on the flowers. Very creative.

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  91. Love the layout at the top with the banners and cluster of buttons! Might just have to "borrow" this layout :) :)

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  92. I love the faux quilting and the layouts with yoru daughter!

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  93. So impressed! I really especially love the faux quilting technique :) Very excited to try it!

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  94. WOW! Love the brads on the cards!

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  95. Awesome projects !! I love the card with all the brads, too cool. TFS !!

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