2 Days in a Row (Playing Catch Up)

Okay, since I was having trouble with my blog for a few weeks there, I am now ahead on projects and behind on blogging.  I did this next layout for the Blue Fern Studios Sketch Challenge.  You can view the sketch here.  (Sorry, still having trouble linking some pictures.)  I found this awesome photo while tooling around facebook one day.  This is a picture of my lovely friend Denise's step daughter.  As soon as I saw the picture, I downloaded and tucked it away for a rainy day.  Enter the Scraps of Darkness November kit: "Serenade".  I loved the mix of paper, elements, and colors in this kit.  For this layout I used some BFS paper, Bo Bunny Paper, and the BFS chipboard word "adore".

Here is the finished product:

 

I started with some of the Blue Fern Studios paper included in the kit for the background, then layered a mixture of Blue Fern and Bo Bunny paper.  I also used some of the Bo Bunny Noteworthy elements (Rose Cafe) that came with the kit.  My favorite part about this photo (outside of the sheer beauty of the main subject) was the colors and the natural earthy feel of the photo.  The papers from BFS (Sanctuary Collection, I believe) really gave me the same vibe.  This is also the VERY FIRST time I have done a layout using the same photo twice.  Pure accident this time as the original printout came landscape and wanted  a portrait printout.  No harm, no foul though because I really enjoyed using the same picture twice.

 

Below you can see some of my flower cluster and layering including a paper doily and some ribbon (included in the kit).  The yellow roses came with the kit, but the yellow fabric flower and the blue roses came from that magical flower drawer hoard that I speak of frequently. 

 

Also in the picture above you can see some of the random glittering and inking that I did.

 

To alter the chipboard piece, I covered it in gesso then hosed it down with Heidi Swapp Color Shine Mist in Navy.  I didn't like the finished look of it (and knew I was also going to use glitter) so I toned the Color Shine down with a little navy acrylic paint as well.  Some Distress Glitter in Scattered Straw later and I was very satisfied with the chipboard's final look. 

 

Below you can see some of the great layers.  I actually inked the entire "news print" layer with Tim Holtz Distress ink in Vintage Photo so that the layer would be a little more muted and blend into the background better.  You can also see one of my random sequins in the photo!  :)

 

I had an absolute blast working on this layout.  Very rarely am I satisfied with a layout after completing it.  Normally, I set my LOs to the side and wait a few days until I'm positive they aren't "missing" anything.  However, with this one, I was satisfied as soon as the glue was dry (okay, while the glue was still wet) and packaged it up to give to Denise right away! 

 

Thanks for looking! 

 

xoxo,

Mel

Finally Catching a Break

This past weekend I finally had a chance to settle in with my Scraps of Darkness and Scraps of Elegance December and January kits.  I was so excited before I left work Friday about getting home to work with these kits.  My awesome friend, Kara, had asked me what the colors in the kits were like, so I showed her via the above linked blog.  She then sent me a picture of the two of us that fit right in!  I have so far edited one to be more "cool" and the other "warm.  Here is what happened with the "cool" one and the SOD December Kit "Northern Lights":

 

I remembered the amazing swirl stencil that came with the October SOD kit...and given the inspiration board that the wonderfully talented ladies at SOD came up with I was inspired to do some "swirling" with this layout.  I laid the stencil (check this link out and click on the "mosaic swirl" stencil) down on my page and went to town with modeling paste.   While I waited for the paste to dry, I started mixing various colors of paint.  My original plan was going to include some gelatos color in this swirls, but ended up just using paint.  (You can see some of the gelatos "mess" to the far left side of the swirls).  I went with several shades of purple and blue with my paint so that I could slowly "swirl" them all in together.  Prior to receiving the kit from SOD, I already had a 6 x 6 paper pack that matched several of the papers included, so I picked out a couple of 6 x 6 papers that matched the background paper and my picture, distressed them, and inked the edges with some blue, purple, and grey ink.  I love getting to ink the edges of my papers with what I consider "different" hues since I'm usually inking to get a vintage look!  :)  Here is a close up of the edges of the papers:

 

 

Once the modeling paste had dried, I started painting my mosaic swirls in randomly.  I kept the colors in the same family so that there were no issues with mixing and matching as I went.  When I was done I used the rest of my mixed paint, along with some regular white paint, and splattered them across my background paper, and the smaller squares of paper from my 6 x 6 pack.  (*Disclaimer:  Safety first...I totally splattered paint right into my eye...*)  After I finished splattering with my paint, I took the stencil from the kit along with the awesome textured "snow" paste and made a few snowflakes on my background paper.  This is a little wishful thinking because even though the day Kara and I took this picture was super cold, we have had only a few (1 1/2) "dustings" of white stuff that we are pretty sure was snow, but couldn't verify before it disappeared here in Arkansas this year!  :(

 

 

For finishing touches, I applied some flowers from the kit, a few from my stash (including the sparkly blue butterfly up top), some ribbon (also from the kit), and the "smile" lettering at the bottom of the page.  A few random buttons and color coordinated brads later and I was completely done!  

Thanks for looking!  My apologies for this blog post taking so long to get here.  I'm having issues with uploading pictures directly to my work computer so I'm bouncing back and forth between my phone, my iPad, and my computer.  I'm sure I'll get things worked out fairly quickly!!  Till next time, friends!

Love,
Mel

Merry Christmas Eve!

A few weeks ago I was asked to make a hollow book for my friend to give his girlfriend for Christmas.  In my haste to deliver the product to him I forgot to take pictures, but it turns out the pictures Lisa took are even better!  She currently has the box sitting on a beautiful cedar chest in her home.  I made this project using the Scraps of Darkness/Scraps of Elegance inspiration board.  You can view their blog here. 

Once again, I loved the collaboration of items in the SOD/SOE kits and made two hollow books back to back mixing and matching from the two current kits:  "Ever-True" and "Serenade".

 

I started by layering Tim Holtz vellum paper and Tim Holtz tissue paper around the book.  Then I began layering papers and embellishments from the kits.  I was able to use some flowers from a previous SOD kit and used quite a few embellishments from the Prima Engraver collection.  

 

Although I covered it most of the navy paper up, you can see some of it on the picture above.  This dark blue colors in the birdcage/clock picture from the December Scraps of Darkness/Elegance Inspiration Board were my catalyst for this project.  Also, take note of the clock piece as part of my inspiration.  I also used quite a few stickers from a Tim Holtz pack that I had been hoarding for awhile, as well as some leftovers from an ephemera pack.

 



I used a vintage frame and cut some of the paper included in the kit with a rose on it to frame.  I used crackle glaze over the rose in the frame to create a more aged look.   Lots of flowers and butterflies later, you have the finished product!

Super sorry for the short post, but it IS almost Christmas and I still have a few gifts to pick up and wrap!  :)  Much love, and Merry Christmas to all!

Love,
Mel

This is what happens when you have "too much stuff"...

So...several years ago during a reorganization of the my craft space, I hung a bulletin board over my work table to use for hanging pictures, embellishments, inspiration, etc.  I even bought funky and pretty push pins to hang these items up with.  Around the same time my beautiful friend Rae's son was about to get married.  She brought over some water margaritas and some digital pictures from the wedding/engagement photo shoot.  Somehow we managed to print these gorgeous pictures out using matte photo paper as opposed to glossy.  I didn't really want to do much with the matte photos at the time so I hung them on the bulletin board...

Fast forward a few years...The bulletin board is now slightly less accessible due to some more recent reorganization of the craft space.  However, when I got stuck last week I decided to "clear off" the bulletin board and came across the matte pictures.  Using the Blue Fern Studios December sketch and the Scraps of Darkness and Scraps of Elegance kits "Serenade" kit I was able to create this layout:

 

 

I loved the beautiful papers included in this kit.  Between the romantic feeling of the picture and the wonderful elements of flowers in the papers I was overwhelmed with the possibilities.  After trimming the green paper down for one of my layers, I fussy cut some of the yellow roses from the leftover trimmings.  I took those flowers and put them in random places around my layout.  

 

Below you can see the BFS sketch that inspired this.  I turned the rotated the sketch to the side and made my focal point slightly more off centered to the left.

 

Below you can see some of the chipboard work.  As I was covering the chipboard in gesso the bottom part (butterfly) was a little loose, so I tore it off to make two separate pieces of chipboard.  I coated both pieces in gesso and used some pain included in the SOD creativity kit to color most of the chipboard with a rust-bronze color.  I then used some Tim Holtz Distress Embossing powder and Distress Glitter in Vintage Photo and Antique Linen.  The sequins included in this kit were a nice touch in keeping with the bronze color scheme I was going for. 

 

For the other piece of the chipboard I decided to lighten things up a bit with some pink colored inks and distressing powder (again, Tim Holtz).  The finishing touches were some pearl accents and a little gold glitter.

 

Finally, here is a closeup of some of the flowers (and sequins) used in this layout.  I loved the overall soft feel that this layout has even though it uses more "rough" colors than "soft" colors.  

 I loved everything about this kit, and this is one of my all time favorite layouts.  I cannot wait to surprise Rae with it!  Cheers to cleaning your craft space and finding something old to make something new with!!!  Thanks for looking!

Love,
Mel

I'm BACK! :)

So...I took a three week hiatus from blogging.  While you were missing me I worked my tail off at work, worked my tail off at Crossfit (literally), and cooked up a mighty tasty Thanksgiving dinner!  :)  However, I missed out on getting to share some of my new pretties and after three weeks...

First up I made this awesome wreath/wall hanging/festive display:

 

For this project I used a Walnut Hollow Paneled Wood Clock surface.  For all those who think I have "too many" supplies, understand that almost nothing on this project came from my stash of hoarded supplies.  :(   I used some great papers from the Bo Bunny Gold and Silver collection to make the background, then used some great bling-y pieces to brighten and glitter the rest of the project up.  I guess if we are being technical...the glitter for the letters was NOT purchased for this project and had been sitting around in a drawer for quite some time!

 

 

 

My next project was a quick canvas project.  I've had this stencil for a long time and I absolutely love it!  I covered the canvas in some black gesso and used molding past with the stencil to create the letters.  I love the thought process behind all of these words (part of the reason it is one of my favorite stencils).  

 

I had some more fun with chipboard for this project!  A little painting, a little embossing, and a lot of blinging led to the finished project for the sweet butterfly.  This piece of "art" now hangs in my dear friend Dale's house!  



 

So there you have it!  Been working super hard through the holidays with only a little time to scrap.  I can say, however, that I am almost caught up with my 2014 journal...it is December and I am caught up to the second week in November (yay, me!). 

 

Stay tuned for more projects!  I've got some great things in progress right now!  Thanks for looking and have a great day!

 

Love,
mel

Using Scraps of Elegance...ON ME?!?!?!

So when I first began subscribing to the Scraps of Elegance and Scraps of Darkness kits, I was pretty sure that all of the Scraps of Elegance kits would be used to make projects for other people.  After all, as much as I love getting dressed up, let's face it...between the Army and my desire to be as comfortable as possible when I'm not in uniform my elegant clothes stay hanging pretty in the closet 90% of the time.  Nonetheless, last week we had our weekly night out with the "crew" and despite the fact that I was in my workout clothes (Razorback sweatshirt and running leggings, complete with SoxBox socks) I absolutely loved one of the pictures that my friend took of me and another girlfriend.  After dinner we were watching some t.v. and working on editing the photo since some of our other "friends" put bunny ears and a finger in the background.  The result we loved best was when turned the photo black and white and got rid of the extra hands and fingers.  All the way home Friday I was thinking about the "Sweet Sentiments" kit from SOE...and this is what happened:

 

I had to have a little bit of help from a previous SOE kit for the background piece but as I started cutting, pasting, and what-not elsing I couldn't stop!  I had an absolute blast putting this together!  For part of the background I decided to experiment with the background using a tutorial from Stéphanie Papin.  Stephanie is an extremely talented artist and I was so excited to view the tutorial and try the technique!  Check out her blog for the awesome tutorial.  After figuring out how I wanted my background to look I began to "fill in the pieces" to the puzzle!  I used a square punch to make the photo much smaller than I normally would work with.  I then used a scrap piece of paper that I had distressed for another project use as the first layer under the photo.  The colors were a little too bright for the overall look of the layout, so I used some iridescent medium to soften the color.  In hindsight, I should have grabbed the matte medium bottle, but I was still fairly happy with the overall look.  Some of the paper even crackled a little bit when I touched it before it was dry as though I had used crackle glaze adding an unexpected element to the finished product. 

 

You can see above where I touched the iridescent medium leaving a small fingerprint!  :)  I used a clock piece and cut a flower out from one of the papers in the kit to fit behind the clock piece.  I loved both types of lace that came with this kit and (as you can see above) I was able to use both types (in abundance).

 

As I am becoming more familiar with different ways to play with chipboard I am finding that I am starting to become addicted more excited about using it in my projects.   For this LO I covered the chipboard flourish piece in gesso, embossed it with a shimmery embossing power from Lindy's Stamp Gang, and then used the the stamp included in the kit to stamp over the top of the embossing powder.  Also, you can see in this photo some more of the background technique from Stephanie's tutorial as well as the use of some Heidi Swapp Color Shine Mist (Seafoam) that matched the papers in this perfectly~ 

 

Below is a closeup picture of some of the flowers I used on this LO.  I used a variety of flowers (mostly Prima) including some from the kit, a few from the cigar box collection, and a few from my happy-magical-flower-drawer-hoard-stash.

 

As always, thank you for looking and allowing me to share my "pretties" with you!

 

Love,

mel

Hollow Book Projects Part 2

Good morning!  I'm back to share my other completed hollow book and share a "near miss" for the next one...

 

Above you can see the front of the finished product.  For this book I used the Scraps of Elegance kit Sweet Sentiments and the supplemented with a host of elements that had been sitting on my desk for a few months hot minutes.   First of all, let me say that the Blue Fern Studios papers included in this kit are by far some of the best papers I have ever used in my entire life!  From the moment I touched them, I knew they were magical...but this isn't about BFS, it's about me...me and my hollow book!  :)  This is the first time I've used Renea's technique of covering the book in gesso.  I have to admit that even though I covered the "back" of the book in paper, I enjoyed not having to deal with the ugly brown color that these mache books come in.  I layered quite a bit of paper on the top of the book (including the "binding") and then experimented with some of the pigments that came in the creativity add on with the SOE kit.  I used the pale green color to paint over the binding and sealed with a glossy sealer.  

Here is a close up of some of the flowers.  A few from the kit, and although I didn't get the floral add on, I already had some of the flowers (pink with crocheted petals) included in the floral add on hanging out in the flower box next to my scrapping table.  The blue and white flowers were intended for a winter themed tag, but as you can see, the blue turned out to be way too warm for the winter color scheme of the tags.  However, they turned out great for this project.  You can see the chipboard here as well.  I used some wiry string from a past Scraps of Darkness kit and wound it around the chipboard.  I was going for a "climbing ivy" look, but I think it still needs a little work.  

 

I had to take a close up of this pretty little lady from one of the papers.  The first thing my husband said when he saw the finished project was that I "covered her up", but I informed him that she was just peeking around the corner.  Again, I cannot say enough about these great papers from Blue Fern.  The resin corner was another trinket that had been sitting on my desk for goodness knows how long...I was going to use it on a summer project if that tells you anything.  Also in this picture you can see the distressing and inking combo I used on the papers.  I enjoyed using some colors to ink the edges of the papers that I don't normally use such as yellows and pinks in addition to the normal browns and neutral.

 

And, finally, the pièce de résistance:  the "pages"...Each time I do this I get one step closer to the actual look I am going for.  This time I went for much lighter pages and LOVED the outcome!!!  Notice the scraps of cheesecloth that I colored some pink pigment from the kit add on.  I also used the rest of the paint I mixed up to make some pink splotches at various places around the book.  

 

Now for the near miss!  I started working on another hollow book this weekend using a technique I've seen several times.  (I can't remember where I first saw, so I apologize for not giving anyone credit!) I used gesso and cheesecloth to make a poor man's canvas on the back of the book.  I had hoped to stamp an image into it, but apparently, poor man's canvas does not take to stamping very well.  Either way, coming soon there will be another hollow book to share with you all!  Thanks for looking and having an excellent Monday!

 

Love,

mel