Guest Designer @ Scrap & Music~!

Hi there everybody :). I hope you all had/are having a great weekend! 

I'm happy to share with you that I was invited to guest design for the brand new sketch challenge site "Scrap & Music"~! They provide not only a fabulous sketch for your creative pleasure, but also feature a song from which you must derive your title. You can pick out any word/words from the entire song that reaches out to you. 

For Sketch Challenge #2, we are given the song "La Vie En Rose" (Édith Piaf):

Des yeux qui font baisser les miens,
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche,
Voilà le portrait sans retouche
De l'homme auquel j'appartiens
[Refrain]
Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas,
Je vois la vie en rose.
Il me dit des mots d'amour,
Des mots de tous les jours,
Et ça me fait quelque chose.
Il est entré dans mon coeur
Une part de bonheur
Donc je connais la cause.
C'est lui pour moi,
Moi pour lui dans la vie,
Il me l'a dit, l'a juré
Pour la vie.
Et dès que je l'aperçois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon coeur qui bat
Des nuits d'amour à plus finir
Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place
Des ennuis des chagrins s'effacent
Heureux, heureux à mourir.
Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas,
Je vois la vie en rose.
Il me dit des mots d'amour,
Des mots de tous les jours,
Et ça me fait quelque chose.
Il est entré dans mon coeur
Une part de bonheur
Donc je connais la cause.
C'est toi pour moi,
Moi pour toi dans la vie,
Il me l'a dit, l'a juré
Pour la vie.
Et dès que je l'aperçois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon coeur qui bat.

  For those of you who do not speak French (like myself)- Google Translate is a beautiful thing! And so is this song- gorgeous, gorgeous words. I decided to use the very last line in the song, which says "my heart beat" in English. Since the song is about love, I was going to do a layout about my husband. But as much as I love him to pieces- he is not the only one who makes up MY heart beat. And that is why I chose to scrap the 3 other most important people in my life :)

"My Heart Beat"

I don't even care that this is not a perfect photo- a little blurry, the kids not really paying attention (lol)...it's perfect to me because of who is in it :). They truly do make up the contents of my heart :).

Here is the sketch you get to work with:

Gorgeous, yes?? 

Here's a quick, closer look:

Lots of Prima layers going on...stamps, flowers, and embellishments :) I've used papers from the Fairy Belle, Lyric, and Fairy Rhymes collections, as well as paper from Pink Paislee's "Hope Chest" collection.

I'd love it if you'd show your support to this fun new challenge blog! Check them out HERE and add them to your list :) You have the next two weeks to complete this challenge.

Thanks for coming by and have a wonderful day~!

"I Won't"...a First Look @ the C'est Magnifique June Kit~!

Hello :)~! I say it every month, but it's ALREADY that time...time to take a first peek into the latest kit from C'est Magnifique Kits! For the month of June, we're giving you everything you need to get those springtime photos scrapped! For me, it was perfect timing as spring has only just recently happened upon us and I have plenty of pictures to put to paper :).

"I Won't"

My middle child Gunner is nearing 3 years of age and has never had his hair cut. For some reason, I cannot bear the thought of cutting his beautiful golden locks- and nearly everyone I know gives me a hard time about it (including my husband)! I'm just not ready for it- and neither is he .
These sweet photos were taken recently on one of our first spring days. The beautiful Maja papers were the perfect compliment to them, and I enjoyed piecing apart the Fancy Fob Watch chipboard piece from Blue Fern Studios to accent each part of my visual triangle.

 From the Flower Add-On:
Maya Road: Afternoon Tea Trim Pack: Milk (I used the tulle edging to create my bows)
Prima: Summer Carnation Vine: Thistle
Prima: Giselle: Haze
Petaloo: Mixed Textured Blossoms: Amber
Petaloo: Mixed Blossoms: Soft Pink

From the Embellishment Add-On:
Blue Fern Studios: Chipboard: Fancy Fob Watch
BoBunny: C’est La Vie: Trinkets
Glitz: Teeny Alphas: White

Now~ here's a look at the papers and add-ons with this month's kit:

Maja Design "Vintage Spring Basics"

Flower Add-On:

Embellishment Add-On:

To learn how to subscribe to C'est Magnifique Kits, see HERE. And we are always happy to see new faces in our Forums! We're a friendly, drama-free group who simply share the same passion, and we'd love to see you there- so don't be shy...come and say Hi!! :)

Take care and I hope you are having a great week so far!

How to Coordinate Your Blue Fern Studios Chipboard~!

Good morning friends! Another Monday in my part of the world, and I always love it when I can start out the week on my blog with a new post! I'm going to be showing 3 different Blue Fern Studios projects today (layout, card, and tag) and through them share with you how you can make your chipboard coordinate- no matter your style or project {type} preference. 

I remember when I was new to raw chipboard, I didn't know quite how I would make those pieces become a part of my project without standing out- in a bad way. So if you feel like that yourself- don't worry! If you haven't had much experience with working with chipboard, that is a completely normal reservation! But today I would like to encourage those with this fear to try out some of these simple techniques- and get yourself on your way to becoming a chipboard altering fool ;)!

"Walk"

I like that I almost have to guess myself which of the embellishments here are chipboard- because they blend so nicely with the rest of the layout. And all it takes is a little bit of recognition of the papers and other products with which you are working, and applying those features to your chipboard.

Take for example this Ironwork Accents piece. I simply used a rubber Prima stamp from my personal collection that complimented my Pink Paislee "Hope Chest" and Prima "Lyric" papers and used it to stamp my primed (w/gesso) chipboard. I then used it as a meeting place for the seam binding that stretches across the page, topping off its center with a bow. Super easy- ANYONE (with some stamps and ink, that is) can do this!

The exact same idea was repeated here. I cut this piece off of the bottom of the Garden Gate (You will find that I love to piece apart- and stretch the use of- my chipboard!)

Here I've taken a panel from the Lattice Fence and mimicked the look of the Ingvild Bolme {Prima} metal lamp post beside it. I've done this by using a stone-colored distress ink dabbed very lightly over top.

Blue Fern Studios Products Used:

Ironwork Accents

Garden Gate

Lattice Fence

Floral Clock (one of the hands)

Other Products Used:

Bubbly Background Stamp

"This Wonderful Life" {Card}

Here again I've made this gorgeous piece from the Brigitte Butterfly Set become a part of my project. 

I actually used a butterfly stamp with some brown distress ink to create the pattern on this piece. I felt this particular design was complimentary to my Prima "Fairy Belle" papers. After drying, I used my "Shabby Tote" Prima Chalk Fluid Edger Pad by Ingvild Bolme very lightly over top to tone down the white of the gesso (used to prime the piece before stamping). 

Blue Fern Studios Products Used:

Brigitte Butterfly Set

Other Products Used:

Modern Romance Sentiment Stickers

Dream Big Stamp Set

"You Make Life Beautiful" {Tag}

Finally, I have a tag to share. I chose to use one of the Petite Boutique Frames, which I simply primed with gesso before using blue embossing powder and setting it with a heat gun. I love the beautiful, glossy finish- and that this design was the perfect platform for the Webster's Pages Frame Accent resin piece I was to layer next.

Next came one of the Vintage Locks, which I decorated with some blue microbeads. Again, an altering idea that anyone can do!

Blue Fern Studios Products Used:

Petite Boutique Frames

Vintage Locks

Other Products Used:

New Beginnings 6x6 Collection Pad

Girl Land Sentiment Stickers

Bubbly Background Stamp

Thanks for coming by my blog today :)

Take care!

Webster's Pages: A Trinket Box for Mom {w/Tutorial~!}

Good morning! We're coming up on Mother's Day weekend here, and we're getting ready for the holiday at Webster's Pages with some gifts for mom! I've got a little trinket box that I created for my own mom, as well as a step-by-step tutorial for those of you who would like to put one together yourself :).

"Mother's Day Trinket Box"

Supplies Needed:

{Papers}
New Beginnings Collection "Morning Glory"
New Beginnings Collection "A Life to Celebrate"

{Trims}
New Beginnings "Blue Ruffle"
New Beginning "Orange & Pink Polka"
Modern Romance "Butter Rosette"

{Embellishments}
Modern Romance Perfect Accents "Heart"
Charm Perfect Pack "Love Birds"
New Beginnings Sentiment Stickers
Quick Picks Stick Pin

Other:
Box (I purchased a cheap kraft-type box from Hobby Lobby for 50 cents)
Mod Podge (I used matte)
Paintbrush (easiest with a larger one)
Scissors
Hot Glue Gun
Pencil

Let's get started! There are 8 easy steps in completing this project. Forgive my first couple of photos with my messy desk, ha! I wasn't sure if I was actually going to do a step-by-step until you can see I committed to it by Step 3 ;). I hope you enjoy!

Voila!

 Happy Mother's Day to you who celebrate- I hope you enjoy your weekend :). And thank-you for dropping by my blog and letting me share with you!

Take care,

BFS May Sketch & C'est Magnifique Bits & Pieces Giveaway!

Good morning everyone and happy Monday! I'm checking in after an exhausting but productive weekend at home to share with you a few items of interest!

First of all, the May sketch challenge has been revealed at the Blue Fern Studios blog:

Anyone and everyone is welcome to play along, and a fabulous prize pack is available to the (randomly drawn) winner! They also feature a Top 3- so lots of reasons to join in! You can use any piece(s) of Blue Fern Studios chipboard you want and you have until midnight US EST on May 31st to enter!!

********************************************************

Next, we have the Bits & Pieces Giveaway from C'est Magnifique Kits!

Here's what you can win by entering our Bits & Pieces Giveaway, which includes items from the main kit, the flower add-on and the embellishment add-on.  Since these are Leslie's bits & pieces, the winner will receive partial packages of embellishments and sheets of patterned paper that may be less than full size.

It's easy to enter our Bits & Pieces Giveaway.  Here's all you need to do:

1.  You must be a follower of the C'est Magnifique blog.  If you do not already follow us, just click 

on the "Join this site" button on the left sidebar and you'll be all set.  

2.  Use the Inlinkz tool at the bottom of the Bits & Pieces post HERE.

3.  We are giving you a chance to enter our giveaway twice!  

Share the Bits & Pieces Giveaway post on your blog (in a blog post, not your sidebar) and you can 

enter your name again using the Inlinkz tool

(just be sure to add the link to your blog post). 

The contest will close at midnight, May 12 US EST.  

The winner, selected by a random draw, will be announced a few days later.

May Challenge @ Once Upon A...Sketch (and my RAK WINNER!!)

Whew! Where did this week go?! Hard to believe it's already Friday here- but it is most definitely welcomed!!

Today I'm here to share with you the latest challenge at Once Upon A...Sketch- and don't forget to check the end of my post for the WINNER of my RAK from the C'est Magnifique Blog Hop this past weekend :)!

"6 Years"

It's incredible to me that over 6 years have gone by since my husband and I first got together. It was really nice to do a layout about him as I don't generally get the chance, and I likely would not have gotten this milestone recorded hadn't I been prompted by the latest challenge at Once Upon A...Sketch!

Theme: Numbers!!!

This month, we ask you to include a number , ANY number, on your layout. It has to be VISIBLE on your layout and it can be in your title or part of your journalling. It can be a date, an age, a house number, an anniversary, the number of children you have, the number of pets ....anything you like. But please make sure that there is some explanation through your journalling, somewhere on your page or blog about what this number means to you. 

Your layout must incorporate this theme and the sketch below. 

Let's take a look at some closeups :)

I've stamped this Blue Fern Studios "Vintage Key" piece to match other elements in my layout. Such a simple process but I always love the result!

 The chipboard cogs are from the "Widgetworks" pack from Blue Fern Studios :)

I love this splat mask from The Crafter's Workshop. Here I've used texture paste to give it some added body.

My hidden journaling :)

The deadline for this challenge is midnight May 25th Australian Eastern Standard Time. I'm excited to see eveyrone's entries- always interesting to see how the sketch and the journaling prompt are interpreted :).

NOW...on to the WINNER of my RAK from the C'est Magnifique Blog Hop!

After compiling all of the eligible entries and excluding duplicates, I randomized the list, numbered it, and entered it into random.org:

CONGRATS  to:

 

 Keridinha!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Please contact me within 7 days to claim your prize!! 

erin_divisionair@yahoo.com

Thanks again to everyone who participated in the hop!

Have a great weekend :)