February PPP from Prima!

Hi everyone :)

Sorry for being so absent this month. My whole family has been sick for weeks and it's been a struggle to keep up. But I thought I would check in today with my February PPP sample for Prima. I hope you get a chance to join us this month!

"Be Happy"

I've used the Princess and Something Blue collections for this layout, which were perfectly dictated by this month's color palette:

Here's a closer look at some of the details and stunning new Prima products used on this layout:

 I've used a couple of different masks in the background here: the Flourish mask as well as the new Floral Rose mask.

I've had a bunch of painted Natural Bark Hearts laying around for quite some time, and this project seemed like a good place to use one of them. I simply flipped the hearts over to their smooth side, painted with gesso, and then painted again with acrylic paint. Before the paint dried, I sprinkled on some clear sparkly embossing powder.

Products Used:

950989 Princess Collection "Lily"
813444 Something Blue Collection "Wedding Planner"
814083 Something Blue 6x4 ATC Pad
814120 Something Blue 3x4 ATC Pad
572716 Princess Collection Flair Buttons & Clear Stamp
573676 Crochet Icons
572242 12"x12" Stencils- Floral Rose
950927 Delight Sugardots
571559 Le Mia
571535 Le Mia

Thank-you for coming by my blog today. I hope to get back into the swing of things soon- I still have plenty of projects to share and lots of catching up to do!

Take care :)

Watercolor Fun! With Prima & Pink Paislee~!

Did you see over on the Prima blog that they've teamed up with Pink Paislee for some Watercolor Fun?! Both the Prima team and Pink Paislee team got to play with one another's projects- which was SUCH a treat!

 If you love giveaways- then get in on the action! Head on over NOW before it's too late- winners will be announced September 30th :)

Here is a canvas that I created for this event:

"Cute Stuff"

Prima and Pink Paislee products blended together beautifully for me on this canvas. I was inspired by the soft pastels of the Pink Paislee Color Wash products which set the tone for this project featuring my sweet little niece Paisley. I wanted something girly, yet still "baby"-ish, which inspired the pretty florals, banners, and dressed-up ballet slippers.

 Products Used:

*NEW* 570385- SIIP Swirl- Multi
891756- Chalk Edger- Pastel Peach
562915- Canvas Alphabet Stickers- Divine
*NEW* 891862- Ingvild Bolme- Resin Ballerina
*NEW* 570620- Pebbles
565763- Frost Mini Sachet
566647- Avante Cedar
565787- Frost Frappe VII
566357- Tatiana Coral
561574- Soubrette- White

Hope you've had a really great weekend! I will be back tomorrow with another swap project- see you then!! :)

Take care,

PaperHaus: Mini Album~!

Hello, my awesome friends! I've been so busy creating "behind the scenes" that I feel my blog has been a little bit negelcted by way of projects- I apologize for that :). Just a busy time! 

But today I have a mini album to share with you that I created for the PaperHaus Magazine Blog. I hope you enjoy it!

"Mother-in-Law Mini Album"

**Chipboard frame from Blue Fern Studios and paper/flowers/embellishments from Prima Marketing**

I call this my "Mother-in-Law Mini Album" because, well- I created it for my MIL, ha! This is actually the first gift that I have hand crafted for her and being someone who truly cherishes her family and especially her children/grandchildren- I just know she'll love it :). After a recent visit, I discovered that many of the photos displayed in her home were taken by phone- from my Facebook page. Seriously sad. And I needed to remedy that! So I took some of the photos taken at our vacation there and put them together in this album.

Here's a look at what's inside:

On one of the last days there, we got all of the kids together for pictures. We did photos of just my kids, of just the boys, just the girls, and all of them. So I tried to include one of each in this album for her.

With the help of the Prima "Lyric" paper collection, Prima flowers & embellishments, as well as chipboard from Blue Fern Studios, I created a cohesive flow to my album. What I love about minis is once you get a "pace" going in the book, it's really easy to move from one page to the next.

 With each page, I started by doing a little bit of stamping. Then I misted, masked with modeling paste, and added some watercolor paints.

I wanted each page to be different, yet follow the same guidelines: stamping, masking, misting, watercolors, and then photo/flowers/chipboard.

I also make sure that any page that would be facing eachother when closed did not have clusters that would meet. That way, it reduces the bulk when the book is closed.

Products Used:

Patterned Papers: Prima Marketing
Flowers: Prima Marketing
Chipboard: Blue Fern Studios
Embellishments: Prima Marketing (trinkets & wood button), Pink Paislee (stars)
Stickers: Prima Marketing
Stamps: Prima Marketing, 7 Gypsies, & Bo Bunny
Masks: Prima Marketing, Heidi Swapp, & The Crafter's Workshop
Mists: Tattered Angels
Other: gesso, modeling paste, watercolor paints

I'm so happy you came by here today! I hope your week is off to a great start :)- see you again soon,

"P.J."~ Prima BAP February~!

**For my February Giveaway, please go HERE**

Hi! I hope your work has started off well :). My baby girl is sick and the boys I fear aren't far behind- but that is the way of it; when one gets sick, they all get sick. All a part of having kids! We're surviving- just glad I took my turn last week as it makes it easier to take care of them now :).

I got some scrapping done this past weekend- and more importantly, I got to play with my stash of *new* Prima- and I must say, I'm in LOVE! Today I will be sharing with you my February Prima BAP layout and before you know it, I will be back with my PPP. So let's get going!

"P.J."

I've combined a bit of Divine & Engraver here. I started with a base of mist in various shades and some random stamping with distress ink on top of that. Then came some layering of cardboard, a doily, book page, and- thanks to my new Sizzix Big Shot- some die cuts as well :). I have a feeling this new machine and myself are embarking upon a new and exciting relationship ;)~!

Here's the sketch:

And a closer look, if you please:

Creating my clusters are my most favorite thing to do on any project! Finding that harmony of color, various sizes of flowers, trims, and other embellishments is just so much fun :)~!

Isn't my niece Paisley just the cutest?? Kelly commented on how I don't often scrap her- and I really didn't have a good excuse, lol! She's adorable, obviously! So she gets the spotlight today ;).

 Products Used:

Blooming Flourish

I opted for just seed beads on my flourishes, rather than microbeads. I've had many people ask me what I use to adhere my beads (and yes, I've been noticing lots of you suddenly making use of your microbeads!)~ I always use Glossy Accents. I usually use the Glossy Accents to "draw" the path I want my beads to take, if that makes sense :). And I never have a problem getting them to stay where I want them to.

That's all I have for you today! So glad you stopped by- I always appreciate your comments and that you take the time to leave one :). I know how busy life can get- so that you take a few moments to check in makes me happy to have you all as friends :).

Take care,

Blue Fern Studios Blog Hop~!!

*~*For my February Giveaway, please go HERE*~*

Hey there! Whether you mean to or not, you've found yourself in the middle of the very first Blue Fern Studios Blog Hop~!! So you're definitely in a great place as there are TONS of goodies to be won and of course plenty of inspiration along the way! So if you're in the middle of hopping and arrived here via Eila's blog, then you're in the right place! If you've stumbled upon my blog and would like to get in on the action, go to the beginning of the hop HERE so you don't miss out on anything!!

What: Blue Fern Studios Blog Hop
When: February 8th-10th, 2013
How: Simply visit each of the blogs below, then leave a comment (and become a follower, if required). There are sure to be plenty of goodies along the way!
Who: Here is the blog list, in order:

  

{start} Blue Fern Studios

Michele Singh

Valerie Serfozo (Design Team Coordinator)

Camilla Ekman

Eila Sandberg

                              Erin Blegen <---You are here!

Irene Tan

Irina Gerschuk

Iris Babao Uy

Jennifer Snyder

Joyce Lawrence

Kelly Foster

Lisa Gregory

Mona Pendleton

Patter Cross

Svetlana Austin

Vibeke Harila

{back to} Blue Fern Studios

As long as you stop at each of these blogs and leave a comment, you will be in the running for the randomly-drawn grand prize from Blue Fern Studios:

Additionally, I will be giving away a little prize pack myself: 

All you have to do to be in the running for my giveaway is (1) Become a follower of my blog {see the left sidebar and click the blue "Join this Site" button} and (2) Leave a comment at the end of this post~! That's it! Winner will be drawn via random.org and announced on February 11th!

And finally, I have a Blue Fern Studios project to share with you!

"Auntie & Me"

 This is a photo of Gunner and his Auntie Katie (one of my husband's sisters) when we went to visit his family last summer. Gunner is just one of those impossible-not-to-love children and everyone just enjoys him so much! Here I had pulled his hair back out of his face with one of my hair clips because it was so hot. That, combined with his Auntie's sunglasses, sure made for one cute little boy! So glad I finally got this photo scrapped :).

 Products Used:

Brigitte Butterfly Set

 Large Blue Fern Flourish

 

Royal Border

**Remember: in order to be entered in the drawing for my giveaway, please be sure to (1) Make sure you are a follower of my blog {see my left side bar and click the blue "Join this site" button} and (2) Leave me a comment on this post!** Thanks so much!!

Your next stop is Irene Tan. Good luck and have fun~!

Selected Scrapper @ Skissedilla: Week 4~!

Good morning, my friends~! Sunday is again upon us (well, "us" to whom it applies- I know you ahead-of-it-all-other-side-of-the-worlders have already {or soon will} said good-night to Sunday)~ and what that means is it's reveal day at Skissedilla~! Today's sketch is my last for the month as the Selected Scrapper there, and I just wanted to thank them so much for having me :). It's been a pleasure creating with their wonderful sketches~!

I have a super sweet story behind the layout I created for this challenge. I tell a lot of stories about my kids, and some day I hope to print a book of my blog (I've heard you can do this- should probably check into the validity of it)- and then I will have one place in which all of these stories are documented. But I also like to share them because I think we all find some enjoyment in learning about eachother's lives. I do, anyway. It makes us all seem a bit more "real", if you know what I mean. And being a parent, I understand that most parents never tire of talking about their kids- or at least their kids' stories :)...

"Don't Cry, Mom"

My little Gunner. If you've followed my blog, you know about my little Gunner. He's just as sweet as they come- a wild child too- but inside, he's just a sweetie. I've seen more of this from him as time goes on, and this particular layout was inspired by something I discovered a few weeks back.

But first, here's the sketch, #195:

Of course we need some closeups...and the story :)...

 So one night I'm sitting on the couch and I just wanted Gunner to come and sit with me. When he decides he'd rather continue playing instead, I pretend to start crying- you know, burying your face in your hands and doing your best (obnoxious) crying sounds, body shaking and all...

 (yeah, I was that desperate)...Little Gunners drops his toy, comes on over, pulls my hands from my face and with the most concerned, big brown eyes he says, "Don't cry, Mom."

 My heart seriously melted. And then he took it a step further, climbed into my lap, and wrapped his arms around my neck before burying his face against me. And then he stayed like that for about five minutes. I seriously held him for every moment of that five minutes!

Since then, any time I have any look of concern on my face he will come right up to me, look me directly in the eyes as if trying to read my emotions, and ask, "What's wrong, Mom?" Or- if I'm pretending to be sad again- he tells me not to cry, and won't leave my side until he knows I'm okay. It's incredible. And I hope he never changes :).

Thanks for letting me share my little story with you :). 

I'd love to hear yours! So won't you play along with this week's sketch? When the challenge closes in a week, I'll be reviewing every entry from this month and choosing one lucky duck to win this from me:

Sure hope to see you there :). Enjoy the rest of your weekend~ take care!!