Prima: August PPP!

Good morning :)

I'd like to share with you today the card I created for this month's Prima Product Picks :)

"Daydreaming About Us"

I've combined lots of new products on this card; papers from Coffee Break & Epiphany collections, Color Bloom sprays, lots of beautiful new flowers, new trim, and a sweet 3D embellishment from Epiphany for my sentiment.

Such a stunning pastel palette and so many goodies from which to be inspired!!

Here are some closeups of my card:

I'm so pleased with all the glitter available in the new flowers! Who doesn't love a little extra sparkle?? And all the roses...roses are my favorite Prima flowers :)

The jute trims are awesome for getting that unkempt look on your projects!

Prima Products Used: 846701 Cofee Break Collection "Coffeeology", 846732 Coffee Break Collection "Fill it to the Rim", 846862 Epiphany Collection "Words to Live By", 576257 Epiphany 3D Stickers, 573782 Color Bloom- Soft Teal, 891725 Chalk Edger- Pastel Pink, 577070 Weave Trim "Buff", 576875 Jute Trim- Wheat, 577612 Manhattan- Times Square, 577957 Sarasota- Peaceful, 577711 Winthrop- Tourmaline, 577759 Rodanthe- Esplanade, 578596 Cigar Box Secrets- Humidor, 573157 Cartogra

I hope you get the chance to join us this month! Hope to see you there :)!

It's a Prima-Style White Wedding: Altered Book Bundle

This week on the Prima blog, it's all about all white, wedding-themed projects! And today I have an altered book bundle that I created as a wedding table piece featuring all white Prima products. It's been quite a while since I've done a monochromatic project, so this one was very fun for me! And Prima has such a great variety of white products to choose from, so creating was a breeze :)

"Altered Book Bundle"

A really fun way to recycle any old book is to create an altered book bundle. I especially love really old hardcover books for this project, but any type of paperback will work too. Simply tear off the front and back covers, including the spine. You can use one or several books in your bundle. Paint the entire surface with a few coats of white paint or gesso. This will seal shut most of the pages; glue can be used to close up any gaps after painting. Use your favorite Prima trims to tie the books together (you might also want to apply some glue between the books to make sure they are secure), then add flowers, embellishments, and bling! 

Prima Products Used:
573478- Resin Angels
573157- Cartographer SIIC
570378- SIIC
567248 - Chantelle- Heirloom
573300- Resin in a Wood Box- Clock
573393- Trim
572068- Wire Thread- Stark White
571283- Nieve- Rose Flower

I hope you enjoyed my project today! Be sure to check out the Prima blog all week long for more wedding inspiration :)

Two Projects for Blue Fern Studios

Good morning! I hope that your Christmas went well and that you're getting ready to welcome in a new year :). I'm stopping in today to share some classy Christmas cheer with you all, as well as a sweet and simple project too~ both for Blue Fern Studios!

"Let it Snow"

Blue Fern Studios has released some beautiful holiday themed chipboard pieces over the past month or so, as well as some wintry ones as well- simply perfect for this time of year! The "Let it Snow" set includes the title piece and snowflake you see here, as well as a tree and some additional snowflakes. A must-have!

For the frame I first primed with gesso before applying embossing ink. I then sprinkled on some sparkly white and gold embossing powders as well as some glitter and then setting with a heat gun. The snowflake was treated with white embossing powder and set. Finally, the title piece was stamped with chalk ink and sealed with some glossy accents.

Blue Fern Studios Products Used:

Let it Snow

Ever After Frame Set

Other Products Used:
Webster's Pages "Royal Christmas" Collection papers
Prima Marketing flowers and bling

Next I have a sweet and simple card for you!

"A Very Good Life"

I love the "Winter Page Dangles", and I have been envisioning creating a tall, narrow card with one for a while now. I wanted to make sure the chipboard piece was the focus, so I kept the rest of my card fairly simple. 

I used a white chalk ink before adding embossing ink and glittery white embossing powder to my chipboard. It turned out sparkly and feminine which was perfect for my girly card!

Blue Fern Studios Products Used:

Winter Page Dangles

Other Products Used:
Webster's Pages "New Beginnings" Collection paper
Webster's Pages "New Beginnings" Sentiment Stickers
Webster's Pages "Postcards from Paris II" Collection paper

Thank-you for stopping by amidst the holiday happenings! 

I hope you've had a chance to play along with our sketch challenge this month over at Blue Fern too- there's still time left to enter!
Have a wonderful weekend!

12 Days of Christmas Card Challenge from Prima!

Good morning! Have you had a chance to check out the 12 Days of Christmas Card Challenge from Prima? Play along and win! The rules are simple:

1. Just make a Prima-based card or tag inspired by one of our 12 Days of Christmas Cards. Pick anything you want that inspires you: the product, a technique, layout of card, or a color scheme.

2. Add your project to that day's post (use the blue button at the bottom.)

3. After the features are over we will pick 12 lucky winners to get a Prima prize in December!

(Contest entry deadline is Dec 1st! Open to all countries. Void where prohibited by law.)

Here is a tag that I created for Day 11, featuring crystals/gems/sugar dots:

"Holly Jolly" Tag

A handmade gift tag for the holidays demands something with a little "extra" to it. I wanted to create something elegant, beautiful, and full of BLING!

I layered different SIIP flourishes amid the lower layers of my tag, while adding bits of sparkle to my flower clusters, my centerpiece, and the bow treatment at the top.

 Prima Products Used:
846428 Holiday Jubilee "Holiday Memories" Paper
846442 Holiday Jubilee "Nostalgia" Paper
570569 Holiday Jubilee Flair Buttons
569976 Holiday Jubilee Resins
535896 SIIP&SIIC Branch Brown
535582 SIIP Swirls and Fimo Cream
565107 Crystal Sheet
570972 Bellas Brown
555993 Vinetta En Francais
556013 Charme Rose En Francais

I hope you can play along and that you're having a great weekend :)

Take care,

Watercolor Fun: Prima & Pink Paislee Swap Part 2!

Good morning and happy Monday! Today is the second part of the Prima/Pink Paislee swap- I hope you got the chance to get yourself in the running for some goodies- winners announced today!

To close out the swap, we've created some watercolor fun tags. Here is mine:

"Captured Moments" Tag

I loved taking the Color Wash papers and creating a classic Prima tag with it. I applied some masking and had fun with some turquoise watercolors to accent the areas to the top and bottom of my cluster work.

Prima Products Used:
554156- Lace and Crystals Border Fairy Belle
891879- Ingvild Bolme- Resin Heart
960445- 12x12 Stencil: Orbs
571757- Abbey
571542- Le Mia- Chantilly Flower
566029- Mini Sachet- Rose
565282- Divine Mini Rose Stems

Pink Paislee Products Used:
PP01037- Color Wash 6x6 Paper Pad
PP01047- Color Wash Sentiment Stickers

Thanks for coming over! Be sure to check out the Prima blog today for plenty more watercolor fun inspiration ;)

See you soon!

Guest Designer for Tresors de Luxe: Part 2

Good morning :) 

I'm finally getting around to sharing my second project created as a guest designer for Tresors de Luxe last month. I hope you've had a chance to check out their store- if not, you can find them HERE.

This time around, I created a card:

"Love"

I really love a vintage, shabby look and the Tresors de Luxe trims are perfect for such a style! I've applied gesso, watercolors, acrylic paint, and mist to the trims on my card and I'm so impressed how they can take such treatment! And because they are so beautiful in themselves, I was allowed to minimize the amount of "stuff" I added to my card. Simple and pretty!

Tresors de Luxe Products Used:

 Ivory Lace Trim with Pearl Drop Edging (LA-005) 

Ivory Venice Lace Trim (LA-018) 

 I hope you have a great day. So happy you came by :)...Hopefully life slows down a bit for me here so I can get back to you all. Thanks for your patience :)

Once Upon A...Sketch: September Sketch Challenge Reveal!

Good morning!

It's time to reveal to you the latest challenge over at Once Upon A...Sketch!

As you know, every month OUAS provides you with not only an amazing sketch, but a motivating journaling prompt. This month is no different- just take a look at what you've got to work wtih!

Journaling Theme: Luck

Your layout must incorporate this theme and the sketch below. 

Please make sure that we see some sort of journalling on your layouts and please tell us where your journalling is . You are allowed to journal in any language but please tell us where on your page we will find your journalling. Remember journalling has to be a bit more than a title, or a generic comment. Hidden journalling is perfectly fine.

I created a layout sample for this challenge. When I first saw the sketch, I thought- OOH! Three photos...three kids...I know how lucky I am to have them. Even printed pictures of the kids and was ready to start. But then I thought of how much time I've spent recently reflecting on what an amazing husband I have- and it's been a while since I've scrapped him, so I went that direction instead ;)

"Lucky Me"

I have the perfect package of a husband: loving, hard working, funny, patient, amazing father, understanding...I really wish for everyone to find someone like him. Before him, I thought it was normal to fight and say terrible things to one another. But in our almost 7 years he has never said anything even remotely mean to me- and I don't even think we've ever had a real "fight". We've bickered a few times- but he is so laid-back (whereas I'm NOT) and when I get piped up, he just stays calm. As I was creating this layout, I had a particular Martina McBride song stuck in my head. There's a line in it that says:

"When there's dark clouds in my eyes, he just sits back and let 'em roll on by. Come in like a lion, go out like a lamb...my baby loves me just the way that I am."

SO true for Josh and I! I'm the hot head- and he accepts and loves me for it regardless. 

When choosing the color pop for this layout, I'd originally thought blue. Josh peeked in a few times to see what I'd decided on, and was surprised to see I'd gone with yellow. I figured I haven't used it in a while, so why not?

I've used just a ton of Prima products on this one- even digging in my stash for some of the older stuff. The stamps are from the Printery collection, which is one of my all-time favorites. And what do you think of the new Ingvild Bolme pieces? I just LOVE the little steering wheel from the Car Parts pack- way too adorable! 

 891855- Ingvild Bolme- Car Parts

 Oh, Josh desperately wanted me to use one of the spark plug pieces- he thought they were manly enough for him ;) And I wanted to do that for him...but I just couldn't find the "right" one/fit. But when I noticed the word "Luck" on one of the Vintage Water Taps- I knew I had the perfect embellishment!

891824- Ingvild Bolme- Vintage Water Taps

**Hidden journaling on the 7 Dots Studio tag beneath my photo**

**All papers, flowers, and embellishments**

**Domestic Goddess Tags**

 

As always, there are tons of prizes to be won- see the OUAS blog HERE for full details!

 

Deadline for this month's challenge: September 25th Australian Eastern Standard Time

Two More for Blue Fern Studios

Hi everyone!

 I'm back again with you today with my other two Blue Fern Studios projects, and I'm going to be showing how you can keep your chipboards "as is" or piece them apart in order to best compliment your work. We all like to make the most of our products and it can sure be fun to see how far you can stretch something. While at other times, we want to use something in its entirety to really make a statement!

Let's see how I did both :)

"Pause to Live"

 This piece is an 8"x10" canvas. Normally, when I create something, I don't necessarily start with the chipboard. But that wasn't the case here. I knew I wanted to use the gorgeous Ornate Heart piece- and I definitely knew I didn't want to take this one apart. It's such a gorgeous design and I really wanted to make something special with it.

Here are the steps I took in coloring this piece:

1. Prime chipboard with gesso; dry.

2. Stamp chipboard with a favorite stamp and clear embossing ink.

3. Sprinkle on some white embossing powder and set with heat gun.

4. Randomly apply some watercolors. The embossed stamping will resist.

5. Apply clear embossing powder to some areas of the wet watercolors. Set with heat gun.

Products Used:

Ornate Heart

"Key to My Heart" Tag

My second project today is a tag. I've created a collage-style piece using the bird/flourish cut from the Village Sign Post, and a heart from the Heart Set pack.

I actually ended up using the backside of the heart piece. I'd done some stamping and coloring and just didn't like it- but when I turned it over and discovered the random gesso look that it had, I decided I wanted to keep it that way :). I backed it with a transparency before cutting off a piece from the Village Sign Post, applying some sandy colored chalk ink, and then topping off the heart with it.

Products Used:

Heart Set

Village Sign Post

I hope you enjoyed my post today! Thanks to those of you who are so sweet and take a moment to leave some kind words. I'm scrambling to get caught up and hope to be visiting some blogs soon :)

Take care and see you again tomorrow,