Friday, August 26, 2016

Fashionista



This is my first project using the August kit and add-on from Swirlydoos, featuring papers, embellishments and embossing powders from Blue Fern Studios, along with a lot of other goodies - some elegant and some just plain fun.

Lots of layering here, using the Hushed paper from the BFS Tranquility collection as a base and Calling Cards from the same collection to mat my photo.

My first step was to prepare the Shabby Brick Bits chipboard by lightly dabbing with watered-down gesso and giving the "bricks" a dusting of BFS embossing powder in Magenta and applying my heat tool. (BTW, this powder contains actually glitter giving it a chunky sparkle.)
I used a bit of a rub-on from Kaisercraft to create a small band on the left of my photo before placing my treated chipboard pieces where I wanted them.
Next, I distressed and arranged the pieces of paper, stapled them together and adhered them to the base. My photo was glued to a bit of cardboard packaging to give it a bit of a pop, then fastened down.
The flowers are all part of the Flower add-on  - Petaloo velvet hydrangeas from the Chantilly collection and BFS flowers from the Tranquil Roses and Lilies package and the Special Swirlydoos Collection (yes, these were assembled especially for the Swirly Girls!).
The rest of the embellishments are part of the Magnolia Lane Ephemera Die-Cuts from Ultimate Crafts.
I finished my page by sprinkling some Prima Micro Beads between the flowers and my photo and splashing a small bit of watered-down gesso over the page.


This is my mother around 1940. And of course, there's a bit of a story to tell about it.
Take a good look: she's wearing a halter top and (seemingly) no bra. My sisters and I had a good giggle about this - there is no way on the face of this earth that she would have allowed any of us to leave the house dressed like this!!!

Monday, August 15, 2016

In Grandma's Back Yard



I was sorting through some old snapshots last week, looking for photos to copy for my sister. Among the "must scrap" images that I found was this one of my sister and me, along with two of our cousins taken in 1950, that I thought would be perfect for this month's All That Flutters Challenge.

I used pretty much the last of my July Moments Captured kit from Swirlydoos to create this page invoking a long-ago summer day.
The Kaisercraft doily was colored with Ranger Distress Ink in Faded Jeans and put aside to dry. Meanwhile, I cut a large circle from the center of the Hampton sheet from the Kaisercraft Provincial collection before adhering it to the back of Morning Glory from Pion Design's Mister Tom's Treasures that I had run through my Distrezz machine.
Next, using a few scraps from previous projects, I cut out a smaller circle and a bit of matting for my photo, lightly distressed and inked them and glued them down.
I created a few lace-like strips using a double-edge punch from Martha Stewart and placed them on the side and here and there under the edges around the border of the page.
To embellish my photo, I glued down a bit of the pretty May Arts trim, a few of the Prima Vieille Vine blooms and berries and the last of my Kaisercraft dragonflies.
I finished the page by adhering a strip from the Mister Tom's Treasures Borders page on the bottom over the filmstrip image.

From left to right - my sister Jean, my cousins Jane and Mary and me on the end enjoying our lollypops. Behind us is the reason that I wish that this had been taken in color - my Grandmother's gorgeous rock garden.

Friday, August 12, 2016

Welcome to the Beach



This is my take on the Beggahuna sketch that was included in the July kit from Swirlydoos.

Although any materials may be used to create my layout, I decided that two of the patterned papers - Borrow from the Kaisercraft Story Book collection and Borders from the Mister Tom's Treasures by Pion Design.
I used my Cameo to cut two bracket shapes from the "B" side of the Borders sheet, backed them with bits of chipboard to give them some dimension and adhered them to my photo, then to the Borrow sheet.
Next, I treated my chippies (Flourish 26 from Creative Embellishments and a bit of filmstrip that Rae Moses gave me) with Blue Fern Studios embossing powder in Black Sand. The resulting color is amazing - an antique gold with black specks, a perfect contrast with the sand.
And now for the fun: a few borders and alphas from the border sheet and from my stash netting, sea shells and beads to complete my beach scene!

The grandsons had a ball during their week at the Jersey Shore!!!

Thursday, August 11, 2016

All I Want for Christmas



The theme of the August 2016 SGC Challenge is "Christmas in August" and the twist is to make something "Christmassy" using paper that isn't Christmas themed. For extra credit, we can make our own flowers and add some mixed media.

At first glance, this photo of my granddaughter showing off her toothless gap doesn't seem to have anything to do with Christmas. But put it together with what I'll admit is one of the most annoying songs to be played during the holiday season - All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth) - and it's perfect!

I started with a sheet of Bazzil cardstock in Walnut Cream and a very old stamp from the July 2011 Embellishment Add-On from Swirlydoos to create a bit of background for layers of distressed and inked Pion and Kaisercraft pattern papers from the July 2016 Moments Captured Main Kit.
Next, I dug out some of my oldest dies - Pine Tree and Tattered Poinsettia Sizzix Bigz to create my flowers and a couple of borders for my photo.
Once everything was layered and glued, I used some excelsior to fill in the gaps.

That first tooth fell out on its own, but that stubborn second insisted on hanging in there. Mommy and Daddy decided to give it a push with the aid of a loop of dental floss, leaving Sophia with a big smile and visions of Tooth Fairy in her pretty head!!!