Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Tresors De Luxe July Guest Designer and my Last project.

Well the month of July has gone way to quickly. Summer is in full swing in my neck of the woods. Barbeques, Family get togethers, Work and play...And when it comes time to play, I do it well. I got to play with the most gorgeous laces and flowers this month courtesy of Tresors de Luxe products. From Scrapbook pages, to off the page projects, I loved working with the laces. For my last project, I decided to use it for a plain journal I bought in the dollar bin at Michaels. I wanted a wish book, an idea book for scrapbooking.

I covered the book with Prima's Engraver Line paper as a base for my embellishing. I took the beautiful Tresors Lace and adhered it to the binding edge of the book. This is the front. 



  I used Blue Fern Studios Dream Big from The Optimist Word Set. chip board and heat embossed it with black embossing powder.


I added a few butterflies after inking them and finger painted them with Rock Candy Stickles.The 2 corner pieces are from Blue Fern Studios as well. They are the Symphony Corners in small. They are 4 to the pack. I heat embossed them in glossy black.


 I covered the back of the book with the same gorgeous lace.


Here is an image of the book the way it looks from the back open. The lace is gorgeous, and makes my dollar find look like a million bucks!! I also added some Prima trinkets to the edge of the spine. They are so sweet and matched the cover perfectly. I hand sewed them on.


Here is a closeup of the sweet butterflies. As a bonus, I created a file for the butterflies you can find at the end of this post.


Every book, needs a book mark. I love elegant book marks. In my personal stash I found a Websters Pages Book Mark sash. I decided to use it for the book mark. Here it is shown hanging on the outside of the book.

I took a portion of the lace and adhered it to the sash to match the outside design of the book.

                                               
  Here is the book mark in action.



Here is the file for the butterflies. I inked the ones on the book with soft brown ink over the yellow parts and all around the butterfly.


Dont forget to LIKE the Tresors de Luxe page on Facebook.  https://www.facebook.com/tresorsdeluxeetsyshop

And dont forget to visit the Tresors de Luxe Etsy shop.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/TresorsdeLuxe?ref=seller_info

And don't forget to visit their Pinterest Page.    http://pinterest.com/otanav/tresors-de-luxe-etsy-shop/

And visit the blog for more inspiration!!  http://tresorsdeluxe.blogspot.com/

I hope you enjoyed this project as much as I enjoyed creating it. Thank you Lucy Ohanyan and Cathi O'neill for inviting me to be Guest Designer for the month of July. It was shear pleasure, and I will continue to use Tresors de Luxe flowers and lace on future projects!!

Friday, July 26, 2013

"Scrap That" August kit Reveal and my Guest Design projects.

Welcome to the ScrapThat! August Kit Reveal and Blog Hop !

You should have arrived here from the ScrapThat! Blog. If not and you would like to hop along for a chance to win our grand prize, head over to the ScrapThat! Blog to start at the beginning.  

I will be  Guest Designing for Scrap That this month!!! I had the pleasure of working with this beautiful kit!!


 I am honored and excited to be Guest Designing for Scrap That for the month of August.

Now without further ado, we are proud to introduce our August kit, "Days To Remember" featuring the shabby loveliness of the Maja Design "Vintage Spring" Collection. This is one of those kits that you will just keep saying,"Oh, how pretty!" as you unpack every item. The colors are soft and muted and paired with elegant embellishments and delicate flowers. 

Take a look:

Main Kit

Embellishment Add-On Kit

Flower Add-On Kit

Paper Add-On Kit
More details on this collection can be found here:
ScrapThat! Store 

We are currently accepting new

Kit Club Members.
For more information,
complete the form on the link below:
New Subscriber
 

Summer Promotion 
ScrapThat! is having a fabulous summer promotion. If you start a subscription during the months of July or August, after 6 paid months, you can pick a retired kit from the ScrapThat! store for free. It will be shipped along with your 6th month kit. If you are already subscriber and want to get in on the action, refer a friend. For each friend you refer, you will both receive a free kit after you each complete 6 months from the time the referral starts. The person you refer must give your name when they subscribe. Stop by the ScrapThat! Store to start your subscription today. 

Look at the elegant sketch Amarilys has created for August!


See details about the challenge here:

 Sketch Challenges

Here is my version of the sketch. It started out as the original sketch turned on to it's side,  and then something happened and it took a life on of it's own. I just love how a sketch can start your mojo flowing and then ends up looking nothing like the sketch sometimes.

I created the pink roses by taking the white silk rose petals in the kit, curling them slightly by holding them over a tea candle till the ends curled, then spraying them with a color spray. Then I sewed 5-6 petals together and used the pink roses in the middle to create a totally different flower. The Smooch was then randomly painted all over the flowers.
 The title is a Blue Fern Studios chip board piece (not in the kit). I used chalk ink on it for color.

Just another closeup.
  The little Dogwood flowers and leaves were diecut from one of Sizzix new series of floral dies, designed by Susan Tierney-Cockburn. I tucked the lace here and there under my peekaboo cuts.

The small rosettes were diecut from Spellbinders Itty Blossoms die. I used the Smooch on them as well.

This next layout, I created all of the flowers with the single page of yellow card stock in the kit.


For my next post as Guest Designer, I will post a tutorial on how I created these daisies on the layout.


Believe it or not, the corrugated paper did come with the kit. I used the  packing box. Just tore a small piece off of the box and peeled back the paper.
 


The journaling words were printed up using Photoshop. I printed out the phrase and cut the individual words apart. I inked the edges and using a very fine tipped Zig pen, I outlined right inside and outside of each word for added dimension.

I created a file for the butterflies. I just printed them out, cut them up and rubbed  some Rock Candy Stickles on them, curled the wings a bit and let them dry. They turn out to be little gems...


 I used an old stamp from Build a Frame Stamp set from  IOD for the opposite corners to add a bit of design.


When I opened my kit and saw the Spanish moss, I was stumped, because I live in Florida and the stuff grows wild on my trees. I am always pulling it off in bunches as it chokes the life out of my smaller trees. I thought of making little birds nests until  the idea came to make a small wreath to frame a photo.  It worked out perfectly. I saved the clipped wires from the flowers and used them to adhere the moss to a card board circle I created from the packing box. That box our kits came in sure came in handy!!

I added the Smooch paint to the flowers and leaves. With the smaller scraps of paper, I made some tiny rolled roses. and added a pearl to each center.
 
I die cut some smaller vines.

Here  is a closeup of the Spanish Moss wreath.

I love my Martha Stewart deep edge punches. This decorative strip was made by punching both   sides of the paper strip. I added the pearls down the center.


Just another closeup of the flowers.

All I did to the butterflies were paint them with the Smooch and curled up the wings a bit.  I only adhered the body to the paper and as the paint dries, the wings curled on their own.

One more closeup of the opposite corner.



We are having multiple DT Challenges this month. Be sure to check them out!
Tracey S.: Spice it up with Stamping 
Monica: Chipboard from Cereal Box
Laura: Black & White Photo
Tracey G: Trash to Treasure
Everyone is welcome to participate in all challenges !
You do NOT have to be a subscriber to play along!
Entries for all challenges are due by Wednesday, August 28.
 All winners of our challenges, including Layout of the Week, are eligible to receive 10% off any 2012 Kits ~ including Add-ons!

Our Blog Hop features 9 fabulous hop sites including our Design Team blogs. 
We have been scrapping away and are so excited to show you our  creations! 

The August Blog Hop Prize is our retired 
"Once Upon a Dream" Main Kit featuring Kaisercraft Charlotte's Dream
To qualify for this month's FABULOUS Prize, you must complete the following:
  • Visit each blog listed on the hop to see what each designer has created using this month's kit and sketch (comments are very much appreciated).
  • Each designer's blog hop post will feature a word or two that will make up a secret sentence, collect these words along the way.
  • You must become a FOLLOWER of each blog along the way and LIKE us on our Facebook Page!
  • Post the ScrapThat! Blinkie on your blog.
  • For your last stop on our Blog Hop return here to the ScrapThat! Chat Blog. Leave a comment letting us know you have completed the hop.(Please do NOT include the secret sentence in your comments.)
  • Email the secret sentence to Tracey Sabella: tracey@scrapthat.ca
The Blog Hop ends Sunday, July 29th at Midnight EST.
The prize MUST be claimed within 3 days of the forum announcement which will also be made on the ScrapThat! Blog.
~ If left unclaimed a NEW winner will be chosen ~
**Winner will pay actual shipping costs for sending the kit from Canada.**
Shipping costs will be invoiced via PayPal unless you are a kit member, then your prize will be shipped with your monthly kit. Prizes won during the month will be mailed out the first week of the following month. Due to Customs clearance, International mailings sometimes take 30-75 days to receive.

My secret word is:

 of 

Next hop over to visit the very talented
For your final stop, return here to the ScrapThat! Blog 
to let us know you have completed the hop.
Remember ~ only send the secret sentence to tracey@scrapthat.ca
Happy Hopping!

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Tresors de Luxe Guest Design Spot...More lucious goodness with lace and flowers.

Hello there again. This week I bring to you another layout using one of pieces of luscious lace and a couple more flowers, that was in my Guest Design Team package. I just love the feel of the Ivory Venice Lace (LA-025) in my hands and using it on this layout was heaven. It is lacy and delicate and reminded me of grapes hanging from a vine. So I opted to do a purple layout. It is one of my favorite colors.


My journaling was done in Adobe Photoshop CS5. I matched the color of the letters to the distress stain I used to create the splats on my paper.


I draped the longer piece of gorgeous lace across the top of the page. I kept the lace in it's natural color because the shimmer was just so beautiful. But even in coloring your lace, you don't lose a bit of the shimmer.The leaves were die cut using one of my favorite CottageCutz dies, Leafy Foliage.
This layout was totally inspired by a page that Gabrielle Pollacco did. The purple, the design, and everything on her layout just sang to me... Thanks for the inspiration Gabi...



I used a shorter piece across the bottom of the page for a visual effect. It gave the page some balance.




I used the Pale Blue Velvet and Rhinestone Flower to break up all of the purple on the page. The smaller flowers I created with a Sixxiz die and I used Viva Inka Gold to color them, then topped them with a pearl for the center.


  The Orchid Velvet and Rhinestone Flower also comes in different colors. Be sure to get all of them because the colors are beautiful. These flowers leave a softness to your pages.


 
I opted to cut the photo into a circle to match the photo mat I created with the paper. And I did some machine sewing on the page for more texture.



Thank you for letting me share another layout with you. I have 1 more project left for this month  for my Guest Design spot. But this won't be the last you see me use Tresors de Luxe flowers and laces on my projects. I have plenty to adorn my pages.
Until next time...xoxo

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Lost layout. Cest Magnefique/Blue Fern Studios in June.

 I don't believe that I forgot to post this layout in it's entirety here on my blog. I only posted the sneak last month. I did post it every where else, but neglected to show it here...It was a layout I did for Ceste Magnefique, and Blue Fern Studios. The CM June kit was delicious!!! As is the rest of their kits!! But here it is. I think  it was my first attempt at making splats on my pages after my very talented friend  Heather Jacob taught me how. I was so proud of my splats. But I covered most of them. I will have to do a little more design planning next time. This layout was for the June Sketch challenge.

 Here is the lovely sketch created by Michele Singh 

 And here is my version of the sketch. I used some texture medium and a mask to create the background. Then inked it randomly around the edges and on the embellies using Vintage Photo distress ink and the foam applicator.


I created the little canvas banner from the Prima Resist Canvas. The splats were done using my Tim Holtz Distress stains. One of the colors I received in my Prize pack from Tim Holtz for winning his floral challenge.

 
The Blue Fern Studios Grand balloon is a beautiful chip board piece. I painted  it with Martha Stewart acrylic paint and covered it with Rock Candy Stickles. The little clouds were hand cut from the larger pieces in the Prima Canvas Resist set that I knew I would use in the shape it came in.

 
The flowers in the kit were a cream color. I used some Silks Color Glaze to give them a little color. Just used a soft brush and let the glaze soak into the flowers. I simply adore the way it looked like water colors. The Silks Glaze is amazing!!!


I created the leaves and tiny roses from Spellbinders dies. I inked and used a little Gesso on them for  texture and a painterly look. 


Thank you for letting me share this lost layout with you. I am sure you must have seen it elsewhere, but I like to let you know the details and how some of the techniques were done. 
Till next time... xoxo