Zva Creative September DT Blog Hop! ***My layouts feature Swirlydoos September kit "Inspiration"

Zva Creative and our talented Design Team welcome you to join us for our September Blog Hop! We are happy to have you join us and hope you enjoy all that we have to share with you along the way!

The Blog Hop begins at Zva Creative's blog! Be sure head on over to check it out! Leave a comment there for a chance to win an extra prize package just for visiting the blog and telling us that you stopped by! You will also find a complete list of all the participating blogs there (in case there is a glitch along the way).  

As you know, Zva Creative offers many beautiful color groupings for pearls, flowers and crystals.  We want to make sure that they shine bright for you, so each designer was will be sharing a creation using a specific color or color combination on their blog hop project.  If you like what you see you can find a list of stores and online retailers that sell Zva HERE.

I had the creative privilege of working with Primas Romance Novel Papers this month. Swirlydoos September Kit Inspiration is just so beautiful and full of this line! There are so many gorgeous colors from  Zva Creative, and the rose crystals are among my favorite. So pairing them with my Inspiration papers seemed like a perfect fit. This first layout I created in honor of my dear grandmother who recently received  her angels wings. I believe she is still with me. I used a lot of Gesso on this LO to soften the whole page. I also used some texture paste to create the bricks. My dear Swirly sister Barbara created the masks for me and I love them!! I also used Crafters Workshop Reverse Chicken wire mask, using touches of Glimmer Mist in Viva Pink. I also splashed some color here and the

Zva  Double Flourishes Crystal (c) - Pink & Rosy -[CR-03CA-113] I only used 1 piece of the double design Zva pack. I saved the other for a future project. Or, I think I may have used it in a past project. Either way, I love both pieces. 

Zva  Flourish - Pink/Rosy Crystal -[CRB-05CB-118]
This is a bigger, longer piece that I love!!The lighter and darker crystals give these pieces so much dimension. 

Zva also carries flowers. I have quite a few of their roses in white, because I love to color my own to match my crystals and layouts. So I used the Zva Sweet Roses in white and colored them with Glimmer Mist in Sunkissed Peach. I then added them as middles for my hand made flowers that I diecut from my Tim Holtz Tattered Floras die.  Then I just covered them with Gesso to blend in with the rest of the layout.

A closeup of the title.  The word Angel was die cut using Tim Holtz "Typeset" 12 inch strip die.

My daughter has this inner sparkle that she seems to be born with, so I found this quote on Pinterest and decided to use it as my title. Mixed media id so hot now so I did some brick work with texture paste, and sprayed and splashed 2 different Glimmer mist colors on the page.

Here is a closeup of the flower cluster I created. The vines are a Cherry Lynne design that I diecut and then cut apart.

 Zva Flourishes- Pink/Rosy Crystal -[CR-05CB-117] There are 2 flourishes in this pack, and you can see the second one I used below. 
I purchased a new Martha Stewart Punch Around The Page set. It is so pretty!!

 Zva Flourishes- Pink/Rosy Crystal -[CR-05CB-117] This one is in the same pack as the one above.

I created the orange roses using Spellbinders Rose Creations die and the add on card stock in my Swirlydoos kit. I enhanced the colors of the card stock with Glimmer Mist and then rubbed some Inka Gold in Old Silver for a beautiful burnished look . I die cut  some of my favorite vines for the greenery.

The larger flowers were die cut using Spellbinders Sunflower set #2 die. I then added a Zva Sweet Rose to the middle and used the Inka Gold in Old Silver rubbed on the petals of these as well. 

To play along with our design team, just follow along the blog path.  I am linking to one of the Zva designers and that designer is linking to the next and so on.  Hidden on FIVE of the designer's blogs is a Zva Creative prize package! Winners will be randomly chosen after the hop is over, so it's important to leave a comment on as many blogs as you can along the way.

The Blog Hop starts today, September 24th and runs through 11:59pm US Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, September 25th. 

The 5 winners will be announced on Wednesday, September 26th on Zva Creative's blog. We will do our best to notify each winner, but it's best if you can pop in to Zva's blog on Wednesday.

All you need to do is leave a comment on this Blog Hop post... you do not need to leave a comment on each and every designer's blog post to qualify. However, the more times you comment along the blog hop path, the more chances you will have to win.

We also thought it would be more fun to add even more chances to win our blog hop prize!  To increase your chances of winning:

* Comment to let us know that you posted on your Facebook page about our hop (link to any of the blog hop posts)

* Comment to let us know that you "tweeted" about our hop (link to any of the blog hop posts)

* Comment to let us know that you asked your local store to carry Zva creative products.  If they already do, that's fantastic, maybe you can suggest other products that they don't carry.

*Hop over to Zva's blog and leave a comment there to tell us that you made it there!

 The blog hop begins here at Zva Creative's blog. Your next stop is the very talented  Carole Maurin ...Enjoy!

Thank you for joining us!

P.S. Mark your calendar to join us again on October 29^th for our next Zva blog hop!

i {heart} papers and Zva Creative Joint Blog Hop

 Today I’m teaming up with some of my fellow design team members from Zva Creative and designers form i {heart} papers to share a new project using Zva’s beautiful crystals and fall patterned paper that is available at i {heart} papers.

We are celebrating a week-long event that is happening over at Paper Craft Planet.  The Planet’s design team, the Super Novas, are hosting special fall challenges all week that feature both Zva Creative and paper from i {heart} papers. Be sure to stop by, see their lovely creations and be inspired to join in on the fun!
 

My projects today were created with a wonderful My Minds Eye Come Away With Me (Six by Six 2) 6x6 pad, that I received from  i {heart} papers.I can totally see this paper pad used for a travel mini!! Paired with some wonderful flowers and bling from Zva Creative, I created 2 cards and a framed  photo for display on my scraproom sideboard.

I chose to use the more solid colors from the pack for my projects but saved all of the other pages to create a cute little travel journal to add vacation photo's for the future.

 

 The flourishes are Flourishes- White Pearl -[CRW-05CB-114]
 The Blue flower is 1.5" graceful roses -Blue - [FL-04CA-133]
 The tiny rose buds are Elegant Rose Buds 1/4w x 3/8h" or 6wx10h mm - White[FLBK-03CB-145]

The crystal flourishes on this next card are  Flourishes - Iridescent Crystal - [CRW-05CB-118]
And the white flowers are the Sweet Rose's in 1 3/8 or 35mm size.

Here is a closer view of the flourishes. I wish the camera could capture their true sparkling beauty.

 This photo piece has a crystal flourish CRS-04CA-114.
The flowers are  mini rose -1/2" or 12mm - Classic Red [FLBK-03CB-104]

Here is the front of my mini. I used Tim Holtz/Sizzix Alterations die Vintage Valise to create my mini.

It seemed a shame to take apart a small Zva pearl flourish for my studs, but this is a designer suitcase, so it seemed fitting to do so...lol..I found the perfect pack. Imagine - White Pearl -[CR-05CA-111]
And I also added a couple of rhinestone flourishes Symmetrical Flourishes - small (M) - Smoke Crystal -[CRW-05CA-154]

This is the back of the mini. I thought this paper pack was perfect for the suitcase style because it had all of those very cool designs that looked like the stickers you placed on old luggage. I just cut them all out and adhered  them on the front and back.

I only have one page created for the inside, but plenty of paper left in the pack to create more pages for the future. 6x6 paper packs are PERFECT for mini album projects. I love them. And  i{heart} papers has plenty of styles to choose from.

 
If you are just joining the hop you can start at the beginning at Zva Creative’s blog! You will also find a complete list of all the participating blogs there (in case there is a glitch along the way).  

Please leave our designers lots of love and comments along the way because Zva Creative will be selecting one lucky winner who comments along the blog hop to win a Zva prize package worth $30.  All comments must be received by 11:59pm on Wednesday, September 19^th. Winners will be announced on Zva’s blog on Thursday, September 20^th.

i {heart} papers retails the industry's best paper crafting supplies from your favorite manufacturers while offering stellar customer service and super fast and FREE US shipping with any $60 order. (They also ship internationally.) We are proud to offer our exclusive i {stick} papers redline tape, which is manufactured just for us in long-lasting 60 yard rolls, at an amazing price! We also provide a publication incentive for our three private stamp lines, Mint Motif, The Petal Press and Chicken Girl. Visit our website and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and our blog for news, sales, coupons and more!

Zva Creative produces many beautiful color groupings of high quality pearls, flowers and crystal embellishments that can be used on scrapbooking, card making and mixed media projects. Visit Zva’s gallery or blog for great project ideas and to find a list of stores and online retailers that sell Zva click HERE.

From here, you're visiting GretchenBelknap  Thanks for visiting, and enjoy the hop!  And don’t forget to also visit Paper Craft Planet every day this week for much more inspiration and fun challenges!

FabScraps Christmas Collection Giveaway!!

Well believe it or not,  the holidays are just around the corner...Soooo, I would love to start the gift giving a little early!! How about a chance to win the whole paper collection from FabScraps brand new Christmas Collection. FabScraps sent me a fabulous generous There are 8 beautiful double sided papers and I am also including 3 fabulous Chipboard designs. I am currently working with this collection, and it is Oh So Fabulicious!! The designs on the papers are brick and weathered. Shabby, but holiday chic. All you have to do is leave me a comment here, become a follower, and become a FabScraps Blog Follower as well. About October 1st, I will announce  the winner.
In the meantime, go check out the other fabulous designs from FabScraps.

And the winner by Random Generator is ...
Sandi Clarkson!!
Email me you addie and I will get your package out to you!!

Swirlydoos' September Kit Reveal Blog Hop Block Party!!

Welcome to Swirlydoos' September Kit Reveal Blog Hop Block Party!!

 If you came here from Rae's blog, then you are on the right track.  If not, go back to Swirlydoos' blog and start from there.  We have some amazing projects for you to see today!!

 This first layout I chose to do on my grandmother. The paper with the yellow roses reminded me of her. She loved roses.  The yellow mat was punched using Martha Stewart's Rain Drop punch around the page set. The yellow photo mats are Spellbinders Romantic Labels die.
The kit is full of Prima's new line Romance Novel...Marion Smith designed it and it is so gorgeous. I love that it is so versatile and can be used in a feminine or masculine way.

 The circles were die cut from  Spellbinders Persian Motifs.

 I created the yellow flowers using the yellow card stock in the add on card stock kit. I always get that add on because I know I will be making flowers or using it for borders. The pink flourish is Die-Namics Fancy Flourish, the yellow one is Die-Namics Leafy Flourish.

Just another close up of the flowers. I  love the combo of the yellow and pink together against the distressed black paper.

 This next layout used just 1 sheet of paper. I distressed the edges with my Zutter, did some machine sewing and added the Crafters Workshop reverse chicken wire design using texture paste which I also painted on the edges. .

The kit came with a zipper and the Prima Zipper pull trinkets. Genius!! Love the effect. I pulled the zipper apart a bit and glued on the pull.

Marion Smith did a live with Prima show a few weeks ago when she debuted Romance Novel. She also announced  that Prima's Face Book Page had a freebie. It consisted of a PDF to download  images to create a cover, back  and pocket envelope for a mini Marion did. I created the butterflies for the kit using Photoshop, by layering the design from the cover onto a butterfly image. They go perfectly with the kit. You can grab 3 different styles at Swirlydoos.

 Just a closeup of the zipper pull. I think I will use these a lot. I love them!! The pink roses were made with the paper and the Alterations  Tattered Pinecone die.

I layerd a cutout from the papers onto a  label in the kit. I used pop dots for dimension.

I never do layouts of my son or husband, because masculine layouts are hard for me.  I decided to grab the more masculine papers in the kit. I sanded the Coredinations paper to bring out the clocks on the surface.  Then I rubbed it very lightly with Inka Gold. Before you know it, I'm adding flowers...Not so very masculine!! But I still love the design. I'll just say he is the most beautiful flower in my garden.

I created the blue flowers using my Alterations Tattered Floral Garland die. I used  my Purple Passion Flower Tutorial. The middle was created with a McGill small sun punch. I saw Pascale use the Garland die to create the flowers on her Carpe Diem layout  and was so inspired to create the same ones!! Please visit her blog as she is an amazing artist!!  For the yellow flower I used Spellbinders Rose Creations die and added a Prima rose to the middle.

Here is a close up of the clocks sanded down using my Tim Holtz mini sander, and touching them lightly with Inka Gold.

 Here is a close up of the middle of the page. I love the Prima resins designed by Ingvild  Bolme. They are so beautiful. My husband didn't even see me snapping the photo of him today. He thought I was fooling around with the settings on my camera. I wanted to capture a "here and now" photo.

You have until midnight, eastern time, on Friday, September 7th to complete the hop. Winners will be announced on the Swirlydoos Blog on Saturday the 8th.  In order to qualify to win here is what you need to do:
1: Visit all of the blogs and leave a comment on each. This way we know you were there. Become a follower if you're not already. Take your time. There are REALLY beautiful things to see along the way.
2: Before you leave each blog, look for the “special” words and write it down.
Once you have visited all the blogs and collected all the special words, they will create a sentemce.
3: Finally, go back to the Swirlydoos blog and leave a comment letting us know how much fun you had, tell us the sentence that was created with all of the special words you collected.    Can't wait to hear from you.

My special word is : difference

The party continues over at Heidi's' blog.  Have fun!