Blue Fern Studios...It all started with 2 pieces of Kraft Paper...And a special gift for a dear friend...And paying Homage to a wonderful artist!

 It's me, Lisa!! December is here!! I hope that everyone is getting into the holiday spirit!!! Well, with the hustle and bustle of the season, It may be a little difficult to find time to create. But Create I must, so I pulled out 2 pieces of 12x12 Kraft paper..After all, it is the color of chipboard. I covered them with gesso...Then the magic began...Of course, I had some major inspiration for both projects.

 I created this first layout as a gift for a dear friend who lost her husband this year. Laura was a respiratory therapist at the hospital where I work. One day she was at work, the next she was battling a rare form of spinal cancer. We were shocked beyond belief that the girl who always bought a smile to  whoever she came in contact with, would be battling for her own life. And just when life seemed to be getting back to normal for her and Keith....the love of her life is suddenly gone... I wanted Laura to tell you a little about her life with Keith and the story behind the photo I used for this layout. Here it is in Laura's own words...

"What can I say about my husband, Keith? (and this beautiful piece of art my dear friend Lisa made) Keith and I loved the beach...it was our sanctuary, our "place"... Our friends would make fun of us, because we would go to a hotel on Clearwater Beach for the weekend--we live in Clearwater! But there's something about sleeping and hearing the waves crash--it doesn't get better. We laughed with our friends and went anyway... Keith made me laugh everyday for 20 years... I was diagnosed with a rare spinal cancer a few years ago. Treatment would take place in Boston. We dubbed it our "Radiation Vacation". Keith planned something special each and everyday for 6 weeks, so the radiation really got to be the stupid thing I had to do in the middle of all the fun. He also got me a CD to help me sleep at night---waves crashing... I wound up in a back brace after surgery for 18 months (and multiple surgeries)...he called me his "Little Turtle"...when I got better I bought him his turtle shirt (he is wearing it in the picture)... My husband, the love of my life, passed away April 16th 2013. I will love and miss him everyday for the rest of my life... Lisa caught our love, and my wonderful life with Keith, with her artwork. (there are stories about butterflies and flowers, but I've rambled long enough). Lisa you are a treasure, and I will treasure this...XOXO"

This girl has a smile that never quits. It is as big and beautiful as her heart...

 Butterflies and flowers...hhmmm...those are a few of my favorite things to work with..So I guess I was meant to create this piece of art for my friend Laura....Love you girl!!

 I primed the Graduated Circles with gesso. Then painted them with Silks Acrylic Glaze and dabbed some black paint over it when it was dry. I did some machine sewing around the edges of the paper. I love how Heather Jacob meanders her stitches in this manner. Heather is one of my  beautiful Australian artist friends. I did some masking with texture paste and stamping around the layout. I managed to stamp a couple of butterflies on the page, but did not want to distract from the turtles.
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 I painted the By the Sea words with flat black acrylic paint. The cute little turtles are 2  dies by Memory Box. I just had to incorporate them in this layout. I layered them and folded them up a bit for dimension.

  I always save the innards from my panels chipboard. The diamonds came from the Harlequin Page Panel. I glued them to the background and painted them with gesso to blend in, before I sprayed the whole page with mists. The I loaded a small paintbrush with black paint and did some splattering.

  All of the flowers in the cluster were once white. I painted most of them with Silks Acrylic Glaze. I even mixed some colors together to  get the colors I was looking for. In real life, the colors shimmer. I even tucked a turtle or 2  in the flowers.

  This next layout was totally inspired by Australian artist Di Garling. She designed a gorgeous layout for Scrap Around The World.  I just pulled some chipboard and Splash Of Color products from my collection and got busy. You must go see Di's layout that inspired me so much that you can call it a scraplift!! It is simply jaw dropping gorgeous!!

To adorn the Spring Branch, I covered it with some texture paste and let it dry. Then I painted it with Silks Acrylic Glaze. The leaves were done on Pretty Peridot and Olive Vine, the branch part was done in Nutmeg.

 

 I painted the Doodle Flowers with acrylic glaze as well. I added a rhinestone to the middle of this one.

 
 I bought a small hydrangea bush at Hobby Lobby, plucked off all of the flowers, threw out the stem, and saved them for a rainy day. I used a few here and outlined them with Viva pearl pen in gold and placed a rhinestone on the middle of each one.
 

The frame was die cut with a Sizzix die. I painted it with some Viva Base coat before I applied the white Viva Crackle paint over the top. Once the paint was dry and cracked, I added a couple of colors of Silks Acrylic Glaze. The Silks is transparent so it does not cover the crackle effect. My mom grows the most amazing Passion Flowers in her yard.

I painted and tucked some of the Doodle Flowers among the flower clusters.

I hope you join me at the  Blue Fern Studios Blog. Make sure you check back often to see the inspiration created by the Design Team over there.And don't forget to join in on the December Sketch Challenge.

  Blue Fern Studios Products used:

Graduated Circles

 By the Sea

 Harlequin Page Panel

 Spring Branch

 Doodle Flowers