March Swirlydoos kit "CABARET" and Reveal Day!!

A new month has arrived, and that means a Reveal Day for Swirlydoos. I am a day late blogging about it. But here we go. Cabaret is The March kit from Swirlydoos. Brand new Prima paper. Moulin Rouge!! So rich in color. And the embellishments that perfectly coordinate are equally as rich..If you are lucky to subscribe to the add on kits, they are a feast for the eyes and full of brand new product, fresh out of Winter CHA..And then there are the specialty items. Like the gorgeous Crystal dangle that came in the kit...Stunning. Krissy manages to find one of a kind pieces for the kits. I am working on the technique kit at the moment...Another beautiful project!!So here are my first 4 from the kit. I have 2 more marinating on my scrap desk. I like to spread the rest of my layouts among the month. The swirly girls (AND DOODE!!) think that it's a treat when we scrap along side them. Yes I said DOODE!! We have enticed Scrapman, to join us in our madness in Swirlyville..He is adorable and funny, and a fresh face in our community!! I invited him to come and check us out after Shona mentioned him in one of the threads in the forum. Didnt seem right to talk about a scrapper behind his back. Glad to have you Phil!!! Here is to many more late nights with the DOODE...
Ok on to my LO's...
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This first one was inspired by February's Prima BAP (build a page). I vowed to do the BAP every month this year. I missed the January deadline due to my work schedule, but I will still do it. I love the vine in the kit. They are my favorite Prima flower. I ordered about 10 of them in different colors in the Swirlydoos store. I think I have each of the colors now. And I ordered a few of the white ones so that I can color them myself. And because I like to recycle and reuse, I die cut the leaf vines from the Prima Flower backing. It is way to pretty to throw away! And it did match the LO as well. Then there are the Prima Masks. I ordered one of each one at the Swirlydoos Store as well...Oh my are they ever beautiful!! I used one of them on the corner of this LO. Isnt it pretty?? The detail is incredible. I used Glimmer mist to color it. The photo's are my wedding photo's. 25 years ago...


The letters were die cut with my Cuttlebug using the Quickutz Storybook die. The tiny letters were created in Microsoft Word, cut apart and inked.

This is a close up of the wonderful Prima mask. I used Glimmer Mist on it. The detail is just stunning.
The flower is a tutorial I just did. I call it the Swirly Hibiscus and I will folow up tomorrow with the tutorial here on my blog. Right now check it out in the tips section at Swirlydoos. The leaves were die cut using a Sizzix die, and I used the Prima Flower packaging for them. I inked them a bit for dimension. I also Glimmer Misted some green over them as well.
A close up of the vine and the frames for the photo's are a Sizzix die as well. I used chipboard and colored them with Distress Crackle paint and using a foam applicator pressed some Chestnut Roan chalk ink into the cracks.

This one has that color green I really love. Like Peridot. The picture was edited in Photoshop using Florabella's new action LuxeII and TexturesIII...I am a Florabella addict. They add the best touches to your photo's.
Once again the Swirly Hibiscus Flower. But this time I used Moonshadow Mists and Glimmer Mist to color the cream paper. The colors are stunning in real life. And very shimmery. The butterfly is from last months kit file.
I colored the Thickers letters in the kit with Lumiere Metallic Paint. I just love the way that paint glimmers.
Closeups of the vine and the flowers. I love the sheet of chipboard embellies in one of the add on kits. So many of them!!
This layout is my take on the sketch this month. Each month the fabulous Beggahuna creates a sketch for the kit. In my opinion, she is the best sketch artist out there in the scrapping community. We are lucky to have her on our Design Team. The feathers in the kits are gorgeous. The ostrich feathers are so elegant!!
The purple flower was made with the card stock add on paper and colored with Glimmer Mist. The same mist was used to color the beautiful trim in the kit.
Gabrielle on her 19th Birthday..The time goes by very quickly. Soon enough she will be graduating a chef at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary arts. She will be a Top Chef!!

Last is a LO of the cabin that we stayed at in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Boy is it ever beautiful. The pic is a view of the side of the cabin. And it snowed the last 2 days we were there. How exciting it was for Gabrielle to see snow for the first time in her life. The mountains are gorgeous in Colorado. The luxury Cabin is a blast. And we get to do it all again in a few months. I cant wait!! Gabbie took some pictures of me in the snow as well.


Well, that is it for tonight. I will upload the others as I go along. Go visit Swirlydoos to see what the Design Team Members have also done with this fabulous kit!! I love working along side such a fabulous Team!!

Hop Off....Someday...

So many of you ask me all of the time. How do you do it Lisa, how do you do so much for the scrap community and in your own life with a full time job, a family and getting anything done for your self. I'm always upfront and straight-forward in letting people know I don't have it together. In fact, I'm making it up (and making it work) as I go along. I guess it works. I get things done. Sometimes I have to stop and tell myself to slow down...Pace yourself...The world keeps on spinning, and sometimes...just sometimes...you have to Hop Off. I thought, Today is that day. I sat in the cool breeze of the evening in my back yard just a few hours ago. It was so quiet, the sun was getting ready to go down. I took in a few deep breaths of crisp pre summer air...It felt good in my lungs. What did I do today I asked myself..Well, I uploaded layouts for Swirlydoos reveal day, answered my email, I participated in a Heartfelt Creations Design Team Blog Hop, I did laundry...I finished up my layout for the new HC Dutch Iris Collection and uploaded to the Design Team blog, posted with instructions and I did dishes...I edited some photo's from a recent photoshoot and updated the Swirlydoos blog for reveal day, I called Gabbie and talked for a while and I made lunch for Steve, then mopped the floors. I went in my scrap room to clean up and organize a little and ended up starting another layout with this months kit until it was time to start dinner..I was chasing daylight once again. By the time I figured it was time to Hop off, it was time to go to bed. So maybe tomorrow, the seventh day, which is the sabbath, I will slow down the pace a bit.Well after I make Sunday breakfast, upload Layout Of The week, do the breakfast dishes and start to wash another load of laundry... oh wait, today was Sabbath...Lord give me peace...Good night...

A Happy Heartfelt Creations Thank You Blog Hop!!

If you landed here from Kristina's Blog, then you are right on track!! It has been an honor and an extreme pleasure to serve on the Heartfelt Creations Design Team. I have forged many new friendships and we have laughed and cried together. Emma Lou, Linda, and the entire team have been such an inspiration to me and I what to thank them for their love, support, and encouragement in my new world of card making. This blog hop is the perfect opportunity to get to know each one of the Design team Members, as I think their work is outstanding. This is my Heartfelt Thanks to all who made this wonderful journey possible for me. The last 6 months have been a blast!!

Your next stop on the Blog Hop will be to the very talented Dee's Blog!! If you get lost along the way or want to start at the beginning, the Blog Hop starts at Linda's Blog. Enjoy the ride. You will sure be inspired!! Make sure you head on over to Heartfelt Creations to check out the gallery and the wonderful stamps and coordinating dies for your stamping pleasure!!
Happy Heartfelt Thank You Everyone!!!

Happy Heartfelt Creations Wednesday!!

Well todays blog post is extra special at Heartfelt Creations!! It lists the semifinalists for the next round of Design Team Spots!! That's right, if you tryed out for a spot, go check the list. It is pretty impressive!! I see a couple of my scrappy friends on the list!! Lori Leng. Way to go Lori!!!!! AND, our very own Swirly Girlie Joelle Hancox made it as well!!! That is so awesome!!! I just adore their work!! Then there is a sneak peek into the next big stamp/die reveal...Next Wednesday!! If you saw spellbinders new releases from Winter CHA, 2 of the new designs coordinate with the new set of stamps coming!! Plus 1 brand new made exclusively for Heartfelt Creations from Spellbinders. I have had a blast on this team. I hate to see it end for my term which ends at the end of the month!! Well go check out what the design team has done for this weeks reveal. They are amazing! And those designers have turned me into a card maker!!! Who would have thought!!! Well, here is my design for this week!! A card...Cant wait to show you next weeks reveal!!

Swirlydoos Reveal Date Change

I know ya'll were waiting on a new Flower Tutorial...Well in order to accommodate more time, Swirlydoos Design Team Reveal has been moved to the 5th of each month...So my pretties, just a few more days, and I will have that up for you!! And look for more videos as well!! Krissy is working on a new format for Swirlydoos Tutorials. You will be able to save them as a PDF or just download and print out the step by step instructions. Go check it out HERE..

I ♥ Faces Fix It Friday

Yup, it's that time again. I love Fix it Friday at IHEARTFACES It gives me the chance to play using my Photoshop Skilz....and the photo this week is just darling!!! I adore cruising the participants versions. You have professionals, amateurs and those who just like to play, like me!! I did 2 versions...

This one is the original...
This one I applied an oil painting technique using Corel Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop CS5. Just playing around with different textures and strokes. Then tweeking color and adding a slight vignette in Photoshop.
This one was done all in Photoshop using Florabella Actions and textures fron the Luxe II set and the new Texture III set. I am so addicted to Florabella Textures and Actions. They are my favorite next to Kubota and MCP..Oh yea, and Totally Rad..I am an action junkie. I mix and match all the time!! I like this edit the best. I must remember the formula...

HAPPY HEARTFELT CREATIONS WEDNESDAY!!

I cannot believe that it is Wednesday already..But that only means you can see all of this weeks Designer Creations on the Heartfelt Creations Blog!! And what a week this is!! The cards and projects are absolutely beautiful!! I love how we all give step by step instructions on the creations...You can follow them easily.
I have used my February Swirlydoos kit to create this LO. I did a photo shoot a couple of weeks ago and this is one of the pictures cropped. Little Anthony holding to daddy's hand. He was precious. The flowers were all stamped, cut apart, layered and curled for dimension. Love love the Coordinations Paper from Graphic 45. I did some sanding to give it a distressed looked. If you check out the Heartfelt Creations blog, I give details on how I did this LO. For the title, I made my Faux Scrabble letters. This time I printed up the files on 5 x 7 paper for smaller tiles. I then glued the whole sheet to chipboard and then cut out the rows of letters, then cut them apart. You can follow the tutorial here.





12 x 12 card stock was punched with Martha Stewart Punch Around The Page Set Double Arches , and the used a sander to bring out the raised areas of the paper. I weaved ribbon through the bottom 6 x 6 Prima Flora Fairy paper then it was adhered and offset slightly to the right. The picture was then adhered to the mat. The decorative corners were then adhered to both right side corners. The sunflower stamps were stamped onto blue card stock using black ink. There are 2 stamped images for each of the larger flowers. And 1 layer for the buds. The stamped images were die cut, then cut between the petals, then sprayed slightly with Glimmer Mist and wrinkled slightly. When the stamped flowers are dry, curl the ends in different directions for dimension. The middles are punches layered for stamen. The buds are a single stamped image folded in half and curled to mimic buds. the punched stamen were tucked in the flower. The leaves were cut out, and painted with Glimmer Mist. They were arranged on the side of the page. The butterflies were printed cut out and covered with Rock Candy Stickles and placed around the page. . The faux scrabble tiles were printed on card stock, backed with chipboard, covered with Glossy Accents, cut out and arranged at the bottom of the page.

Ruffle Flower Tutorial

As Promised...

***Product list***

Coffee Filters
Glimmer Mist
Adhesive, glue, and a tape runner would be good as well
Scalloped circle punch or die (Love my Spellbinders Scallop Circle set)
Beautiful buttons or Prima middles or similar

Punch out about 15-16 coffee filter scalloped circles.
Color your punched pieces with your Spray Mists. I used 2 different colors on these pieces and topped it with Gold for added glimmer.

Take your scallop circle and fold it on half, then fold in half again (quarter) then fold again (eighth).
Fold all pieces before assembling.
Punch out your 1 inch circle (or free hand cut it, you wont see it anyway) Spray the same color as your scallop circle pieces. Add a ring of glue around the circle as shown.
Take one of your folded pieces and place it over the glue. Make sure the folded edge is on the right and the open edge is on the left.

Start placing your folded pieces overlapping them ever so slightly making sure the folded edge is on your right. This way the open edge will fluff up a little in the same direction.
You should have enough pieces to create a full circle of petals. 15 or 16 petals should be enough depending on how close you overlap them.


Place your middle onto the flower. I used a button on this one. I just removed the shank so that it lay flat.
You may notice that the purple flower is slightly different than the others. That is because I folded the scalloped circle in quarters, eliminating that last fold. It makes a wider petal, and you need fewer. You will only need half the amount. enjoy making your ruffle flowers!!
This flower will revealed on Swirlydoos on January 31 on reveal day...Super Simple...

Forever "Lets Get Shabby Winner"!!!!!

Let's get Shabby Challenge #20, is all about Weddings...
I remember the day I snapped this picture of my friend Crystal..It was the moment right before she was to recite her vows...She had this precious, happy, smile on her face. It was the look of love...At this moment, she knew it would be Forever...

This is a LO I did with the gorgeous "Antebellum Beauty" kit from Swirlydoos. I really love the blues in the papers, and blue and brown is one of my favorite color combo's. Using one of my Crafters Workshop Templates, I cut out the scalloped design of the brown paper. I then used my Swirly sister Robins technique for the wet paper distressing, wrinkled and crumpled slightly then inked it while it was still a little damp. That helps the ink bleed a little. I like the effect. The ribbon was a bit to wide to thread through the paper so I sewed, gathered and tied to create the scallops, then just glued to the paper using Alene's quick dry glue and placed a Prima pearl between each gather. I used parts of my punched Martha Stewart scallop punch to peak out from behind my ripped paper. I made the distressed blue rose in the corner then I made the green ribbon flowers and placed some Prima flowers on top of them. I will be putting up the tutorial for the ribbon flowers. I placed tiny rose buds in a few places. I found them at a wonderful UK online store Wild Orchid Crafts. I ordered a bunch of flowers...So beautiful!!!! The buds are just so sweet!!

Happy Heartfelt Creations Wednesday

It's Heartfelt Creations Wednesday!! And Yes it is Happy, that is the title of my layout this week. The design Team does an incredible job with cards..I am not a card maker..I try..Maybe I will try again. All it is is a miniature LO right??? Well, if you visit the Heartfelt Creations Blog, the designers give you step by step instructions on how they created their beautifully creative cards..Step by step!!...Maybe I should follow them and unhinge the secret of card making!! lol..Seriously, the DT does incredible work every week. You must check it out. They are also making a special announcement you may not want to miss...
You will also see my step by step instructions with creating this LO. It was a labor of love as I tried to create everything on the LO from the paper to the flowers with only stamping. Gotta love Glimmer Mist!! Some of my scrap friends tell me, "OH, I have 6 bottles and I am running low, I may need to replenish my stock"...I say..I have almost 60 bottles!! That's not enough colors!! I need more"!!!!! Honestly, Glimmer Mist is the BOMB...I spray it on, paint with it, wet distress with it,color my seam binding to make any color ribbon I want..I just love it!! And on this LO, to enhance the paper, flowers and stamping, I only used 6 colors..Well enough of my rambling.. I bring you Happy...
Cause that's how my daughter rolls...

The butterfly was cut from a Custom Heartfelt Creations Die that Spellbinders does for them.
I added Stickles and dimensional paint to it and cut around the body a bit more for definition. There is also a coordinating Butterfly stamp set that goes with the die.
My favorite leaf stamp to date!! And the flowers are from the the Innoscents stamp collection. They were stamped and die cut with Spellbinders Blossoms 2 set. What I love about Heartfelt Creations stamp sets is many have a Spellbinders die that will cut out the stamped images. So easy rather than trying to fussy cut them with a pair of scissors.
Just a closeup of the flower that was stamped on cream card stock and colored with Glimmer Mist in Sunkissed Peach and Peach Delight. I used my McGill Starburst punch for the middle, then added a Prima E-line pearl. The leaves were misted in 2 different greens. the lighter green to color the card stock, a darker green to touch on shadow parts and what ever color I use in my flowers, I use a paintbrush to stroke on a few highlights onto the leaves. That brings the flowers and leaves together harmoniously...Dont you think?? A video tutorial is in the works for the March Swirlydoos Kit debut...
The corner was also cut from the die set mentioned before. I cut all of my Spllbinders dies on my Cuttlebug.
The punched trim under the photo was punched with my Martha Stewart large punch, then dipped in Utee extra thick embossing powder that I melted in my Melting Pot. It looks like a piece of acrylic. To see how I created this LO step by step with details on techniques, visit the blog. You may pick up some fresh new ideas from what you find in this weeks blog post. Oh and as a side note?? All of the paper I used on this LO came from my Swirlydoos kits...