Just Chillin'

Here's another layout for My Scrapbook Nook, using lily bee design's Audrey collection, found in the Nook's gorgeous November kit.

I used my new Martha Stewart corner and border punches on the layout. Love the effect! It's just like buying die cut patterned paper, which I have a weakness for. :)

Some close-ups:

The Prima Gypsy Petals Carmel and Zva crystals are from the Nook's kit add-ons. So pretty. The green Prima caboodles and liberally-sprinkled orange dew drops are from my stash.

Remember to join us for the Nook's virtual crop from 13-15 November. :)

Nook November Kit

This month's kit from My Scrapbook Nook features the lovely Audrey line from lily bee design. I love the rich tones of this collection, and of course the pretty mini die cuts that lily bee's known for.

Some close-ups:

I cut out the leaves from the lily bee's Hollywood patterned paper, applied some stickles and added them to form a little floral cluster.

To balance off the layout, I created a mini cluster on the top right of my layout. I cut out strips of patterned paper and punched decorative borders in them. My journalling's on a bracket frame to match the bracket die cut from lily bee. The journalling stamp's from Purple Onion Designs. I topped the cluster off with a stickled bird, again hand cut from Hollywood papers and a little velvet leaf.

And now for some fun news. My Scrapbook Nook's having a Virtual Crop next weekend, November 13-15. There'll be lots of challenges, prizes and inspiration. Do keep the dates free and join us. The DT has lots planned and the people at the Nook are really friendly and generous.

See you there!

Graphic 45 & Tattered Angels

So this month, Graphic 45 and My Tattered Angels have got together for a blog relay! Can you imagine that? Two of my favourite manufacturers! What this means is that both the Tattered Angels and Graphic 45 design teams get to work with each other's products and show how creative they can be. I of course enjoyed myself tremendously. :)

I created four projects for the blog relay and today marks my first day of blogging for Tattered Angels. You can read my blogpost right here: Hello from Singapore! If you haven't visited the TA blog, you really should because there's plenty to inspire you there. And definitely visit the Graphic 45 blog and ning site. Each time I visit, I go away completely wowed.

Here's one of the layouts I created showcasing both Graphic 45 and Tattered Angels:

The photo's of my dd walking Sunshine, taken in the evening light. I chose to work with Graphic 45's Renaissance Faire papers because I really liked the rich green hues of the Florentine patterned paper and how they complemented the photo. I picked out the tree and shrub glimmer screens from the Garden Blossom collection to match my nature theme. Placing them on a cream cardstock so they blend right into the photo, I misted liberally with a mix of Key Lime Pie, Forest Green, Meadow Green and English Ivy, allowing the colours to run from the lightest green on the left to the darkest green on the right.

I'm into torn borders these days and here's the result of a nonchalent piece of tearing, paired off with a similar edging in Florentine. And what's a nature-themed layout without some flowers and butterflies?

These butterfly chips from Tattered Angels are really one of my favourites at the moment. They're so exquisitely embossed and the best thing is you can colour them up to match any layout you have simply by misting them. Here, I've used Candlelight, Burnt Red and Peach Delight to create a sunburnt golden hue to match the Renaissance Faire Triumphant and Awakening papers. I like how the peach and red mists shimmer at different angles.

I sometimes hear scrappers saying they don't know how to work Graphic 45 papers. My reply is don't take them at face value. The Renaissance Faire papers don't have to be used on vintagey, arty layouts. Think out of the box and you can use them to great effect on nature themed layouts too. For this layout, for eg., I've played up the green and golden hues in the patterned papers to highlight the evening setting in my photograph.



My next project, a card, also uses Renaissance Faire papers:

I was inspired to create this card when I found this cute Tattered Angels glimmer chip owl staring at me from my stash. I wanted an organic feel to the layout so rummaged up some corrugated cardboard and misted away to create a shimmery background for my owl. I misted Sunflower, Olive Vine and Golden Terracotta, allowing the hues to run from olive at the bottom to a golden yellow at the top. The flecks of gold on the misting is amazing, especially if you view the card glistening in the sunlight. I layered on some Renaissance Faire papers in Bona Fide and Romantique, carelessly torn, and added some twine. Of course I couldn't leave the little owl floating in mid-air, so I hand cut a branch for it from the corrugated cardboard, and misted it in luscious chocolate shades of Suede and Coffee Shop. I'm not sure if I'll give this card away. I like it too much. :)

I'll be back with more Tattered Angels and Graphic 45 projects. In the meantime, do visit the Tattered Angels and Graphic 45 blogs for more inspiration by the talented DT members of both teams.

Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek of something I'll be posting tomorrow. Recognize the patterned papers and medium I used? ;-)

Prima - Altered Gift Box

Here's another Prima project I created during my guest designer stint there recently. I glammed up a simple box using one of my favourite collections from Prima, Flirty Little Secrets.




I added lots of flowers to the top as well as the new stitched art charms and journal frame stamp. Instead of stamping directly onto the patterned paper, I stamped the frame onto a piece of clear transparency and layered that onto the cluster.




In keeping with the glam look, I edged the top of the lid with shiny pink stickles and completed the embellishing with a ring of Prima lace trim around the lid. I'm thinking the box would be perfect for some vintage findings or travel mementoes.

A Few Cards

Here are a few cards I made using stamps from Purple Onion Designs:

That beautiful butterfly looks good on a card, on layouts... everywhere. I also used the circle scallop stamp and a little motif from the Antique Fair set. Teamed them up with some lovely Graphic 45 Domestic Goddess papers from My Scrapbook Nook's October Kit.

I'm slowly building up my Christmas card stock. On this one I used Graphic 45's Christmas Past papers and one of Purple Onion's Snowflake stamps. The mistletoe's from Prima and the leaves I handcut.

I wanted to try something different with this card. So I sprayed Tattered Angels glimmer mist in Lemon Zest, Sea Glass, Meadow Green and Turquoise Blue all over a white cardstock. The shimmer on this is amazing, especially bathed in warm sunlight. I then stamped some blossom and butterfly Purple Onion stamps on the card and heat embossed the images. I outlined the card in black to focus the images and left it simple. Yay simple! No patterned paper, no embellishments. Just cardstock, glimmer mist and stamps. :)

This is my last month with Purple Onion Designs. I can't believe I've been on their design team for a year already. How time flies! I had a great time designing with their stamps and will continue to play with them, as they truly are gorgeous stamps. Thank you, Michele, for this great opportunity and for being so warm and generous. :)

And ladies, check out the Purple Onion blog for more new stamps that Michele introduced just this week.

Hi! Card

My Scrapbook Nook's November kit's on its way and I just realized I hadn't posted this card I made from the October kit yet. It's a greeting card made from the ever-gorgeous Graphic 45 Domestic Goddess papers. I added some doily and lace for the domestic look. I began by spritzing the doily with some Tattered Angels glimmer mist in Vanilla Breeze to age it a little.

For the word "Hi", I applied crackle glaze to the Graphic 45 alphas, creating a vintage typewriter key feel.

I cut out the flower motif from the patterned paper and dotted it with red distressed stickles for the flower centres.

I just completed another card using the kit and will post it up soon.

BFF - A Prima Layout

Here's the third layout I created for Prima during my stint as guest designer recently. It's a relatively simple layout. I went for a clean look because I really like the Delighted patterned paper from Prima's Indeed collection with its pretty lilac butterflies and wanted it to show through. So I used just two patterned papers on this layout. The background one, and a scalloped circle border I handcut from the Enchanted papers.

I selected a large homespun elegance flower in purple to be a focus accent and added a couple of smaller caboodles in complementary shades of violet and green. I popped up the photo using dimensional foam dots, and gathered a length of lime Prima lace, scrunched it and tucked it just under the bottom of the photo. Prima Say It In Pearls swirls and a sprinkling of the new e pearls in mint and blush complete the layout.


But wait, there's a hidden tag for secret journalling on this layout. I created a tag out of the packaging for the flutter vine by cutting it in half. It's always fun to recycle packaging, especially ones that are as pretty as this. I then attached some caboodles to it and tucked it behind the photo. The tag is held in place by the flowers which act as a clip. No one would know it's there, unless you know which flowers to pull on.

Here's the cluster of flowers with the tag disguised as part of the floral cluster:

And here's the tag. I've left it blank here so my daughter can journal on it later.

It's amazing what a few well-placed Prima flowers and lace can do for a simple layout. :)

Altered Cheeseboard

I was looking at The Domestic Goddess papers from Graphic 45 and felt inspired to create a food-related altered object. I knew I had a cheeseboard lying around and this was what I came up with.

I cut out the labels from the patterned paper, then layered them over a doily I found in my kitchen cabinet. But first, I lightly misted the doily with My Tattered Angels' glimmer mist in Vanilla Breeze, a lovely light brown shade.

I knew from the start the quote I wanted to use on the cheeseboard; one that I've always found amusing: Life Is Short. Eat Dessert First. :D

I made a simple paper flower from the patterned paper by cutting out the yellow petals from the Graphic 45 patterned paper, layered one over another, curled the edges and completed the blossom with a button.

The patterned papers, homespun Prima flower, buttons and blue ribbon are all from My Scrapbook Nook's gorgeous October kit.

"Wish" - A Prima Layout

This is another layout I created for Prima as their guest designer, using the Tropics collection. I used just two patterned papers on this layout, although you might not think it looking at the strips of patterned paper peeking out from under the photo. I chose the soothing Celery Splash paper as the background because it matched the colours in the photograph perfectly. For a splash of colour, I cut strips from Sweet Apple, then punched decorative borders along each, laying them down to form a photo mat.

I wanted the photo to stand out, so the embellishments hugged just a corner of the layout. I layered a large Painted Lady flower with two vines and added Say It In Crystal swirls for subtle bling.

Prima products I used:

Patterned Paper: Tropics Sweet Apple (840945)and Celery Splash (840952)

Flowers: Painted Ladies Nob Hill (532727), Flutter Vines Scarlet (533663), Cherry Blossom Branches White (533649)

Leaves: Heirloom Paper Leaves Blue Ice (532239)

Crystals: Say It In Crystals (517304)