Little Me Layout

Sometimes projects come together in a very strange way. My friend Charlene scored some beautiful lace and was willing to share. I wanted to create a layout that would do the lace justice. I know that is kind of the opposite of how we normally do things.  Funnier still is that the last thing I looked for was the picture!

I can thank my brother for digging this one out. I'm especially grateful to him because due to fires and floods (that is a whole other story) I didn't have any pictures of myself that young and only a couple of myself before the age of 30. Strange that in this one picture  I'm wearing an outfit that matched the look and feel and the color of the lace! I did not change the color of the outfit in any way.

This is a very lacy, layered look. All but the lace under the actual flower is Vintage lace. The peachy coral is the lace I received from Charlene. The buttons are from Websters Pages and I hoarded them for a very long time!

Here is a closer look at the lace and flower.

As for the photo corners, they are from Michael's and were originally silver. One I dried them with my heat gun, I put a coat of gesso on them  and dried them with the heat gun. Once dry I sprayed them several times with my Lindy's Stamp Gang Cocklebells Coral  drying them with the heat gun between coats. Finally I touched the corners very lightly with the daubber head of my Picket Fence Distress paint to ensure the raised portions and the edges stood out more.

I really do have fun doing this! Thanks for stoping by and have a super day!

M-C

A Lil More Secret Garden

It's actually quite funny that I'm making so many things with the pink/coral shades from the Graphic 45 collection. But it seems to be what is in my head or what I'm being driven to do by my friends! 

First up is a Mother's Day card. 

I used one of the six cards from the 12x12 May Flower's paper as well as a couple of strips of  the 8x8 Secret Garden paper.

Some flat back pearls and lace bridge the two papers.

I used the Spellbinder's "Ribbon Banner" die to create the sentiment and unfortunately, the stamp purchased at Archivers yesterday has an smudged  company name. I'm just glad that it fit in the banner, LOL! I inked the banner with Distress Ink, (spun sugar) while the die was still on the paper. I both cut and embossed the banner.

The flower is from the Secret Garden collection. Graphic 45 now sells matching patterned paper flowers in packs. I cut the petals on all 3 layers in more towards the middle and rolled each petal in the end of a paint brush handle.  Then I gathered a piece of lace and put it behind the assembled flower. I made a bow our of more lace and added a Wild Orchid Craft white rose!

I lost my mom years ago, but there is someone pretty special in my life that deserves this card!

Hope you like it! :)  Check back tomorrow for a layout and I've got another one of my chipboard projects running around in my head! Have a great day!

M-C

Graphic 45 Design Team 2013 Submission

Every Year Graphic 45 selects their design team after reviewing hundreds of entries from people aspiring to be a part of this fabulous company. For years I have used their products and looked on as people with amazing artistry and skills were selected. This year, as part of living my life with "zest", I decided to get off the bench and get into the game. I truly had a great time putting this post together, and creating the project you will see first, made especially for this DT call but with a practical use in mind.  I hope my selections will please the eye! Here are the 6 projects that I decided to submit for their perusal:

It's a Secret...

This side hides the mini album.

The drawer is a great place for your love letters!

The Gazebo has a roof shingled with the Secret Garden
"Patterns and Solids"

It's amazing what you can do with some pretty paper!

There is even a little bench to sit and think...
if you are a really, really small creature!

The whole project set out for you to see!

The Mini Album:

Since the album has to fit in it's case, 
it cannothave embellishments on the outside. 
But who needs embellishments when using 
such pretty paper?

Inside the mini album...the rose pages!

I just love the purple pages! A cascade of space for pictures!

Pretty in Blue too!

Green is pretty too!

Between each of the pages is a giant tag to put pictures on!

To make sure the ribbon on the tags doesn't interfere
with the ability of the mini to slip into it's space under
 the garden, the ribbon is wired and folded into a bow
that is tucked inside the book.

Magnolia's Daisy in Graphic 45's Secret Garden:

The Magnolia Tilda with Daisy was just sitting in a box waiting for the
perfect paper! And there is no doubt that for my eye, the Secret Garden
paper with the fence was just perfect!

Erica's Card:

Another Secret Garden Project!
Thank you Erica for sending me the picture!

A Lady's Diary Blue Journal

When I decided to do this project, it occurred to me that it would be fun to try make it mostly blue. 

The album cover is made from chipboard and closes with a magnet. 

This is what it looks like open.  There are 4 signatures 
as well as a mini journal on the left and 
4 signatures on the right.

The memories mini on the left is a place to write your thoughts about fashion of anything else that crosses your mind.

Once Upon a Springtime Mini:I just loved this Graphic 45 collection.

My Place in Time Calendar:

This calendar was created for a class I gave. The acrylic cover and back are reusable every year. The pages are specific to 2013 and will fit nicely into a scrapbook when the year is done.  We all wanted a calendar we could write on, so I created the calendar sheets and made sure to match the papers for that month. 

This page is very minimal as the elements need to be hidden behind the acrylic front and I only wanted the year to show.  When the time comes to place it in a scrapbook, I'm sure I'll add a few things!

Well here is to living with zest and enjoying every moment! Thanks to the Graphic 45 family for providing us with paper collection that stretch our imaginations! 

Merci et à la prochaine! 
M-C

Busy Bee Buzzes In - Yup Catching Up Again

I'm not sure how my life manages to get so busy!  I honestly don't do it on purpose!  I think part of it is just that I'm not as fast as I used to be.  It's been a few years since I've passed the threshold from time moving too slowly, to time moving too fast!  Personally I'd love to have found time at just the right pace in time, but I think I zoomed right past that moment, assuming it even exists, LOL!

Over the last few weeks, I've taught card and layout classes, some using the Place in Time with which I created a 12 month calendar. It's been a lot of fun.  I've also gotten my colorist certification from Spectrum Noir and am working on becoming one of their instructors!  I do love my Spectrum Noirs!  Speaking of which, here are a couple of projects I made using them.

Don't forget to click on the pictures to get a bigger view!

Here is a card that I made and sent to my friend Janie in florida,

Then there is this card that I made for my friend, Angie. 

Everyone is raving about the Prima mixed Media Doll stamps by Julie Nutting! I just could not resist these large stamps (they are 7.5 inches tall).  i really enjoyed coloring them with my Spectrum Noir pens, paper piecing their clothes and decorating a tag to feature one of them. 

For some reason I got the following image in my head and just could not get it out of my head until I agreed to get a 7x10 canvas and just have a mixed media blast!  I'm pretty sure I'll be sharing some more projects with these beauties!

Of course not all the cards or projects I've made has a colored girl on it. Here is a card that I'm giving to the daughter-in-law of a friend of mine.  I've made a couple of modifications to it and added a gift card in the blue mini card in the front. I hope that it will make things just a tad easier on her DIL as she starts a brand new phase of her life.

It stands to reason that I've also made a few layouts.  If you follow this blog you probably already know that I am not a one company crafter, but I do have my favorites.  Amongst them and need I say it right at the top is Graphic 45.  Here are a few pages from the reusable Calendar I made and that I'm teaching.

I'll post some of the other layouts in a couple of weeks!

I have been teaching card classes at my LSS, (local scrapbook store), Scraps Etc. So much fun!  Here are a few cards...

Trifold card

Here is another view of the same trifold card.

I'm always being asked for guy cards!

Well that's a little bit of what I've been up to!  Hope you enjoyed this quick tour inside my creative mind. 

Have a great and creative time,

M-C