A Very Special Mother's Canvas (Creative Artiste Challenge)

October has always a very special month in my family as it is the birthday month of the most special lady in my life... that is, my mother.  This year was a particular important birthday as my mom turned 65, and my brother and I decided to throw her a bit party to celebrate this milestone with over 120 family and friends!

For the even, I created this huge canvas (about 40" x 15") to display some of her life's special moments in photos.

Since the theme of the party decor was Autumn and the canvas would be displayed on an easel at the venue, I thought it best to go with a Fall colour palette for my canvas to match the decor.  It turned out great as my mom adores yellow and orange. I started by coating the entire canvas with white gesso, did a bit of stenciling and then went crazy with different shades of mists.  I knew that most of the background would be covered with photos so I put a little more emphasis on the edges, adding white paint for different ombre effects.

While creating this canvas, I checked a few mixed media challenge blogs for inspiration and was very happy to find this one, Creative Artiste Challenge Blog that is all about mixed media! Their challenge this month is "Anything Goes" so hopefully my oversize canvas will go. :P You can find out more information about them and challenge #19 right HERE!

Let's take a closer look at some details and my mom from childhood to now.

My mom has always been very pretty lady - a lot of people say that I actually look like her. hehe
Above, you see her as a shy little girl in her Grade 1 school photo and then growing up into a young lady with a lot of style.

Below you see my mom on her wedding day; our very first family photo with my father and my brother; my father and mother in their newly build house (where I grew up and lived most of my early life) and then time moves forward a bit with Mom holding her first grand child and my niece, Ella, born in 2005.  Sadly, my dad passed away in 2004.

Then, in 2007, it was time for another grandchild, my other niece Dapne.  You can see Mom in different pictures with her sisters.

My nieces are now all grown up, one almost a teenager if you can believe that!  And my mom has found love again with a wonderful man that we all love dearly and who my nieces know as their grandfather.  As you can see, I added lots and lots of flowers on my canvas, all sorts of flowers from different brands.  I also added chipboard and metal butterflies.

And there you go... my mom today... at 65.

Thank you for stopping by!

You Both Shine (Berry71bleu October Plum Passion challenge)

I am back today to share with you another layout inspired by another fabulous challenge blog.

The October challenge at Berry71bleu is Plum Passion with this gorgeous mood board.

Click HERE for all the details.

Inspired by all these stunning images, I searched my stash for some plum goodies.  I'm not sure I caught the right shade of purple, but close enough.  I decided to combine it with a bit of mint green, some gold and some lighter shades of lilac.

Chipboard pieces, including the title You Shine, are from Blue Fern Studios which I covered with Pansy Imagine Ink embossing powder.  I misted my flower clusters with tiny specks of white paint and gold mist to add a lot of shimmer.

I really love how well the plum purple hue goes with the pale mint green - I'm very happy with the combination!

And of course my favorite models, nieces Daphne and Ella, are beautiful as always, all dressed up for a competition in their purple Cheer outfits.  They both make me so proud!

Thank you for joining me today!

Oh How Sweet (Kraft + October Blast from the Past challenge)

A few months ago, I was commissioned by a work colleague to create a mini 8x8 album for her new grandson.  After much procrastination, I got around to finishing it over the weekend and I even grabbed the opportunity to play along with a fabulous challenge.

As you may have guessed by the kraft background paper, I was inspired by the Kraft + challenges, and this month's challenge is A Blast from the Past!  Click HERE for the details!

I loved this challenge as it made me dig into my stash and purge... but in a creative way! I used old papers from Simple Stories, eyelets, velum tag and stars, buttons, ribbon and a brad. I almost got around to using the entire list on the Kraft+ board!

You can see here that I cut out some stars from the vellum tags.  And look at those adorable little wooden star buttons!

I was lucky to be able to create with such a precious photo of little Jep who no doubt makes his grandmother (my colleague) very proud!

Thank you Kraft+ for the inspiration!!

Halloween BOO Card (More Than Words MINI Challenge)

Oh this is a fun one and I'm so happy to share it with you today!

This colourful Halloween-inspired card was created for the More Than Words MINI Challenge that is all about the word BOO this month.

You can check out more DT inspiration using the word BOO right HERE.

To play along, you have to include the word BOO on a card, tag or ATC and share it on the More Than Words Facebook page by the end of the month to be eligible to win!

I went digging into my Halloween stash (which is pretty limited I must say) and found these old line from We R Memory Keepers.  

The collection comes with chipboard alphas and lots of glittered die-cut shapes... perfect for my card!

I can't wait to see your BOO creations!

You & Me Timeless (Scraps of Elegance "Timeless" Kit)

I hope that you have enjoyed so far all my projects created with the Scraps of Elegance "Timeless" kit.  This is my final layout using this kit and its add-ons, a bit simpler in style but still shabby chic with beautiful lace and lots of flowers.

I used the bare Prima wood alphas to create my title and covered the Blue Fern Studios Timeless chipboard with Imagine Ink Fuschia embossing powder.

The Bella Rosa collection from BoBunny is so romantic and elegant... I absolutely love this tin jars with the roses and feathers.

You can see below details of the gorgeous lace trim included in the main kit!  Lace trim and pink flowers... it doesn't get any better than this!

And of course, 'You & Me' stands for my partner in life and love, Yves and I, who are still going strong after more than 10 years of being together.  He is truly my soul mate, and I do believe that our live is 'timeless'.

I have lots of leftovers from the kit and add-ons so hopefully I have some time to create more with it over the next few days.  I'm thinking cards!!  So stay tuned!

For more information on the Scraps of Darkness and Scraps of Elegance kits, click HERE.

Enjoy the Little Things (Scraps of Elegance "Timeless" Kit)

This is layout 3 of 4, created with the September "Timeless" kit from Scraps of Elegance!

The "Timeless" kit is choc full of gorgeous papers, die cuts, chipboard, wood icons, etc... and the elements, floral and color kits are the perfect add-ons. Click HERE for more information!

You can clearly see on this page the blending of the BoBunny and Graphic45 papers from this kit. The peachy orange and the teal blue look absolutely lovely together and go well with a photograph of my niece Daphne getting acquainted with a beautiful little butterfly.

I used several of the different Graphic45 alphabet stickers to create the title along with the wooden letters from Prima that I colored in Lindy's Danny Zuko's Denim blue (love the name!!)

I can't get over how beautiful this shade of orange is and how well it goes with the teal blue.
Absolutely a new favorite colour combination for me!

I've got one more layout to share using the "Timeless" kit... and that happens tomorrow!

Doors of Perception (Scraps of Elegance "Timeless" Kit)

I'm back today with another layout created with the "Timeless" Scraps of Elegance Kit.

When I saw the several chipboard and die-cut doors window shutters from the BoBunny Bella Rosa line, I was inspired to create this layout and use this quote that I have always loved way back from my University days when I was a huge fan of Jim Morrison and The Doors: "There are things known and things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception."  The quote is from Aldous Huxley but Jim Morrison was inspired by it greatly when writing his own poetry and songs.

I used a lot of the rustic shapes from the kit and an image of a very old and vintage door and doorknob borrowed from the web.

I am absolutely in love with the final result!

Here's a look once again at the "Timeless" kit and the Elements, Floral and Colour add-ons used.
To find out more information of Scraps of Darkness and Scraps of Elegance kits, click HERE.

Most Bellissima (Scraps of Elegance "Timeless" Kit)

Over the next few days, I will be sharing with you my projects created with the Scraps of Elegance September "Timeless" Kit, starting with this very shabby chic layout of me posing at my friend's wedding for which I was the maid of honour, back in 2008.

The "Timeless" kit features a combination of the very elegant Rosa Bella collection from BoBunny and Cafe Parisian line from Graphic45 with coordinating Blue Fern Studios chipboard, Prima flowers and so much more!

I got to combine these 3 September SOE add-ons to my creations:

Elements Add-On

Floral Add-On

Color Add-On

Here are some close-ups:

What a beautiful palette of burgundy, peachy orange and ivory.  I love it!

I sprayed Lindy's Starburst Spray and added dabs of white paint to add a little touch of mixed media to my page.

Want to see more Scraps of Elegance inspiration?  Come back tomorrow!!