Lots of Exciting News

I have been pretty quiet lately with not a lot of posting on my blog, but i just wanted to let you all know that i have very busy behind the scenes!

Right now, i am creating projects that i won't be able to share with anyone for a few months for a special DT call. I am so thrilled over this opportunity and whether or not I get picked up as a DT, it will still be an honour to have been selected in their 2nd selection round!  I will be done those projects today and hopefully will be able to share an amazing new DT announcement with you early next month.

I will be joining The Color Room as a GDT this year!  I'm very excited about that and will have more details shortly!  You can see the complete list of guest designers HERE.

Cardabilities DT reveal is on May 30th.

 

Crafty Chipboard DT reveal will go live on June 3rd (June 4th for my Aussie friends).

My Creative Scrapbook DT reveal is on June 5th.

Also, make sure to visit on May 31st (in Canada and June 1st in Australia) for 2 very special events rolled into one: 

a GDT spot with the Paperhaus Magazine sketch challenge and... 

the first ever 2Crafty Chipboard bloghop!

There will be prizes!!!

So as you can see... VERY CRAFTY BUSY! :)

My Creative Scrapbook Flower Kit Frame

It all started with this cheap wooden frame bought at my local Dollarstore.

 I had received a really beautiful flower add-on kit from Pam at My Creative Scrapbook to create any altered item using some of the gorgeous Prima blooms in the kit.  I gathered some leftover products from the Main and the Album kits for May, including papers, button, twine, canvas heart...

And i came up with this:

Have you seen blooms more gorgeous than these?

Hope you enjoyed! :)

Tutorial Day for My Creative Scrapbook

It is my turn today to share with you a few tips on how I created certain elements of my projects with My Creative Scrapbook kits.

On one of my layouts, the double-page 24/7, I played around with paints, stains and gesso on plain white cardstock to create a bold and bright background.

 I started with just brushing some paint on my white cardstock.  My Adirondack paint dabbers are fairly dried up so I had to use a brush and the thickness of the paint accentuated the more textured and uneven look that I wanted.

I then dabbed one shade of Distress Stain, making sure to leave a few white spots here and there.

I then went with a darker shade of Distress Stain.

Next, I added thick brushstrokes of white gesso.

With a foam, I lightly dabbed at the paint mixture.

Then I topped it all off with spritz of Glimmer Mist.

To be honest, I had no idea what I would come up with when I first started applying the different mediums to the cardstock, but the key to scrapbooking is to keep at it and not give up until you're happy with what you've created. Once the papers and embellishments were added, I really was happy with the end result and the look of my background.

*** 

Although I am by no means an expert at creating my own flowers and embellishments, I love to try :)

When I got inspiration for my 'Enjoy the Everyday' layout created with the Album kit, I thought that these old book papers that I had received in a prize a few months back would look great with the colors and designs of the Simple Stories patterned paper.

 I started by punching out strips out of the book paper using a border punch.

 

I punched out 3 strips, each border being about 6 1/2 inches long.

The book paper being very thin, it was easy to scrunch each strip, accordion-style.

 I then lined up the 3 strips one after the other on the back of my layout, using scotchtape to keep it in place and making sure to keep it ruffled in spots.

And here is how the border looks on the finished layout.

 

Second, I decided to make flowers out of my book paper.

To create 1 flower, I punched out 3 medium-sized flowers out of the paper and 2 smaller ones.

 

I distressed each flower with Old Paper Distress Ink.

Using glue dots, I stuck each flower on top of the other, the 3 larger ones at the bottom followed by the small ones.  With a piece of styrofoam underneath, I used the rounded tip of a paintbrush to push the flower layers down, making the petals curl upwards.  Since the book paper is so thin, one has to be careful when doing this to not rip the paper.

A generous drop of Liquid Pearl in the middle...  

and voilà!

I liked it so much, I ended up making 3 for my layout.

I hope you've enjoyed my creations with this month's kits!

Smile Big (My Creative Sketches for May)

It's time to share my final layout created with this month's Main Kit from My Creative Scrapbook.

For this layout, I was inspired by the May sketch from My Creative Sketches:

Look at the fabulous prize you could win if you link up your layout right HERE before June 14th!

Now it's time for close-ups!

Hope this layout made you 'Smile Big' :)

Thank you for visiting!

Cardabilities DT Reveal - Sketch #75

Today's Cardablities sketch is a beauty!

I love the vertical bracket shape and all that white space!

Perfect for a wedding card, isn't it?  I love the soft hues of blue.

This pretty Leafy Swirl is from 2Crafty Chipboard.   I covered it with gesso and distress inks.

I hope you will decide to play along with Sketch #75!  Link it up HERE!