Best Friends

Supplies:  Paper (Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker), Rub-On Letters (Jenni Bowlin), Epoxy & Felt (Epiphany Crafts), Flowers (Prima)

I would like to extend a special welcome to those of you visiting from the Nikki Sivils' blog.  The page featured there today is my absolute favourite page of 2010, "Falling for You".  I wanted to create another page with some of Nikki's beautiful paper lines for you today and this is what I created.  The design looks oddly familiar doesn't it?  I'll call this one the 2011 version.  HA!  I guess there is no shame is scraplifting oneself, or anyone else for that matter.

 I couldn't get enough of those cute banners from the "My Friend Birdie" line so I used them again here. 

On this page, I used rub-on letters in conjunction with my Epiphany Crafts' Shape Studio Tool to create the custom epoxy letters.

The XL epoxy heart, in addition to the gorgeous layered felt flower, are all part of Epiphany Crafts' Winter, 2011 releases.  If you are at the show, be sure to stop by and say, "Hi".  You will also get to see this page up close and personal.

Thanks so much for visiting and thanks also to the Nikki Sivils crew for the shout out today.

Cheers!

It's Easy to Love Green

At least it is for me.  A quick google search  gave me a few fun little facts on why green is such a well liked colour.

1.  "Green occupies more space in the spectrum visible to the human eye and is second only to blue as a favorite color."  My favourite colour has always been blue followed closely by green. :)

2.  "Green is the pervasive color in the natural world that is an ideal backdrop in interior design because we are so used to seeing it everywhere."  I guess this means I should KEEP more potted plants instead of getting rid of them in my home.  Oops!

3.  "The natural greens, from forest to lime, are seen as tranquil and refreshing, with a natural balance of cool and warm (blue and yellow) undertones. Green is considered the color of peace and ecology."

Do you feel more enlightened yet?  I probably would if I could see more green out my windows instead of all this white!

So why all this talk about the colour green?  Well, Best Creation Inc. is in full winter release mode and one of their six, yes SIX, new lines is called "St. Patricks".  Don't be fooled by the name.  While it is fantastic for all your St. Patrick's Day projects, this one also has all kinds of pieces that make travel photos a perfect pairing as well.  Would you believe that of all the projects  I created with the line, I didn't follow either of those themes.  The line really is that versatile and "refreshing".

Here are some sneak peeks for you:

Be sure to check out the Best Creation blog over the next week for more peeks at the new lines and news from the show.

"10 Things you didnt' know about me" cont'd from Imaginisce Blog

If you've been following the Imaginisce blog this month, which I highly recommend, then you've been getting to know some fun facts about the 2011 designers and why they were chosen to be on the team.  It's my turn today to share my submission projects and a little about me and what I love about Imaginisce products. 

Some of you may have seen these before, but for those of you who are new, here they are :  An altered item, a layout and a card.  I used the Apple Cider and Cottage Christmas lines for these projects.

Why did I want to be a part of the Imaginisce Design Team?

I really love and appreciate the work that goes into all the different aspects of each line. Having lines that are all encompassing from paper to stamps to embellishments is very attractive. I am also a bit of a gadget girl so Imaginisce keeps me more than satisfied on that front. Suffice to say that I really enjoy the product. I respect and admire the work that is done by their design team and would be truly honored to be joining such a talented group of women.

Now that I have been on the team for a few weeks, I can tell you all that Imaginisce is all of that and more. 

Thanks Imaginsce and thanks to you for visiting.  Have a wonderful day!

Fun & Games

The release party continues on the Imaginisce blog with day 3 and altered items.   This line just screams fun to me so I chose to make a mini album of a day at the fair last summer.  I think the ride of the day was the Super Slide again this year though the Ferris Wheel was a close second.

All Supplies from Imaginisce's "Animal Crackers" line with the exception of the canvas 4x8 mini album by Pink Paislee.

I just love all the extras that come with this line, especially the die cut shapes!!

And because I can't help myself with my new bedazzler, aka i-rock, I added all kinds of bling to the album.

Be sure to check out all the other fun altered items on the Imaginisce blog and enter for your chance to win.
Have a wonderful day!

EDITED TO ADD:

Look for this album in the Summer & Travel issue of Creating Keepsakes.

Animal Crackers Release Party

"Animal Crackers" is the newest release from Imaginisce and the party has officially started on the Imaginisce blog and goes ALL WEEK!  Today is all about cards so pop on over and check out the cards for all occasions made from this versatile line.  Here is a little sneak peek of a project I made with the collection that you will see later this week.

Did I mention there are prizes??  Imaginisce will be giving away this collection to one lucky blog follower. You can find all the details on their blog.  Have fun and enjoy the party!!

Surrounded

I have another Upsy Daisy Designs page for you today using "Avalanche".  The photo is acutally from last year this time.  There is a park locally where the ducks congregate all year around.  In the winter they are especially fun to visit because there are so many of them and if you bring the right food, they will swarm all around you to feed.  So what exactly is the "right" food? While you might initially think bread, that is actually not it.  They will eat the bread, but it provides little nutrition for them and expands in their stomachs to make them feel full when they aren't. We were feeding the ducks corn one afternoon and another group arrived across the pond with a bucket of bird seeds and every single duck in the whole area swarmed across the pond to get the seeds.  It really was something and it would have been interesting to have had a video camera on the whole scene.  The girls were left standing there holding their corn with not a single duck left.  We were all just dumbfounded.  Luckily the people with the seeds were gracious enough to share with our little ones.  We learned after that what the best food is and haven't made that mistake again. 

"Surrounded"

Supplies:  Paper (Upsy Daisy Designs), Chipboard (Magistical Memories), Letters (Basic Grey), Stamp (Glitz), Acrylic Snowflakes & Glam Rocks (Imaginisce), Cardstock (Bazzill), Epoxy (Epiphany Crafts)

The custom epoxy shape you see on this beautiful crystal snowflake by Imaginisce was made using the Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio Tool Round 14.  Keep checking back as I will soon have some goodies to share using the 1" tool.  It is like nothing I have ever worked with before.  You are going to love it!

For more "Avalanche" work, check out these pages:
-Your First Winter
-Happy Canada Day (it really is that versatile)

As always, thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

EDITED TO ADD:
Look for this page in the Winter, 2011 issue of Scrapbooking  Beyond Magazine

Chocolate Smile

The page I have for your today is the first one I've made of Julia and her messy faces.  I have a mini that I'd like to make as well since this is such a part of who she is.  It doesn't matter what she is eating, she will find a way to paint it on herself in some way.  Last night she was rubbing pickled beets all over her hands to colour them pink.  What a mess!

"Chocolate Smile"

Supplies:  Paper, Stamps & Ribbon (Upsy Daisy Designs), Flowers (Petaloo, Michaels), Pins (Making Memories), Letters (My Little Shoebox, Basic Grey), Doilies (Craft Supply Store)

Journaling Reads: 

You LOVE to paint your lips.  I guess I can't blame you for choosing chocolate as your lip gloss of choice.  08/10

I used two Upsy Daisy paper lines for this page:  Enchanted and Blossom.  The two really do pair beautifully together and I don't believe I have used one without the other yet.

My new love is paper doilies.  I found them in two different sizes and layered them up here for a frame around my photos.  Strips of folded patterned paper create another layer between the two.  Don't worry about how long your strips are. Just make sure they are the same width and use a long reach stapler to attach them in place.

For more work with these lines, check out "My Life is Complete".

Thanks so much for visiting!

Santa Baby

Before I do anything else I want to send out a huge THANK YOU to Kristine Davidson for the blog makeover.  Didn't she do a fantastic job?  If you want to see more of her work, be sure to check out her site for a long list of blogs she has decorated. 

Another bit of news before I dive back into Christmas pages is a blog spotlight on the Clear Scraps blog.  They have a crown album giveaway on now and they have featured one of my albums.  Be sure to take a moment and check it out.  They have all kinds of giveaways on the go with CHA just around the corner.

"Santa Baby"

Supplies:  Paper (American Crafts), Letters (American Crafts, Websters Pages), Bling (Glitz Designs, Teresa Collings), Chipboard (Riff Raff), Baker's Twine (Martha Stewart), Border Punches (Martha Stewart & EK Success), Trim (Pink Paislee), Cardstock (Bazzill)

I have been wanting to make a circular page now for awhile and finally took the time to do it this week.  I just love this Dear Lizzy Christmas line.  You saw some of the sheets from this line used in my last post.  Isn't it fun how the same line can be used to create two completely different moods?

Here is a detail shot of my spray painted chipboard.  This is a prime example of why I love the spray paint so much. I have tried on more than once occasion to paint shapes with this level of detail and everytime, no matter how careful I am, I get paint down the sides and in the grooves and the pieces just loose some of their pizzazz. 

Krylon to the rescue.

The one I use is similar to this product. The only difference is that mine is a primer.  I actually bought it to spray cookie sheets before altering them.  I'm sure any number of spray paints will do just fine but to give you all a better idea of what I have been talking about all this time, I wanted to share this photo.  Thanks to my girlfriends for asking me about this.  Sometimes I forget that you all can't see inside my mind as I type these posts.  If ever there is anything you wonder about, PLEASE ask.  I really do appreciate knowing if something is not clear.

That's all for today.  We've got a busy morning of skating and camera shopping today.  Enjoy your weekend and thanks for visiting.

EDITED TO ADD:

Look for this page in the Winter, 2011 issue of Scrapbooking & Beyond Magazine.

Jingle Bells

Brace yourselves.  Though Christmas might be over, scrapbooking my Christmas has just begun.  Today's page is one of two that I made of Daphne's first Christmas, though interestingly enough not one of them is titled as such.  I guess I may have to make another one.

"Jingle Bells"

Supplies:  Paper & Letters (My Little Shoebox, American Crafts), Stickers (My Little Shoebox), Pin (Making Memories), Baker's Twine (Martha Stewart), Letters

This is not a new technique on this blog but I always like to point it out for those who may have missed it.  I use Glossy Accents often to add some dimension to patterned paper and stickers.  On this page, I added some interest to my tree stickers highlighting stripes and circles.

There were a couple of tree ornaments that Daphne found quite captivating.  This was one of her favourites.  By the end of the month, the bow was tore off but that didn't affect the jingling sound whatsoever.

Stay tuned for more Christmas pages.  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

"Beauty" Shadow Box

Welcome 2011! 

To start off the new year I have an altered Prima flower tin that I made for the first Imaginisce Blog challenge of the year. 

Supplies:  Paper, Crystals (Imaginisce), Tin (Prima), Flowers (Recollections), Chipboard Word (Michaels), Trim (Pink Paislee)

I used the Garden Party line for this project.  I love that it has blue mixed in with all the other girly colours.  Inside the tin, I took advantage of the depth of the tin and popped up my flowers and journaling.

 I added some ruffled ribbon around the inside perimeter and topped it with strips of patterned paper.

Check out all the sparkle on the crystals.  I used my i-rock to set them all and am really loving this tool. I still can't get over how many crystals come in one Hot Rocks Compact....800!?!  I could bedazzle the whole house! :)

I know I've mentioned this before, but I'll say it again.  Spray painting chipboard is such a time saver for me.  I know you have to wait for it to dry, but really the coverage is flawless and there is NO clean-up.  I just spray on top of an old piece of cardboard.

I'll leave you with that for today.  THANKS so much for stopping by.  Don't forget to check out all the other altered projects created by the Imaginisce Design Team.  As always prizes are involved.  I can't think of a better way to start the year than with some Imaginisce goodies.

Have a GREAT day!

EDITED to ADD:  Look for this project in the "For the Home" issue of Scrapbook Trend's Create series in June, 2011.