Such a Pretty Mess

Let's Celebrate!! with a big BLOG GIVEAWAY!!!

2012-02-02T06:00:00.001-05:00

I recently hit my ONE MILLION mark on views/visits to my blog!! To celebrate and show my gratitude to all the wonderful people that have been frequenting my blog I thought I would do a nice give-away of some of my favourite things!!

I have been fortunate enough to be on some amazing Design Teams from whom I get lot's of beautiful products to work with. One of those teams is Bo Bunny, and it being winter I thought it would be a good time to do a 'SnowFall' give-away! I was so inspired by a tutorial that our amazing Design Team leader Kris Silvester shared last month on making a SnowFall mini-album, that I thought I would do a give-away including the super cute Snowfall chipboard Album, so that one of you could try it out for yourself! You can find her tutorial at the Bo Bunny blog (She posted a 4 part class each Monday in January starting with this link Mini Album class - Day 1 ...you can find the rest of the classes in the archive to the left of the page). Here is a list of the goodies I'm giving away:

~ one Bo Bunny Mini-Edgy Album (SnowFall)

~ Full Collection of SnowFall papers (12 patterned papers)

~ SnowFall 12" Chipboard (31 pieces)

~ SnowFall Buttons pack

~ SnowFall Dimensional Stickers

~ SnowFall 'Feelin' Frosty' cardstock Stickers

~ Strand of my favourite pearl embellishments

~ Crochetted Lace embellishment

~Pearl Cluster flower centers (5)

~ 18" strand of daisy pearl embellishments

~Assorted coordinating blooms (tan, blue and aqua)

~ 2 packages of Queen & Co rhinestone/pearl accents

Here's some close-up pic's of the goodies....

Okay, so here's all you have to do! Just leave me a comment between now and Friday February 10th....I will choose a winner using Random.org from the comments left at my blog....I will announce the winner on February 11th. The prize is open to everyone (international visitors included).

I can't just post without sharing a little card I recently made for the Bo Bunny design team. For this one I used the Welcome Home Collection papers, Jewels and Noteworthy pieces. It was inspired by a cardsketch by Debbie Sherman you can find the sketch HERE. Thanks for stopping by!! xx

NEW Scraps of Elegance Blog Hop!

2012-02-01T03:00:00.002-05:00

You may know Scraps of Darkness already, she is on the edgy and daring side and is always the "pushing the envelope" kit of diversity. Now we would like to introduce you to her new sister---

"Scraps of Elegance" is the alter ego of her sister club. Her style is more on the sweet and romantic side... a true classic beauty. Today is the reveal of the very first "Scraps of Elegance" kit! "Vintage Elegance"

Beautiful papers have been carefully chosen from Kaisercraft Sweet Nothings, Websters Pages Western Romance and Melissa Frances 5th Avenue Collection. Also added some wonderful embellishments and unique vintage items for you to create something beautiful to compliment your most treasured photos. You can see the full list of kit ingredients at the Scraps of Elegance Website

I was honored to be asked to be the first Guest Designer for this fabulous new kit club and was completely WOWED when I got this gorgeous kit in the mail! Here are a few of the projects I made with this lovely kit...

I love the pretty bling and lovely rub-on's that came with this kit! There are also these wonderful vintage tags and cards that I know you'll love to design with!

For the above layout I used the Martha Stewart leaf punch on some green cardstock to make the leafy canopy (It was fast and easy to do with that punch! I lightly misted the leaves with some water and gave them a little crinkle to give them a more 3D effect). I also used an old stamp set I have from Prima (Build a Frame) to create the border around the edges of my paper.

The corner flourish is a new Dusty Attic Corner Flourish, I used some embossing powders on it in gold and blue, then added a bit of green mica powder (Pearlex) and then added some Glossy Accents to coat it all. Here is a close-up pic of the finish...

And a third layout I made with this kit I used the soft 'shabby chic' elements of this kit.....I just LOVE the pretty Mellisa Frances resin piece included in the kit!...

I cut the chandelier from one of the patterned papers to create the 3D embellishment and used pop dots to adhere it to the page (below)....

I'm often asked how I apply unusual items like pearl strands to a page. I love the Tombow liqued adhesive (green & white) bottle. You apply the adhesive to your project and let it 'set' (it becomes clear) and turns tacky...then it's easy peasy to attache the strand because it immediately grabs and holds the strand as you attach it. It becomes more permanent as it sits.

The amazingly talented Suepup has been creating the inspiring sketches for Scraps of Darkness each month and Scraps of Elegance is excited to announce that she will also be designing sketches each month for this new kit club as well! Now we are sure you don't want to just hear about her sketches so we are pleased to share this months inspirational sketch with you.

Scraps of Elegance has pulled together some of the most talented designers in the scrapbooking community for their new design team...

2012 Scraps of Elegance design team:
Lisa Novogrodski- Lead Designer
Charlotte Jenkins- Sketch Artist and Designer
Jennifer Snyder-Designer
Mandy Harrell- Designer
Karen Zueger- Designer
Renea Harrison- Designer
Rachelle Sigurdson- Designer
And they are quite certain Escape Kitty will sometimes make off with some of Jennifers Scraps of Elegance goodies to create something beautiful!

SOE are kicking off the reveal of their first kit by way of a blog hop this month. You can enjoy not only the full reveal but a chance to win an incredible prize!

SOE will be awarding a THREE MONTH SUBSCRIPTION TO THE SCRAPS OF ELEGANCE KIT CLUB to one lucky winner!!!!

You win not one, not two but THREE SCRAPS OF ELEGANCE KITS!

The subscription will begin with the March kit and end with the May kit.

All you need to do to win is become a follower of the Scraps of Elegance blog. Visit each designer and leave a comment on their blogs. When you have completed the hop come back to Scraps of Elegance and leave a comment letting them know you have completed the hop and are a follower. (If you are already a follower, after commenting on the designers blog leave a comment here letting them know!)

International entries are welcome to participate. All international entries are responsible for shipping costs in excess of 15.00.(The designers will address the eligibility of international participants individually on each of their blogs)

Now let's get started! We warmly welcome you to the first SCRAPS OF ELEGANCE BLOG HOP!

Scraps of Elegance Blog - http://scrapsofelegancekits.blogspot.com/
Gabrielle Pollacco- http://gabriellepollacco.blogspot.com/
Lisa Novogrodski - http://lisas-livingincolor.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Snyder- http://scrap-escape.blogspot.com/
Rachelle Sigurdson- http://rachiebabe56.blogspot.com/
Karen Zueger - http://lostcoastscrapper.blogspot.com/
Renea Harrison- http://www.myglittercoatedlife.blogspot.com/
Cheryl Casas- http://www.cherylspassion.blogspot.com/
Karolina Stopyra- http://drycha.blogspot.com/
Nancy Hanttula - http://justaboutthedetails.com/
Escape Kitty- http://escapekitty.blogspot.com/
Charlotte Jenkins - http://suepup.blogspot.com/

You will have until February 4th midnight Pacific time to leave your comments and a winner will be announced at the Scraps of Elegance blog on February 5th. After you've left a comment at my blog you will then move onto Lisa's Blog. Happy Hopping! xx

P.S! A little side note! I have hit my million mark on blog visits here at my blog and am going to have a huge giveaway tomorrow to celebrate (lots of my favourite things!) so be sure to pop by again to have a chance to win! xx

Websters Pages Everyday Poetry Layout....and something new & COOL!!

2012-01-26T09:49:00.000-05:00

So I showed you all the beautiful new 'Everyday Poetry' collection from Websters Pages in the post below, here is one of the layouts I made for display at the CHA to go with this pretty collection! I just love all the pretty images on these papers....cherry blossoms, butterflies, even fairies & frogs! how cute! The blooms I made by using my 5 petal Retro Daisy punch on some pink Websters Paper and layered it with some Tulle. The lace (brown and white) are some of the new trims that go with the Everyday Poetry collection. Here is a pic with close-up details...

Now, check this out! How cool is this?? Websters Pages now makes an 18 sheet paper pad that have all the motifs from thier new collections! So Perfect for all you gals that like the fussy cutting to decorate your pages with! Really excellent for cardmakers too! They are called 'Perfect Motifs' ....so if you want some butterflies to decorate with....just cut some out from the 'motifs' ...no need to chop up a perfectly good 12x112 paper sheet to make an embellishment! gotta love that!

If you'd like to read more about it you can check out the Websters Pages blog today! Websters Blog

Thanks so much for stopping by and thanks so much for all your sweet comments....my appologies for not hopping over to all your blogs these past few weeks, I've been working hard to get some l/o's done for the CHA! xx

Websters Pages Sneak Peeks! & a GIVEAWAY!!

2012-01-20T12:51:00.000-05:00

Yep! that's the name of another of the new releases for CHA 2012 for Websters Pages! And I'm not afraid to admit...I LOVE IT!!! Bird cages, butterflies, frogs & fairies, cherry blossoms and more! What's not to love about this collection! I just got some of my DT package in today and have seen these IRL....LOVE LOVE LOVE this collection! Here is a wee peek at some of the papers...

....and of course here are the Clean & Simple papers to coordinate with the collection...

....and as always, the embellishments are just to die for! Check out the trims, cameo's and bling that have just come out....

....and speaking of cameo's....check out some of the cameo's that go with some of the other newly introduced collections....

**Gasp!** check out the beautiful detailing on the cameo's for the new 'Palm Beach' collection (above)...to view the whole collection be sure to pop into the Websters Pages Blog (you'll have to scroll down because it was yesterdays peek :)

Do you want a chance to win some of these new collections? Be sure to check in at the Websters Pages Blog throughout the days before the CHA! .....PSSSST!! They are announcing a giveaway this very afternoon and I hear it's a BIG one! so be sure to pop by the Websters Pages Blog this afternoon!

Websters Pages 2012 Design Team!

2012-01-17T16:55:00.000-05:00

So yesterday the announcement went out for the new Websters Pages 2012 design team!! I was so flattered and happy to be asked back by Brandin for the 2012 team! We have 6 new members for the new Clean & Simple team and 1 new member for the Classic design team!! I want to welcome Kay, Jaime, Diana, Jill, Jamie, Nina, and Janine to our new family!!! I am so looking forward to working with these wonderful ladies this year!! I know it will be a blast.....just keep your eye on the Websters Pages blog for sneak peeks of the gorgeous new collections coming out at the CHA! Websters Blog

Websters Pages Sneak Peeks! Sunday Picnic!

2012-01-11T16:42:00.000-05:00

I love the weeks rolling up to the CHA!! I get so happy seeing all the new collections being revealed! And Websters Pages has some beautiful collections coming your way!! This week they have been showing peeks at the NEW 'Sunday Picnic' collections along with many of it's gorgeous coordinating embellishments! I made the above layout using some of the fresh and pretty new papers! Here are a few close-ups of my page...

The words that come to mind when I see these papers is 'fresh & pretty!' It made me think of this funny photo I have of my youngest daughter that I took a couple of years ago wearing her lavender linen dress. Her hair-do makes me smile, it was one of her own creations where she added hair dangles, bands, every sort of hair embellishment she could find.....but I just love her quirkiness.

Back to Websters Pages though.....This is really cool! Websters Pages has changed things up just a little bit! They are still making their beautiful Classic style paper collections but now they have added a 'Clean & Simple' Paper collection to coordinate with each new line! So for those of you who have sometimes felt a little nervous about using collections with a lot of design in the papers, this is the thing for you! In upcoming months you will be seeing work done by the design team using the Classic style papers at the WP site but you will also be seeing the new Clean & Simple style papers put to use by the newest design team members! (announcement to be made next week!). For the above page I combined some of the Classic and the Clean & Simple papers.

I also created a border using one of the Websters Pages Unity Stamps (Beauty). Around the edges of one of the Clean & Simple papers. For a quick little 'step by step' you can check out the Websters Pages post HERE!

So, although the next peeks you will be seeing will be available after the CHA, Sunday Picnic will begin shipping this week!! So if you are looking to get a head start on your scrapping just click this link to get your orders in! ~~> Sunday Picnic

and while you are there, check out the cute video they put together, if this doesn't put you into the mood to scrap, nothing will! :)

Goals for 2012....Bo Bunny!

2011-12-30T12:39:00.000-05:00

I'm notorious for trying to remember my schedules instead of taking the time to write them down. I haven't missed a deadline yet, but I've come to close for comfort lately! So when Bo Bunny asked the design team girls to do a layout about our goals for 2012, at the top of my list I had to put make WRITTEN schedules! lol! Among some of the other things I listed was to make more time for family and perhaps take some long weekends. We let our past summer go being too busy with work to take some time off and enjoy the beautiful weather, this year I want that to change. I used the Bo Bunny Welcome Home collection to make up this page. Here are a few close-ups of the page...

The large white bloom is one from the Bo Bunny Olivia collection, I used a little bit of green ink on the end of a Q-tip to tint the center of the flower.

Supplies:

Patterned Paper: Welcome Home; Porch Swing, WH Dot, WH Dreams, WH Keys

Cardstock: Double dot Clover

Chipboard: Welcome Home, Et Cetera

Trinkets: Welcome Home

Blooms: Oliva (tinted with green ink in the center)

Stickers: Welcome Home Combo Stickers

Bo Bunny buttons

Butterfly: Gabrielle

Hinge: Dusty Attic Designs

Bo Bunny Mini-Albums...Gotta LOVE them!!

2011-12-28T12:25:00.000-05:00

I have to admit, even though I have a number of the gorgeous Bo Bunny mini albums in my stash, this is my first time making up my own album with one! I primarily do 12 x 12 layouts but I finally got around to trying out an album! And let me tell you, not only are these pre-designed albums beautiful to look at even before you begin embellishing it to make it your own....but they are so easy to work with!

I decided to use the Timepiece mini album for my first crack at this. Here is a little behind the scenes as to what is going on at my house at the moment....we are renovating our kitchen, tearing out cabinets and counters, redoing floors..so you can imagine the mess I'm in at the moment. So how can I manage a mini-album in the middle of all this?.....Easy! The pre-printed backgrounds on the Bo Bunny mini albums make it a snap! Seriously! I started yesterday evening around 4:00 PM and was done the whole thing by 11:00 PM! What really helps is to have a few of the coordinating papers and embellishments on hand. Then it's just a little bit of cutting and glueing and you've got yourself a wonderful album! Here is a pic of my 'Family' album with the cover straight on view....

I began by adding the chipborad title to the first layer of the album, then I added some blooms on the transparent clock design that goes on top of the front piece. Here is a photo of the first two pieces...

Then I simply took each page, added a little patterned paper (TIP: Noteworthy is an excellent package of small die-cut papers that beautifully embellishes the album). Here are the pages I made up showing photos of my parents, my husbands parents, my dear husband & myself, and at the end, I did a 'Then & Now' 2 pager of my daughters...

Supplies:

Timepiece mini-album

Patterned Papers: Timepiece: Numbers, Cut-outs, Dot

6x6 Paper Pad; Timepiece

Chipboard: Timepiece, Et Cetera (Title), Enchanted

Jewels: Timepiece

Trinkets: SnowFall,

Stickers: Timepiece

Noteworthy: Timepiece

Other: Dusty Attic Chipboard (Chicken Wire, Skeleton Clock frames)

I'm a wee bit late posting this project as I did it for the Bo Bunny blog for the 22nd, my kitchen makeover has me hopping....but it's getting there...the cabinets are now in and the floors are next! :)

Websters Pages, Cameo's & Tags (and a link to a freebie)...

2011-12-17T10:34:00.001-05:00

I'm just in the middle of a kitchen renovation, but I took a little break to play with my Websters Pages goodies. I thought it would be fun to play with tags so I made up a tag and did a little step by step that has been posted over at the Websters Pages Blog if you'd like to have a look. I then used the tag as an embellishment on a layout. For the above layout I used the die cut sheet from the Western Romance collection. I trimmed off a few inches of the left side of the page and moved it to the right side to create the tabs for my corset lacing design. Just add eyelets and lace-up. Here are a few close-ups of the page....

I used the Websters Pages Silhouettes (Cameo) to dress up the tag, along with some of the beautiful trims that go with the Winter Fairytale collection (lace & feather trim). The Cameo is mounted on one of the wonderful new Cameo Sliders by Dusty Attic.

The blooms are from Michaels Craft Store from their store brand blooms. The pearl strand I bought off the roll from a local fabric store. The corner chip board embellishment is another piece from Dusty Attic from the Sweet Pea frame collection (below)

If you'd like to check out my little step by step on how to make the tag and see what beautiful FREEBIE Websters Pages is giving out (shown below) be sure to check out this link Websters Pages Blog

Bo Bunny's Layout Challenge! ~ CIRCLES!

2011-12-09T08:09:00.001-05:00

My fellow team-mate and dear friend Mireille Divjak got to choose the challenge for the layout challenge this month and her pick was to use circles in your design! I wanted to use some of the new collections so I went with the new 'Enchanted' collection from Bo Bunny (I love this collection because it is like an open canvas, ready for paints, inks and other mediums to dress them up!)....but for me, when I think circles, I think of 'Timepiece', so I combined these collections for this layout.

And speaking of timepiece, I immediately thought of the Dusty Attic's Skeleton clock frames to embellish this page (another circle design!). I took this photo of Chloe when we were at a local Apple festival last month, we were relaxing, taking a break and just watching the crowds walk by. I see this photo and realize how quickly my little girl is becoming a young lady, I can't believe she is 13 already....where did the years go?

Here are a few close-ups of my page...

The large pink bloom is just a flower from an inexpensive hairband. The clocks were cut from a Bo Bunny Patterened paper from the Timepiece collection (I just added some Platinum Stickles to dress them up a bit, and attached them with foam pop-dots)

I used a couple of different sizes of the Dusty Attic Skeleton clocks, painted them with some gold paint and dry brushed some turquoise paint on them.

The pretty black flourish design is from the Bo Bunny 'Enchanted' Chipboard collection.

TIP: I like to use these versatile black & white papers in the 'Enchanted' collection by adding just a dash of color (for example using some bright pretty double dot cardstock with the page) ....or like in this case, I used some brown and tan chalk ink to give the page a 'vintage' look. I added a little mauvey pink chalk ink in a few places coming out behind my photo to add a little more subtle color. You can adhere the chalk ink with either a make-up sponge for a subtle effect or use the Tim Holtz alcohol ink applicator/and pad to apply the colors (working from the outside edges in).

Bo Bunny Supplies used for this page:

Patterned Paper: Enchanted- Moments, Love; Timpiece-TickToc,

6x6 Paper Pad: Timepiece, Welcome Home

Chipboard: Enchanted

Brads: Timepiece, SnowFall

Jewels: Enchanted

Title Alpha Stickers: SnowFall

Other Supplies:

Dusty Attic Chipboard: Skeleton Clock Faces

Flower: Prima, no-name hairband flower

Stickles: Platinum

Chalk Ink: Studio g, Colorbox

Cheesecloth

Would you like to play along in this challenge? Scrapping circles is fun! Scrap a layout with any BO Bunny collection featuring circles and link to this blog post Bo Bunny Layout Challenge by December 21st and you'll be eligable to win a beautiful Bo Bunny prize!

THanks for stopping by again! Love hearing from all of you! xx

Exciting News!!! Websters Pages is having a Design Team Search!!!!

2011-12-07T11:30:00.000-05:00

Have you all seen the sneak peeks of Websters Pages newest collection (to be released early January)? Brandin has been hard at work designing a beautiful collection for a pre CHA release!....

As always, her collections have the gorgeous colors and beautiful botanicals and nostalgic images we've come to know and love in Websters Pages collections. But now Websters Pages has branched out to include those scrappers that enjoy the 'Clean & Simple' style of scrapping. Each of the collections will now include a 'B' side that will be a coordinating solid!.....Now WP is no longer just for the fussy/busy style scrappers, ...clean and simple style scrappers will also enjoy these collections!

Here is the exciting part!! To go along with this new direction, Websters Pages has put a Design Team Call out to those of you who love the Clean & Simple style of scrapping!! Does Clean & Simple describe your style of scrapping? Then this is the call for you!! Take it from me, Websters Pages is a wonderful design team to be on, my past year of being on this team has been such a pleasure! Our beautiful designer and head of the WP company, Brandin O'Neill, is as sweet as she is gorgeous (and we've all seen pic's of her!....could she be any cuter?? And she's so down to earth too!) And the rest of the design team is so sweet and supportive of each other, Anabelle the DT leader and Courtney Walsh our marketing guru are all so helpful and kind!

We need a group of designers who know how to make simple shine! If that sounds like you, read on…we’ll tell you how to apply! Here are the Deets! (details from Brandins blog)

What we’re looking for:

Scrapbookers, papercrafters and card makers who:
1. LOVE Webster’s Pages
2. Will help promote Webster’s Pages through their work, as well as through social media including a personal blog, InspireMe, Facebook & Twitter.
3. Love to share their ideas to help inspire others to create beautiful and simple projects.

International designers are welcome to apply.

Specific requirements and compensation details are provided upon invitation to the team. However we would like to mention that regular creation of projects and online participation are requirements for this team, and compensation is provided through a generous amount of product as well as monetary compensation for hard copy published items and trade show/advertising assignments. The term will be until the end of 2012.

Please note that Webster’s Pages Design Team members will be limited to being on no more than 3 paper manufacturing teams total.

To apply send an email to wpdt@websterspages.com with the following information:

•Provide a one or two paragraph biographical statement telling us a little bit about you and your scrapbook experience including any publication history, design team experience, teaching experience (in stores and/or online), etc.

•Explain in one paragraph why you would be a great addition to the Webster’s Pages design team.

•Include a link to any online galleries you participate on (please include your user name and make sure that online galleries do not have a login requirement) and your blog (if you have one).

•Attach a scan or photograph of 3 layouts or projects that you feel best represent your style. Images must be no larger than 600x600 px. Using Webster’s Pages is always welcome but not required.

•Please include your name, address, phone number and email address. Confirmation emails will NOT be sent. Notifications will be made by email or telephone in January.

•Applications must be received by December 31st.

At Webster’s Pages, we value our Design Team. They are an extension of our family, and we have a very harmonious group. We continue to grow and expand and we’d love to share our excitement with you. If you have any questions on applying, please send an email to wpdt@websterspages.com with subject QUESTION.

We can’t wait to see what you come up with! Good luck and Happy Creating!

Webster's Pages & CardMaps! Plus more Home Decor!

2011-12-05T13:12:00.003-05:00

Did you know that the ever popular PageMaps site also does CardMaps? That was news to me! How cool is that! This month, Becky at Page/CardMaps sent each of the Webster's Pages design team girls a card sketch to work with.....here is the one she sent me....

I used Websters Pages Winter Fairytales and Winter Wings papers along with Bloomers (Pink), Winter Trims, WP alpha's and Dazzle Me Gems for this layout. If you would like to see more of the CardMaps for December along with beautiful cards made with them by my fellow DT members, you can find them HERE.

I made up another fun little project this month using more of the beautiful WP Western Romance papers and a new fun design from Dusty Attic (Devine Diva's) to make up this fun light switch conver....

Here is a quick little step by step on how to make this cover (I took pic's of my project as I went along...

Cut patterned paper approx. 1/2 inch extra around the switch plate. (You can find these switch plates at the hardward store for around .19 cents each.)

Now that you've attached your paper cover to your light switch, go ahead and embellish! The sky's the limit! Websters Pages has ton's of wonderful coordinating embellishments to to with all of their collections!

And before I sign off for today, I have one more fun FREE goodie to share with you all today!! A few months back I shared a link with you all for some beautiful digi photo frames that were a free download from the Websters Pages Digi site.....well, they've done it again! They have come out with a gorgeous collection of tags to download for free at this link FREE HOLIDAY TAGS .....just check out this stunning tag...one of my favourites of the collection!....

Thank-you Webster's Pages for all the beautiful Freebies you keep sharing with us! I loved the photo frames and these tags are just adorable! (Just download to your computer and print out on firm cardstock, cut out and use for your gifts!).

Dusty Attic & Websters Pages! A Match made in Heaven!

2011-11-29T09:34:00.001-05:00

I just love that this week Websters Pages & Dusty Attic is doing a product collaberation in which both design teams get to work with both companies products together! I was sent this beautiful 12x12 Display Frame a while back from Dusty Attic and finally got the chance to use it! I decided to make a Shabby-Chic wall hanging for on of my daughters bedroom. I used a combination of Websters Pages Western Romance, Postcards from Paris and Lifes Portrait Collections, along with a number of their beautiful trims and embellishments (DesignerThreads/Heart Doily, Silhouettes/Cameo, WP/Unity Stamp Set/Beauty). And from Dusty Attic I used the 12x12 Display Frame and about another 10 pieces of their beautiful laser cuts including the new Cameo Sliders (behind the cameo), Corset, 2 of the new Rose Stems, a Lamp Post #4, Baroque corners, Wrought Iron Fence, and a Wrought Iron Trim Set (along the top of the design). Here are some close-up shots of each of the sections on this home decor piece...

The Rosebud I simply painted white and used a pink and light green chalk ink on the edges to give it some subtle color.

I just LOVE these new Dusty Attic Cameo Sliders!! It's like they were specially made for the Websters Pages Silhouettes! They fit perfectly!

For the Corset chippie, I painted the whole thing with white paint, then inked it lightly with some pink chalk ink. Then I stamped the piece with a lace stamp (I used a strip stamp from an old Prima Frame stamp set for this). And then finally added some glitter with a bit of Stickles (Stardust).

TIP: I wanted to keep the pinks very soft on this project so I slightly changed the look of the Websters Pages Cameo by dabbing some Colorbox White Chalk ink over the edges of the Cameo piece...

This week the design teams of both Websters Pages and Dusty Attic will be posting their projects at a special thread in their forums. I've seen most of the projects and let me say, they are spectacular! You can view the projects made by the Dusty Attic design team girls throughout the week at this link DUSTY ATTIC FORUM ...and you can see the projects of the girls from the Websters Pages design team girls at this link WEBSTERS PAGES FORUM.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and having a peek, and thanks so much for your kind comments, your feedback means a lot to me! (Please note: I am often asked where you all can find the Dusty Attic Products, I have listed a number of great retailers for this product that are happy to ship worldwide! You can find them in the right hand column of my blog....I got a note from a number of them recently that they have just recieved new product and are fully stocked....but my advice is hurry, because I understand they sell out quickly! ...Many of them (such as http://www.staytruetogod.com/ ) will take orders too if they don't have the items you were looking for in stock!

Websters Pages & Dusty Attic!

2011-11-26T10:06:00.001-05:00

Although I usually tend to do 12x12 layouts, I've been in a bit of an altering mood lately. I found these cute tissue box covers at my local dolar store and thought it would be fun to make some box covers for my girls rooms. Meagan is going with a beach theme in her room so I used the Websters Pages Yacht Club collection papers and embellishments (Sparklers) and some Dusty Attic chippies (Sea Shells and Baroque Corner flourishes and Anchor) Here is a before shot of the tissue box....

The 12x12 patterned paper is almost a perfect fit for the 3 long sides of the box, you just need to trim one side edge, and cut out 2 smaller rectangles of paper for the two sides. I added machine stitching to all the sides before attaching in the paper. I attached the paper by slightly watering down some white wood glue and pasting on the sides. I then simply decorated with the Dusty Attic Chipboard and a variety of gems and pearls and a bit of fish netting from my local Michaels store. Here is the reverse side and a few more close-ups...

While I had out the Yacht club papers I thought I'd do a Thank-you card combining this collection with the Western Romance collection. The frame is an ornate frame from Dusty Attic....

I've got a really fun project to share in a few days using a bunch of the newest Dusty Attic pieces along with Websters Pages goodies....so excited to share this one with you! Thanks for stopping by!

Focus on SnowFall!! Bo Bunny's New Release!! & New Dusty Attic!!

2011-11-23T13:47:00.000-05:00

I just love the beautiful color combination in Bo Bunny's new Snowfall collection. The rich aqua/teal blues and the warm brown tones are so pretty together! And the embellishments that compliment this collection are again, over the top beautiful! (Check out the pretty Trinkets for Snowfall!) I had seen this collection online before I recieved my design team package but I was just blown away when I saw this gorgeous collection in real life! Just covered in glittery goodness! And the nice kind of glitter that doesn't come off all over everything :)

I also added a bit of the new goodies from Dusty Attic to this page! The large corner flourish #1 DA0628 and the Lacing Tash DA0631. I simply painted them with a chocolate brown craft paint and then added some texture with a bit of Aqua and Platinum color Stickles (glitter glue). To see all the the awesome new releases for Dusty Attic you can find the HERE. Here are some close-ups of this page I made of my youngest daughter.

Check out the Trinkets that go with this collection (on the lace-up piece and on the snowflakes)...

TIP: I added some older Prima Hydrangia's I had in my stash to this layout and used the Bo Bunny brads as centers. I also added a pearl strand to finish the design. A great glue for adding things like pearl strands is the Tombow Liquid Adhesive (the green & white bottle). It has a fine tip on one end. Just apply the glue to your project in the design you want the pearl strand to follow. Then allow it to dry a little so it becomes tacky. Now you can apply your pearl strand and it will stay in place as you apply it. You can even re-adjust a little as you go. The glue will become more permanent as you leave it to dry.

If you haven't picked up your supply of this beautiful new collection, go check it out for yourself, you will be delighted to see how even more dazzling this collection is in real life! Thanks for having a peek!

Heads Up!!! Super duper Black Friday Deal from Websters Pages!

2011-11-22T16:15:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to do a quick share with you all! Check out this amazing deal Websters Pages has for this Friday (Black Friday Sale!!) Websters Pages has put together 2 AMAZING kits at a crazy value too! These kits include all the product shown in the photos along with step by step instructions for projects made by the WP design team! Each kit is valued at $65.00 and are on sale for $25.00! Here are the kit details:

“It’s a Sweet Season” Premium Paper & Embellishment Pack with FREE Page & Card Project Included:
1-Card & Page Project Instruction Sheet, 1-TM9808 Collection Trim Pack, 1-WB1003 Wire Floral, 5-6x6 diecut paper, 1 6” NEW gem strip, 1-R03 Petite Roses, 1-TM9712 Robins Egg 1yd bloomers, 1-TM9714 Pink Kiss 1yd bloomers, 1-VB1003 Velvet Berries, 1-WGS10 Peacock Pack of 10 Glitter Sparklers, 1-LNF06 Princess Petals, 1-US1664 Journaling Card Pack, 1-FR1800 Fabric Ribbon Card set, 1-WS1044 Image Stickers, 1-WS1040 Alphabet Stickers, 3-US1786D 12x12 diecuts, 3-US1787D Vellum, 3-US1755D Vellum, 3-US1785D 12x12 Papers, 3-US1784D 12x12 Papers, 3-US1783D 12x12 Papers, 3-US1781D 12x12 Papers, 3-US1780D 12x12 Papers, 3-US1782D 12x12 Papers.

“Come Home for the Holidays” Premium Paper & Embellishment Pack with FREE Mini Album Project Included...

1-Mini Album Project Instruction Sheet, 1-TM9716 Celery 1yd bloomers pack, 1-TM9803 Collection Trim Package, 1-TM9814 Collection Trim Package, 1-LNF02 Princess Petals, 1-R01 Petite Roses, 1-WB1002 Wire Bouquet, 2-6” NEW gem Strips, 1-WGS07 Glitter Sparklers Pack of 10, 1-VB1002 Velvet Berries, 5-6x6 diecut papers, 1-WVS08 Vintage Glitter Sparklers Package, 1-WS1043 Image Sticker Sheet, 1-WS1039 Alphabet Sticker Sheet, 1-WS1021 Alphabet Sticker Sheet, 1-WS1015 Sticker Sheet, 3-US1778D 12x12 diecut paper, 3-US1779D Vellum, 3-US1715D Vellum, 2-US1772D 12x12 Papers, 2-US1720D 12x12 Papers, 3-US1776D 12x12 Papers, 3-US1774D 12x12 Papers, 3-US1775D 12x12 Papers, 3-US1777D 12x12 Papers, 3-US1776D 12x12 Papers.

So, now that we're all scrambling to drop hints to our husbands, here's what you need to know...

•Black Friday Deals START at MIDNIGHT (EST) on Thursday night & last through the weekend, expiring Sunday at Midnight.

•We have VERY Limited Quantities Available – when they’re sold out, they’re OUT

•Both kits retail for over $65 but they can be all yours for only $25 plus shipping. (No handling fees.)

•Also, we've added a special addition to these kits...each one contains never before seen 6" gem strips. These gems are exclusive to these kits and aren't currently available anywhere else.

Don't miss out on this awesome deal! For more info on project included in the kits you can check out the Websters Pages blog site HERE

An Art Journal! Websters Pages & Dusty Attic

2011-11-16T08:46:00.000-05:00

I have been wanting to try making an art journal for a long time now and I finally gave it a go! For me, Websters Pages and Dusty Attic are two companies that just go so well together! So I used the Dusty Attic Arched Window Set DA#0569 and one of their title chippies (Art) DA0386 along with Websters Pages Western Romance Papers, WP Ribbon, WP Stamps (Beauty stamped on frame) and WP Postcards (birds).

I got my journal book at a local dollar store and other than the above items I added a bit of simple kitchen cheesecloth and some pearl strands. I treated the DA frame with some cream color paint, brown chalk ink, some script/flourish stamping and finally coated it all with some Tim Holtz Rock Candy (crackle finish). Here are a few close-up pic's of the book....

Now I have somewhere to keep page ideas I come up with, little hand drawn sketches or even notes for my design team work. My daughter saw this one and now wants me to make her one too....so you may see some more of these books pop up on my blog :) ....Keep an eye out, hint hint, Dusty Attic and Websters Pages will be teaming up and sharing projects from their DT's in a few weeks time!

Dusty Attic and The Color Room Collaberation! Win some DA!!

2011-11-10T23:24:00.000-05:00

Talk about a match made in heaven! Dusty Attic is sponsoring The Color Room for this month....so if you are a fan of Dusty Attic laser cut chippies you've got to come and play along in the color palettes this month for a chance to win some beautiful Dusty Attic goodies!!

I made the above page using the lovely 'white-washed' palette #84, lots of warm neutrals and white!. I used 3 different styles of DA chippies to make up this page, The Floral Frame Set DA0576, Brick Wall Panel DA0316 and Scroll Border #2 DA0564. I used a white gel pen to add a little detailing to the Floral frame piece. The papers I used are from the Bo Bunny Et Cetera Collection. The blooms are done with the Water Distress Method Here are some close-ups...

Here is the inspiration palette for The Color Room #84

Would you like to play along and win some Dusty Attic goodness? Play along with this color palette and upload your project to the Color Room Gallery before next weeks color palette is up (Friday 18th) and you can have a chance to win! And remember, the Color Room DT is always checking out the gallery to pick your beautiful projects to feature in our newsletter and on the website! Your project may be the next one featured!

And now for an exciting sneaky peek at the newest designs Dusty Attic is bringing out!! I was just blown away when I saw all the new goodies....here is a little peek at just a few of them! Ohhh! Cameo sliders!! How cool are these to mount your Websters Pages Cameo's on! and they have those cute little slots for sliding them onto ribbon!! LOVE!

....And for those of you who love Steampunk! how cool are these!!!...

I get asked often on where to find Dusty Attic. I try to keep a list in the side of my blog (right side) on Dusty Attic Retailers. I've heard many of them have just recently restocked their stores and many also will do pre-orders for you too! Check it out! ....and don't forget to join in the fun at The Color Room!

Bo Bunny Card Challenge & Sketch!

2011-11-08T21:11:00.000-05:00

It was my turn to do a card challenge this month for the Bo Bunny Design Team. So I came up with a sketch and decided to make the challenge that there has to be a handmade bloom on the card made from any Bo Bunny product whether it be pattern paper, trinkets, trims or jewels. Here is the sketch I made up for this card....

I used the new Enchanted collection to make this card along with some Bo Bunny dot cardstock. I used the Water Distress method <~~ Click this link or you can find the tutorial in the right column of my blog. Here are some close up pics...

Supplies used for this card:

Patterned Paper: Enchanted 6x6 Paper Pad (Papers used from the paper pad are: Enchanted Love (both sides)

Cardstock: Bo Bunny Dot Cardstock; Raspberry Dot, Mulberry Dot, Kiwi Dot

Enchanted Jewels, Enchanted Buttons, Enchanted Noteworthy,

Enchanted Combo Stickers

Come join in the challenge over at the Bo Bunny blog! You have until November 21st to play along! At the same time you can check out what a couple of our other talented design team members, Tomoko and Mireille have created with this sketch! BO BUNNY BLOG

I'm Guest Designer for Funtoola's Kit Club!!

2011-11-02T08:25:00.000-04:00

I was asked to be the Guest Designer this month over at Funtoola's Kit Club. I was so thrilled to recieve this beautiful kit to work with! Gorgeous Prima papers, premium blooms and embellishments and even an intricate Prima stamp and Dusty Attic Chipboard products in the kit! You will LOVE this kit!

I used this photo I had of Meagan playing in the sand at the beach when she was about 2 years old. It made me think of Winnie the Pooh and his honey pot. I used a quote from from a Winnie the Pooh book that struck me as very sweet .....

"Well, said Pooh, what I like best,

and then he had to stop and think.

Because although eating honey was a

very good thing to do,

there was a moment before you begin to eat it

which was better than when you were,

but he didn't know what it was called."

~ A.A. Milne

I cut the bookpage design from the patterned paper and layered an extra piece of paper and cardstock to create this little 'book' embellishment....

There are so many beautiful blooms in this kit, among them are the hydrangia blooms and some lovely adhesive pearl accents, pretty ribbons and lace too!...

I divided up the Dusty Attic Vine and used part on this page and part on another. For this one I painted the vine Ivy green, accented with some brown ink and outlined with some pretty green glitter glue included in the kit....

Another page I made with this kit, I went with the rich burgundy papers and embellishments. I took this picture of Chloe and her best friend Peyton with Zoe when she was just 2 months old. These two girls have been best of friends since they were 3 years old.

All the embellishments you see on the page are all from this kit....Prima Crystal flourishes, lace, pearls, Velvety blooms & buttons and of course the lovely Dusty Attic Vine. Here are some close-up pic's of the page....

....And finally I made one more page from this beautiful kit. I cut one of the papers with a bracket frame template.

TIP: I save unusually shaped die cut papers and trace them onto a plain piece of paper (I like to use the plain white 12x12 papers that come in the sleeves of my page protectors in my albums.)

All of the embellishments on this page are all from the kit including the pretty key, the ribbons and lace, the diamond and pearl bloom and the Prima Gate stamp. Here are a few close-up photos of the above page...

Take it from me, this kit is a beauty and a lot of fun to work with and an incredible deal! Check out Funtoola's website for more information on this kit. Join in the fun, in the galleries and forums. Cindy Johnson, the lovely owner of Funtoola's will make you feel warm and welcome!

Bo Bunny & Scor Buddy!!

2011-11-01T09:47:00.000-04:00

I have been wanting to try out this tri-fold shutter card for a very long time and finally got a chance to do it mainly because I got this amazing Scor Buddy sent to me! I have a scoring tool on my cutter but for some reason it always comes out crooked (I think my cutter is not exactly square). So I was thrilled to have this amazing tool to use! I used the ScorBuddy two ways, to create scor lines for my card folds and to create an embossed edge for my journaling piece. Below is the template I used to make up this card....

These are the basic Instructions:

1. Cut a 12" x 5 '1/2 " piece of Cardstock. (I used Bo Bunny's Shitake Dot paper)

2. You will create score lines at the 2", 4", 8" and 10" marks (some will be 'valley' scores and some will be 'peaks'....see diagram above to differntiate which go where.

3. You will cut measure 1 1/2" up (and down) from the 2 and 20 inch marks and cut 2 slits between these markings (I cut these slits first so that I knew when to stop and start my valley and peak scores).

4. Your card is not ready to shape into the folded design (see above photo to see if you have your folds correct).

5. Choose your patterned papers that you want to use for this card and then use the card as your template, you will need to cut patterned paper:

2 pieces of the T shapes (trim 1/16" off each edge)

4 x 1 3/8" x 1 3/8"

2 x 1 7/8" x 3 7/8"

1 x 2 3/8" x 3 7/8"

I used the Scor Buddy on the middle (2 3/8" x 3 7/8") piece to make a nice embossed edge for my journaling piece. I flipped the piece over and used the two scores closest to the left edge to scor my border...

When you flip the piece over you end up with a nice bumped up border for your journaling piece, here is a close-up of the finished section, I added some clock cut-outs from the BB Timepiece 6x6 patterned paper pad to decorate this piece with...

Now just decorate to your hearts content! Bo Bunny has so many beautiful embellishing products to coordinate with each of their collections,...Rub-ons, stickers, chipboard, Jewels, flowers, ribbons and Noteworthy die cut shapes! Here is one more view of the card opened...

Supplies used:

Patterned Paper: Welcome Home ~ Porch Swing, Welcome Home, Front Door,

Cardstock: Bo Bunny Shitake Dot

6"x6" Paper Pad: Welcome Home, Timepiece

Chipboard: Gabrielle

Butterflies, dot ribbon: Gabrielle card kit

Noteworthy: Welcome Home

Jewels: Welcome Home

flowers: Bo Bunny Serenade collection

Be sure to stop by the Bo Bunny site this week to check out all the projects being made with BoBunny products and Scor Buddy! I've seen a number of them already and they are amazing! Bo Bunny and Scor Pal are having a Blog hop all week long so come and join the fun!

Websters Pages DT page & Glue Arts!!

2011-10-29T10:56:00.000-04:00

Websters Pages was doing a match-up with Glue Arts this week so our design team was delighted to recieve some Glue Art products to use on our projects! I basically used a little bit of each of the products sent to me to create the above page that I made with Websters Pages 'Western Romance' Collection. Here are the some of the ways I used these awesome Glue Arts products...

I used the GA Pro Glider to attach all my patterned papers to each other.

The Glue Arts 1/2 " Adhesive squares ROCK! for adding embellishments like blooms and cameos!

They have wonderful glue strips to attach your ribbons and lace!

And their Adhesive foam pieces work grea for adding dimension to a project!

Which is my favourite? I love love love the 1/2" adhesive squares for adding embellishments! Those things really STICK!! Here is a list of supplies I used to make the above page:

Patterned Paper: Websters Pages Western Romance Collection

From the Western Romance Collection: Fabric Tickets, Fabric Ribbon, Alphabet Stickers,

Websters Pages whimsies (heart & rose), Silhouettes (Cameo), Princess Petals, Sparklers.

Chipboard corner flourish: Dusty Attic

Lace trim & Pearl Strands from local fabric store

Adhesives: Glue Arts

Here are a couple more close-ups of my page (TIP: I used a decorative edge scissor to make the edge for the second layer of patterned paper)....

For lots of wonderful ideas in using Glue Arts products you can check out their blog site HERE! And if you'd like to see more projects done by the Websters Pages design team using GA & Websters Pages products, come have a peek at the Websters Pages blog, you'll be happy you checked it out!

Paper Flower Tutorial ~ Websters Pages & Glue Arts!

2011-10-25T20:10:00.000-04:00

I thought I would share a tutorial for a flower I've used on my layouts over this past year. I've shared some information on how to make water distressed blooms but I've gotten emails over this past year saying that some of you don't have the flowers turn out the same as mine. So I thought it would be best to actually show you each step in a video. I also thought I would share a little tip with you all on an awesome adhesive I've found that works really well for adhering flowers and embellishments to your projects. Glue Arts 1/2" adhesive squares...super strong!

I used the Websters Pages Western Romance collection to make up the above page. I love that buttery yellow colour in the paper and bloomers! Here are some close-up pic's of the layout and the blooms I'm going to show you how to make....

Just click on the video clip below and watch how quickly and easily these blooms come together...

I hope this video will help you all in tweaking those blooms to get them to look the way you want them to! ....This week the Websters Pages design team and the Glue Arts design team have teamed up together to present some exciting and beautiful projects. So be sure to check out the Websters Pages Blog and the Glue Arts Blog throughout the week to be inspired! Thanks for stopping by, ...and let me know how your blooms come out!

Bo Bunny Challenge..... & I Made a Sketch!

2011-10-21T10:08:00.002-04:00

So my assignment with Bo Bunny this week was to create the layout sketch and create a layout to go with it as well. Well, I was a little nervous about it, I'm new to making sketches, but with a little trial an error I managed to put a sketch together. Usually I would make my page first and create a sketch from the page I made but I didn't want the other girls that were doing the assignment to have to wait on my sketch, so the sketch came first. The above l/o is the page I came up with using my sketch.. I wanted to go a little more monochromatic with this page so I went with some papers from the Bo Bunny Et Cetera collection and tried to stick to neutrals with just a hint of blush pink. I added just a little bit of Bo Bunny's Timepiece into it too (I love the 6x6 paper pads, I used the clock paper and cut out the clocks to use as embellishments....just added a little Stickles in Platinum color to dress them up a bit)

I also added in a few pieces of my favourite chippies from Dusty Attic too! The Vintage Keys, the Chicken Wire (that's the last of my chicken wire in my stash! now I'm waiting on my next DT package...can't wait!) the corner flourish and title chippies are all from Dusty Attic. The larger blooms are handmade by simply gathering some pieces of lace. Here are a few close-ups of the page details....

NOTE: I used Tombow liquid adhesive (green & white bottle) to attach my pearl strand. I find this works beautifully for adding fussy strands to a page. All you do is use the fine tip end and draw out the design you would like your pearl strand to go in. Let the adhesive dry slightly, it becomes gummy/tacky. You can then lay your pearl strand onto the page over the line and it will stick without slipping!

For the circle design I used the Crafters Workshop circle template and cut the circle design from one of the Bo Bunny patterned papers. I made marks for my brads and then added some kitchen twine twisted around the brades to create the above design.

I used a corner stamp and key-hole rub-on from the Bo Bunny Timepiece colletion to dress up the corner of my layout.

Supplies for this page:

Patterned Paper: Et Cetera - Mail Room, Et Cetera, Symphony, Gabrielle - Cut Outs

Cardstock: Tutu Dot

6x6 Paper Pads: Timepiece (clock face embellishments)

Noteworthy: Et Cetera

Stickers: Et Cetera Combo Stickers

Rub-on's: Timepiece

Trinkets: Gabrielle

Stamps: Timepiece

Buttons: Bo Bunny Buttons & Bling

Blooms were handmade by gathering strips of lace.

Chipboard pieces: Dusty Attic Designs

Lace & Pearl trims are off the roll from local fabric store.

Cheesecloth, twine, ink & Stickles.

If you like the page design please feel free to use my sketch and give it a go! Here is the sketch for this page...

If you use the sketch design, I'd love it if you drop me a link here in a comment so I can come have a peek! I'd love to see what you all do with it! And be sure to drop off a link to your page at the Bo Bunny Blog (by November 3rd) for a chance to win some yummy Bo Bunny goodies!! xx

Websters Pages Projects & My NovelTree!!

2011-10-13T18:01:00.001-04:00

First off I thought I would share a couple of projects I recently made with a couple of the yummy new Webster's Pages Collections. The above layout I made with the All About Me collection. I think this collection is so fresh and pretty. I found this old photo of my younger sister when she was little and know I just had to scrap it with this collection. The two of us are only a little over a year apart and are not just sisters but best friends. I thought I would make this page as a special gift for her. I used a variety of the All About Me patterned papers, the matching die cut paper (I cut out the edges of the die cut paper for this layout ....I was inspired by a page by Robin Shakoor), WP Sparklers, WP Bloomers, WP Fabric Tickets and Journaling Cards as well as Whimsies and Cameo Push Pins. Here are a couple of close-ups of my layout...

I provided links to all the Websters products I used to make up this page so that if anyone would like to order it you can do it directly from the WP site! (Not all of us are lucky enough to have scrapstores near our homes :) I also have another little project to share, a little card I made using the Western Romance collection. I made this card for my project that was inspired by our featured Guest Designer this month Stacey Young. Her work is so beautiful and I love the way she used kitchen twine on dt work!

And now I'd like to share with you all a special new project that Brandin has been working on for sometime now called My NovelTree! Lets face it...we all LOVE Websters pages designs and projects but not all of us have the time to put together layouts and albums we'd like to share with our families. Websters Pages is passionate about helping everyone preserve their memories in a beautiful way. At My NovelTree you will find the most beautiful premade Photobooks, Pocketbooks and Scrapbook Pages!

These albums are the perfect solution. Check out the My NovelTree Gallery HERE for the many styles available! Just click on the album photo and it will flip through each of the pages in the album. These are also great for scrapbookers who want to give gifts, make multiple albums or specific theme albums!

So pre-order yours today & become a founding member! This is a limited time offer...you can not miss this opportunity ♥

Now stop by and LIKE US at our NEW Facebook Page, share our badges or FB Page and you could be one of the lucky winners we'll be choosing if we spy you sharing myNovelTree! I've been reading some of the posts there by members who have already purchased these beautiful products and let's just say the are uber-excited and thrilled with the product!

Focus on....Bo Bunny's Noteworthy!

2011-10-12T08:00:00.001-04:00

I just love these pieces that are available with each of the Bo Bunny collections! They are these amazing die-cut pieces that you can use as special matting, framing for your photos and titles, journaling tags or to create one of a kind embellishments!

For my layout above I used papers from the Bo Bunny 'Welcome Home' collection along with Noteworthy pieces from the Welcome Home collection (to frame each of my photos) and and extra piece of Noteworthy from the Et Cetera collection as matting (I added a little machine stitching to them to add texture).

This page is about my oldest daughter Chloe and the interest she had taking in cooking and experimenting with recipes. Above is one of her favourite grill cheese sandwiches. (Rather than using the usual cheese for her grill cheese, she layers on the Jarlsberg, sliced fresh tomato (salt & pepper), fresh basil leaves and a drizzle of honey!.....sooooo good! Try it, you won't be sorry you did!)

Bo Bunny Supplies used on this page:

Patterned Paper: Welcome Home Porch Swing, WH Welcome Home, WH Home Decor.

Noteworthy: Welcome Home & Et Cetera

6x6 Paper Pad: Welcome Home (behiind photo and in the torn strip at top)

Stickers: WH Combo Stickers (title & strip), and Layered Stickers Welcome Home

Tinkets: Welcome Home

Chipboard: Et Cetera (title alphas)

Welcome Home Jewels flower centers and on sticker strip.

For more inspiration on how to use Bo Bunny Noteworthy pieces, you can check out todays blogpost at the Bo Bunny blogsite! Thanks so much for having a peek today! :)

The Color Room #79 & Some Dusty Attic Goodness!

2011-10-07T09:30:00.000-04:00

It's another gorgeous palette to inspire you over at The Color Room! This weeks palette (#79) is a lovely combination of a soft rosey plum, a warm caramel, a dove grey and a hint of muted teal. Here is the inspiration for the palette....

I always love to challenge myself to see if I can find all the colors I need from my old stash and get the colors as close to the palette as I can (you should see me with my computer screen up and holding all my items against the screen! lol! It makes me happy to know that I'm using up product that I already have. I think I managed it! But I have to admit that I used new product in the Dusty Attic piece's I used (but at least I didn't go out and purchase anything new for this page! yay!) The basic rules of the Color Room is to use all the colors in the palette (only) and you can also use neutrals with it (like white, black or craft paper).

This page is to represent one of the few date nights my dear husband and I manage every once in a while. We tend to do so much as a family but it really is nice to get out just the two of us sometimes. Here we were at a party for Steve's brother in downtown Toronto (the CN Tower was directly behind us in the photo but my BIL took the photo at the wrong angle). The food was crazy AWESOME!! .....here are a few close-ups of the page elements.....

I used lots of Dusty Attic Chipboard on this page. I had a piece of the Skeleton Clock Face left over from another project I did and I split a piece of French Flourish in half to create the design above.

For the above piece I added a little piece of the Dusty Attic Chicken Wire (one of my favourite pieces, it's so versatile) and below you can see a corner of the intricate new Sweat Pea Frame design from Dusty Attic. If you are looking for Dusty Attic products, just look to the right of my blog site, I've listed a bunch of the retailers there for your convenience.

As for the rest of the supplies, I used some BasicGrey Kioshi (the mauvy background frame paper), The script paper and flourish paper are both Recollections (from Michaels), The teal paper is Tim Holtz, The lace, butterfly and ribbon bloom is Prima. Gems are Recollections. The chipboard alphas are Bo Bunny from the Et Cetera collection. If you want some tips on how to do the Verdigris Aged Patina that I added to the flourish and clock you can check out my tutorial by clicking on the words (or find it on the rightside column of my blog. Come join us in the challenges over at The Color Room, give the above palette a try and remember to post your layout in the gallery there, you might just get featured in next weeks newsletter!

A Little Western Romance! Websters Pages!...

2011-09-30T10:34:00.000-04:00

I found this photo (above left) of my youngest daughter Meagan when she was a baby,....her smile just melts my heart....goodness do I ever miss those gummy baby smiles. But then I look at recent photos I took of her and I realize that I just love every stage of her growing up. And that smile.....still makes me melt :)

I used the beautiful new collection by Websters Pages called Western Romance to make up this page. I combined a few of the patterned papers (Date Night, Country Fresh, Sweet Romance) along with their beautiful coordinating embellishments: Pink Bloomers, Western Romance Fabric Tickets, Fabric Ribbon, Heart shape Whimsies, Silhouettes (cameo), Cameo Push Pins, Threads Shapes (heart doily under the Cameo), Glitter Sparklers, and of course those lovely alpha stickers from the Western Romance collection. The dome shaped design over the photo is from the newest releases from Dusty Attic Arched Window #1 code #DA0569. This laser cut comes with a Window frame and 3 toppers so it goes a long way! Here are some closeup picks of this layout....

If you like what you see and your local scrapstore doesn't carry this gorgeous product, you can always order directly from the Websters Pages Website! Don't forget to become a follower of the Websters Pages Facebook page to get all the updates on sales and specials....there have been some AMAZING sales of late, so don't miss out!

Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting....I'm happy to answer any questions you may have :)

Focus on Bo Bunny Et Cetera!

2011-09-29T10:01:00.001-04:00

I just love the Bo Bunny Et Cetera Collection! I love the soft neutral tones in the papers, it allows you to create pages that all have a different look from each other by simply adding a different accent color. For the page above I chose to go with a soft mauvey pink as my accent color.

The photo is one I took of my oldest daughter a couple of days ago with our puppy on the front porch. I'm amazed at how quickly she (the pup) has changed in size and appearance. She just hit 6 months old but she is already getting BIG! She's big but totally puppy still (I just bought a new hall carpet that she managed to chew a whole into within 3 days of getting it! Yipes!)

I used a variety of the Et Cetera collection to make up this page including some of the rub-on's that I used on the Dusty Attic Chipboard hinge in the top right corner. Here are a few close-up's of the layout (I used a die-cut from another collection on one of the Bo Bunny papers (as a template) to make the shaped paper you see in my layout above)....

As you can see in the photo above, I got an interesting effect on the Dusty Attic chipboard hinge (You can find retailers for Dusty Attic in the rightside column of my blog) by using a Bo Bunny Et Cetera rub-on on it, it gives a nice crisp design. I then finished it by lightly brushing the edges with some brown chalk ink and then painting on some Tim Holtz 'Rock Candy' (this creates a crackle finish as it dries).

Products used on this page:

Patterned Paper: Et Cetera; Watermark, Symphony, Cut Outs

Stickers: Et Cetera; Live Love Laugh CS Stickers, Just Be You CS Stickers and Combo Sticker sheet (scallop border & title stickers), Rub-on's: Et Cetera (on chipboard hinge), Trinkets: Et Cetera, Chipboard: Et Cetera (title and elements), Jewels: Et Cetera (on hinge, scallop border & circle, medalion), Trim: Et Cetera Wraps. Hinge: Dusty Attic, Flowers, Butterflies & bling flourishes: Recollections (Michaels Store brand). Lace: off the roll from a local fabric store.

Here is another page I made a little while back using the Et Cetera collection. In going through my blogsite I realized I forgot to post this one here (it was posted at the BB blog on a feature spot in the summer)....here you can see a pic of Zoe just a few months back when we first got her.....

Thanks to everyone that left the sweet comments at my last blog post! You can find the winner of the blog hop at the Scrap365 Blog along with information on subscriptions if you are interested in having this beautiful magazine!

Scrap365 Blog Hop!!

2011-09-22T18:06:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone!

I'm so excited to share some news with you all today! There is an amazing NEW magazine starting up in the UK called Scrap365 and I was asked to be on their design team! To celebrate, Scrap365 is holding a bloghop so you can all get to know the magazine and the design team!

For those of you who don't know me yet, I would say my style of scrapping is Shabby-chic & vintage style but I do think it's every changing too! I'm presently on the Websters Pages, Bo Bunny, Dusty Attic and The Color Room Design Teams and have been on the Daisy D's, Zva Creative and My Creative Scrapbook DT's, and now I can add Scrap365 Magazine to another wonderful design team I get to be on! Here are just a few of my most recent pages so you can get an idea of my style and what you can look forward to seeing in my articles in Scrap365....

Leave a comment on each of our DTs blog and here and you could win a years subscription to Craft Stamper magazine plus stamps worth over £20!

So without further ado here's the hop list. Have fun!
Scrap365 - you are here!
Amanda Jones - http://amandajonesblog.blogspot.com/
Kim Woods - http://kim-becrafty.blogspot.com
Lisa Saunders - http://scrappyfairies.blogspot.com
Tomoko Takahashi - http://crop-addict.blogspot.com
Laura McCollough - http://akissonthechic.typepad.com
Mahlin Wiggur - http://mahlin.blogg.se
Michelle Jackson-Mogford - www.mjm-thearttart.blogspot.com
Wendy McKee - http://www.wendymckee.co.uk
Natalie McDonald - http://njmacs.blogspot.com/
Christiane Muller - http://schulu.blogspot.com
Brit Sviggum - http://britshverdag.blogspot.com
Marsha Valk - http://marshavalk.wordpress.com
Sian Fair - http://fromhighinthesky.blogspot.com
Lousette Ashton - http://andthenicraft.blogspot.com
Emy Buxton - http://www.emyscraftyblog.blogspot.com
Anna Bjorklund - http://mymessyspot.blogspot.com
Lynn Grieveson - http://www.lynngrieveson.typepad.com
Morag Cutts - http://scrapbook-junkie.blogspot.com
Suzy Beecher - http://mind-spillage.blogspot.com
Jean Franks Beck - http://bluebirdpaperie.blogspot.com
Louise Nelson - http://louise-justloolabelle.blogspot.com
Audrey Tan - http://organisedmess.blogspot.com
Gabrielle Pollocco - http://gabriellepollacco.blogspot.com (me)

The first issue of Scrap365 will be on the newstands November 18th so mark your calendars for that! I'm sure this will be and exciting and beautiful new magazine!!

~Gabrielle xx

New Websters Pages 'All About Me' Collection

2011-09-20T17:01:00.000-04:00

So today was the day I did my first blogpost for Websters Pages blogsite! I was asked to create a page using the new All About Me collection and to consider the theme 'Legacies'. Well, I totally LOVE this paper collection, I've actually made up 2 other layouts with this collection already but both of these are for magazine articals coming up in the new few months (and into the new year). So this is my first layout that I've posted for this collection. One of the things I love about Websters Pages is that it's not just about beautiful pages but about meaningful pages too. The word 'Legacies' brought to mind something that occurred to me a few days ago.

I had picked up one of Chloe's new books and started reading the first book in the series. (She is presently reading 'The Hunger Games' trilogy by Suzanne Collins) From the first few words I found myself unable to put down the book! Chloe is now on book 2 of this collection. Well, Chloe comes home from school (without one of her friends for a change :) and see's that I'm reading her book. She immediately runs to her backpack to get her own book and her warm Sherpa wool blanket and snuggles up beside me to read. We sit in companionable silence just reading and once in a while commenting to each other on what is happening in the books. I strikes me that I am so pleased that I have passed down this legacy to my girls....the love of reading.

I created the above layout as a keepsake about how my girls enjoy reading as much as I do (I can devour books like candy) I thought I'd do a little interview with each of them on the subject of reading. I gave them 3 questions and asked if they would give me their answers. Chloe (she's 13 years old), of course neatly writes her answers out on paper for me.....but Meagan? (she's 10 years old) Now she's whole other ballgame....this is how I got her answers (pencil and paper won't do for her **roll eyes**)....

1. What are your 3 favourite books at the moment (and their authors)?
Chloe's Answer: The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, Parvanna's Journey by Deborah Ellis and A Dogs Life: An Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin.
Meagan's Answer: Narnia:Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis, Jack Russell Mysteries: The Lying Postman by Darrell & Sally Odgers and Junie B. Jones is a Party Animal by Barbara Parks.

2. What are your favourite subjects/genres to read?
Chloe's Answer: I love mysteries and books about survival skills.
Meagan's Answer: I love books about pets and animals, I like funny books too.

3. When do you like to read? (time of day)?
Chloe's Answer: ALL the time! Well, mostly before I go sleep and especially on weekends. Sometimes when I have a reading break at school.
Meagan's Answer: When I go to sleep and when Mommy makes me! (you can see what I'm dealing with in my youngest! Lol!)

I put the little pocket on the back of my layout so I could add the questions and answers for my interview with the girls into it....they always love pulling out these little gems years later. Here is a picture of the back of the layout with the pocket.

I used the beautiful new Websters Pages collection called 'All About Me' for this page, I thought the collection was just perfect for this type of theme. Just a NOTE: I created the postage stamp edge on the regular 12x12 All About Me paper by using the die cut paper from the WP Western Romance collection as a template. I just slightly shifted the first few sections from each corner when tracing the design (making them slightly smaller) so that I could then cut out the edge design and lay it on a 12x12 piece of cardstock to create a mat for the patterned paper. Also, I gave myself some extra blue forget-me-not blooms to cut out as embellishments by printing off one of the designs from the Digi Motifs from the All About Me collection on some plain white glossy cardstock paper. You can find them HERE. Here are a few close-ups of the page...

WP Supplies used for this page:
Patterned Paper; All about Me (Looking Ahead..I used the Western Romance Die cut paper as a template to give the AAB paper the postage stamp edge), AAB Love the Journey
Petite Paper Pad; All About Me (behind photos, & pocket behind layout)
Dazzle Me Gems; All About Me collection pack.
Journaling Cards; All About Me
Alpha Stickers; All About Me
Cut blooms: printed from WP All About Me Digi Elements, then cut out
Butterflies; Botanical Christmas
Bloomers; Bloomers Deluxe Card (blue)
Lace Trim: Winter Fairy Tales Trim Card #13f
WP Cameo Push Pins

If you have a moment come check out the Websters Pages blog for today, I'd love to hear what you thought of it! xx WEBSTERS PAGES BLOG ....Thanks for stopping by!

The Color Room Palette #75

2011-09-09T00:30:00.000-04:00

This was a special milestone for The Color Room....their Palette #75....Congrats ladies!! And I was so thrilled when I saw the palette! Such a pretty one, colors that speak to me! Here is the Palette...

I always have fun digging through my new & old stash picking papers and embellishments to fit the palette! If I don't have matching patterned paper then there is always cardstock, paints and ink. I fortunately had the colors I needed in my stash. I had some paper from My Minds Eye (29th Street Market) and some BasicGrey 'Kioshi', I found the perfect shade of teal in a Prima butterfly in my stash. And of course I couldn't make a page without including a bit of my favourite chipboard from Dusty Attic. I wanted to give it a lacey look so I painted the piece white and then used a Prima lace stamp (from one of their 'Frame It' stamp collections). The blooms are all Prima and the pearl flourish is Zva Creative. I want to thank my dear friend Romy Veul for the pretty teal & purple bloom centers, she sent me such a lovely surprise pack a little while back, I was so happy to have these to add to my page...Thank-you Romy! xx Here are a few close-up pics...

But this is not all The Color Room has going this month!! Two of the TCR girlies (Lydell Quinn & Emma Starfrace) created this amazing Digital kit especially for this palette! They allowed the DT to have some fun with this digi kit, so some of us created a digi page too and some created Hybrid pages combining 'real' paper with digital images they printed out and used on their page. Here is the digi kit....

......and here is the digital page I created using this pretty kit of papers, embellishments, alpha's and phrases. The photo is one that I recently took of my nephew Jared & his wife Danielle (they are the parents of those cute little babies I've been scrapping lately).....

Believe me, I am no digi expert but this kit was easy and fun to use...I managed this page in under a half hour. Got to say digi sure is fast! It's a fun change of pace, but still, when it comes down to it I'm still a paper girl, I love the cutting paper cutting and getting my hands dirty :) If you are interested in this kit, come check out The Color Room this week, you'll find more information HERE

More New Webster's Pages & some Dusty Attic

2011-09-01T18:57:00.000-04:00

I made this layout using the new Webster's Pages Winter Fairytales collection. The die cut paper, the netting (butterfly design netting), the bloomers, the new trims (pink velvet/sheer ruffle), the gold lace trim, the Gems (beside the journaling) and the alpha's are all from the Webster's Pages new releases from this summer's CHA. Every month Websters Pages picks a person to feature their body of work, this month it is Nerrida Mitchell, and the design team is asked to make a project up that is inspired by the designers work. The above page is my l/o inspired by Nerrida, I like the use of bloomers and bloom/butterfly embellishments on her page. If you would like to see more of Nerrida's beautiful work and the rest of the DT's take on her work you can find the forum thread HERE.

I also used one of Dusty Attic's Ornate frames on this layout and thought I would try to get a the look of a carved or molded frame on it by adding some pearl white 3D paint. Here are a few easy steps in achieving this look.

Step 1 ~ Paint entire frame with a base coat of white craft paint.

Step 2 ~ Following the design of the laser cut piece, add swirls of white/or pearly white 3D paint (I used a brand I bought at Michaels Craft shop called 'Scribbles', you can find it in the T-shirt section of the store)

Step 3 ~ I added a touch of Colorbox brown chalk ink to the edges of the frame. Done!

Here's a close-up look at the embellishments on my layout....

I want to take a second to thank you all for your thoughtful and kind comments here at my blog and I want you to know that I read your comments and would like to answer some of your questions. Tracy asked in the last blog post how I made the cardstock design around my layout called 'Natural Beauty'? The postage stamp design is actually the shape of the die-cut from Websters Pages. I simply matted the die cut paper with some darker pink cardstock and trimmed the cardstock following the design of the die cut with a pair of regular scissors. Sometimes you can get away with using just one sheet of cardstock if the die fits within the perameters of the 12 x 12 cardstock. In this case I had to do it in 2 pieces to fit around it. (I cut out the center of the cardstock behind the piece and use it to matt photo's etc. I don't like to waste) Tracy also asked about my layout in the post before that one called "Chloe & Zoe' , she wanted to know how I made the wavey edge on the patterned paper. Super easy Tracy, it's just a wavey edged scissor that I got at my local craft shop. I find myself using decorative scissor's a lot lately. They are inexpensive ($2-$3.00 at Michaels) and can add an easy and interesting edge to a page. Hope this answers your questions. If anyone ever has questions that about any of my layouts, don't hesitate to ask and I'll do my best to give you a clear answer. :)

NEW Websters Pages!! & A Card for a Special Girl...

2011-08-28T16:10:00.000-04:00

This is my first page working with the new Webster's Pages 'Western Romance' Collection!! I got my design team package last week in the mail and was just giddy pulling out all the beautiful products that have just come out! Yep! new cameo's (Silhouettes), GORGEOUS laces and trims! Soft and pretty bloomers and the cutest cameo pins! If you like collection packs you are going to LOVE these new ones that Brandin has put together, this time around she has put in 2 of every patterned paper, 1 Die Cut paper (the one in the photo above is from the Western Romance collection), the alpha stickers (my Favourite scripted font!!), a sampling of the new WP Bling!, 2 x 12" strips of Bloomers, and some coordinating Fabric tickets!) I think these collection packs are a great bargin and give you a taste of so many of the pretty things Websters Pages makes.

I made this page up for my oldest daughter Chloe, she recently turned 13 and although I don't like to put a lot of emphasis on 'outward' beauty when dealing with my children, I had to make up this page because as I was looking at these pic's I recently took of her, it dawned on me how Chloe doesn't follow the trend of so many of her classmates in wearing heavy eyeshadow and liner, dark lipstick and a lot of makeup.....yep, so many of the 13 year olds I'm seeing are just over the top with trying to look older. I'm grateful that Chloe is happy to just put on a little lip balm and off she goes. The emphasis of the title is not so much the 'beauty' but the 'natural' part. To me her beauty comes from her inner self, the kindness she shows to others and how she applies herself to her schooling and studies.

Supplies used on this page:

Webster's Pages papers (Western Romance Collection), WP alphas, WP Silhouettes, WP Bloomers, WP Trim (gold lace along bottom edge and gathered to make bloom in top right corner), Dusty Attic Chipboard (circle frame), Baroque corners (framing the cameo piece), cardstock.

Here are a few close-ups...

I have one more project to share with you and that is a card I made for a very special little girl. Olivia is a little girl who would be starting kindergarten in a few days but is presently in the hospital undergoing surgery for a brain tumor in a very critical part of her brain. Her family has asked if we would be kind enough to send her some cards to cheer her up. Here is a link to her story Olivia Here is the card I made for her and will be sending off in the morning...

If you would like to join in and send this sweet child a card you can send it to this address:

Cards For Olivia

c/o Stacy Rodriguez

3122 9 1/2 Street

Rock Island, Illinois

61201

Thanks for stopping by! And a big thank-you for all the kind comments, I love to hear your feed back on the work I share!

Scrap That! Exclusive Pion Design “Birdsong” Kit

2011-08-26T11:28:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned a few days ago, I was thrilled to be asked to be Guest Designer this month over at Scrap That! Kit club for their exclusive September Pion Design "Birdsong Kit"!!

If you have just arrived here from The Dusty Attic Ning site you are in the correct place! If not, head back to the Scrap That! blog for the blog hop order and links, the hop begins at noon EST. (this will start you at the beginning and will help you with the secret words you'll need to collect)

First off before I give you all the blog hop deets I thought I'd share a few of the projects I made with the GORGEOUS kit!! First off I was so excited to get this beautiful kit from a Canadian kit company! Lori Brown (the owner) has AMAZING taste in product, it was such a pleaure working with all the lovely things in this kit....elegant papers by Pion Designs, LOADS of Prima blooms and embellishments (lovely pearl/rhinstone flourish too!) And I love that she always includes a creative medium in her kits, this month, there is a 3D pearl paint. The above layout is one I made of Chloe with our pup Zoe, this is a very recent photo, she has gotten HUGE in the past few weeks (and she's still only about 4 months old!) ...The butterflies were cut from one of the papers, the frame is actually part of the paper design. I simply added some of the blooms in the kit, a little lace (also from the kit), a little corset stitching...done! (note: the diamond design is one you've seen a few times before on my layouts, it's a small stamp by Prima) Here are a few close-ups...

I just LOVE that Prima branch in the kit! ....so much so, that I thought I would try an imitate it in the next layout. I had some loose blooms from an old floral arrangement that I mixed with some wiring and leaves, it's not exactly the same but I was happy with it.....

This was kind of a 'tongue in cheek' joke at getting older...."I'm not 40 Something, I'm 39.95 plus shipping & handling" :) I used a Dusty Attic scroll piece (top right corner) and a couple of pieces of the DA chicken wire (love this stuff!) here are a few close-ups of this page (the finish I gave the chippie is the same as the one I used on the layout below, I shared a tutorial on how I did this at the ScrapThat! blog)....

....And the last page I made using this beautiful kit was one I made about Chloe and her wish for a shabby-chic bedroom. She has been collection these photos on Pinterest to show me what she likes and this is one of them, her Dream Closet.

I just love those pretty white fabric blooms by Prima (also in the kit), they have such a wonderful vintage look IRL. The Dusty Attic Music Notes chipboard is included in this kit, as are those pretty pearl/rhinstone flourishes! For a little tutorial on how to do the shabby-chic finish on the chipboard, you can find it at the Scrapthat blog today!

So those are my projects (and I still have plenty more goodies to work with from this kit...just need some extra time....can anyone spare some? lol!) Okay, now for the blog hop deets (I've copied and pasted the details, so you may have read this at the other blogs aleady)....

**Remember, that there are FOUR prizes to win, and FOUR ways for you to enter.

1) First of all, you will need to visit all TWELVE blogs :) **This is important** Each blog will have a special word. As you hop be sure and write down the special word from each blog. Once you have all the special words they will make a sentence. You will need to email the SECRET SENTENCE to friends@scrapthat.ca. All correct sentences received will be entered in a draw to win the Dusty Attic Prize Pack. (Please note: Dusty Attic does not have a blog but just follow the link leave a comment on the forum thread in their community.)

2) Everyone who emails us with the correct secret sentence will be sent a short marketing survey. Once you have completed the survey you will be entered to win a Scrap That! Exclusive Pion Design “Birdsong” Kit.

3) If you want to enter to win the Grand Prize of a Pion Design Prize Pack, then head over to our COMMUNITY for details on our monthly challenge. The challenge will run from August 26th to September 14th so you have LOTS of time to post your creations. You can enter as many times as you like. You do not need to be a subscriber to participate. The more entries, the more chances you have to win!

4) Finally, if you post our blinkie on your blog you will be entered to win a Scrap That! Gift Certificate - super easy right? Just post a link to your blog in the comments the Scrap That! Blog so we can come visit :).

We hope you all had good fun hopping with us today, thank you so much for playing along! Watch the Scrap That! newsletter on September 22nd to see if you are one of the lucky winners!

......okay, so one more thing you need to know.......My SECRET word is .... CANADA'S

....Now hop on over to the next stop on this fun little hop and check out the gorgeous designs of Ivana

Happy Hopping!!

I'm a Guest Designer for Scrap That! Kit Club!!

2011-08-24T13:13:00.000-04:00

I was asked to be a Guest Designer for Scrap That kit Club for their September kit! And let me tell you, this kit is Spectacular!!! If you love Shabby-Chic style, this one is for you!! I just had so much fun working with this kit...I won't say too much more till Friday (their reveal day) but above is a little sneak peek of their kit for September!

On Friday August 26th starting at noon EST they will be kicking off their reveal with a fun little blog hop! There are a number of amazing prizes up for grabs (including some....yep! Dusty Attic! for all you DA lovers out there! ...Scrap That now carries Dusty Attic products in their store and have DA in all their kits!)

So grab yourself a cup of coffee (or tea if that is your preference) and enjoy a fun little blog hop where you will see the work of each of the design team members revealed and have a chance at winning some wonderful goodies! See you then! xx

Winner chosen for my Giveaway!

2011-08-20T11:37:00.001-04:00

So here is how my Salty Sweet Pretzle treat came out! I had a house full of girls yesterday, Chloe and Meagan both wanted a bunch of their friends over and they were after me to make them something 'yummy'. I saw a recipe for these little gems over at Pinterest and thought I would give them a try! They came out YUMMY! lol! One of the kiddies said she didn't like peanut butter but managed to wolf down 4 of them!...so that tells you how addictive they are! ROFL! I even managed to get a few of the little posers to let me take a pic of them!....

Here is the recipe if anyone wants to try them (brace yourselves, the calories count on this one is massive lol! but I always say, allow yourself a little bite of something yummy, you don't have to eat the whole batch yourself! lol!):

Salty Sweet Peanutbutter Pretzle Treats

1 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup icing sugar

2 tablespoons softened butter

bag of salted pretzles

1 cup dark chocolate (I used semi-sweet chippets)

1. In a mixer combine the first 4 ingrediants and whip till well combined. I let mine whip a few minutes to get the brown sugar to disolve a little better.

2. Lay out a sheet of wax paper on a baking sheet and lay out rows pretzles. Form smallish 3/4 inch balls of filling and lay on the pretzles, sandwich another pretzle on top. Put in the freezer for about a half hour to firm up. Note: you may need to add some extra icing sugar to get a better consistancy to roll out the balls (I dusted my hands with a little icing sugar to make the rolling easier)

3. Melt the chocolate in a microwave on high for about 1 minute 20 seconds, (thats about the time it took to melt mine....microwave longer if needed but keep a close eye on it so you dont scorch it)......dip pretzle bites into chocolate and put back on tray to chill. ....I sprinkled a bit of extra sea salt on the chocolate before it hardened, just because I like the salt with chocolate, it really enhances the flavour.

Enjoy!

Okay, so getting down to business .....the lucky winner of my little giveaway from the other day is...... Pendra!!.... "Your layouts are always so inspiring, you are so creative and I never tire of looking at them. Thanks for a GREAT tutorial! And thanks for a chance at a great win... you are always so generous!" Thanks for your kind comment Pendra! Please take a moment to send me your full name and address to gpollacco@aol.com and I'll get that package right out to you! Congrats!! xx

I just want to say a BIG thank-you to all the lovely ladies who leave me such meaningful and kind comments here at my blog and at the Bo Bunny blog. I read each and every one of them and feel touched by your sweet words! I'll keep those tutorials coming and I'm sure I'll have plenty more giveaways coming up! (Oh, and if you tried the recipe....let me know how your's came out!...I love swapping recipes!) xx

The Color Room ~ Palette #72 & Some Dusty Attic & Websters Pages

2011-08-19T09:37:00.001-04:00

I made the above DT layout for this weeks new color palette over at The Color Room ~ Palette #72. This is such a pretty palette, I concentrated on the greys and soft mauve/pink for my layout with touches of the aqua and green/gold. Here is the inspiration photo for Color Palette #72

Lately my girls have been after me to redecorate their bedrooms and Chloe is all about shabby-chic design for her room. I came across this photo of a shabby-chic bedroom and was just so charmed by it.....hence the title 'wish' (my youngest took that photo of me!.....not bad job aye?)

I used cardstock and Websters Pages Country Estate papers and bloom designs cut from Websters Pages Let's Celebrate to make up this layout. The large grey bloom, the cameo (Silhouettes), the sheer white/gold trim and the white lace butterfly netting are all by Websters Pages. The chandelier, Baroque corners (around the cameo piece) and leafy vine are all from Dusty Attic (the vine is one of the new summer releases) The finish I gave the chipboard pieces is simply painted white and edged with a little brown chalk ink. I added some Tim Holtz Rock Candy to add crackle to it (Rock Candy is really cool, not a lot of steps needed, just paint it on and it cracks as it dries! ...the thicker you apply it the bigger the crackle) Here are a few close-up pics.....

I made the pink roses using simple cardstock and the Spellbinders Rose Creations die cuts, you can find my tutorial for these in my sidebar here at my blog.

If you like this palette, come join in the fun and post your project made with these colors over at The Color Palette! Each week the some of the design team members are given the fun task of browsing the gallery and choosing some of the work to feature in the newsletter.....maybe this will be your week! And while you are there have a peek at the work of the other design team members with this palette, they are spectacular!

I'm off to make my girls and their friends a really fun salty/sweet pretzel peanut butter treat that I saw on Pinterest! I'll let you know how they turn out! (I'll be posting a little post tomorrow to announce who won my little giveaway from yesterday!) ....Thankyou EVERYONE for the very sweet comments you all left me here and at Bo Bunny, I've read every single post and am so touched by your words! xx

Tutorial: Creating Polymer Clay Tile Embellishments!!

2011-08-18T05:00:00.002-04:00

I'm so excited because Bo Bunny is doing a feature on each of their design team members this month and today it's my turn!! I thought I would do something a little fun for my spotlight day and share a tutorial with you all. I made the above polymer clay tile emellishments using some Bo Bunny Stamps and little paint and for the colorful tiles some Bo Bunny stickers. Here is the layout I made using these tiles as embellishments (see video clip below for my tutorial on these!)......

Here are some close-ups of the embellishments on this page (I used the beautiful new collection by Bo Bunny called "Welcome Home"....I just LOVE this new collection, so pretty!! The large cream bloom is a Bo Bunny bloom from the ETC. collection. The chipboard pieces I mounted the tiles on are from Dusty Attic.

The branch of blooms are again handmade using some of the paper in the Welcome Home collection and the Spellbinders 'Rose Collections' die cuts. You can find a tutorial for these blooms HERE. (I varied the blooms on this branch by lightly misting them and crinkling them up first).

And now for my tutorial on making tiles....hope you enjoy (sorry about the color variations in the flow of the video, we seemed to have a bit of a lighting issue)...

I've shared a little more about myself and my projects at the Bo Bunny Blogsite so please go have a looksee and while you are there leave a comment and you will be eligible for an awesome prize from Bo Bunny! They will randomly pick one person that leaves a comment on the blog spotlight and will announce a winner at the end of the month! BUT!! DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT HERE FOR ANOTHER CHANCE TO WIN!! Leave a comment here on this blogpost and one at the Bo Bunny Spotlight and I will pick a person to receive the blog candy seen below! :) I will announce the winner on Saturday August 20.

My little prize pack contains: a Bo Bunny 'Vicki B' Card Kit (this kit includes: 8 die cut cards, 8 envelopes, 2 - 6x12" die cut elements(40 pieces), 1- 6x12" adhesive chipboard elements(20 pieces), 1 rub-on includes 23 optional greetings & shapes, 1 instruction sheet).....I will also add a pack of Vicki B rub-on's, and 2 packs of adhesive pearls (60 pearls per package) and a Dusty Attic Frame and scrolls package and a bunch of sweet blooms to add to your projects.

Websters Pages & Dusty Attic Page :)

2011-08-17T08:16:00.001-04:00

Thought I would do another layout with some of my Webster's stash while I wait on my new WP design team goodies (got a notice that my package has been shipped! Yippee!) I used some Websters Pages Holywood Vogue and Ladies & Gents to make this one, along with WP bloomers, trims, Silhouettes, Princess Petals, Postcards (lilac bloom design) and alphabet stickers. The cute topiary and vine are both Dusty Attic chippies. Here are a few close-up pics...

I painted the flower posts by first painting them white. Then I used some green, terra-cotta and brown inks on the piece to color it.

This page is about how gardening can be such a relaxing thing to do. There is something about a potting shed that just makes me feel relaxed, a quiet, serene place to just focus on earth, plants, blooms and just let all your cares drift away.

I also wanted to let you all know about a fun and amazing scrap retreat planned by my friend and fellow DT member at Webster's Pages, Laura Hogue.....a scrappy retreat in Italy! For more info check out her link here! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=222532687797709

Just a little post today :) ....thanks for stopping by my place ....pssst! I've got a video tutorial to share with you all tomorrow and another little giveaway, so if you have a moment stop by!!

Bo Bunny's Fast Friday!!

2011-07-29T09:44:00.000-04:00

Okay, I have to admit, I'm one of those scrappers that takes their time with each and every page. I used to rush and feel frustrated when I couldn't get a page done as quickly as I wanted to. But finally I came to the realization that I actually enjoy the creative process and now I let myself enjoy it rather than make myself feel frustrated that a page is taking me so long. BUT, I know that there are many scrappers out there that just don't have the luxury of a lot of time to scrap, so getting a page done in a minimum amount of time is of key importance to them. Bo Bunny challenged some of the DT girls to do a page for Fast Friday, that is to say, create a layout in an hour or less.

I challenged myself to see if I could make mine in 45 minutes......I didn't make it......BUT! I did make the above layout in 1 hour! (I had my girls time me to keep me honest lol!) Here are some tips in getting a page done quickly:

~ I started by choosing an old l/o of mine that I liked the design of and chose to copy the design (I find a lot of my scrapping time is spent on creating the page design and positioning my embellishments. Working off an old l/o helps cut off loads of time.

~ On my original l/o I did a lot of machine stitching, for this one I simply used a brown and black pen to immitate the stitched lines.

~ I often make my own blooms for my layouts, in this case I used ready made but you can also create your own in colors that you often use and keep them ready to go in a jar.

~ Gather together all your components for your layout and have them ready to go, it's easier if you stick to one collection's papers and embellies if you really want to work quickly.

~ Be organized. If you pull a pen or scissors etc. from your tool jar, put them back when you finish with them, I can't tell you how much time I waste looking for my tools under scraps of papers and embellishments!

~ I often save the backing to flourish stickers/chipboard and use them as masks, I keep them in a handy little zip-lock back within easy reach.

Here are a few close-up pic's of the above layout....

Bo Bunny supplies used to make this layout:

Patterned Paper: Vicki B: Floweret, Perky

Noteworthy: Vicki B: 3 styles (matting)

Chipboard: Vicki B

Stickers: Vicki B

Trinkets: Vicki B

Brads: Vicki B

Trims: Vicki B

Stamps: Timepiece & Flourish set

Jewels: Vicki B

Blooms: Olivia

If you want to see more examples of layouts made in under 1 hour, check out Bo Bunny's Fast Friday post for today, the DT did some amazing projects in under an hour! Happy Weekend everyone! xx

Free Digi Frames from Webster's Pages!

2011-07-28T18:53:00.000-04:00

Hi Y'all! I just wanted to do a quick little post to let you know that there are more gorgeous digi frames available from Websters Pages ~ FREE!! for you to download! There are a bunch of selections for each of the new collections Websters Pages just released at the summer CHA! The one I used on a profile pic of me (above) is from the Western Romance collection! I showed you a few that were available that complimented the early release collection called 'Lets Celebrate' a few weeks ago...here is one of the frames that I used with a pic of my girls.....

You can find all of the frames here Websters Pages FB Frames ....all free to download! They are easy to use if you have any sort of photo-editing programs. To frame the above photos all I did was open a new canvas in my photo-editing software (I use Photosuite by Roxio), click 'insert photo/image' to pic a photo, and then click 'insert photo/image' again to choose one of the frames you downloaded and lay on top! Done! Believe me, I'm no expert in digi but I was able to manage this easy peasy! :) Thanks Brandin for these awesome freebies!!

Rose Creations Tutorial & 2 Websters Pages Layouts!

2011-07-26T17:02:00.001-04:00

I made this layout of my niece Jenny singing, using a combination of papers and embellishments by Webster's Pages (Ladies & Gents, Magical Wishes, Hollywood & Natures Storybook), the trims are from WP Hollywood Collection, the Netting & Cameo (Silhouttes) of course is Websters Pages. The alpha's are my favourite...the scripted alphabet stickers from Websters Pages!!....and hey! did you notice??? The newest collections from Websters pages have these gorgeous scripted fonts back again!! I am sooo happy about it!! I know a LOT of you are too considering all the emails I get asking where I get my title alphas! :)

The Chippies are of course Dusty Attic! Both the circular frame and the scroll design, which I again finished with some white paint, brown chalk ink and a little stamping. I coated both of them with Tim Holtz Rock Candy Crackle medium. The blooms are more roses that I handmade using the Rose Creations die cuts by Spellbinders. (Tutorial will follow) Here are a few close-up pic's of the page...

I had this tiny bit of Webster's netting left over from a previous project and stitched it into the corner of my layout....I have to admit, I think that I was a bit influence to make this move because of having recently viewed that GORGEOUS page by Jeni O'Connor where she used some of this trim on the edge of her page...thanks Jeni! xx

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ROSE CREATIONS TUTORIAL!

Okay, I promised I would share a little tutorial on how I made the yellow roses for a Webster's Pages and Bo Bunny layout I made a while back and since I was making more of them in pink for the above layout I thought I'd take pic's as I went along to show you how to make these. Here is what you will need to make these roses:

I have a Quickutz Revolution Die cutting machine, and I was so happy to find out that I can use these die cuts with my machine! I believe they can be used on most die cutting machines but you may need inserts with them for some other machines. For the Revolution you can use them 'as is'. There are 6 flower shapes in this collection ranging from small to very large. I used the 4 smallest bloom sizes to make my blooms.

Step 1 ~ Cut one of each of the 3 smallest petal designs, but cut 2 of the larger one (using light pink carstock). Ink the smallest cut and just the centers of the larger ones (you don't have to have perfect fading just ink in the center)

Step 2 ~ Take each of the petals and with your right hand press your thumb in the center, with your left thrumb and forefinger pinch the petal in a V and puch toward your right thumb (as shown above) Note: you can very lightly mist your paper with some water to make this step a little easier.

The smallest flower cut will be a little different, you will put the 'good' side down and just give each petal a little cure (see below)....this will create your bud.

Here you can see what the petals will look like when you are done shaping them (Note the smallest shape is a little different, you simply curl each petal up a bit, this will be your center bud). Add glue to your shapes. I put the glue up high on the smallest petal so that when I wrap it around the brad it will create a nice tight bud. I bring the glue high up the petals on the second smallest bloom size also because this one needs to hold tight around the bud. For the rest, a simple circle of glue at the base will suffice. I like to use the Tombow repositionable/permanent adhesive, if you let it dry slightly it stays tacky and will allow you to play with your design a bit.

Step 3 ~ Take your brad, it can be any old brad because it will be hidden in the end. Push it through the hole in the petals center and wrap the petals around the brad. See above...

Step 4 ~ Add the next size up die cut and wrap the petals around the bud. You will then continue with the rest of the petals moving up in size each time. Arrange your petals so that they do not all run the same way, alternating the petals so they overlap. Done! The finished blooms will look like the ones below....

I made some variations in color and size for these blooms. For the partial pink and white blooms I changed the large size and next size down die cuts to a white cardstock and lightly inked the centers with some soft pink chalk ink. For the buds (smaller roses I used the following steps & cuts)....

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I have one more layout to share with you all using my Webster's Pages goodies.....I thought I would get some more pages done before the newest collections get here! This is a photo I took of Meagan at the beach, she was sitting there gathering sand around her legs, and we got the idea to turn her into a mermaid. I used some Websters Pages Yacht Club & Country Estate papers to make this page, along with those fabulous WP Bloomers, Princess Petals & Alpha's. The corner flourish is Dusty Attic.

I got confirmation on my Webster's Pages package, so I'm ready to stalk the mailman lol! Can't wait to play with the new collections! I hope your local scrapstore owners went to CHA armed with lists for these gorgeous collections, so that you all can play along with me! xx

The Color Room #68.. PLUS....Winner of my Blog Candy Giveaway!!

2011-07-22T10:37:00.000-04:00

So first I want to share a layout I made for The Color Room #68.....this was such a gorgeous palette of colours, right up my alley! Shades of pink with a soft mocha. For this layout I used some BasicGrey paper (pink) and some K&Company Paper I had sitting in my stash for a while now (the White metal background paper and the scripted paper behind the photo) I also used some Glimmer Glass by Tattered Angels~Owl & flourish at the bottom (I bought this package years ago and only now opened it! can you believe it! ....that's why I love doing the Color Room so much, it really gets me using all those pretty things I have hanging on my craft wall!). The flourish & flower is of course Prima and the cameo's are Websters Pages. The corner flourish chippie is Dusty Attic (again just painted white, edged with some brown chalk ink and then I used Tim Holtz Rock Candy on it to give it some crackle). The darker pink blooms are ones I made with the Spellbinders 'Rose Creations' die cuts again. (I promise I will do up some tutorials on making blooms with this die cut soon :) .......the lace is some loose stock that I bought at a local fabric store (I am going to include some of it in my blog candy giveaway that I'm announcing a winner for today .....just as a little fun extra! :) Here are come close-ups.....

NOTE: I am often asked this question about how I do the scalloped edge design around my photos. I simply matt my photo with cardstock and then trim with a pair of scallop edged decorative scissors....then I add a white dot in the center of each scallop with a good quality gel pen like Signo Unibal or Inksenntials.

Here is the palette that I worked from.....

I encourage you to come and play along this week! It was such a fun palette to work with....here is a link to The Color Room

......and now for the winner of my Blog Candy! .........

I used Random.or to choose a winner from all the lovely comments left here at my blog

True Random Number Generator

                                                         Min: 1
                                                         Max: 429
                                                         Result: 271
                                                         Powered by RANDOM.ORG

....So the WINNER is.....Cheryl comment #271!!!! She said ....."You are too generous, Gabrielle. I love your blog. You give me so much inspiration. I wish all my pages could be as gorgeous as yours. I study how you layer the paper, add the embellishments and frame your prints every time I make a page. Your choice of colors always seems to make your pages have such beauty. Thank you for the chance to use some of the items you always have on your pages! Hugs."

Cheryl! Please email me your full mailing address so I can get your package sent out to you! You can reach me at gpollacco@aol.com CONGRATS!!! :)

I just wanted to say a big THANK-YOU to all you lovely ladies who left comments here at my blog, I was so touched by all the kind comments, it's made me more determined to keep sharing ideas and tutorials here (Oh!....I also wanted to note: I noticed that a number of my tutorials were no longer linking up to one of the sites where I had posted them, this site had some server problems and changed their service provider so my tutorials were no longer linking....I have now restored all the links so hopefully you will all be able to see the tutorials again! :)

AND.....for those of you who may be a wee bit disappointed at not getting those yummy Dusty Attic goodies in my giveaway, good news! Mandy (craftysprinkles) has told me that she has recently restocked her etsy site with loads of Dusty Attic goodies (USA store!!) here is her link http://www.etsy.com/shop/craftysprinkles and Vicki Alberto (in Canada) has also got a nice supply in at her etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/vickyalberto   .......and a little more news! My dear friend Nancy Winters is having a DA giveaway this month too....you can find her blog here http://www.nancywinter.blogspot.com/ ........I noticed a number of you were asking where to find Dusty Attic Product? I have posted some of the stores in North America that carry DA products in my sidebar for easy reference.

I just got word that the newest Dusty Attic pieces are on their way to me Yippee! ....so my stash is getting full again....hmmmm, I just may have to do another give-away soon! :)

CHA is on and Webster's Pages Has Some Gorgeous new collections!!!

2011-07-20T19:16:00.000-04:00

I just love this time of year, seeing all the beautiful new collections being revealed at the Summer CHA! I was away on a summer vacation during Webster's Pages big Promo week for their newest collections so I hadn't had a chance to share all these peeks at what's coming out. But for those of you who still haven't had a peek at these gorgeous goodies, here they are.....WARNING: You may need to put on some shades, their newest bling embellies are spectacular! *smile*

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Aren't they beautiful? And they didn't stop there of course, the embellies are again, amazing!! Check out the dazzeling bling and the adorable Cameo Pins! Love them!!

.....And then of course there is always my fav, the trim cards! Here are a couple examples of the beautiful trims Websters Pages has to offer (feathers and lace! oh my!).....

Bling, feathers, lace and gorgeous papers! Can't wait to get my hands on all these lovelies! And can't wait to see what you all create with them! For a little peek at some projects made up by the WP design team, be sure to have a peek at Brandin's blog

Focus on Bo Bunny Die Cuts....

2011-07-19T21:46:00.000-04:00

I just love mixing collections and for this assignment I was asked to feature one of the Bo Bunny Die Cut papers. I picked the beautiful die-cut from the Mama-razzi collection and combined it with the new Zoology collection. I've had a load of photo's from one of Meagan's school trips from a couple of years back and so finally have a great collection to scrap them. One thing I really like are the 6x6 paper pads, they are just perfect for those matt papers for behind your photos and really a cardmakers dream! Here are some closeup pic's of the above page.....

How cute are those layered chipboard stickers! I think they make such a fun embellishment for a Zoo page! I also used some of the Zoology Chipboard, Trinkets and Jewels (bloom centers). Check out the Bo Bunny Blog post for today for more beautiful die-cut layouts made up by our design team members!

Okay....just a couple more days until I post a winner for the Blog Candy Giveaway so don't forget to leave a comment in my last blog post to have a chance to win! :)

My Favourite Embellies GIVE-AWAY!!!

2011-07-01T16:45:00.005-04:00

As I was working on the last couple of projects I'm going to show in this post today, I realized how really blessed I've been with all the beautiful products I get to work with day in and day out for all the design teams I'm on. So I decided it's time to 'Pay it Forward'.......I wanted to put a Blog Candy package together of a whole bunch of my favourite embellishments! Yep! There's Dusty Attic (and yes! that's the new peacock feathers you see there!), Prima trims, Bo Bunny Trinkets, layered stickeers and brads. There are my favourite adhesive pearls and flourishes, Zva flourishes & titles,....even some of those awesome Daisy D's rub-on's I've been hoarding! and a small Daisy D's paper pad for those who love cardmaking! Here are a few close up shots of the prize package.....

I know so many of you are always asking me where to get Dusty Attic chippies, I encourage you to check out the DA forums where they often update with companies in North America that are carrying them. I know I can't supply all of your needs but I'd love to give at least one lucky person a bunch of them as well as some of my other favourite embellishments. So here is a list of some of what you will recieve

~Dusty Attic Peacock Feathers (New!)

~Dusty Attic Swirl Frame

~Dusty Attic Vine (one of my all time favs!)

~Dusty Attic Wire Dress Form

Dusty Attic Bird of Paradise

~Prima (IOD) Angelique Ribbon/Trims

~Bo Bunny Trinkets

~Bo Bunny Layered Chipboard

~Bo Bunny Brads

~Bo Bunny Buttons

~Zva Creative Pearl flourish

~Zva Creative Rhinstone title (Celebrate)

~Zva Creative Rhinstone balloons

~Daisy D's Rub-ons (Motherhood)

~ Daisy D's Title Rub-ons (My Angel)

~Daisy D's Rub-ons (Hearts & Circles)

~Daisy D's Mini Paper Pad

~Maya Road Pleated Velvet Blossoms

~ Adhesive Pearls (3 60 piece packages)

~QueenCo. Floral/flourish designs (3 packages)

(I forgot to add it to the photo, but I will also include the intricate metal designs I like to use behind my cameo pieces ...see past l/o's to see the designs)

SO, what you do have to do for a chance at this yummy prize? Easy Peasy....just leave a comment here so I can use the posts in Random.org to choose a winner.....and one more thing....in the spirit of Paying it Forward, Post a pic of the prize with a link to my blog so that others' can have a chance at the prize too :)

I've got a busy few weeks coming up (summer fun with the family) so I will pick a winner July 22nd and post the winner at my blog.

Now for my latest layouts! I've got 2 to share with you today! I had so much fun working with this weeks color palette over at The Color Room, it was a 'His Room' palette again, here is the palette I was working from...

And here is my take on this palette.....

One of the things I love the most about being on the Color Room design team is that it get's me to dig into my old stash and use some of my favouite things up! I used some older Pink Paislee papers (Spring Fling...the fussy cut blooms), Scrap Beyond Reach paper (blue background paper), Glitz Laced w. Grace (orange paper), Prima Flights of Fancy (green/blue paper behind the photo), MME Lost & Found (note paper), K& Company chipboard title (Madison), Prima blooms (Dogwood), Butterflies (Amanda Blu Paper pad from Michaels), the bling is Reflections (Michaels Store Brand bling), and of course Dusty Attic Corner chippie. Here are a few closeups....

Be sure to come and join in the fun this week playing with this color palette and take a moment to check out the beautiful work of the other Design Team girlies using this palette :)

Here is a second layout I've been working on, this one is for Webster's Pages design team. Each month the design team members try to create a layout inspired by this months Guest Designer. This month we have the talented Lean de Ruiter. Her style to me appear to be the 'storybook' style....with lot's of layering, blooms and butterflies. Here is my page inspired by her work....

I loved the cute yellow blooms in the Websters Pages Yacht Club papers so I made my own roses to mimic them. I used the Spellbinders 'Rose Creations' die cuts with some yellow cardstock to make up these blooms. Here are a few close-ups...

I used a whole lotta Dusty Attic Chipboard on this page too! The DA Ornate Corner, Bird on a Branch, Shells, Hinges & the small Corner Brackets (to find the codes for these you can find the links at my post at the Dusty Attic Gallery).

That's it for today! Don't forget to post a comment in order for me to find you when it's time to pick a winner for the Blog Candy Giveaway!! Enjoy!

Glam up Your Projects with Trinkets & Dusty Attic Chippies!!

2011-06-29T08:36:00.001-04:00

So I've been wanting to scrap some photo's from when my youngest daughter went on a field trip to the African Lion Safari a few years ago. Then I got the coolest collection (Bo Bunny Zoology) and the coolest Chippies to get this project done!! As soon as I saw these Dusty Attic Peacock Feather I fell in love!! ....The focus for this layout was for Bo Bunny Trinkets, they are those pretty little 'jewelled pieces' that Bo Bunny makes now to coordinate with all their collections.

I also finally picked up some Gesso to experiment with! Let me say....I'm still experimenting. Unlike a few of my talented friends, you know who you are (Jeni, Finn).....I have a really hard time with glimmer mists! I tried using some on this page but just did not get the rich results I was looking for. In the end what I ended up doing was adding my embellishments to the page, giving them a light brushing with Gesso. Then instead of spritzing with a mist I just used some metalic paint (in this case a blue color) and dry brushed over the blooms and embellishments....(dry brushing is when you put paint on your brush and dab off the excess and then brush on the leftover on your project). Then I lightly brushed the embellishments with a bit more Gesso.

For the Dusty Attic Chipboard Feather DA#0568, I wanted immitate the look of a real peacock freather. Here are a few steps to create this look....

1. First I painted the piece with some Folk Art Metalic Paint in blue/green color and painted part of the head of the peakcock feather with a metalic bronze color.

2. Then I added some black glitter glue over the green painted finish. I used the Michaels Store brand glitter glue called 'Studio'....I believe Stickles would make a charcoal or black glitter glue too.

3. For the head of the feather I added some Lime Green Stickles over the blue paint, some Stardust Stickles over the gold paint and some bright blue Stickles in the very center......above is what the finished design will look like.

Other Product used on this page:

Supplies: Patterned Paper ~ Zoology Word, Timepiece Dot, Gabrielle Dot,

Zoology Trinkets (3 designs)

Zoology Trims

Timepiece Buttons.

Zoology Buttons,

Zoology Brads

Gabrielle True Friend Cardstock Stickers

Bo Bunny Flowers (Snowy Serenade)

Gesso, Paint, Chipboard

Guess what??? I've seen a peek of the new Bo Bunny Collections coming out for the CHA and HOLY MOLY!!! Are they every cute!!! Wish I could just spill the beans right now, they are amazing! Hang on just a wee bit longer and I'm sure Bo Bunny will be doing a sneak peek of these yummy collections soon! (Just had to give a little teaser, don't mind me lol!)

Let's Celebrate!!! With New Bling!!!!

2011-06-24T08:02:00.002-04:00

So it's the final day of the week long celebration for the new Webster's Pages Collection "Let's Celebrtate' and we have one more new and exciting product to share with all of you! Did you know Webster's is now offering BLING "Dazzle Me Gems!!" to coordinate with their beautiful collections?? Oh boy! was I excited to see these!! Here is a layout I created to showcase this awesome new product and lovely paper collection! ....

I have to admit I was a little more in my element with this layout, playing with the fussy cutting and adding my inking! This is a photo I took a couple of years back of my youngest Meagan on one of those spinners that parents always cringe at for fear their kiddies will just let go at the wrong time! lol! This title resonates with me because it seems that the kiddies are always looking to go 'faster, faster' in life, and as a mom....I just want them to slow down! I know that within the blink of an eye, they will be all grown up and I'll be wondering where the time all went. I want to remind myself to treasure (and celebrate) every sweet moment!

Here are a few close-up pic's of the above page, focusing on some of the lovely embellishments that coordinate with this collection including those glittery gorgeous bling gems!!

I hope you enjoyed my projects made with this collection as well as those of the rest of the DT! It's still not too late to play so jump in and click on the badge below to take you to all the fun! (reminder, don't forget to copy and past this badge to your blogsite to have a chance to win elements of this collection and a grand prize of the FULL collection!....the DT will be looking out for you ladies who post this badge to your blog!....and you can help me out by sharing your link in a comment here so I know to add it to Brandins list! :)

And if you are new to these posts for the week long celebration and would like to have a better idea of how this promo week works, you can find all your information ~~> HERE

This is the last day of the Let's Celebrate Promotion so the great news is that the Webster's Pages Website is now open and ready to take orders!! So if you loved what you've seen, now is your chance to get your ordres in!.....also take a moment to checkout Brandin's blog as there will be more giveaways today, check it out ~~> Brandin's Blog

And I just want to mention one more time about the generous and beautiful gift that Brandin has offered to everyone! Do you like the frame you see here surrounding the pic of my girls?.....

Well this digi frame and 13 others can be yours for free to download and use!! How cool is that??! Just check out this link FREE DIGI FRAMES to get your own set! ....Thanks so much for stopping by and playing along in our week long promotion! And a sincere thank you to all you sweet ladies that have taken the time to write such lovely feedback on my work both here at my blogsite and at the WP forums, they mean so much to me! xx

Let's Celebrate!! With 'B-side' Layouts!!

2011-06-23T07:37:00.000-04:00

So it's day 4 of the week long celebration of Webster's Pages new collection called "Let's Celebrate!" I've got to say I've really had some fun with this collection, but for today's post I was given one of my biggest challenges! As you all know, Websters Pages paper collections are always a first choice for the gals that love the fussy cutting and the more 'busy' style pages (Ya, that would be me! lol!). But the really cool thing about them is that there is a more graphic 'B' side to the papers (reverse side) that also cater to the girls who like doing the more simple/clean style pages! So, I was challenged to do a layout using the B-side of the papers and keep the layout in a cleaner more neg space style (no fussy cutting). So hang on to your hats, this is different from work you usually see on my blog lol! but I have to admit was a fun challenge!.....

I created this page by first doing a quick little hand doodled sketch on how I wanted the layout to look. (totally different from my usual process where I wing it and just add product and move things around as I go). I then added the title to the left side of the page and drew out the design with a ruler and pencil and handstitched the frame and floral design. The rest was done in a matter of minutes, just cut some circle designs from the b-side of the Websters Pages papers and matted with a dove grey cardstock. Done! I felt pretty happy with the page in the end......and can you guess which embellishment we are focusing on today?.....Yep, Webster's Blooms! I chose to use the 'pretty in pink' Princess Petals that coordinate with this collection.....

So, there you go! Something a little different but a nice and fun change to scrap! Don't forget to keep playing the "I Spy" game outlined in my previous post, the design team is hunting the blog and Facebook sites for the ladies that are posting the badge/link below.....

Go ahead! Click on the badge above and it will take you to Brandin's surprise site, you can get in on the fun too!! And if this is your first day checking out this fun week long promotion, you can find out how it all works ~~~> HERE

I just want to say thank-you to all the sweet ladies that commented on my last layout on Tuesday, I read all the comments at the Webster's site and here at my blog! Your kind words and feedback mean so much to me, Thank-you!! xx

Tomorrow I have another layout to share with you all (I think this one is my fav of the lot).....I'll give you a little hint on the featured product.....it's new, it's glittery, and I just LOVE it! :)

It's Here!!! Let's Celebrate!!!

2011-06-21T06:58:00.001-04:00

The sun is shining, summer is here and the kid's are almost done with school for another year! Lot's of wonderful things to Celebrate! I have one more terrific thing to celebrate! Webster's Pages new mid-season release of their new collection 'Let's Celebrate'!! Webster's Pages is having a week long celebration with lot's of fun games and terrific prizes in honor of this delightful new collection.....Here is just a little sampling of some of the papers in this beautiful collection....

Don't those pretty colors and those adorable bloom cupcakes just put a smile on your face? And of course if you know Webster's Pages, you know the fun doesn't stop with the gorgeous papers! There are always a beautiful array of embellishments to go with them! The WP design team has been busy creating some yummy projects using this new collection and each day ,different members will be showcasing new products for this collection! The week long celebration started yesterday and continues on till the end of the week (Friday)....Can you tell which products are being featured on which day? You can play along, have a little fun and have a chance at some terrific prizes!!

HERE IS HOW YOU PLAY:

I honour of the new collection we are hosting a WEEK LONG LAUNCH PARTY at inspireME, complete with games, prizes, surprises and more! Starting Monday, June 20^th and ending Friday, June 24^thyou can have a chance to be a part of daily giveaway prizes and the grandest prize of all the ENTIRE Let’s Celebrate Collection! You can find all of the fun and festivities in our Let’s Celebrate forum HERE

The Design Team will be playing along too! We have a little game of 'I Spy' going on and we will be watching out for you, we want to help you win! All you have to do is click on the 'I Spy' badge above and it will lead you to the next place you want to be, follow the instructions there to play along! (Post the above badge at your blogsites,.....we, the DT will be hunting for them and sharing with Brandin, who has them posted at their sites .....psst, you can help me out by letting me know you've posted a badge at your site and I will be sure to pass on the information :)

And now, I just want to share with you all a project I made specially for today (Feature day for Trims/Netting/Bloomers) ...because guess what? Yep! I have something to celebrate too! We have a new baby in our family!! Many of you know that we lost our dear Mocha a little over a year and a half ago to old age. We were finally ready for a new pup! (at least the kids were, ...after chasing our new pup around these past few weeks grabbing every shoe, sock, homework, you name it from this little scamp, I have to wonder if I was really ready! lol!) .....Let me introduce you all to our new Labradoodle pup, Zoe!!

So here is a little peek at some of the pretty trims you'll be seeing coming out with this collection!...soft yellow fringe trim, lacey white trim...and so much more....here are some close-ups....

Now, you've gotten your little peek,....SO let's get this party started!! And to start you off, a gift for everyone!!, .....just click this link FREE FRAMES to download your FREE!! Let's Celebrate digi photo frames! I used one around the photo of my two girls in the picture above (this is one of 14 frames you can download free!) Enjoy!!

Let's Celebrate!!!

2011-06-19T19:08:00.001-04:00

You are cordially invited to CELEBRATE with us! We are hosting a party for a very special guest of honor...our new “Let’s Celebrate” Collection and we want YOU to come share in the fun. Bright, bold colors combined with lush florals and sweet as sugar images (cupcakes anyone?) make this line the princess of any party and she has quite the guest list of friends that are going to accompany her...who’s ready for new embellishments???

So we are pulling out all the stops. Starting Monday, June 20th through Friday, June 24th we will have a week- long Celebration with Games, Prizes, Sneak Peeks, New Products and Inspiration Galore. The fun starts off with the first sneak of our new line bright and early Monday morning (the design team has been hard at work creating AMAZING projects for EVERY type of crafter) then we have a game that we are tickled pink to play with you all...we will end our fun filled day with a live chat Monday evening at 6pm PST/9pm EST! Here we will discuss our new line and hand out the first of the prizes from our game and much, much more. You can refer to this TIME CONVERTER to see what time the chat will be in your area. Then we get to start the fun all over again each day, every day, all week long.

You will be able to find all things Party Related in our Let’s Celebrate forum at inspireME in this link HERE. So make sure to check it often as we update and you can ask any questions there as well. What’s the first thing you are going to do Monday morning?? No, not have breakfast...You are going to come start at inspireME and have some fun. Can’t think of a better way to start out the week, can you?

So put those party hats on, bust out the noise makers and come party with us!

Bo Bunny's Zoology & Tiimepiece!!

2011-06-16T07:57:00.000-04:00

You know how some collections just seem to work well together? Well, I think Bo Bunny's new Zoology and their Timepiece collection is one of those! Today's assignment at Bo Bunny was to do a project combining the two collections and let me say, they both just layered together so easily! I was excited to get my first stab at working with the new Zoology collection, I just love the earthy colors in this one!. I had sent out a bunch of animal photos my husband had taken when he went on a class trip to the African Lion Safari with Meagan when she was in Junior Kindergarten......and then somehow this photo of Chloe called out to me instread lol! It's a photo I took of her a couple years back, she found out there were some Cardinals nesting in a tree at the side of the house so she grabbed her daddy's ladder and had to get herself a peek, ...I dashed into the house and caught the curious little monkey on film :)

I had a lot of fun playing with a new toy I picked up at an awesome local scrapstore Fovever Scrapbooks in Burlington Ontario (for you fellow Ontarion residents)....it's Spellbinders Rose Creations die cut petals. It works really well with my Revolution Die cutter, who knew! I cut a bunch of different size flower shapes out of one of the patterned 6x6 paper pad pieces from the Zoology & Timepiece collections to make the blooms. (I am still experimenting with different ways to use these pieces and will do a tutorial soon on the types of blooms that can be made with it) Here are some close up pic's of this layout....

Other than the Zoology & Timepiece goodies, I also added a few cute new piece's of my favourite laser cut chippies from Dusty Attic (the new Topiaries, the Ferns and Leafy Vines) ....I painted the Topiary all white, then I simply used some chalk inks in green and terracotta colors to color up the piece. For the pot I just rubbed on the ink over the edges, pressing a little more firmly on the outer edges so it fades in.....for the lip in the pot, I just ran the edge of my ink pad in a line across the piece a few times. Same for the tree part, using green ink just press more firmly and go over the edges a few times to give the piece a more 'rounded' effect.

Here is a list of the supplies I used to make up this page:

Bo Bunny supplies used: Zoology Patterned paper (cut into a die-cut shape), Timepiece Dot, Timepiece 6x6 Paper pad, Zoology 6x6 paper pad for blooms), Zoology Noteworthy, Zoology Rub-ons, Timepiece Rub-ons, Zology & Timepiece brads, Zoology trim/ribbon, Double Dot cardstock (clover), Timepiece Jewels.

Other: White Gel pen, Stickles, Dusty Attic: Topiary, Leafy Vines and Fern Leaves.

Hey Everyone! I have you ever wanted to give my scrapping style a go? Well, here is a perfect excuse to give it a try! From the 13th to the 26th Dusty Attic is Challenging people to scrap in my scrappy style....check out the challenge at this link ~~> DA's Design Team Inspiration Challenge I'm looking forward to seeing the designs you all come up with! :)

The Color Room #62 Palette!! & Some Dusty Attic!

2011-06-11T17:55:00.001-04:00

Okay, I'll admit, at first glance I was a little unsure about this color palette, orange is not a color I scrap very often. But then I remembered a collection that really caught my eye last January when I saw the new releases coming out for CHA. The Glitz collection called Amazing Grace....it had all the colors in it that are in this palette, so I went on the hunt for this collection. I finally managed to find it in a cute store in Downtown Toronto (an hour drive each way for me....but worth it, this collection is cute!). We were only allowed to use white as the 'neutral' this time around rather than black, brown or kraft paper since this was a 'white-washed' palette. So here is the layout I made using Color Palette #62....

The flourishy corner bracket is of course another Dusty Attic piece on which I added the white crackle finish using the Tim Holtz Rock Candy (you can see the tutorial for this by clicking on the Crackle Finish tutorial in my right side panel. The blooms are Prima as is the lace trim. ...This was such a fun color palette to play with trust me, you'll have a blast with it...so come join the fun and create with The Color Room!

Before I finish this post I wanted to share with you an amazing Websters's Pages Prize that Brandin is giving away at the Websters Pages blogsite! Freebie Fridays are back with a BANG! Brandin is giving away not one, but TWO awesome Webster's Pages Warehouse Sale Prize packs (Value of $75.00 each!) ,,, all you have to do is leave a comment at her blog on how you cope with every day life.....want a peek at the prize?....check it out....

Seriously!! How awesome is that??! Okay here is the link to her blog, don't miss our on your chance to win!! Websters Pages Blog

Thanks so much for stopping by! And thank-you for all your kind comments and feedback! I really appreciate it!

Taking the Dusty Attic Challenge!! & Some Best Wishes for some Friends!

2011-06-09T01:09:00.000-04:00

Dusty Attic started a challenge up a few weeks back to take the 'Design Team Style Inspiration Challenge'! The idea is to take a look at a specified design team members gallery and use their style to inspire a page done in their style. Sadly, I was unable to play along with the first two challenges that began with Emeline and Evana's styles because of a pretty heavy DT workload but I was determined to try and get started with trying out Finn's eclectic and beautiful style of scrapping, By Finn I mean of course the talented Anna Dabrowska aka. Finnabair. I've always admired her style and have wanted to try out some of her techniques. The above page is what I came up with. I noticed that Finn, more often than not uses black & white photos, her layouts are often BOM (book of Me) style pages and she uses a whole lot of spritzes on her work. I can't claim to really know her process on how she puts a page together, it was more of a wild guess on my part in figuring out how to layer it all and I probably don't really have her process down perfectly I'm sure.....for example, I'm pretty sure she uses lot's of Gesso on her work, but I unfortunately didn't have any in my stash so I improvised with white paint.

I basically began the page design by choosing a paper without a strong pattern in it (Pink Paislee Vintage Moon...an older collection) and layed a piece of Dusty Attic chipboard in the middle of the page using it as a matt, sprayed some pink and green glimmer mists on it to create the flourishy design.

Note: I made my own glimmer mist by putting a few drops of alcohol ink (Tim Holtz) in a small spritzer bottle (also Tim Holtz), added a pinch of Perfect Pearls mica powder and some water.

I then did a bit of stitching on the layout using my sewing machine. Stitching a frame and adding zig-zag designs. From there I added my photo, layered on some chipboard pieces, lace bits, buttons and blooms. I then did a little more spritzing on all my embellishments (lay a piece of protective plain paper over your photo before you start spritzing again. I added some white paint accents over the lace, blooms and chipboard.

Note: I had to add a coat of white paint to some of the shiney elements like buttons in order for the spritzes to adhere to them.

Here are some close-up views of the above page....

For the above page I used 7 different Dusty Attic chipboard pieces, the Wrought Iron Trim DA0547 (used as a mask), Vintage Keys DA0392, Cogs #1 DA0001, Mini Words #2 DA0476, Skeleton clock frames DA0430, Hinges DA0509, and Chicken Wire DA0177. For those of you who are wondering where to get Dusty Attic product, I've added a listing in my right side of my blog with links to retailers who sell DA product in the USA & Canada. (If you are a retailer and would like me to add you to my side panel just let me know :)

So, if you are wanting to try out Anna's style and are ready to take the challenge, you can find the challenge link HERE

I have one more little project to share that I made up last week for the Bo Bunny blog. I am really not much of a card maker but I was assigned to do a card using Bo Bunny products and the focus was to make your own blooms. I made this card using the Gabrielle collection and used the fringe trim that comes with this collection to make the larger bloom on the card. Easily done, just using a needle and thread run a slipstitch along the bottom edge of the trim, gather and join the two ends. I then adhered the trim to a small disc of cardstock to give it stability and used a pearl gem and small crystals from the Gabrielle collection to create the flower center. The smaller blooms were punched from some Timepiece paper (Dot), the petals outlined with black pen and curled slightly.

I decided to make a Friendship card since that is the type of card I find myself reaching for most often. You can find more inspiring card ideas at the Bo Bunny Blog

And speaking of friends.....I wanted to take this opportunity to wish some dear friends of mine who were on the My Creative Scrapbook Design Team with me for many years, much success and happiness in their future endeavors! Gerry Van Gent, Sandie Vincent, Patti Hamil and Jeni O'Connor have recently stepped down from the MCS design team and although I did leave them a message at the farewell post at MCS, it seems to have mysteriously disappeared so I'd like to take the opportunity to post it here for them, I just copied and pasted my message here instead so you girls can see it....

"Awww, Gerry you always brought each and every kit you worked with to a new level! Your work is always spectacular my friend!! I'm sure you will be greatly missed, as I'm sure Sandie, Patti and Jeni are too! Not sure I saw a farewell to them here so wishing you all best of luck in all your new endeavours ladies! xx

It's amazing how you become like a family when you work so closely with your fellow design team members, you get to know them, their families, their ups and downs, you laugh with them, cry with them and above all hold them dear. We'll keep in touch for sure my dear friends! xx