Summer is in Bloom at My Creative Scrapbook!!

Before I begin I just want to let you all know that I'm hosting a challenge this month at MCS ~ "Lift the Design Team Challenge" ~ this has been such a fun and popular challenge in the past, so take a moment and see if you feel inspired to lift one of our layouts and have a chance at winning an awesome prize (Pam always sends out the terrific prizes for the challenges!) You can click the above link or this link HERE to take you to the challenge :)

I'm a little late in getting the reveal up for my August designteam work for MCS, we were off to the cottage last week for a little R&R. But now I'm back with loads of photos and memories to scrap!

You had to see my face as I was opening this months Limited Edition kit from My Creative Scrapbook. I tell ya, it never gets old getting these goodies in the mail! This kit was not only loaded with some of my favourite papers but the embellishments, wow! they were out of this world gorgeous.....packed, and I mean PACKED with Prima blooms (20+ blooms!).....and YES! some amazing Dusty Attic laser cuts too! I made the above l/o using those pretty DA corner brackets and a bunch of the pretty blooms in the kit. I cut out one of the papers to make the branch stand out and cut out the photo of my litte great-niece Kiera to make it look like her little bundled blanket was hanging from the tree branch. (photo was taken by Stephanie Robin Design Studio) Here are a few close-ups.....



A second l/o I made with this beautiful kit is this one with a photo of Kiera's older sister Jade. She's such a little cutie, I just love this age when they are all sweet-cheeks!

I made my own shimmer spray for this l/o by mixing a few drops of Tim Holtz Alcohol ink (Pink Sherbert color) with some Pearlex shimmer dust (gold) and some water, and gave the background paper a spritz here and there. I added a few of the pretty blooms from the kit and there you have it. Here is a close-up pic.....

A 3rd l/o I made for the LE kit was made with this beautiful pre-stitched Prima specialty paper (also in the kit) I just love the almost fabric-like texture of this paper!

I just added a whole bunch of the pretty blooms included in the kit, ...these glittery blooms with the pearl/jewel centers! ...so pretty in real life! Here are a few close-ups....


And a 4th l/o I made from this kit I used this really fun lace doily transparent overlay. I cut a section of it off and then stitched it back together with some corset lacing with this really rich and pretty wine color ribbon in the kit. There is also this really cute MME shabby-chic looking frame in this kit that I just LOVE! Here is the l/o with a few close-ups.....



And finally in a 5th l/o I made for this kit I used a beautiful Photo my brother-in-law, John, took in Malta (my DH's home country). I just loved the casual beauty of the old crumbling brick wall and all the blooms in this entryway!

I just punched a bunch of little blooms in 3 colours of cardstock with my Retro Daisy punch to try and imitate the blooms in the photo. The brick design on the background paper I doodled with a simple brown fine-tip pen. The girls on my DT thought it was a stamp, but really it's just an easy-peasy design I doodled. I thought I would show everyone how easy it is to do by doing a little video clip, unfortunately the video came out a bit blurry so instead I've shown how to do it in step by step photos (I've also included the video in the tutorial as an extra to show how quick and easy it is to do)....you can find the tutorial in the 'Tips & Tutorials' section at My Creative Scrapbook in the 'How did they do that' post for August. <~~ Just click on this link to take you to the tutorial and more tips from our DT.



I also had a chance to play with some of the wonderful Travel/vacation papers and embellishments in this month's Main kit from My Creative Scrapbook. Here is a layout I added a few dry grasses from our backyard to embellish this page and painted some of the blooms with a wash of white paint to soften them a bit. Here is the l/o and some close-ups....



And a final page I made up this month is another for the Main kit. I wanted to use the travel words in the kit but use them in a different way, more about traveling through life (words of advice for my DD) I wanted her to appreciate that sometimes choosing the harder 'less traveled' road can be more challenging but that in the long run it is what will lead to more success and happiness.

I used two tutorials that I have shared with you all in the past to make up this page. The Torn Cardstock Blooms and the Faux Polished Stone tutorials (you can find them in the top right column of my blog.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read through my loooooong blog again! Now I'm off to get my vacation photo's ready for next months kits! And let me tell ya there are some eye-popping gorgeous kits coming out to you all!! I know there are a whole lotta you girls who signed up for the kits starting in September, and Pam did not disappoint, these kits are going to be amazing!! ....lol!, I know, I'm a tease!

~Gabrielle xxx