Some Wintery Bo Bunny & a little Dusty Attic!

I just wanted to share this l/o I made recently with the new Bo Bunny collection called Midnight Frost. I also used some of my favourite laser cuts chippies from Dusty Attic on this l/o. I thought I'd scrap about my newest winter pick-me-up ....the Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate from Starbucks! Yum!! This salty sweet treat is just so yummy.....I know the salted part sounds wierd but believe me it is good!! Here are a few close up shots of the l/o embellishments....

I just wanted to make a quick comment on the products I use on my l/o's. I get some questions as to the details on what products I used on my pages......I don't usually list the products for my layouts that I do for the kit club layouts I make up because they are listed in full each month at the MCS (My Creative Scrapbook) site. If you click on the photo of the kit each month at the MCS site, you will find a full listing of the products in the kit....hope this answers some of your questions with regard to product :) But for the manufacturing design teams that I'm on I'm happy to list the products for you. For the above l/o I used Patterned Paper: ~Midnight Frost Crystals~Midnight Frost Snowball~Midnight Frost Moonlight (butterflies and matting)~Noteworthy Journaling Cards~Midnight Frost Chipboard (flourishes & large frame)~Frost Wraps (lace)~Midnight Frost Stamp (flourish) .....and I also used some Prima blooms.....and some Dusty Attic Laser chips (the tree and the title).

Thanks so much for stopping by!

~Gabrielle xxx

New December Kits from My Creative Scrapbook!

So I get to post a couple days earlier this month, with December being a busy month for everyone, Pam got the reveal date moved up for us. Hang on to your hats this is going to be a long one.....but I really filled this post with LOADS of tips & techniques. The above layout was made with the beautiful goodies in this months Limited Edition kit. This kit was just packed with beautiful blooms, trims, floral sprays....and my favourite winter collection Night Devine by IOD! I just fell for those papers when I saw them at the summer CHA release....those deep rich rose patterns, burgundy flourish papers....such an awesome collection! I made the rose in the bottom left corner of this l/o by cutting out petal shapes from the organza ribbon in the kit and then melting the edges in a candle flame ....I shared this technique quite a long time ago at MCS at this link Sheer Blooms Done 2 Ways ....the center of the flower is just made from red cardstock. The ruffled red roses are another variation on the Water Distress blooms ~ the tutorial for this can be found in the right colum of my blogsite here. Here are a few close-up pic's...


TIP: I'm a sucker for butterflies, and while Pam puts a ton of embellishments in the kits, for me there are never enough butterflies! lol!....so I scanned the blue butterflies on the patterned paper and printed off a whole bunch of little butterflies on some heavy white cardstock....cut them out and added touches of ink and glitter to make the little embellishments.

This second l/o I made with this kit I used a photo I took of Meagan....I know it's a summer photo but the colours she had on went well with the paper colours so I finally had a chance to scrap this photo....

I also took a lot of liberties with the goodies in the kit and changed them up a bit. See the butterfly in the top right corner? I made that with some velvety poinsetta leaves that were in the kit! LOL!... You see, Pam insists that we stick only to using kit products (nothing from our stash or from other kits....other than some cardstock, ink and glitter glue)....this way when people receive their kits they don't feel as though they can't create what they've seen on the DT pages with what they have at hand. Well....you know me and butterflies!.....I just trimmed the poinsetta leaves with a scissor and banded 4 of them together with their wire stems. I also removed the berries from the poinsetta's and used some for the branch/spray that you see in the first layout (top of this blog piece) and one of the beads/berries for the butterflies head. I took the leftover stem bits and cut them into 4 pieces and made 4 curly wires and attached them to the back of the butterfly with some glue (love the Tombo glue for this!).....it looked like this from the back......

Then I simply flipped the butterly over and added metalic squeeze paint and glitterglue for detailing on the wings and on the body of the butterfly (this also covers the coiled up wire on the body)....

The finished butterfly ended up looking like the photo below (I got the idea from a Prima butterfly that was included in the December Main kit :) ...

Here are a few more closeup detail shots of the above layout....



A third l/o I made with the LE kit I used mainly the green/cream patterned papers in this kit. Most of you are all familiar with Wet Distressing method I used here, it's very simply put just inking the edges of your paper, then wetting them with water and then creating the wrinkles in the paper....let dry (I put a fairly heavy box over mine while it dries so it doesn't warp too much). I called this l/o 'So Easy' because that is how I think of my relationship with my dear husband Steve. I used these words from the Taylor Swift song 'You belong with Me' and put them on a tag behind the photo:
"Walking the streets with you
and your worn out jeans,
I can't help thinking this is how it aught to be.
Laughing on a park bench,
thinking to myself,
Hey, isn't this easy..."

TIP: I've shared this tip before but it was a long time ago so I thought I'd share it again. Get double use out of your Prima flourishes by using the plastic backing that they are attached to as a template. I lay the piece of plastic over the are I want to have the design and then take a pin and poke a little hole into the middle of each bead spot that you can see in the plastic. This will leave a pattern on your page. Just cover each tiny pin hole with some Pearl or metalic 3D squeeze paint (I often use the Scribbles brand that you can find in the T-shirt area at Michaels) To see a more detailed tutorial see my old tutorial at MCS at this link ~~> Faux flourishes Please note that this link will take you to a challenge I hosted way back in 2008 when I first shared this technique.....I just don't want you all thinking I have another challenge running lol!

And finally a 4rth layout I got done with this kit I used the pretty polka dote paper and the red flourishy paper along with one of my favourite blooms to come out of the summer CHA....the Prima Rosetti blooms....


The green leaves around the bloom are just trimmed poinsetta leaves from the kit. The red bloom/branch is another pretty goodie from the kit and the red bloom at the bottom I again made from some trimmed poinsetta leaves in the kit and some of the red organza ribbon done with the same method as described above.



The Main kit this month from MCS has such rich beautiful colours in it too, filled with Bo Bunny and Prima goodness!! I'm holding my sweet new baby (great) niece Kiera in this photo...**sigh** I love babies!!

There is a gorgeous Bo Bunny trim card included in this kit!...I just love the crinkle burgundy ribbon....I used it and the gold lace trim to create the 2 blooms on this page and I also cut the heart design out of a piece of the ribbon, attached it to a card and then handstitched a heart design on the ribbon. The butterfly is again one I made from the poinsetta's in the kit.....(Remember to check out the 'How did the do that' thread for December to see all the tips and tricks our designers used on their pages this month....it's usually posted around the 10th of the month).....Here are some close-ups....



For my 2nd l/o for the Main Kit I used the greenish papers and added some pink & white cardstock for a softer lighter look. The photo is one I took of Meagan when she was about 4 years old and was in a ballet performance.....her hair was so cute that I took a shot of it....but I only now had a chance to scrap it....

The pink/white flowers were made from cardstock using the Water Distress Blooms tutorial I shared at the right side of my blog. Here are a few close-up pic's....


And finally a 3rd l/o I made with the Main kit I used a photo my oldest daughter took of her best friend Peyton and her mom's horse. Her friend is such a cutie and just adores animals....I thought this photo says it all....

I again used the pin method I described above to make the copper/pearl flourish on this page. ....and the butterfly this time actually is the reall Prima butterfly that inspired my handmade ones! Here are some close-up shots (the white weed/blooms I hand sketched onto the page using a white Souffle pen)....



A third kit I got to design with this month is the Album Kit.....this one had a lot of sweet homespun elements to it. I used some pink cardstock on this page to change up the red/cream/green look of the kit to something that would work with my photo...

I made the little flowr pots from some yellow cardstock and ink....the blooms I made by using a tiny punch on a few shades of pink cardstock....the other blooms are again the Water distressed cardstock. Here are a few close-up shots....



And finally a 2nd l/o I made with the Album kit is this one of Meagan....she always seems to have a little dance to her step....



Whew!! So you all made it to the end of my Long LONG post and I thank you all for the time you take to come check it all out! I love hearing from you all so let me thank you in advance for your sweet comments!

~Gabrielle xxx

Stamping with Bo Bunny!

I'm a wee bit late getting this post up this month.....I've been down with the flu (and have laryngitis on top of it all!) But here is my latest assignment that I made for the Bo Bunny Design Team. We were asked to use some of the new Bo Bunny stamp sets in making up our layouts. For the above page I used the new stamp set from the Midnight Frost collection. I'm just a sucker for any type of script stamp and this set also has cute flourishes in it too! Here's a pic of the little stamp set below....

I used the flourish stamp in a variety of colors for in the top left corner of the l/o and near the circle design in the center of the page. The script stamp I just randomly placed on different parts of the page ...even allowing parts of it to run off the page. I loved using the lightly lined patterned paper from the Winter Joy collection for this project because it allowed me to make sure that my script stamping was placed onto the page nice and straight. Here are a few close up pics....

The large white/rose bloom is the Bo Bunny Cream Gardinia from the Olivia collection that I just lightly tinted in the center with some Tim Holtz alcohol ink (in Pink Sherbert color). I also added a few of the new Dusty Attic pieces that are new releases for October....the Lace Doily design (the one I added the BB paper to) and the Fancy edge border are both from the October new releases!.....To see what's new at Dusty Attic be sure to check out this link ~~> October New Releases from Dusty Attic.

The paper collection I used for this page are from the Winter Joy collection from Bo Bunny and the green pearl flourish is by Zva Creative. I also wanted to say a thank-you to Pam Rangel for the cute blooms and pearl button centers!!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Gabrielle xxx

It's Reveal Day at MCS!!

You know how some months if you get a few/couple of different kits you kind of pick a favourite from among them? This month I just couldn't pick one over the other I just LOVED each of them!! But I guess if you held a gun to my head I'd have to pick the Album kit this month! I just loved the papers and even more so, the embellishments Pam put together with this kit! There were 3 packages of Prima goodies (rose blooms, fabric blooms & a beautiful crystal flourish) and the trims!!...oh! so beautiful!! I loved the green leaf vine trim and the pink rossette trim, and always a favourite the creamy lace trim! I made the above l/o using a bunch of these goodies. Did a little machine stitching with a touch of masking with some black chalk ink. Did I mention the beautiful rub-ons too? (also in the kit......just as a point of note, ALL the things you see on on the layouts of the MCS design team, other than some cardstock, can be found in the kit, we don't suppliment things on the pages from our own stash or from 'add-on' kits! So when you order the MCS kits you know you can re-create the work you're seeing done by the design team without any big extra expenses) The rose in the top right corner was made from cardstock using the water distress method you can find to the right of my blogsite. Here are a few close-ups of the above l/o....the photo is one I took of my youngest daughter walking along a path in Autumn of last year....


This kit allowed for many color combinations, for the next l/o I went with some of the lavender colours. The photo is one I took of my youngest up at the cottage, we always do a little crafting there and we had made up the little butterfly headband she's wearing in the photo....

The butterflies were made from the Prima packaging, I just cut out a butterfly shape with a pair of scissors (I know! it's time to get a butterfly punch....if anyone know of a good one please let me know!) ....again the small white lavender blooms I made with a little cardstock using the Water Distessed Flowers method....

In this 3rd layout I scrapped a picture of my newest baby niece Jade (a professional shot taken by Stephanie Robins Designs). I've been saving this photo for the right papers and I think I found them in this kit.....

I cut a few of the little ribbon rosettes from the trim to embellish my green vine trim and I extended the size of one of the roses in the kit with a little bin of white cardstock and pink chalk ink (again using the water distess method). Here are a few close-ups....



Another beautiful kit I got to design with this month was the Main Kit. I just love that each and every month Pam puts something fun in the kit that allows us to get a little creative. This time around there was some resist paper by Pink Paislee. The paper doesn't look like much when you first take it out but then when you start applying inks and glimmer mists, these wonderful patterns appear. For the l/o below I used a couple of chalk inks on the resist paper (Denim Blue and Chestnut Brown, on the paper behind the photo)....

The leave's were cut from one of the muted patterned papers in the kit (I made extras by tracing one of the designs over and over and handcutting them)....There's also a nice swatch of brown tulle in the kit, I used part of it to create the backing for the diamond shaped pattern to the right of the photo. I machine stitched the diamond pattern and added the blue gems from the kit to the cross sections....here are a few close-ups



I really loved the muted pretty shades in this kit. So for my next l/o I went with the soft greens, and to add to the softness I added a hint of smokey grey carstock. The branch and leaves were designs I cut from one of the patterned papers, I added a little green & brown chalk inks to make them stand out more. I've been running a challenge for last month and this month called 'Scrap the Scrapper' with a really amazing prize. So I thought I would do another page this month as a sample for the challenge ....here I listed 3 favourites of mine for 2010

....Music: Marianas Trench

....TV: Anything on the Food Network

....Movie: The Perfect Getaway (love movies that leave you guessing all the way to the end!).....
NOTE: If you would like to play along in my challenge and have a chance to win a really awesome prize, see the link for a photo of the prize! (and at the same time get scrapping about yourself!) You can find my challenger here ~~> Scrap the Scrapper Challenge ....I also give a bunch of helpful tips on how to get a really good photo of yourself in the challenge thread, so come join us!

The large blooms in the above layout are the soft & pretty blooms by BoBunny called Cream Gardenia Petals. I altered them a tiny bit by watering down some Tim Holtz alcohol ink (colour: Meadow) and applying it to the inner center of the bloom with a Q-tip. Just apply to the lower part of the petal, you only need to do a few layers of the center petals, no need to do all of them. Here are some close-ups....


A third l/o I made with this kit, I went with a more nostalgic look. I love the combination of aqua with deep brown/bronze colours. This past summer when we were on a hike up at the cottage we came across an abandoned railway car. The kids immediately started climbing, so out came my camera. I got this photo of my girls and their Opa (my Dad) in one of the cars. I printed the photo in sepia to get more of a vintage look to it....

The blooms on this page were made by using the Paper Shapers Retro Flower punch on some of the patterned papers in the kit and then giving them the 'water distress' treatment. I used a bit of the brown Tulle in the kit on the bloom to the far left. The butterflies were again made from the Prima packaging from the blooms in the kit. Here are a few close-ups...


And last but not least there was the gorgeous Limited Edition kit that I got to work with this month. If you enjoy doing the 'fussy cutting' on your l/o's, this is the kit for you! This kit is just PACKED with gorgeous papers and the embellishments are wonderful too! Pam worked hard to get this amazing collection into this kit in time for the November release, the collection is BasicGrey Curio and boy are this papers beautiful IRL! ....And the extra's in the kit....you're gonna love these, loads of Prima blooms/& floral vines, cameos, sequin trims, pearl strands, layered stickers, rub-ons and so much more! Here is the first l/o I made with this kit...
Again I made the butterflies for this page using the Prima packaging and the 'Embossed Butterfly' Tutorial I posted at the right side of my blog. Here are a few close-up pic's...



This 2nd l/o I made with the LE kit I used a kind of a 'joke' photo my husband took of me when I needed a photo for the 20 questions blog feature at the MCS blog. My friend Julie Howard said I had to give her a humorous photo, so he took a bunch of pic's of me 'rolling in my scrapbooking blooms'....I ended up going with a different photo, but thought I would scrap this one for fun :)

I did a little fussy cutting and machine stitching for this one. The bird cage is a rub-on from the kit. Here are a few close-up detail shots....


A 3rd layout I made with this kit I went with the romantic lacy looking papers, I did a little bit of corset stitching with it....The photo is one my husband took of my youngest daughter and I when we were on summer vacation a couple years back....

The butterflies were cut from one of the patterned papers in the kit (there are also some beautiful rub-on butterflies too)...


And a 4th l/o I made with this kit I went with the warm yellows/appricot colors mixed with soft aqua. I was amazed at how many different looks you could get with this kit! Again, everything you see on these pages are from the kits, no need for any add on's or taking from your stash to make up these pages....take my word for it, the value of this kit is worth every penny!

I did some more fussy cutting for this l/o along with a little bit of stitching. Here are a few close-up details shots of this page...



Because I had 3 kits to work with this month I only had time to make 4 l/o's with the LE kit but I can tell you I've got loads more goodies in this kit and could easily make more pages with the papers & embellies I have left. I think you girls are going to love this one!

Thanks so much for stopping by.....and just a reminder.....My Creative Scrapbook is still in the midst of their HUGE Sketch contest ....ton's of amazing Prizes to be won, you can find the link to this contest here ~~~> MCS Sketch Contest

~Gabrielle xxx