A Little Western Romance! Websters Pages!...

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!

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!!

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

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

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

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. :)