Altered Cocoa Tin {Websters Pages Postcard From Paris II}

 

I don't know about you guys but we must have 50 thousand pens and pencils in our house but when I need one, there's none to be found!  So I thought it would be a good idea to make a pencil jar.  I repurposed an old cocoa tin and covered it with lots of Websters Pages goodness!

 

I used papers from the Postcard from Paris II papers and embellishments like Webster's Pages newest Perfect Accents (aka Cameos) and the super cute metalic frames they now have for them.  I also added a few of some of my favorite Websters Pages trims.  This project came together quickly!  I guess I could've just used the tin as is but why not make it pretty right? :)

 

Fabric Inspiration Layout {Maja Design Collections}

 

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is "Where or how do you come up with some of your ideas/page designs?"  So I thought I would share with you all today what inspired me to come up with this page design I made with some of my favourite Maja Design papers from the Ska vi ta en Fika collection.  This layout began from an inspiration photo I found on Pinterest.  It was a photo of some crocheted blooms with some muslin fabric.  Here is the photo....

 

I just love the look of the white blooms with the touch of soft green and the draped look of the fabric on the gingham material.   I immediately started thinking about how I could imitated this look on a scrapbook page.  My first thought was of Maja papers since there are so many wonderful fabric look pages to choose from and I know that the 'Fika' collection has some lovely gingham style papers.  Here are the main papers I used for this project....

 

 

 

I used the 'Kladdkaka' paper as my gingham background and then cut the "Chaite" paper in a drape design on a diagonal (I was also cutting out the lavender blooms at the same time because I was just going with the green accent on this page.  I used the green "Smulpaj m äpplen-bs" paper as matting for my photo just to add that little extra touch of apple green.

 

 

To make the blooms I used the Spellbinders smallest die from the 'Rose Creations' dies, I cut out a whole bunch from simple white/cream cardstock and gave each of the petals a little crinkle.  I finished each bloom with an adhesive pearl.  I had a section of apple green trim in my stash (from a local dollar store - no name) that I used to add a bow to each floral cluster.

 

I created a drape by first cutting the 'Chaite' paper in a curvey line, then moistening the edge with water and then creating the draped line with my finger tips.  I felt that the draping wasn't as lush as I wanted it to look so I used the scrap pieces left of the 'Chaite' paper and cut out 3 crescents (giving them a little bit of a fold as well) and tucked them under each of the draped areas.

 

 

To embellish around my photo, I cut two hearts, one from the 'Kladdkaka' paper and the other from a scrap piece of paper I had from the 'Life in the Country' collection called 'Kitchen Garden'.  I matted the hearts with some plain white cardstock and trimmed with a scallop edge scissor.  I also cut out a couple of clock designs from the new 'Vintage Autumn Basics' collection "No. XVI".  The cameo is one I had in my stash from Websters Pages.

 

I added a brocade design to the background paper to go with the 'fabric' theme using a Crafters Workshop stencil (Mini Damask) and some home-made texture paste.   I added some flourish to the page with a Dusty Attic chipboard flourish (Corner Flourish #1) which I coated with Gesso and stamped with a Bo Bunny script stamp and finished with crackle varnish.

Maja Design Supplies:  Ska vi ta en Fika (Kladdkaka, Chiate, Smulpaj m äpplen-bs), Life in the Country (Kitchen Garden), Vintage Autumn Basics (No. XVI).

Before I sign off for today I just wanted to note that you can find Maja Design papers in your area by using the Maja Design Store Finder HERE.   New countries and retailers are being added daily!   I recently found out that Janene at The Scrapbook Diaries in New York just got in a nice supply of many of the Maja Design collections including the NEW Autumn Basics collection, just click on the name to check it out :)

I hope you enjoyed my project today and perhaps gained a little insight into how my mind works when creating a page :) .... and hope that you have fun with some fabric inspiration using Maja Design papers! xo

 

Autumn Jewel Tones {Bo Bunny Autumn Song}

 

My daughter took this beautiful forest photo when she went on a hike recently with a few of her friends and I was so happy to have these pretty green/purple papers from the Bo Bunny Autumn Song collection to scrap them!

 

I wanted the page to be lush with blooms so I used a variety of the purple Bo Bunny blooms from the paper designs to the fabric and crochetted blooms.... and for smaller blooms I used a floral die cut on some Bo Bunny Violet dot cardstock and used a wet paper technique to give them a little bit of a crinkle.

 

I loved the leafy flourish on one of the patterned papers so I fussy cut it out the flourish so that it would drap down onto my page and used foam dots to apply it to the page.  I wanted to continue with the flourish look of the papers so I used the Bo Bunny Curly Q Stamps to add more swirls.

 

Tip:  Some inks can bead up on a new stamp set, so I just rub an eraser over the surface of the stamp before I begin stamping, it gives you a nice sharp image.

 

Bo Bunny Supplies:

Patterned Paper:  Melody, Stripe/Autumn Song

Cardstock: Violet Double Dot

Noteworthy: Autumn Song

Stamps: Curly Q Large Stamps

Flowers: Plum Purple Bouquet, Plum Purple Dahlia, Plum Purple Daisy 

Jewels: Rejoice

Wood Clocks/Kraft

Other: Dusty Attic Chipboard: Corner Flourish #5, Damask #2

Stencil: Prima/Finnabiar

 

Before I sign off for today I thought I'd share the Bo Bunny Website link with you in case you all didn't get a peek at the 3 NEW mid-season releases you can find them HERE!  Thanks so much for stopping by today! xo xo

 

CardMaker & Webster's Pages Blog Hop {With Prize!}

Welcome to the CardMaker Magazine and Webster's Pages Blog Hop!  It is my pleasure to share with you all a couple of cards I made up with the Websters Pages collection called 'Family Traditions'.  I know a number of the lovely ladies that follow my blog are ardent cardmakers so I'm happy to share some fun designs using the Websters Pages collection and to introduce you to a wonderful magazine that features beautiful cardmaking designs (if you aren't already familiar with this gorgeous magazine).   If you came to me from the talented Alice Golden's blog, then you are on the right track.  If you started here then you may want to start at the beginnng at the CardMaker Blog, or continue from my blog and circle back around.  (the full blog hop list can be found below).

 

For my card above I went with the pretty aqua's and greens in the Family Traditions paper collection.  For embellishing I used some natural elements like burlap and twine as well as a Websters Pages cameo, bloomers, and fabric trims.

 

Here is another card I made from the same paper collection.  I love the cheery colors and design in these papers, just perfect for cardmaking!

 

For this card I layered a number of the patterned papers in the Family Traditions collection and again matched one of the lovely Websters Pages cameos to it.  I finished the design with some fussy cut leaves and blooms from one of the patterned papers as well as some soft pink Bloomers (rose fabric trim).

 

The following is the full blog hop list, be sure to leave a comment at each of the blogs in order to have a chance at some fabulous prizes being offered by CardMaker Magazine and Webster's Pages. (Prize winners will be announced on the Websters Pages blog).

CardMaker
Jill Cornell
Candice Elliott
Alice Golden
Gabrielle Pollacco
Emma Trout
Latisha Yoast
Jamie Harder
Stacey Michaud
Michelle Woerner
Jaz Lee Soo Hui
Emeline Seet
Rosemary Dennis
Diana Brodeur
Tanya Batrak
Stacy Morgan
Webster’s Pages

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!  The next blog you will hop to from here is the super talented blog of Emma Trout (I can guarantee you will be inspired by her work!)  Be sure to comment at every blog in order to win! xo

Scrapping Masculine Style {NEW Maja Design & Dusty Attic}

As most of you know by now, I have two daughters and no sons so most of my scrapping is done in a more feminine style. But I do have a bunch of handsome nephews and my dear husband that I occasionally get to scrap, so I was so thrilled to see that the new ' Vintage Autumn Basics' collection has a big variety of both masculine and feminine paper designs.

I recently recieved this beautiful collection and while normally I automatically reach for the more feminine papers, this time around I wanted to scrap in a more masculine style. I had this photo of my dear husband Steve and my cutie-pie nephew Jared at a retirement party for Steve's older brother. The title on the page 'Tempus Fugit' (Latin for 'Time Flies') was just perfect for this photo! It seems like yesterday that we were baby sitting my young nephews when Steve's brother and his wife would go on trips, and now my BIL is passing down the reigns of his company to my nephews! Time really does fly! (the little girls you sometimes see me scrapping are Jared's little girls!). For this page I went with the 'time' theme and used lots of the clock images in this collection, as well as layering a number of the patterned papers. I started out by fussy cutting out a bunch of the clock designs.

Here I used the Dusty Attic Wall Clock #2, but I cut and pasted one of the clocks from the Vintage Autumn Basics papers to the face of the clock. I dressed the chipboard up a bit by using a bronze metalic paint and adding some dots and details (I used Scribbles Bronze paint....from Michaels). The zipper is also a chipboard design from Dusty Attic (I wanted to try and stick to masculine style embellishments for the majority of the the decorations....and the Dusty Attic zipper is one of my all time favourites!).

I had this cute metal stopwatch embellishment that I found at Michaels, I didn't love the clock design they had used on this embellishment, so again I cut out one of the clock designs from the Maja paper, tinted the edges lightly with blue chalk ink and pasted it on the clock. The chipboard gears are Dusty Attic, as are the roses...the larger blue flowers are from Petaloo (Darjeeling collection....I think the are are really good match to the Maja collection).

I always like to use scraps of burlap for masculine layouts, I think it adds that nice textural element to the page that lace usually adds to my more feminine pages. Another nice masculine element to use is corrugated cardboard, metal, buttons and chipboard elements. Here are the Dusty Attic goodies I used on this page today (You can find these products at the Dusty Attic Website and I also have a listing in the rightside panel of my blog (Such A Pretty Mess blogspot) for Dusty Attic Retailers in USA and Canada)....

I hope you enjoyed my masculine style page today, and hope you will give this beautiful new collection a try whether you scrap in the masculine or feminine style! xo

 

The Scrapbook Diaries {Awesome Kit & Video Tutorial!}

 

I get a lot of wonderful feedback from all you lovely ladies that follow my blog and among some of the questions asked of me is where you can get the beautiful products I get to work with.  That's why I was very intrigued when Janene from The Scrapbook Diaries approached me about doing a kit page for her!  She has come up with a very unique idea inwhich she sends me some amazing products to work with and has me create a page using some of the latest and greatest products in the scrapping world.  She puts together a gorgeous packed kit from the products I used to create my page and has me create a video tutorial as well that you can enjoy with the purchase of the kit.  On top of that Janene creates a bonus page as well included in the kit.

 

My sweet niece got married a few weeks ago and the wedding was just beautiful!  It was held at a yacht club and while we were waiting for the dinner to be served, I snuck down to the beach area with my girls and their cousin and was able to take some sweet photos of them, kicking their shoes off and enjoying some sand between their toes!  I just loved the beautiful ruffle dress my oldest daughter Chloe was wearing and was happy with some of the shots I got of her!

 

 

When I saw some of the gorgeous papers and embellishments Janene sent me, I thought immediately that these would be perfect for scrapping the photos above.  She sent me some very cool new mixed media products that I actually hadn't tried out before, like Twinkling H20's.   These are so fun to play with, and the effect is so pretty....layers of shimmer and color, you're going to love playing with these!

 

 

I've been wanting a nice damask mask and I got to use one for this project!  The detailing on this stencil is amazing!  This kit includes loads of premium products including mixed media products, blooms, stencils, stamps, pearl flourishes, resin frames, chipboard and more!  Here is another close-up of my page....

 

You can find out more about The Scrapbook Diaries at their blog HERE.....and if you are interested in getting this wonderful kit and access to the video tutorial I created to show my process in creating this page you can find the information HERE.

 

It's almost like scrapping together isn't it! :)

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today and for all the sweet feedback you lovely ladies are always kind enough to leave for me! xo

 

Cardmaking with 'The Avenues' {Bo Bunny}

I just can't get enough of scrapping with the beautiful The Avenues collection, and I can't bear to throw my scraps away either.  This card was literally made of a few little scraps I had left over from other projects.  Quick and easy!

Here I just handcut two heart designs and machine stitched them for a homespun look.  Added some burlap and wrapped on some twine.  I topped it off with one of those adorable new wood clock embellishments!

 

Bo Bunny Supplies:

Patterned Paper: Antique, Dot, Stripe/The Avenues

Jewels: The Avenues

Kraft Wood Clocks

I just love all the shutter, door, window and clock designs in this collection!  Using these little design elements make it quick and easy to create a fun and cheerful card.

I created blooms in just the shade of peachy pink I was looking for by using the coordinating patterned papers to hand-make my blossoms.  I used some kitchen cheesecloth to make my curtains for my card design.

 

Bo Bunny Supplies:

Patterned Paper:  Antique, Song Bird, Shutters, Dot/The Avenues

Packaging from the The Avenues Layered Chipboard (background paper behind window)

Layered Chipboard: The Avenues

Jewels: The Avenues

Misc Me: Journal Contents (fussy cut the bird/branch from one of the cards)

Extras: twine, cheesecloth, die cuts from Cheery Lynn Designs (Window and leaves) and Spellbinders (blooms)

 

Maja Design Give-away Winner!!

 

Hi everyone!  I just realized today is the 2nd of the month and I was supposed to announce the winner of the Maja Design collection yesterday!  Sorry about the wait!  First off  I just want to say thanks to all the lovely comments left at my blog and I know that Maja Design appreciates the feedback on their new collections!   I was touched by all the kind comments about my work as well, I read them all and gotta say how lovely all you ladies are, thank-you!  I wish I had a collection to give away to everyone who commented!  But rest assured there will be more give-aways and I will keep you all posted on them!

 

So, I have to say I was moved by this comment and hope that this paper collection will help you in creating your keepsake book for Kiki and her family.....

 

langeatheart said... 

You have to love Maja Designs their papers are so gorgeous the color scheme is beautiful! It would be perfect for a special project I am doing for a family whose two year old daughter is fighting a battle against an aggressive form of leukemia. Kiki is adorable and each member of the family a hero in their own right. Doing this album for them as a keepsake is my way of supporting them ( and preserving memories God forbid if Kiki loses this fight). Kiki's mom was in tears when I told her I would do it. I now have my fingers crossed for that gorgeous paper! All the best!

Please send me your address and we'll get that package sent right out to you!  CONGRATS!!! xo

Kladdkaka ~A Swedish Treat {Maja Design & Tresors De Luxe}

 Just a short time ago Maja Design opened up their new Facebook page, and I noticed a lot of chatter about 'Fika' and something called Kladdkaka! Well, for those of you who are not Swedish, I should explain that Fika is the Swedish version of a 'Cafe Clatch' or tea time, where you enjoy a nice cup of coffee or tea with a lovely desert. After seeing the yummy photo's of the Swedish cake called Kladdkaka, I looked up the recipe on Pinterest and immediately handed it over to my oldest daughter Chloe who was off school this summer and really enjoying trying out recipies from Pinterest. (HERE IS A LINK TO THE RECIPE OFF OF PINTEREST KLADDKAKA a recipe by a lady named Rebecca)  Well, let me tell you, this cake is DELICIOUS! If you love brownies, you will love the dense rich taste of this Swedish treat! Above is a photo we took of the cake she made (we added a dollop or real whipped cream (has to be the real stuff not that oil based stuff!) and some fresh raspberries). You can find the recipe for the cake at my blog post today at Such a Pretty Mess Blogspot (although I hear that Jenny Grotherus's recipe for Kladdkaka is even more delicious and decadent....we'll be trying out her recipe next!...thanks Jenny!!) Here is a photo I took of my daughter with her cake...

Okay, so back to my layout....haha, don't get me started on topic of food, I can go on for hours! I wanted to use a paper collection that would best reflect the theme of the page so of course I had to go with the Maja Design 'Ska vi ta en Fika collection'.

 

Here are the papers I chose to use from this lovely collection: Ska vi ta en Fika: Kärleksmums - bs, Kaffetåren den bästa är.....but I also chose to mix in a couple other collections as well to bring in pinks for the berries and a clock for 'tea time'. So I also used Vintage Summer Basics: 1923, and Crea Diem: Den oersättliga tiden, as well as some butterflies from Vintage Spring Basics: 6th of May. Here are some close-ups of the embellishments I used on the page....

 

 

The pleated flowers are some Recollections flowers that I found at Michaels and the chipboard flourish is from Dusty Attic (I wanted to keep it shabby chic looking so I painted it white, edged it with brown chalk ink, stamped on random text and finished with a crackle varnish). The natural floral clusters and lace trims are from Tresors De Luxe.  Aren't they cute??  I love having these little natural floral clusters ready to go to add to a page, no muss no fuss!  You can find Lucy's gorgeous lace and floral designs at her etsy site here ~~>  Tresors De Luxe.

 

 

You might wonder how I got the flourishes to go all the way around the edges of the inner page even though the page has been trimmed to show the polka dot paper behind? I fussy cut the bottom and right side flourishes off the page first, then trimmed my page and stuck the flourish edge back onto the cut edges.

 

 

Dusty Attic has this cute Mini Cutlery chipboard set that I thought would be a perfect accent to the page, I just painted them with bronze 3D paint and squeezed on the flourish design.

 

I cut the largest clock from the Crea Diem collection paper and edged it with some Platinum Stickles and some more Dusty Attic chipboard and another flower. To get the flaked rusted look to my chipboard, I first stamped the chipboard flourishes with some Tim Holtz Victorian Velvet ink, then I took my flat paint brush with some gesso on it and just lightly dabbed it here and there. Finally I added a gloss coat to the chipboard pieces.

 

I hope you enjoyed my project today and hope that I've inspired you to try some Swedish baking and maybe make a page about it too! xo