Maja Design April Mood Board Challenge {With Prize}

 

Yippee! It's the weekend and it's time to have some fun! (and maybe win a lovely Maja Design Prize along the way).  Each month Maja Design runs a fun and inspiring Mood Board Challenge. A board filled with colors inspiration, quotes, descriptive words and photos to jump start your creativity. 

 

This is this month's (April) Mood Board. This one has lots of soft sweet Spring colors based on the Maja Collection called 'Vintage Spring Basics' ....

 

 

For my page I included words like, shimmer, fabric, pastels, add texture, twigs, Spring, paint, yellow and stains to inspire the page.  I specifically chose the blues and yellows from the color palette for the layout as well.  (I know I've used the photo on this layout before in a sepia tone but I thought the color's in little Kiera's princess costume went so well with the mood board colors, I thought I'd use it again...I'll probably keep this l/o for my albums).

 

 

I wanted to go with Spring elements for embellishing, like birds nests, butterflies, blooms and twigs/branches.  I used Donna Salazar Distress Ink pads in 'Denim' and 'Honey' to tint the background of my paper and splattered on some random ink dots with Lindy's Stamp Gang 'Steampunk Sepia' spray.  And then did lots of stamping with a whole bunch of different random stamps.  (Butterfly is a Tim Holtz stamp, the flourish is an old Prima stamp from a frame set, the script and chicken wire is a Bo Bunny Stamp ...oh and the stitch stamp is a Prima stamp).

 

I did a little fussy cutting from the April 6th Paper, cutting out the little white floral designs for a delicate embellishment for the page. The barnboard-look paper is from Vintage Summer Basics (1905) The resin piece is from a Recollections pack I got at Michaels.

 

The chipboard of course is Dusty Attic chipboard (Flourish #8).  I painted all my chipboard pieces with gesso first then inked areas with more of the blue and yellow ink pads I mentioned that I used on the background design.  I dabbed a bit of gold Pearlex glistter onto areas of the design befoe I gave the whole thing a coating of Glossy Accents. 

 

 

I used the same combination of inks and gloss medium on the number cluster chippie (Mini Number Planet) under the photo as well.  Other favourite accents I added were some Tim Holtz Film Strips.

 

 

I added a bit of texture with a Prima 12x12 Stencil (Flourish) and some home made texture paste (found in right column of my blog under 'my tutorials'.  And used (yet more) Dusty Attic chipboard pieces (Mini Arch Windows and Brick Wall Panel). I painted the bricks white and inked with yellow chalk ink and edged with brown chalk ink. The tiny roses are also from Dusty Attic called Dusty Roses.

 

Maja Design Products:  Vintage Spring Basics (3rd of March-bs, 6th of April, 6th of May), Vintage Summer Basics (1905)

 

Dusty Attic Products:  Mini Arch Windows, Brick Wall Panel, Flourish #8, Mini Number Planet, Dusty Roses.

 

Would you like to play along this month and try out the Mood Board challenge?  You can find the challenge rules HERE.  The prize is any collection of your choice! 

 

NOTE:  If you missed my post from a few days ago, I just want to let you all know that you also can have a chance at winning another beautiful Maja Design prize pack (Crea Diem Collection...see below) by simply leaving a comment at this blog post (any time during the month of April/2014) MAJA DESIGN GIVE-AWAY

 

 

Happy Scrappin'!



Loving Life with {Maja Design}

Hi everyone! Gabrielle here with you today to share with you my latest Maja Design project. Yep! I'm one of those scrappers that often forgets to scrap about myself. I have a big family and have lots to scrap about so I don't often think to do a page about me. The photo in this layout is one that one of my daughters took of me when we were on a walk together.

I used mainly papers I still had in my stash from the Limited Editing Sofiero collection. I chose colors in the pinks and taupes with just a hint of green.

I really hate to waste any of my Maja Scraps so I save anything bigger than a couple of inches for upcoming projects. I had this piece of 'Enjoy the Frangrance' paper left over from another layout I made and decided to keep the angle cut the way it was. I just lightly moistened the paper and gave it some folds along the diagonal edge. When it dries, it gets quite firm and holds it's shape well.

I added some lacy die cut pieces from Memory box along the cut edges of the paper (Norwich Corner, Quinn Flourish) and tucked them between the papers (die cuts were courtesy of my friend Janene at The Scrapbook Diaries...Thanks Janene!!!). Texture was added with some homemade texture paste and a Crafter's Workshop Stencil (Gothic Romance). The soft pink in that I used behind the photo is a chalk ink by Ingvild Bolme called Sweet Pea.

The blooms were handmade from some pink scraps of Maja papers I had in my stash, I used a pale pink paper from Vintage Summer collection, deeper pinks from Crea Diem and a deep rose from Vintage Summer. To make the blooms I simply used a scissor to cut a wavey edge circle (in different sizes). Then I cut a wavey spiral into each circle and rolled them up (working from the outside - in) to make the roses. Then just glued down the spiral design to the center part of the circle. I added a pearl bead to each center.

Maja Design Products: Sofiero (Enjoying the Fragrance-bs, Princess Margareta's Garden-bs, The Elegant Winehouse), Vintage Summer Basics (1923, 1922-bs), Crea Diem (Fylld av kärlek), Vintage Autumn Basics (III-bs, XVI), Vintage Spring (6th of May).

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today.  For those of you looking for Maja Design Products, you can use the 'Store Finder' at the Maja Design Website, or for quick reference for those of you in the USA and Canada, 2 excellent resources for Maja Design Papers are The Scrapbook Diaries and Moments of Tranquility. xo

Memories Captured ~ Now Available as 'Video Only' Tutorial {At The Scrapbook Diaries!} and a GIVE-AWAY Share!

Happy news! (well for those of you who aren't hoping for this one in kit form :)  ....The video tutorial I created for this kit layout is now available as 'Video Only'.   This kit sold out quickly, but as with my other video's for The Scrapbook Diaries, the video can now be ordered on it's own for unlimited online viewing.  Just click on the links under the layout photos to take you to the one you are interested in....

**NEW** Memories Captured ~ Video Tutorial



Love ~ Video Tutorial

Happiness ~ Video Tutorial

 

Memories ~ Video Tutorial

Love Beyond Measure ~ Video Tutorial

Precious ~ Video Tutorial

 

No worries for those of you that have gotten your kit orders in previously, (I know that there is a second batch of kits going out next week...starting on the 17th because Janene had to order in some extra products to try and meet the demand).  Hope you enjoy!  And as always, I'm happy to answer any questions or take suggestions for future tutorials! xo

 

.....and a quick NOTE:  Want a chance to win some fabulous scrappy products worth over $100.00??  'LIKE' The Scapbook Diaries on FaceBook and tag a friend and you will have a chance at this amazing prize!  Here is the link. xo

 

 

Fussy Cut Spring Florals {Webster's Pages}

 

For me, my favorite Spring products are the beautiful botanicals/florals in the Websters Pages  patterned papers.  I have to admit I always feel a little thrill when I know that Brandin O'Neill is at the drawing board working on a new collection.  One thing I know is that there will always be gorgeous floral's in the collection papers, designs that are perfect for fussy cutting and embellishing with.  For me, that collection this time around was 'Growing Up Girl'....I actually used 7 papers for this page!  It's been a super snowy and cold winter here in Canada this year so I am really looking forward to Spring!  So I wanted this layout to be all about the warmth and happiness of Spring.  It's a time to get back into shape, get outdoors, exercise and just breathe!  ....I did lots of fussy cutting of the many beautiful floral images in the patterned papers. 

 

 

It was March break here in Canada, the kids are off school so when I sat down one night (watching Elementary on TV) and began cutting out images from the 'Embrace Life' and 'Make a Wish' papers, my daughter Chloe couldn't resist picking up a pair of scissors and joining me in clipping out all the pretty designs.  Chloe's favorite was that little pink and white butterfly (above).

 

 

I love the freshness polka dots add to a Spring layout, so I used the dotted side of the 'See the World' paper, tearing of little snippits of the paper and used it as a edger for my page design.   I just love that big large cabbage rose image as well, with thelittle green/white/rose color hydrangeas!

 

 

I'm trying to get myself to journal a little more on my pages.  So for this page I just handwrote a few key ideas on one of the patterned papers, matted with the pink paper and stacked the words.  (the locket is another sweet image I cut out from the patterned papers).  The love arrow is a new design from Dusty Attic Designs (as is the swirly vine design beside it). 

 

 

The flower is a random loose bloom I had lying around in my stash from an old Recollections pack, and the twine is from a Websters Pages 'Quick Pix' packet. The cute li'l light bulb design is a paper clip from the 'Sprinkled with Love ' collection from Websters Pages.

 

Websters Pages Supplies used on this project:

Patterned Paper:  Growing Up Girl (Embrace Life-both sides, Make a Wish, See the World, Express Yourself, Honor Yourself, Dress to Impress, Live Out Loud-background paper)

Embellishments: Sprinkled with Love (Light bulb Paperclips)

 

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today, I really appreciated all the lovely feedback!

 

Soft & Feminine with NEW Bo Bunny Primrose Collection!!

I'm so happy  to share with you my layout using the gorgeous new Primrose collection!  As soon as I laid eyes on this collection, I had so many design ideas whirling through my head. So many beautiful elements to create with.  I've been wanting to do a pretty soft feminine page design for this photo of my nephew's bride....there are always so many pretty details in a wedding and I just loved this photo that showed off her hair and bouquet.

 

The first thing I did when I got my collection was sit down with a few of the patterned papers (while watching TV) and fussy cut the butterflies and labels from the Bliss and Garden papers.  This way I was ready to roll when I started in on my layouts.  I also went a little crazy with the new Washi Tapes!  I used a whole bunch of strips to outline the framework of my background paper, then added random strips here and there as finishing touches. Another design element I used on this page is the Dusty Attic 'Leafy Scroll' which I painted with some Dusty In Color Paints.  (You can find Dusty Attic chippies at Natasha's website HERE )

 

I wanted to go for an artsy/mixed media style background on this one, so I used lots of Bo Bunny texture and background stamps along with inks and texture paste.  The small pink blooms where made from one of the patterned papers using a flower die.  I wrote part of the title on my photo using a white Signo Unibal gel pen, this one writes very well on photos.

 

Bo Bunny Product used:

Patterned Paper: Bliss, Garden, Gate, Breath-taking, Memories/Primrose

Buttons: Primrose

Washi Tape: Primrose, Modern Miss, Black and White

Stamps:  Distressed Textures, It is Written, On this Day, Mama-razzi 2

 

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today and for the kind comments!  I love reading your feedback and am happy to reply to any questions you may have!

 

NEW!! KIT & VIDEO Tutorial at The Scrapbook Diaries!!

 

I'm excited to share with you all the newest kit I created for The Scrapbook Diaries using one of my all time favorite Dusty Attic chipboard pieces and some beautiful Maja Design papers!  I got this photo of my adorable niece Kiera to scrap and wanted to make something really special.  I will eventually put all the layouts I've been making into a special gift for my nephew and his wife.

 

As always, this kit is just packed with beautiful mixed media items, blooms, stencils, stamps, chipboard, unique embellishments and papers!  Here are some close-ups of the page....

 

I just LOVE the scroll I used on this page, it so perfectly frames your photos and at the same time gives a beautiful design element to the page.  The chipboard frame comes with the kit and I show you in the video how I create the finish on the chipboard design.

 

The pretty title chippie was designed by The Scrapbook Diaries owner Janene Meyerwitz, and yes! all those gorgeous blooms are included in the kit (and then some!). 

 

As always, I've created a Video Tutorial (available for unlimited viewing) for this page design to go with the kit. I know that a few of you have emailed me asking about the next available kit....so here it is!  It's available in a limited quantity and Janene tells me the kits go fast, so if this is a page you would like to create, hurry on over to The Scrapbook Diaries and be sure to get yours! 

 

Scrapbook Diaries Blog

 

The Scrapbook Diaries Store (to purchase kit)

Janene kindly offers the kits in two selections, you can buy the complete kit (including all papers, embellishments and mixed media products) or a basic kit (for those that may already have the mixed media products used in the kit intheir stash).

Hope you enjoy this kit!  And for those of  you that missed the posts about my latest video tutorials offered at The Scrapbook Diaries, you can find the video tutorials in my right side column of my blog, just click on the photo to take you to the video at The Scrapbook Diaries.

Speaking of Love {Dusty Attic Designs}

 

I decided this weekend I would dig through some of my older stash in creating this page....so some of the pieces are new, but I dug through some older papers (like Basic Grey, Capella papers and stickers), some old MME (My Minds Eye) with a dash of Maja and 7 Dots (The Background paper is from the Dreamer collection, a paper called Sleepless). 

 

I rarely use sketches when I make up a layout because I'm usually trying to feature certain products so I let the products be my inspiraton.  But in this case was inspired by a sketch I saw on Pinterest by Tinci Designs....it was actually a sketch made for digital kits, but I really liked the design and thought it would work well with the Dusty Attic large Film Strip chippie I've been wanting to use.  Here is a picture of Tinci's Digital kit sketches...

 

I used the sketch in the top right corner.  If you are interested in digital kits you can find her link HERE.

I used the film strip as the bridge tothe two design clusters and kind of a title space as well. I painted all my chipboard pieces with white gesso (two coats) and did a little random stamping on them with word and script stamps. I also edged with some soft brown chalk in as well.

 

I used one of my favorite little scroll chippies in the bottom right corner of the page as well.  I love the light airy filligree look the fine cut chipboard gives to a page.  The cute little natural/lavender floral cluster is from Tresors de Luxe.

 

I've had this Dusty Attic Bracket Frame set for years in my stash and only this weekend got to using it!   I used one of the smaller frames in the set to frame my photo. 

 

 

I used a really intricate and beautiful border chip from Dusty Attic called 'Sweet Pea Border' for the left side of the page design. (it is not pictured in the supplies photo below because a photo was not available online, but you can get it at the website).  I added a few adhesive pearls to finish the look.

 

I also did a bit of inking on the page with some colors that I picked out from the background paper (7 Dots Studios Dreamer/Sleepless) ....I wanted to feature the teal blues with the soft pinky/lavender.  So I did a little inking with Donna Salazer Distress Inkpad (Denim), Versa Magic Chalk Ink (Spring Pansy) and did a little spritzing with Lindys Starburst Spray (Steampunk Sepia).  And I added some texture with my home-made texture paste and a Crafters Workshop Stencil called 'Art Is'.

 

Dusty Attic Supplies used in this project:

~ Bracket Frame Set

~ Sweet Pea Border

~ Small Scrolls

~ Dusty Roses - Eggplant

~ Film Strip

 

I hope you enjoyed my Dusty Attic project today and hope that you feel inspired to create a project using beautiful Dusty Attic products!  As always I just want you all to know you can find retailers for Dusty Attic in the right side column of my blog (under the Dusty Attic DT photo of me), and I can let you know as well that I was recently at Natasha's Shop 'Moments of Tranquility' and she has a nice big selection of DA products available for online shopping there.  xo

 

NEW Happy Tails {Bo Bunny}

My puppy Zoe, is the funniest, shaggiest dog, full of personality!  Since she was a pup she always had this adorable little tuft of hair that sticks up from the top of her head. In this photo she was rolling around on the couch and got herself all static, so her hair was sticking up all over. My daughters were cracking up laughing and just had to take this photo!

 

 

I picked up the soft tan and neutral colors in this collection along with the blue/teals for this layout.  I used the neutral color blooms from the Natural Earth bloom collecitons and the blue bloom from the Denim collection.  I also used some of the pleated fabic strips from the Kraft collection to add more natural elements to the page. 

 

TIP:  I like to save all kinds of odds and ends metal bits in a jar to add extra embellishments to a page.   Recently I made a seating board for my nieces wedding that used loads of small frames.   I didn't need the backing on the frames so I tore off all the little picture hooks/loops.  Here they came in useful as a nice accent on the Kraft strip mixed with a small piece of chain.

 

 

To add a little more 'real' to the cute die cute leash piece, I did a little bit of machine stitching along the edges of the strip.  I also fussy cut some frames (above and below) to accent the page.  Another favourite embellishment I love from the Bo Bunny collections are the buttons and layered chipboard!

 

 

I fussy cut the blue frame from one of the patterned papers to create a frame for my title.  I finished it with a trinket from the brad collection.

 

Bo Bunny Supplies:

Patterned paper: Happy Tails, Fur Fashion, Menagerie, Ruff Life/Happy Tails

Cardstock: Vintage Licorice Dot

Noteworthy: Happy Tails

Combo Stickers: Happy Tails

Layered Chipboard: Happy Tails

Brads: Noteworthy

Washi Tape: Black & White Patterned

Buttons: Happy Tails

Blossoms: Denim Blue, Natural Earth/Dahlia, Natural Earth/Bouquet

Kraft Collection: Kraft Canvas, Pleated Lace

Jewel Flourishes: Frosting Jewels

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  If you have a treasured pet of your own, Happy Tails might just be the collection you are looking for to scrap them! xo

 

Another Video Available from The Scrapbook Diaries!!

 

Just a quick post today to let you all know that Janene at The Scrapbook Diaries has the video tutorial I made for the above layout/kit up for sale now as 'Video Only', as the kit has now completely sold out. 

 

If you are interested in getting this tutorial or any of my other tutorials made for The Scrapbook Diaries you can find them in the right-side column of my blog.  Just click on the link to the video you're interested in and it will take you to the site.

 

I'm excited to share my next layout/tutorial with you all in about a week (Janene is just getting all the yummy goodies together for the kit).  So keep checking back I should have it posted soon!  Thanks for stopping today, hope you all have a fun scrappy week!