Happy National Color Day ~ FotoBella DT

     Happy National Color Day! In honor of this day and my love for color, I made this tag for the FotoBella Design Team using some of the latest Distress Inks.

     For step-by-step instructions and photos, please visit the FotoBella Blog! You can also shop by color at FotoBella for all of your crafting needs. Thanks for visiting!

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Challenges:

Crafty Creations ~ #326 Not a Card

Creative Artiste ~ #19 Anything Mixed Media Goes

Joy ~ Little Yellow Bicycle (Once Upon A Christmas Collection)

Joy is the theme this month at Berry71bleu, so I decided to scrap this old photo of me and my husband on Christmas Eve. I finally broke into my Little Yellow Bicycle (Once Upon a Christmas Collection) that I won from them last year. Lucky me! It really is a beautiful Christmas line!

I got my inspiration from this awesome sketch #104 from Sketchabilities.

I used some Glimmer Mists (Scarlet and Forest Green) to splatter and drip down my page. Then I used my Crafter's Workshop Template (Mini Houndstoooth) with my Distress Inks (Festive Berries, Pine Needles, and Black Soot).I hung the sticker ornaments with some handstitching that I did with silver thread.

I love all of the silver accents that are in this collection, which is the twist  for category 2,  to add silver or gold with red and green for the December Four Categories Challenge @ Scrapbook.com. I made the flowers and leaves from LYB Papercrafting kit. I used silver paint around the edges and then some Smooch and Stickles on top. I also used silver paint around the papers. This is my example for the monthly stamping challenge that I host @ Scrapbook.com, with the twist to use any type of holiday stamp. Here I stamped the North Pole postage in red, but in real life it's straight across the page and not skewed like it is in the photo. I also stamped the reindeer and "magical" in black, and the pine branches were embossed using Ranger Embossing Antiquities in Topiary.

I used vellum tape strips in the background, and vellum for the journaling. Here's a closer look.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Read em and weep

I had a blast playing with my stamps on this page that I made from white cardstock, except for the black matting on the top photo of my Mom and Brother. I used 6 different stamp sets including the title, and used a toilet paper roll to stamp the circles on the bottom.

I was inspired by this awesome sketch #4 used for the Monthly Sketch Challenge @ Scrapbook.com

I tore diagonal strips of paper which were first colored with Distress inks and stamped in different patterns using Jet Black Archival Ink. I also splattered some black soot reinker throughout the page and onto the flowers. Here's a closer look at the journaling and some of the poker chips which were stamped and embossed using Ranger super fine detail black embossing powder.

Thanks for stopping by!

Devil's night

With Halloween less than a week away now, I decided to scrap my photos from last year. I struggled a bit with choosing what papers to pick, since my son's red devil costume kept throwing me off. But I finally settled on some old Basic Grey (Indian Summer) and some red papers from even older lines, and this is what I came up with.

My starting point was this AWESOME sketch for the October 2 page Sketch Challenge @ Scrapbook.com. Isn't it cool? I'm sure I'll use it again!

I also wanted some flames on here, so I drew and cut out my own flame stencils, and used them with some Glimmer Mists on white cardstock. The tree on the left was cut out with my Cricut Expression (October 31st) and masked with some black Glimmer Mist. I inked the title with  Distress Inks (festive berries, spiced marmalade, and mustard seed) after cutting it out with my Cricut (Storybook) cartridge.

I used the same Martha Stewart border punch (Garden rail) on both pages, and finished it off with some hand stitching along the right.

Thanks for looking!

Fishville Flower Tutorial

Happy Labor Day Weekend!!! Before searching out some sales and spending time with family, I wanted to share my latest work with you, including another flower tutorial.

These gorgeous colors were inspired by the August Design Seeds Challenge at Scrapbook.com.I did the twist with my distressed sharp corners. It's also my entry for the August 5 Ingredients Challenge to use
1.teal
2.patterned paper background
3.buttons
4.2 photos
5.paper strips

I used foam Thicker's for the title and shaded the bottom alphas with Distress Ink (peacock feathers and spiced marmalade).

To make my paper strips I started with a sheet of white cardstock, which I misted with Glimmer Mists (Bahama blue, Valencia, It's black,  and dark purple), and Lindy's Stamp Gang Mist (Tibetan Poppy Teal). After it dried, I tore the strips and used water to curl the edges over. Then I applied Stickles (mermaid) over the strips to make them sparkle. After layering them together I glued down some fibers and yarns to give them even more texture.

While going through my stash of handmade flowers, I found the perfect one with the top smaller one next to the title. There's so many fun color choices you can make with these, that I decided to make some more to share with you!

I started by cutting some flowers out of white cardstock using my Cricut (Storybook cartridge). Make sure to use the shadow feature and the shift button before pressing S, which will say hibiscus. Cut one at 3", 2", 1 1/2", and 2 at 1".

Using some scissors, cut the stems off.

Pick 3 different inks and use your blending tool to apply them to your flowers. I used spiced marmalade, peacock feathers, and evergreen bough).

Then wet your flowers and scrunch them from the centers.

After opening them up I shaped the petals towards the middle. For the bud I scrunched my smallest 1" flower and opened up a petal or 2 to fold over. It's kinda hard to explain so I hope you can tell from the photo.

Starting with the largest flower on the bottom, layer and glue the rest of your flowers. Cut the middle bud a little at the end, before gluing in the center of your flower.

Your flower should now look like this. If you want to give it some shimmer like I did, then just add some Glimmer Mist (dazzling diamond).

The flower on top was made the same way, except I switched the orange marmalade out for dusty concord instead. I'm sure you can come up with a color combo that'll be just right for your page!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Fishing on Father's Day

Now that this hectic month has finally settled down a little, I was able to play with my new Bo Bunny "Trail Mix" collection. This is my new favorite line from them at the moment, and love how it looks with these photos from Father's Day a couple of years ago. I just want to point out that I didn't do any fishing here nor do I ever! Lol!

This is based off of this fun and creative sketch, done for the August Sketch Challenge at Scrapbook.com.It is also my entry for the August Color Challenge to use yellow, green, and brown with the twist of using nature photos. 

I started by masking the trees in the background using some mists. I inked and water distressed all of my edges. I used the cardstock stickers to make my title and for the journaling stips on the right. The fish were cut out from pp and then applied with Glossy Accents to make them shiny.

The flowers were left over's from my handmade stash that I altered a bit from the original. I thought I had made a tutorial for them, but I guess not, since I couldn't find them. The green Petaloo vines were a RAK from Flying Unicorn. Thanks Alda! 

And thank YOU for stopping by!

Technique Tuesday for BOAF "Mixed with Glitz"

Mixed media that is. I had so much fun using a mix of  techniques on this page that I made, using the Color me happy collection from Glitz design that came in the new August kit at BOAF! I  just found this photo of my son when he was just 2 years old a couple of weeks ago, and thought it would be perfect with all of the rainbow of  colors. He lays with his elbows out just like his dad. Lol!

I was inspired by this sketch used for the August Sketch Challenge at Scrapbook.com.

After choosing black cardstock for my background, I rounded the corners and distressed the other side of the "color me happy hearts" paper. Then I lightly used some of my mists, most of which I've gotten from past kits. Starting on the left is Mister Huey's sunshine, which actually comes out more of an orange, which is why I also used marigold Glimmer mist. The chalkboard Glimmer mists are mantis and cornflower daze. I tried to keep most of the misting in the center of the page and made a huge boo boo on the left side. Thankfully the striped paper covered it right up.

After that dried I applied some gesso onto this polka dotted stencil from the Crafter's Workshop. I placed the stencil along the top right and bottom left of the page. 

Once it dried, I broke out my Distress inks and my grid stamp from Tim Holtz, using it along the bottom and right side edges of where I knew I wanted to place my photo. Then I used it again on the light blue cardstock I matted my photo on. I used a zigzag stamp for the yellow circle and a dotted one for the green circle. The light blue cardstock comes with the main kit, but the yellow and green are extras that you can buy here.

To finish off this page I decided to use the transparent heart peek-a-boo as a pattern for my hand stitching, poking holes all around it. I also added some buttons from my own stash to go over the circles that I cut out from the Glitz polka paper, which is also an extra. 

Here's a closer look at some of the misting, gesso, and stitch work. 

I hope you enjoyed the different techniques that I shared with you, and that you'll try them for yourself! 

Berry Blossom Tutorial

"Grow" is the theme this month at Once Upon A Sketch,  and what better way to show growth than with the beauty of new blossoms on the trees, like the ones I captured here, while on a walk around my neighborhood a few Springs ago.

I was instantly inspired by this sketch and will probably use it again.

This also my entry for the Photo Inspiration Challenge at BOAF. I have so many paint swatches and used strips of them behind the photo. The red rose below the journaling and the circles in the centers of the larger pink flowers are rub-ons that I've had for years, making this my entry for the Four Categories Challenge. I started this page by masking the doily on the upper left, and using the actual mask as a stamp for the doily on the bottom right.

I used a real doily which I inked, cut a circle from the center with scallop scissors, and then cut it in half. The largest flower was stamped, embossed, inked, and fussy cut from white cardstock.

I used a light pink vellum to print my journaling on, and glued it behind this scallop wood veneer, which like the rest, were sprayed with Lindy Stamp Gang mist. The doily behind that was stamped just like the one in the upper right corner, but with different colored inks.

Now to make the Berry Blossoms! I used my Cricut (Serenade cartridge) to cut my flowers from white cardstock. Cut 2 flower 5's at 2" and 2 plant 3's at 1 1/2".

I used Distress Ink (picked raspberry) and my blending tool to color the flowers pink.

Then I dipped my flower into water and starting in the center I folded and crumbled it. I opened it up and while it was still wet I used my Distress Ink (aged mahogany) to go over the edges and the lines that I just made by crumbling it.

Once it's dry, layer your 2 flowers together with some glue. I use Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue.

To make the centers, use Distress Ink (seedless preserves) and your blending tool to color the tips leaving the middle white.

Now curl your tips up and over using the end of a paintbrush or some tool to help curl your petals.I used a rub-on tool.

Then glue your centers together like this.

For the center I used this circle rub-on that I've had forever, but you could use bling, buttons, brads, or whatever you'd like.

For my smaller blossoms I used pink puffy paint for the centers. Here's a close-up of them both finished on my page.

Thanks for looking!