Saturday, August 23, 2014

Hibiscus

Hi there!  Thank you so much visiting my blog today!

In the winter of 2013, we had a few days of "freeze" way down south here near the Gulf of Mexico.  I really thought many of my plants had died but was pleasantly surprised to see that my Dad's hibiscus (Dad passed away in 2011 and I brought all of his potted flowers home with me) survived! These are a couple of photos I took on 8/2/14. I know that Dad would be so happy and proud that his flowers are being cared for and enjoyed. I am scrapbooking flowers that I have grown through the years, so I always try to keep these pages fairly 'simple'. For me, it is about the photos after all - to reminisce about the flowers I have been able to grow over the years.
I loved the colors in the DCWV collection "The Coral Couture" so I used nothing but these papers from this collection to do this LO. I stenciled some of the main page using homemade texture paste and after placing the photos decided to add flat back aqua colored pearls (12mm & 16mm sizes) from Wild Orchid Crafts. The stencil is Heidi Swapp 12x12 Circle Lattice. I recently saw a wonderful LO that had paper rosettes on it and that inspired me to make some for this LO. It has been a very long time since I've made them, so it was very enjoyable for me - especially since the gold colored buttons came from my dear mother's sewing stash. I used decorative 'wavy' design scissors to enhance two side edges of the LO and one of the photos background page.
I absolutely LOVE the alpha dies I have by Life Style Crafts named "Espresso" - so I made the title from these.
I hope you enjoyed viewing this layout just as much as I enjoyed making it!
Have a truly wonderful day!  Lisa :)

Products used:
DCWV "The Coral Couture" collection & cardstock collection
    -Heidi Swapp 12x12 Stencil "Circle Lattice"
Life Style Crafts Alpha Die “Espresso” (for the title)
Wild Orchid Crafts - Flat back Aqua color pearls  (12mm & 16mm sizes)
Deco scissors “wavy” design
“The Paper Studio” brad
Buttons from my dear mother’s sewing stash
ColorBox pigment inks used: Aqua, Burnt Sienna, Butterscotch, Pink Sky

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Swallowtail

Thanks for coming to my blog today!  On August 16th, I looked out my kitchen windows into my front garden and THERE IT WAS - a gorgeous swallowtail butterfly flitting around in my flowers!  I ran like a ‘crazy’ woman with my arms up in the air to get my camera, while begging God to make it stay there.  My pets were all looking at me with ‘concern’ – LOL!   Luckily my prayer was answered!  I was able to get a couple of pretty good close ups of this beautiful creature even though it was flying around so fast from flower to flower!  HOLY MOLY WOW!  This was such an exciting moment for me because it’s rare to get a glimpse of beautiful butterflies like this where I live.  I guesstimate it measured 3-1/2” from its head to the tip of the tail piece on the hind wing.  It flew away with the same grace of a large wingspan bird.  Awesome! 

The Kaisercraft paper I chose to create this layout was such a close color match with the golden color in the butterfly!    I decided to ‘dress up’ the paper a little bit by using stick on black rhinestones in some of the diamond shapes and also emboss a harlequin design where the title would be placed.  I also embossed a diamond design on cardstock to match the fuchsia color of the flowers in the photos.  If you look closely, there is blue color on the hind wings of this beautiful butterfly, so I used blue paper to frame the large photo.

Here is how my layout turned out:

 
 
 
This close up shows the embossed harlequin design using 'kaleidoscope' powder. 
 
 
Now for the WOWZA
I sprayed two white Prima zipper flowers with Lindy's Starbursts. 
I decided to use two different colors on each flower. 
I fully sprayed and dried the large flower; then I sprayed right into the center and let the beautiful blue color spray mix a bit with the gorgeous green.  WOW!  STUNNING!
On the smaller flower I covered up the flower petals when spraying the center so that the two colors would not mix together - happy! The shimmer in these sprays are just phenomenal and I'm always so pleased with the outcome!

 
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!  Lisa : )
 
 
Products used:

Kaisercraft ‘Porcelain Rose Collection’ papers (main page & blue piece under large photo)
    -Martha Stewart “Stained Glass Pattern” punch all over the page
Recollections cardstock color: Fuchsia
    -Sizzix Textured Impressions embossing folder “Diamond”
TCW (The Crafter’s Workshop) 6x6 Template “mini Harlequin”
    -heat embossed with Stampendous! “Kaleidoscope”
Webster’s Pages alpha stickers “In Love” for the title
    -Michael’s brand ‘clear’ glitter glue (more like a kaleidoscope effect)
Want2Scrap stick on black baby bling rhinestones (to make the diamond shapes)
Prima zipper flowers “Queen Mary White”
    -Recollections bling brads added to the centers
    -large flower used Lindy’s Starbursts “Lucky Shamrock Green” (“Bachelor Button Blue” in the center)
    -small flower used Lindy’s Starbursts “Glory of the Seas Gold” (“Lucky ShamrockGreen” in the center)
Other flowers: Recollections, Prima & Wild Orchid Crafts

 
 


Saturday, August 16, 2014

1920 ~ Lindy's sprays

Hi everyone!  I made another layout featuring the fascinating and beautiful Evelyn Nesbit Thaw (early 1900’s Super model/actress).  It's always so enjoyable scrapping her!  You can see below in previous posts that I have scrapped her many times before.  Born in 1884, she is 35 years old in the photo I picked for this layout.  I didn’t want to over embellish and possibly take away from this striking photo, but I did want to incorporate some 1920’s vintage elements.   I made an embellishment of a lady with the typical 1920’s hair style who is smoking with a feminine cigarette holder (I made the 'smoke' with cotton).  I also added a pearl necklace tied in a knot and the ever popular t-strap shoes of the day. 
I had so much fun making this LO using several processes & techniques including embossing powder painting; microbeads; stenciling; inking; recoloring with Lindy’s gorgeous sprays and creating a rusted look with Distress Stickles.
Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a great day!  Lisa :)
 
 
An embellishment, such as a piece of chipboard, can become so interesting by using the technique called "embossing powder painting" (using more than one embossing color on a single piece).   I've used this technique many times in the past when scrapping, but only recently found out what it is called. 
I'm quite pleased with how the cotton 'smoke' turned out.  :) 
 
 
Photos can never truly capture the gorgeous shimmery colors in the Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays.  I've said it many times on other posts on scrapbook.com how Lindy's sprays can really put the 'WOW' in a layout!  I am a huge fan and love their products. 
Hope you try some in your layouts - you will not be disappointed!
 
Products used:
 

Kaisercraft ‘Sweet Nothings Collection’ – “With Love” (main page) and “Devoted” (under the photo)
    -Tim Holtz Distress Ink “Vintage Photo” on the edges
    -Martha Stewart “French Scroll” punch
Kaisercraft alpha-numeric chipboard “Alpha 1” for the title
    -gesso coated
    -heat embossed with Ranger Antiquities “Verdigris”
    -Tim Holtz Distress Stickles “Tea Dye”
The Crafters Workshop 12 x 12 Template “Brocade”
    -stenciled with texture paste
    -inked on and around the dried stencil
       *Tim Holtz Distress inks “Antique Linen” and “Vintage Photo” using the mini round blending tool
       *ColorBox pigment inks “Teal” and “Burnt Sienna”
Spellbinder’s Nestaboard “Fleur de Lis Rectangles”
    -gesso coated
    -heat embossed with Ranger Antiquities “Verdigris” and Recollections “Carnelian”
    -Tim Holtz Distress Stickles “Tea Dye”
    -1920’s lady smoking with a cigarette holder
       *cotton was used to make the ‘smoke’
Pink lace recolored:
    -heavy spray of Lindy’s Starburst “Jack in the Pulpit Teal
       *toned down the gorgeous teal with a heavy spray of Lindy’s Starburst “Glory of the Seas Gold
The Dusty Attic “Flourish #8”
    -gesso coated
    -acrylic painted with a mixture of cream and tan colors
    -filled the ‘fan’ with Recollections microbeads “Antique Copper”
       *topped with Glossy Accents
    -pigment inked with ColorBox “Creamy Brown”
Recollections vinyl-look flower
    -glued a circle punched pic of 1920’s t-strap shoes to center of flower
    -Wild Orchid Crafts green skeleton leaves recolored:
       *heavy spray of Lindy’s Moon Shadow Mist “Gossamer Gold” then topped with Lindy’s Starburst
Washi Tape
Ribbon Pearls
Momenta metal corner flourish recolored with Tim Holtz “Copper Mixative” alcohol ink
K&Company “Brenda Walton” butterfly
    -handmade antennae added

Monday, August 11, 2014

If nature's beauty....Lindy's Stamp Gang August 2014 Color Challenge

Look at the stunning colors in Lindy's August 2014 Color Challenge! 
Visit their blog for details.... 
http://blog.lindystampgang.com/color-challenge-info/
 
I am so excited that I used every color Starburst Spray in this month's color challenge!  They coordinated perfectly with the photo I chose.   Along with the challenge colors listed below, I also added another Lindy's Starburst Spray "Yellow Rose of Texas" in my layout.
 
 
I also used the following embossing powders that Lindy's chose for this color challenge:
 
 
The full title of my layout is:
 'If nature's beauty on Earth is this astounding ~ Imagine what awaits us in Heaven'.   These were the words that came in my mind when I saw this breathtaking photo.

Using Lindy's Starbursts, I first spot sprayed (not blending together too much) white textured cardstock.  I achieved the look I wanted...each color separate in its own area.  I wanted each of these beautiful colors to individually stand out.
Then I die cut some butterflies; embossed them; then added stick-on pearls & bling for decoration; made the antennae and used foam squares to raise them off the page. 

 
 White flowers were sprayed with Lindy's Starbursts "Sweet Violet Purple Teal",
"Whale Watch Blue", "Hydrangea Blue" and "Maidenhair Fern Green".  Check out the shimmer in these sprays!  Just gorgeous! 
 
Lindy's Starburst spray "Yellow Rose of Texas" is such a stunning yellow! 



 
Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day!  Lisa : )
 
 
Products Used:
 
Recollections (Michael's) White linen textured cardstock
    -Lindy's Starburst sprays (listed above)
Recollections (Michael's) Navy mulberry crinkled cardstock
    -Martha Stewart circle punch "Floral Web"
Sizzix 'Tim Holtz Alterations Movers & Shapers' - "Mini Butterflies Set" die
    -Die cut using chipboard
    -Gesso coated
    -Heat embossed with Lindy's powders (listed above)
Flowers:  Prima "Queen Mary White" zipper flowers
               Prima "Frost Canson II"
Recollections (Michael's) Blue iridescent stick-on flat back rhinestones
ColorBox pigment ink "Cyan" (just on the edge of the layout)