Best Friends

My BFF, Carmel, and I don't take photos together often enough.  

This photo was taken in early February at The Villa Italian Restaurant, 
in downtown Lake Charles (the city where we live).  
We showed up at the restaurant wearing the exact same colors!!! 

These little "coincidences" seem to happen very often with us. : )
(Note: Carmel is the gorgeous one on the left)

I created duplicate layouts so both Carmel and I could each have one.  I framed them ready for hanging.  

The only difference in the two layouts are the brick chipboard bits.  
I cut them as closely as possible.

This has been by far the most I have ever intently concentrated on a layout.   

Each one is virtually identical to the other. 

I began by stenciling small areas with white modeling paste.
Check out the layouts side by side with arrows noting the identical stenciled areas.

I later added more stenciling (identical of course) to the top area of the pages.

I chose the beautiful page Maçonnerie in the Blue Fern Studios Timeless collection.  

The roses are beautiful & I love the brick wall print (there's a brick wall behind us in our photo).

So, to accentuate the brick print, I used BFS chipboard Shabby Brick Bits.

I simply inked them in ColorBox Fluid Chalk ink Dark Brown and then randomly added a mix of 
"Express-O Yourself" & "Third Place" prills, adhering them with matte gel.

I die cut the piece behind the photo using the largest die from Spellbinders "Style Nouille" die set.

Here's a close up before it was adhered to the layout with the photo on it.

I fell in love with the design of this die!

The bottom left corner of this stunning paper has beautiful roses in burgundy tones.  

I fussy cut the corner piece from another page of the same paper, inked the edges in dark brown;
then adhered it with foam tape to add dimension and interest.  

A pretty arrangement with coordinating color tones using Wild Orchid Crafts flowers 

was placed above the dimensional cut piece.

I scanned the printed butterfly from the Maçonnerie page and cut out a couple of them to place on the layout.  I made them each a pair of antennae with 22 gauge black wire. 
They were placed on the page with foam dots for dimension.

The title is printed using the backside of page "Grand Sequel" in the BFS Memoires collection.

 The color of it is exactly what I wanted.  

I used Britannic Bold font for the word "BEST" and Freebooter Script font for the word "friends".   

The title was then cut using the smallest die in the gorgeous Spellbinders "Style Nouille" die set.  

The gorgeous corner chipboard pieces are Blue Fern Studios Symphony Corners 

that I heat embossed with their Imagine Ink color Garnet.

Here are a few close ups of the flower arrangements I designed.
Each also has Tattered Lace leaf die cuts in green and the smaller Meadow Leaves die in black.

The "42" represents the number of years that Carmel and I have been best friends. 

Imagine being blessed with a wonderful best friend that you trust unconditionally 
and have never even once gotten mad at each other....for 42 very strong years!!!  
Carmel is my Earth Angel because God knew I needed her in my life.

Adhered to the backside of each layout

Thanks so very much for stopping by!

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Lisa : )

Products used:

Blue Fern Studios papers - 

for main page & leaf die cuts

Backside for under the photo

Backside for the title

Blue Fern Studios chipboard - 

Shabby Brick Bits

Symphony Corners

Blue Fern Imagine Ink embossing powder - Garnet

Spellbinders Designer Series Art Nouveau "Style Nouille" die set by Stacey Caron Design -

Tattered Lace dies - 

Ornate Leaves

Meadow Leaves

Sizzix Big Shot - 

Wild Orchid Crafts flowers - 

Red Mix Sweetheart Blossoms

Earth Tone Wild Roses 30mm

Red Mix MINI Sweetheart Blossoms

Red Mix Cottage Roses 25mm

Earth Tone Cottage Roses 25mm

Red Mix Trellis Roses 35mm

StampersAnonymous-Tim Holtz stencil - Splatters

US Artquest prills - 

Express-O Yourself (Rock & Roll set)

Third Place (Bright Ideas set)

ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink - Dark Brown

Nightfall set

Liquitex Professional Mediums - Flexible Modeling Paste & Matte Gel
1/2" Circle Punch

I'm a Flower

Well, it was over due time for a Lucy layout!  

I wanted to have "real" fun and dig out some very old stash to create a simple Spring time, girly layout.  

Lucy really loved my birthday flowers (this was in February) so she would sit next to them, but I always tried to keep one eye on her (including behind my head-LOL) because she's very naughty.  She did accomplish shoving her nose in the middle of the flowers but luckily I stopped her before she could rip off the petals!   >^..^<

Bazzill's "Vibrant Blue" cardstock closely matches the color of Lucy's eyes : ).

A flower stencil was applied with white modeling paste.

I used a flower punch and added white pearls along both sides of the layout.  

Then I inked the edge of the whole layout with pretty Perfect Plumeria color.  

What better for a title than "I'm a Flower" - LOL!

The words are die cut using bright yellow cardstock from my paper scrap.

This cute wood flower with stem & leaves was perfect to use for the 'word' Flower in the title!

I simply heat embossed the flower in "Snow" and the stem/leaves with Blue Fern Studios Imagine Ink color Grassy Knoll. I really love this color because it's got two shades of green in it!

The smaller of the two pieces from The Dusty Attic Paisley chipboard fit perfectly under the photo.

I emboss-painted it (same technique used on my Mardi Gras Paisley layout).

I used Blue Ferns Studios Imagine Ink EPs Frozen, Seven Seas & Grassy Knoll.  

The Plum & Snow colors are Michael's Recollections.

You can see a hint of pink on the white paisley and that's because I first used BFS Pink Peppermint.  
Gorgeous color, but it just seemed out of place, so I double heat embossed white over it.  
Also, dots of Ranger Liquid Pearls color Daffodil were added.

I have a LOT of bling in my stash.  I don't use it much anymore, 
but I did remember that I had these cute little blue rhinestone flowers.

Look at the ultra-cute Jolee's Boutique dragonfly!

I was happy to find cute little resin daisies in my stash that are just over 1/4" diameter
 (seen in the photo above & on the paisley chipboard). 
 Along with other older flowers, I added in newer mulberry paper ones from Wild Orchid Crafts.  
White textured cardstock was used for the die cut leaves. 

Thanks for taking a peek at my happy Springy Lucy layout!

Have a great week! Lisa : )

Products used:

The Dusty Attic chipboard - Paisley #3

Tattered Lace dies - Ornate Leaves

Sizzix - Tim Holtz strip die - Typeset

Sizzix - Big Shot

EK Success edge punch - Pointed Flower

Prima 6x6 Stencil - Poppies

Jolee's Boutique - Dimensional Dragonflies

Blue Fern Studios Imagine Ink Embossing Powders - 

Frozen

Grassy Knoll

Seven Seas

Pink Peppermint

Michael's Recollections - wood flower, embossing powders "Snow" & "Plum"

Ranger - Liquid Pearls "Daffodil"
Tsukineko Versa Magic Chalk Ink - "Perfect Plumeria"
Liquitex Professional Flexible Modeling Paste
Want2Scrap - white pearls
Hobby Lobby - White flower stamens

Flowers:
mini resin Daisies
Recollections - blue bling flowers

Prima Mini Sachet - Sunrise

Prima Sculpture Flowers #920982

Prima Lil Missy #571696

Wild Orchid Crafts - 

30mm Yellow Cottage Roses

2-tone Baby Pink Heather

2-tone Pink Champagne Open Roses 20mm

Blue Open Roses 10mm

Fuchsia Pink Open Roses 10mm