Two for the Price of One

I think I've been very clever this week, I've used one LO sketch and created 2 totally different layouts.  I followed this sketch from Artfull crafts

 

Here is my 1st layout which I will be entering in the Artfull crafts monthly challenge.

 



This was fun to make, using lots of plain, bright coloured paper & scraps, matching the colours in the photo.  Using the TH filmstrip allows lots more photos to be added also.

All the time I was making 'Legoland' I had ideas churning around in my head for a totally different looking layout using this same sketch and this is how it has turned out, looking nothing like above.

Lots of different elements have been used here.  I started by spraying some Dylusions Ink Spray - Lemon Zest in the areas where the photos were going, then used Dylusions Crushed Grape to colour the burlap, Elegant Frame DA869, Heart Arrow #2 DA1026.  Dylusions Slate Grey was used on the Page Pebble #10 DA11154. All sprays were dripped over the page.  Prima bling and random flowers finish the page.

 

 

 I am entering this one into the Dusty Attic challenge and have used their Inspiration Board for the colours.

 

It really helps when you've got great photos to work with, both layouts were make with photos I 'borrowed' from facebook.

Male Birthday card

Here's a card with a bit of a difference today - a birthday card for my friends husband.  This shows how versatile the gorgeous Maja Designs paper collections really are.  At first glance they look all sweet and florally but they really cater for all interests.

 

I've used papers from both the 'Vintage Autumn Basics' and 'Life by the Sea' collections, which I've distressed, embossed and layered on my manila card along with some burlap & string.

 

I've used the colours and am entering this in the Maja moodboard which features colours from their latest collection 'Summer Crush' which is so fresh and beachy feeling (can't wait to get my hands on some).

 



Hauby turns 70

Don't you love it when you've been saving special photo's for a special project, then when completed you are 100% proud of how it turns out.  I've had this photo (and others) for sometime, of our friend, the retired race commentator Keith Haub's 70th birthday party.

I've used lots of different supplies on this layout, which started with a Heartfelt Creations 'Countryside Evening' paper, with layers of Maja, Kaisercraft and BoBunny scraps.  I've distressed, inked and punched edges.  The burlap helps with the 'male' feel of the page. 
Under the layers I've attempted to add texture using micro beads attached with crackle paste thru a stencil.  More crackle is added on some of the Dusty Attic chipboard.  The Prima bottle caps are also filled with micro beads.

 

I've used lots of Dusty Attic chipboard, Pointer Hands, Music, Page pebbles, Jumbo cogs, Hinges, Hashtag sayings.

Prima Art basics used, 3D Matte Gel, Texture/crackle paste, Micro beads in bronze & splash.

 



This is the sketch I've followed which is the monthly LO sketch from Artfull Crafts.  I'll also be sharing this layout with my newly found friends at Finnabair & Friends FB page 

Tane Mahuta

Time for another challenge at Southern Girls Challenge and the theme this time is STARS.  I wanted to do something a little different so have let stencils and this awesome photo speak for themselves.

 

I've started with my ever favourite Kaisercraft paper, from 'Precious Moments' & 'Timeless Classics' collections.  I've added some modelling paste thru this gorgeous Imagine if . . star stencil, distressed, stitched, then added lace & burlap to the layers.

 

Handmade burlap bloom, crocheted & prima flowers keep the page uncomplicated while matching the colour scheme perfectly.

 

I LOVE the kiwiana chipboard available at Imagine if . . , infact they are the only company that I'm aware of that produces this type of product.  Here I've added some flocking to the koru pieces.

 

This felt kiwi is a perfect companion for the mighty Tane don't you think?  As he IS the star of the forest I hope I have done him proud.  'Tāne Mahuta (Lord of the Forest) is New Zealand’s largest known living kauri tree and without doubt its most famous, it is believed to be over 200 years old.

Thanks for joining us here at Southern Girls Challenge, I hope this has inspired you to try something a little different.

Summer fun

As soon as I saw this photo on Facebook I just knew I had to make a summery page using it, so thanks Sarah for sharing it with us.  This was also a great chance to use other summery supplies, both paper and Imagine if . .  goodies.

 

Gotta love the paper from the new Kaisercraft 'Sandy Toes' collection, which was distressed to the max, then I used some modelling paste thru a stencil before spritzing with 2 different blue coloured Lindys Stamp Gang sprays.  Corrugated card was distressed, as was this gorgeous photo.   I left the chipboard title raw as the colours match well.  Muslim & felt flowers soften this area. 

 

 

Flowers from BoBunny and Prima compliment this new 'wispy burlap flower' I've just learnt to make.  Take this link here to see the easy tutorial I followed.

 

Prima bling, buttons and this lovely Imagine if . .  quote finish the page nicely.

Thanks for visiting, I hope this leaves you with the warm fuzzies.

 

Imagine if products used:  circle stencil

                                           spring leaves

                                           Seasons in Time Quote sheet

                                           Adventure

 

 

Stocking for Santa to fill

Jo threw us a real curve ball for this weeks blog hop, as in our box of goodies she sent was a burlap stocking in all its naked glory just waiting to be decorated.  Oh dear, what to do ? ? ?  After thinking long and hard I had several ideas going on in my head but when I actually sat down to attempt something nothing was working . . . duh! !  So off to my local Spotlight store with the idea to buy some red & white gingham for my next idea . . . came home with a bag full of other goodies and no gingham.  This is what I ended up with after the rather shaky start.

 

 

After stripes of fabric & trims coloured the background, I then added lots of Imagine if . .  xmas chipboard pieces, along with ribbon, handmade poinsettia & gorgeous holly leaves.



 

This is the 'raw' product, which upon first sight was quite daunting.



 

Here is the stocking with the background stripes attached, now ready for the decorations.  Everything was hot glued in place - I have a burnt finger to prove it.

 

Enjoy these close ups of the decorations.

 

 The poinsettia was relatively each to make, follow the tutorial here and I found a easy to follow tutorial for the double bow on You Tube here.

This has been quite a tricky project to complete within the time frame I now have available at this busy time of year.  I can't wait to see what the other girls on the Design Team have come up with  on their stockings.  If you are following the blog hop correctly you would have started with the newsletter from Jo, worked thru the girls to Carol before me, then follow this link to go back to the Lilian who is at the top of the list.

Imagine If products used: stockings    
                                          candles
                                          frame
                                          bows
                                          gingerbread men, candy canes & santas hat
                                          mini xmas tree
                                          jandals
                                          reindeer

We hope this has really put you in the xmas mood, as there's not too many sleeps to go now.

Life's a Beach

For this week's blog hop with Imagine if . .  Jo has asked half the team to show the fab new MDF xmas trees, and the 2nd half to show off more of the oversized tags.  I got to do the tags, which allows me to get a sneak look at the xmas trees before I have to do mine for next week.

I am trying hard to make all these projects useable, so decided to attach a spine between 2 tags and create a functional notebook.

 

First I had to attach the spin with some adhesive backed canvas, then all surfaces were covered with this gorgeous paper from Prima 'Seashore' collection, all edges were then inked with TH Distress Ink 'Frayed Burlap'.  A burlap trim was attached to the outside of the spine to cover the rough edges.

 



 

Then the fun began in earnest.  These gorgeous vintage beach prints are on a 'Paper Arts' paper available at Imagine if . .  , bling, sea creatures and a few flowers finish the fun vintage look.

 

 

 Inside the photos have been place under a chipboard film strip.  The jotter pad was cut to fit then slipped into a slit on the back page for easy replacement.

Products available at  Imagine if . . are:           Tags
                                                                Seahorse family
                                                                Sea shells
                                                                Film Strip
                                                                Paper Arts papers
                                                                mini roses
                                                                TH Distress Inks

 Follow the links to check out all the other tags and xmas trees that the girls have created this week.  Before me you would seen Carol's tag and as I'm last on the list go back to the beginning and check out Katrina's xmas tree.
                                                    

We are Family

Another busy week  has been had by us all yet again, so instead of a blog hop as we usually do just follow the links at the top of the Imagine if . . home page.

This week we are all showing off the new range of frames, and from what I've seen before this has even gone live . . . WOW . . . there is some amazing work being done.  As I'm now really busy at work I've stuck with something fairly simple, which I'm sure showcases the Imagine if . .  products well.

 

Lately I've been spoilt with lots gorgeous photos, which are usually mostly 'girly', so I'm loving this chance to show off a male page. 

Another Kaisercraft paper has been used, this one is from the 'Honey Chai' collection and is a lot bluer than the photo is showing.  I've distressed, inked & stamped the background, then underlayed some burlap & fluffy trim.  I've used 2 Imagine if . .  frames on this lovely 4" x 6" photo, which were firstly embossed to give a bit of texture, then painted, inked then finished with some crackle accents (they look great in person).  Cogs and arrows add more 'male' items to the page.



 

And lastly, no matter how hard I try I just can't seem to do a page without using some flowers.  I love this big blue Bo Bunny bloom, it works well with the I am Roses daisy and the whole colour theme of the page.

Thanks for visiting, please take a look at what the other DT ladies have created for you also, you'll be amazed, and also check out all the gorgeous products now available on the Imagine if . .  website.  As always your comments are greatly appreciated.

mihi Tessa

In todays layout I've used a gorgeous photo of my niece celebrating the most important day of her life - her graduation.  Tessa had a rough time getting through her school days, so now finally she is on top of the world after years of catch up and hard grind.  Well done Tessa.

 

In keeping with the kiwiana theme introduced by the gorgeous feather cloak being worn I've used only green's & brown's throughout.  Believe it or not this stunning HOTP paper actually has pretty pink flowers in the bottom corner, but gesso and a strategically placed flower hid them nicely.  The papers have been distressed & inked, the stitching is on top of printed stitching (which actually looked cheap & tacky).  Burlap & the HOTP trim border the layers perfectly.  The awesome koru from Imagine if . .  have been flocked along with 'TESSA', then glimmer misted  just to tone the colours down a bit.  Felt kiwi add more kiwiana to the page.

 

I found a tutorial for these stunning burlap flowers on You Tube, take a look here.  Skeleton leaves, pheasant feathers & beads finish the embellishments.

 

Good ole Google is very handy, here I've used Google translations to add yet more kiwiana.  "mihi Tessa i runga i to koutou puta" translates to "Congratulations Tessa on your graduation".  I've used cuttlebug dies for the lettering.

 

I'm really please with how the page has turned out with all the embellishments from Imagine if . ..  Most of these can be found in felt and chipboard and are all proudly NZ made.  Go and check out their range (which is being added to daily) for that little something different.  Its the only place I am aware of to find such a great range of kiwiana. 

 

For a closer look of this layout and many others, come and visit the Imagine if . . stall at SENZ, where Jo and her helpers will also be running some classes and have some make & takes for you all.

 



May IARDC

May in the Northern Hemisphere is spring, whereas here in New Zealand we are in the full flight of autumn.  So here is my entry for the I am Roses monthly challenge which is themed "Hello Spring".  They require a spring tag featuring two of their gorgeous products.

 

I adore using the burlap with the softness of flowers, lace & ribbons.  Firstly I stitched around the card (sadly the pink cotton is really too faint, but it is there), then glued on the inked branches and punched leaves.  On top I've used cherry blossoms in 2 colours & the adorable little S10 blooms.  The felt butterfly comes from Imagine if . . .  Random scraps make up the tassle.

 

Thank you for visiting, please leave a comment.

Kids on a Fence Post

Wow I've really outdone myself here on this collection of awesome photos, but I can't take all the credit, I got the idea from one of my favourite crafters of all time.  Gabbi recently shared with us her Wall Hanging, so this is my take on her creation.

 

 I have added lots more to her basic idea by adding photos, flowers and all these gorgeous creatures by Imagine If.  You'll just fall in love with these adorable owls & butterflies, which I kept very plain so not to detract from the detail of the whole project.  All the panels have been created on corrugated card, with the name panel measuring 4" x 7", and the remainder being 7" x 7".

 

Firstly I created this name panel. I have used 2 papers from Heartfelt Creations throughout, tying together the pinks & blues with the basic brown of TH Walnut Stain.  Lots of distressing, gesso, texture paste, templates, stamping & inking created the backgrounds.  I have used burlap throughout as another anchor.   

 

On Panel 1, I've started with a softer pinkish paper and kept the whole panel relatively 'light' and feminine, the butterfly & felt flowers are finished with pink stickles.

 

Panel 2 has some layering of the different papers on the corner, the bottom layer being burlap. More texture paste used through templates here again.

 

Panel 3 is my favourite panel I think.  I love this photo the best, and think all the colours really blend well here with the blue paper and felt flowers.

 

All panels were then attached to a rustic fence post that hubby had ripped down for me.  It can now be easily hung on the wall.

 

I think this has been a real fun way to introduce you to these fun little owls and hope you are following all my 'teamies' at Imagine If to see what fantastic ideas they come up with.

Memory Box

Welcome back again, today I'm sharing another gorgeous altered box, this time its an awesome new release from Imagine If .   As you all know I LOVE making these boxes, and this one is all the more special I think because of its size and the fact it has a hinged lid.

 

The dimensions of this MDF box are 10" x 6 3/4" x 2".  Once all assembled (and hubby had attached the hinges with rivets) the entire box got a coat of dark brown paint.  After much deliberation I decided on using this gorgeous Kaisercraft 'Timeless Collection' paper to cover the exterior.  All edges were inked with TH Walnut Stain.  I covered the top & bottom edges with this pretty little cotton lace, then finished the top edge off with some cream pearl trim from Retail Girl.

 

Next came the flowers, and don't we all love flowers.  I wanted to bring out the red flowers from the paper so I had to make these to match, you can find my tutorial here.  The green & white rosette flowers are also from Retail Girl, with the remainder being I am Roses blooms.   

 

The little cones were found under a tree on the side of the road, and some random leaves and pearls finish this part of the embellishments. 

 

This is a quote that can be found on the 'Dreams' sheet, I thought it fitted the idea of a keepsafe box, topped off with a dainty little chipboard butterfly which was sprayed with Dylusion Ink after I had embossed it.

 

This lovely little chipboard corner flourish was painted, then I flocked the leaves to give a bit more dimension.

 

And what better way to open your box than with another string of pearls, topped off with yet another lovely little blue butterfly.

 

The interior has been kept very plain, all I did here was a coat of brown paint then adhered the burlap, to keep with the rustic, vintage theme.

 

I've had fun making this box, but not as much fun as Jo and her team are having producing all these fabulous new products for all of us to 'play' with.  Keep visiting to see what all the other lovely ladies do with their boxes, and to see what else Jo has given us to 'introduce' to you all.