Magical Fairy Layout for Gina's Designs

Today I am sharing a 12 x 12 layout that I adhered to a flat unfinished particle board frame from Michael's.  The Paisley Frame from Gina's Designs surrounds the 5 x 7 opening in the frame and adds dimension.  I decoupaged the design papers directly onto the wood, some of which I tore and layered.  The paper is applied to the wood with matte Mod Podge, and I have tucked some of our intricate doilies in between the layers for added texture and interest.  One of our Garden Fairies watches over the scene in the upper left corner.  I painted the chipboard frame that surrounds the opening with a light coat of gesso followed by Lumiere paints in gold and lavender shades.  The fairy is embossed with shabby beige embossing powder over some glass beads in the wings area.  I also rubbed on some Inka Gold.  Thanks for looking!

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Paisley Frame

Cardstock Doily Set - Intricates

Garden Fairies Large

Other:

Design paper by BoBunny - C'est La Vie Collection

Lumiere paints by Jacquard

Flowers by Recollections and Petaloo

Bird Nest, Resin Topiary and Deer by Prima

Butterflies and Dragonfly by Renea Bouquets

Lila's Wish - A Layout featuring Gina's Designs and Craftsupplies1

Today I'm sharing a layout featuring my cat Delilah for the October cross promotional project with Gina's Designs and Craftsupplies1.  The beautiful parchment flower and leaf clusters from Craftsupplies1, combined perfectly with the chipboard bird cages and flourishes from Gina's Designs.  I painted my chipboard with a light coat of gesso, then colored the pieces with gelatos and a touch of Prima chalk inks.  The crocheted doily underneath the flower cluster at the bottom left is also from craftsupplies1 and came in a package of assorted doilies in different sizes.  The design papers and the doily behind the photo are from the Scraps of Darkness kit club.  

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Scribbled Frames and Lines

Hanging Cages

Feathery Flourishes Set

Fern Fronds

Craftsupplies1

Zibbet

Etsy

Other:

Butterflies by Renea Bouquets

Scraps of Darkness Kit Club

Wooden bird by Pork Shop Show

Paper by Fabscraps - Paint Chic Collection

Sizzix Die (Wish)

Hanging Charm by Prima Vintage Trinkets

A 12 x 12 Framed Layout for Gina's Designs and Kitty's Scrap Post

Hi Crafty Friends!  Today I'm sharing a layout I created using Gina's Designs chipboard and a digital paper kit from Kitty's Scrap Post.  I really enjoy printing my own papers, it's so much more versatile.  This paper kit is gorgeous combined with some Parisian chipboard shapes from Gina's Designs.  I'd been wanting to use our large chipboard Eiffel tower, as well as the pen and ink set, so I was really excited when I saw this paper.   I really love using the unfinished wooden frames from Michael's to enhance my layouts and to give me more room to play with some mixed media techniques.  

To decorate my frame on this project, I printed out some of the design paper onto tissue paper and decoupaged it around the frame.  I simply place  double stick tape on each end of a sheet of printer paper (I used my ATG gun), then lay a sheet of tissue paper over it.  Trim off excess tissue paper before inserting the sheet into your printer.  Over the decoupage I added gesso, and stenciling with crackle paste, and a little stamping here and there.  I also fussy cut some of the elements from the collage sheets included in the kit and incorporated them into my layout and around the frame.  I used my photo printer with matte photo paper to print the vintage lady image which is also included in the kit.  I created the flowers at the bottom right of the frame using dies and leftover scraps of paper from the collection.  

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Eiffel Tower - 8 inch

Pen and Ink Shape Set

Texture Sheet - Diamonds

Design paper by Kitty's Scrap Post

Heartbreak Full Kit

Gina's Designs August Sketch Challenge and Twilight Layout

Welcome to the August Sketch Challenge for Gina's Designs!

Each month, on the first Monday, a new sketch will be provided.  Use the sketch to create a layout, card or other craft project.  Winner will be drawn from all eligible entries and will receive a $10 gift certificate to Gina's Designs online store.  We encourage you to use Gina's Designs products in your project but it is not required to be eligible to win.  You have until the first Monday of the Following month to enter and the winner will be announced on the blog on the second Monday of the following month.  Use the Link Up tool below to enter.

Here is the sketch for August.

Below is my take on the sketch.  I received this gorgeous paper kit from Kitty's Scrap Post as part of our month-long August promotional.  When I saw all the red, black and white,  I couldn't help but think of how much I missed scrapping Twilight.  The kit contains background papers as well as element sheets that can be cut up and added to your project.  This kit has a lot of vintage Paris elements, and Valentine or love themed elements but with a Gothic flair.  The paper kit goes perfectly with many of the chipboard shapes from Gina's Designs, especially those in a Paris theme, as you will see in upcoming project I'm currently working on for later this month.

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Frame

Peacock Feathers Shape Set

Steampunk Hearts

Digital Paper Kit by Kitty's Scrap Post

Heartbreak Full Kit

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up

12 x 12 Layout in a Shadowbox Frame

Today I'm sharing a project that is personal to me.   The main photo is me as a little girl, with Mom in the oval frame.  I'm calling this piece "The Dressmaker's Daughter".  When I was young, my Mom made all of my dresses and I used to model them in fashion show competitions.  I really enjoyed it, and I continued modeling on department store runways well into my 20's.  

This project began as an unfinished shadowbox frame I purchased at Michael's.  I painted the frame with gesso,  then I did some stenciling with modeling paste, some stamping and some spraying until I got the look I wanted.  The papers I used on the layout are from the French Seamstress Kit at Kitty's Scrap Post.  I really love this digital paper kit and this is my second project using it.  I also did some fussy cutting of elements from the kit like spools, thimbles, birdcage, flowers, etc, and of course you'll find plenty of Gina's chippies on it too.  The shadowbox is fairly deep so I added measuring tape and some wooden spools to the inside.   Thanks for looking!

Gina's Design Products Used:

Dressforms 2 Shape Set

Skeleton Clocks

Doily Box -Sew

Scribbled Lines

Delicate Frames and Ornaments Shape Set

Design paper by Kitty's Scrap Post - The French Seamstress Kit

Latex roses in two tone blue on upper right of layout by Craftsupplies1

Lace Appliques by Cathy's Crazy by Design on Etsy

July Sketch Challenge at Gina's Designs Blogspot

Welcome to the July Sketch Challenge at Gina's Designs!

Each month, on the first Monday, a new sketch will be provided.  Use the sketch to create a layout, card or other craft project.  Winner will be drawn from all eligible entries and will receive a $10 gift certificate to Gina's Designs online store.  We encourage you to use Gina's Designs products in your project but it is not required to be eligible to win.  You have until the first Monday of the Following month to enter and the winner will be announced on the blog on the second Monday of the following month.  Use the Link Up tool below to enter.

Here is the sketch for July

Here is my take on the sketch.  This month I decided to create a memorial layout for some of my favorite furry freinds who have passed on in recent years.  I am featuring one of our new ribbon titles, our chipboard bridge, and our Queen Anne's Lace.

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Ribbon Title Memories

Bridge

Queen Anne's Lace

An InLinkz Link-up

Vintage Beach Layout

Today I'm sharing another layout I created with one of the vintage family photos that my Mother recently shared with me.  That's Me and Mom on the right.  I love using the beachy teals, greens, and vintage photo colors.  This layout was pretty quick and easy because I built it around one of our botanical journaling blocks.  The shapes are available in a package containing 3 shapes and sizes.  The intricate detailing around the edges is amazing!  I painted mine with gesso, used a script stamp with Perfect Medium, then brushed it with Perfect Pearls Powders.  I used distress inks around the edges, and colored the intricate areas with Prima Chalk Ink.  The chipboard border and element pieces were coated with gesso, then painted with Silks paints.

Botanical Journaling Blocks

Elements Shapes

Cardstock Doily Set 1

Banner Borders Strips

On The Beach - Sketch Challenge entry for Scraps of Elegance/Darkness

Here's my entry for the current sketch challenge on the Scraps Of Darkness/Scraps of Elegance Facebook page. I don't have the Scraps of Elegance kit, but it was not necessary in order to enter.  I went with the sketches beach theme and used stuff from my stash. The chipboard title and shells are from  Gina's Designs and the butterflies are from Renea Bouquets etsy store. The photo is little me at Crane Beach in Ipswich MA near the town where I grew up.  We spent our Summer days there when I was young.  

Chipboard title from The Beach Themed Shadowbox Kit
Chipboard Shells from  The Beach Shape Set
Papers by Glitz Designs
Flowers by Prima and Petaloo
Butterflies by Renea Bouquets

Immortal - Layout with the Scraps of Darkness Kit Club

I used the Scraps of Darkness April kit to create my third layout so far with this kit. This layout is also one of my entries into their Facebook challenges this past week. So fun! I had this promo photo of Rob & Kristin for Breaking Dawn, and it had been so long since I'd scrapped Twilight, I couldn't resist adding to my Twilight wall of fame (or is it shame).   I own it, I'm a die hard Twihard.   Butterflies by Renea Bouquets on etsy.

Dictionary Cat 12 x 12 Layout

I created this layout for a "Dictionary" challenge at the Scraps of Darkness Facebook page this week. I think the theme was simply to scrap a word from the dictionary, but I decided to create a page with the whole dictionary/library theme. I had this library drawer paper in my stash, and I created the flowers from dictionary paper, and used dictionary design tissue tape on the banner and on the big letter. The cat background image on dictionary paper was an etsy download. The photo is of my cat Lila. Thanks for looking! The little banner under the photo is chipboard from Gina's Designs. It comes in a long strip, but I just cut off what I needed.

May sketch challenge at Gina's Designs Blogspot

Each month, on the first Monday, a new sketch will be provided .  Use the sketch to create a layout, card or other craft project.  Winner will be drawn from all eligible entries and will receive a $10 gift certificate to Gina's Designs online store.  We encourage you to use Gina's Designs products in your project but it is not required to be eligible to win.  You have until the first Monday of the Following month to enter and the winner will be announced on the blog on the second Monday of the following month.  To enter, visit the Gina's Designs blog and use the Link Up tool provided.

Here is the sketch for May

Here is my take on the sketch.  Once again I have featured my cat Willie.  I'm currently creating a whole memorial wall for him with all the layouts in shadowbox frames.  I love looking at it, it makes me smile.  I began this layout with some background stamping, and I also used our Steampunk Doily as a stencil, then turned it to the other side and layered the actual doily behind the photos.  

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Cardstock Doily Set Steampunk (I had these cut in 8 inch)

Scribbled Frames & Lines

For The Birds (nest)

Layout with Scraps of Darkness April Kit Club

Another layout I created with the Scrap of Darkness April kit club.  This layout is also my entry for the Gothic challenge on the Scraps of Darkness Facebook page.  Steampunk doily by Gina's Designs.

Vintage Style Layout - DT for Ephemera's Vintage Garden

I absolutely love the design and colors in this gorgeous paper pack from Ephemera's Vintage Garden.  I used background paper from my stash but the paper layers are all digital designs from the paper pack.  I even created the flowers and the banner to match from the papers.  It was so much fun using my dies to make matching flowers!  For the banner, I was able to resize the papers to make the most of the design.  The bird in the lower right corner is fussy cut from the paper. The colors are just stunning, and complemented my lovely cat Lila perfectly.  I will be featuring more papers from this collection called The Spring Chic Digital Paper Pack later on in the month, so please come back and have a look!

Working with digital papers is amazing because you can print them out as many times as you'd like.  It's a great opportunity to create matching home decor projects, or layouts creating your own flowers and matching banners from the papers as I have done.  Head on over to Ephemera's Vintage Garden, to check out the gorgeous papers, and sign up for some amazing freebies HERE! 

Layout using the Scraps of Darkness April Kit

I just love the latest kit from Scraps of Darkness called the His & Hers kit.  So much vintage lusciousness! I used the latest sketch that comes in printed form with the kit.  I like to use the sketch to warm up, then I take off on my own with the rest of the kit.  I used a photo of my daughter in this layout.  SOD is currently running a sketch challenge on their Facebook page for a chance to win a $20 store credit!

 
Products:

Scraps of Darkness Kit Club
Flourish (bottom left) by Gina's Designs

Thanks for looking!

Sunny Forever and Ever....Once Upon A Sketch April Challenge

Today I'm sharing my entry to the Once Upon A Sketch Challenge for April.   The journaling theme this month is "An event that changed my life......"  I chose to scrap about my move from Boston to San Diego in the 80's.  I moved on the spur of the moment following a big snow storm.  I actually read a magazine article about San Diego entitled  "Sunny today, sunny tomorrow, sunny forever and ever."  I was going through a major change in my life, and just decided to buy a ticket and go.  I hopped aboard a Delta and never looked back.  I was trying to show the one half of the layout as white and wintery, bleak and cold, and then move into the sunshine. It was a real challenge for me, but then again so was the move!  Hope you like it! 

Below is the sketch:

My take on the sketch:

When Life Hands You Lemons......A Scraps of Darkness kit club creation

I took this photo of my backyard lemons.  It was perfect for some of the papers in the Scraps of Darkness March kit Radioactive.  I've been handed more than my share of lemons in recent weeks (in more ways than one) and in the past week I decided to laugh it off and move on, a great weight off my shoulders.   I loved working with the bright colors in this kit!

Weekend Fun - Scraps of Darkness

More fun with the March kit from Scraps of Darkness called Radioactive. This kit has really encouraged me to try new things. It's such a fun kit. The photos are my DD and friend, always having fun and providing me with lots of photos lately.                                                                                                                           

Sketch Challenge at Gina's Designs and a Layout

Each month, on the first Monday, a new sketch will be provided in the gallery. Winner receives a $10 gift certificate to shop at Gina's Designs. 

You must register on the gallery in order to upload, and your entry must be entered into the area of the gallery designated for sketch challenges, and in the proper month.  Winners will be chosen by drawing from all eligible projects and will be announced on the blog on the second Monday of each month. We encourage you to use Gina's Designs products in your project but it is not required to be eligible to win.

My sample entry below features my cat Willie caught in the act of adjusting the space heater.

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Clock Hands Shape Set

Steampunk Shape Set

Waterworks Shape Set

Mixed Media 12 x 12 Scrapbook Layout

Lately I've been stepping out of comfort zones and trying new things.  I'm really interested in layers and mixed media techniques on scrapbook layouts.  I've seen some amazing artistic pieces.  On a recent mini album I created, I had a photo left over that I had inadvertently printed too large for the mini album so I thought I'd use the photo for practice.  I was going for a natural outdoorsy effect, and most importantly I've tried to create some depth.  I've noticed many of my attempts at mixed media have lacked depth of texture and color.  I plan to keep working at it.

I used a lot of old stash to experiment with, and naturally some of Gina's Designs chipboard shapes including some new pieces that I just love which I will list below.  The ferns, flower and leaves are some older die cuts probably by K and Company.  I rolled them around with an embossing tool to give them some shape and texture.  I thought they came out pretty good actually, considering that they started out flat.  Also I used a lot of stamps, inks, gesso etc., burlap, and of course washi tape, one of my new favorite embellishments.

Products Used:

Gina's Design's Chipboard Shapes
A Moment in Time (Words & Phrases 1)
Photo Reel Miniatures
Art Deco Corners


Mambi Design paper
Tim Holtz Distress Ink
Dylusions Stencils
Tim Holtz Stencils
Butterflies by Renea Bouquets on ETSY

Challenge Entries at Kathryn's Scrappers

I have entered both the layout challenge and the card challenge at Kathryn's Scrappers on Facebook this week.  The challenges are simple to follow sketches and best of all they are stash busting.  That's something most of us need to do.  It's fun to create just for fun for a change, and to use up some stash!

This Week's Card Sketch:

My Take:

Layout Challenge:

My Take:  Journaling to be added in the lined areas by my daughter