The Frilly and Funkie First Challenge of 2019!

A Challenge for the New Year!

Happy New Year friends!  I hope your holidays were filled with laughter and love amongst family and friends.

Cec has a great challenge for you to get the year started at The Frilly and Funkie Challenge Blog.  This one will surely get you thinking and I hope you'll take the opportunity to explore a new tutorial and learn a new technique.

Here's Cec's challenge for you:  "I don't have access to quality craft classes locally so I spend time online to learn new things. For this challenge I want you to create a vintage or shabby chic project inspired by or using a technique or tutorial that you have found online. You must provide a link to the site that is inspiring your creation and please do not make a direct copy of anything you found."

My Take on the Challenge

I admit it, I am addicted to tags, specifically Tim Holtz's Etcetera tags.  I used the small size, that isn't all that small at 5.5" x 10", as my tag base.  The first thing I did was cover the tag with a layer of Botanical tissue.  I used Stamperia Glue but any gel or even clear gesso works great for this type of  application.

My Inspiration

Fellow DT member, Jenny Marples always inspires me with her beautiful work that is always chock full of techniques!  I recently bought some 3D Impresslits Tim Holtz dies and wanted to give them a go.  I wandered over to Jenny's blog, Pushing the Right Buttons, and found her Layered Distress Paint Embossing technique and tutorial.  I used this technique on both the tan layer and the blue scalloped trim on this tag.

I started with a tan piece of cardstock.  First I applied paint to the flat side of the Kaleidoscope 3D Texture Fades Embossing Folder, just like Jenny did in her tutorial.  I ran it through my Vagabond.  Then I decided to add some Viva Pearl Modeling Cream because I liked it's irridecent appearance.  I used a brayer to apply the cream so that it would only color the raised portion of the embossed paper.

I followed the same technique for the blue scalloped pieces.  Well then, since this tag is a New Year's tag, I thought some glitz was in order so I brayered on some Bo Bunny Sugar Glitter Paste.  I quite loved how it looked at that point!

Before adding the paper layers to the tag,  I used Tim Holtz's Burst stencil to mask on the burst effect on the right side.  Then I added my paper layers cutting the border to fit around the tan layer.

Then it was just a matter of embellishing with pretty flowers, greenery, a typed token, and lots of metal pine cone charms.

How since it is winter, I thought my tag needed a chill factor so I misted with an opaque white.  I love the snowy look that created.  Then I used a dry brush to add some "snow" to the flowers and the Happy New Year sentiment.

 I used a mix of pine cones, the singles are Tim Holtz and the clusters are charms from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Of course, every tag needs a pretty bow!  I backed my bow with a piece of lace, i love how that looks!

Supplies from The Funkie Junkie Boutique

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Etcetera Small Tag Thickboards	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Collage Paper Botanical	Sizzix 3-D Impresslits Embossing Folder - Kaleidoscope 663296	Sizzix 3-D Impresslits Embossing Folder - Provincial	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Picket Fence TDF53170	BoBunny Glitter Paste - Sugar	Sizzix Alternations Tim Holtz Thinlits Dies - Holiday Greens 658759
May Arts 1.5 Inch Natural Silky w/ Woven White Checkered Edge	Venise Lace Trim - 2 inches	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Corners TH92789	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Typed Tokens TH93203	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Burst	Ranger Texture Paste Opaque Matte INK44444	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Adornments, Pinecones
Antique Silver Pine Branch w/ Pine Cone Charms

Fall Halloween Layout with Graphic 45 Hallo'ween in Wonderland

Halloween anyone?

My favorite crafting adventures center around Halloween.  I'm really not sure why as I don't decorate for Halloween,  My poodles don't appreciate the holiday, I don't have kids and I haven't seen a trick or treater in years so I don't bother.  But I do love the colors and the whimsy that comes with the holiday.

Therefore,I'm ecstatic that Graphic 45's Hallowe'en in Wonderland Deluxe Collector's Edition is going to be available again this fall, word is late September!  Can you say YIPPEE!!!!  Knowing that I could get MORE Hallowe'en in Wonderland, I dug out my stash and created this layout of my super cute little great niece dressed as Pocahontas.

I haven't done many layouts this year and I'm sort of retreating to the old and familiar, those clean and simple layouts.  Really, that style is ageless and, more importantly, they tell the story and focus on the photo.  Oh I love all the "artsy" layouts with all the gorgeous mixed media layers but  really, the photos often get lost on those layouts.  AND anyway, Graphic 45 paper is much too pretty for me to cover up with paste and paint!  Me, mixed media and Graphic 45 do not play well together!  Generally all that is achieved is a big mess!

I just put together several layers of paper to give this layout some interest but still keeping it simple.  Notice how each layer contrasts with the layer beneath and above it.  That's one of the keys for me in creating a dynamic layout.  I cut the Happy Halloween sentiment with a Cheery Lynn Designs die and I actually cut two, one is the layer you see of design paper and the other is black cardstock.  The black cardstock layer serves to make the title standout by placing a black border around the letters.s 

The Embellishments

I anchored the left bottom corner with a fun pumpkin vine from Creative Embellishments.   This is such a great piece!  I heat embossed the pumpkins with Stampendous Spice Aged Embossing Enamel and stained the vines with Lindy's Green with Envy Green Starburst Mist.

I love this spooky fun black cat that I die cut from Cheery Lynn Designs.  I thought it was the perfect touch for my layout I think!

I guess it was a day for digging in my stash as I came up with these old Petaloo Textured Elements flowers.  They are a favorite flower and I'm sad to say that my stash of them is about gone.  But, Little Birdie has some gorgeous flowers out these days so I know I'll survive!!

A wee Mad Hatter fussy cut is peaking out of the blooms.

Just a parting finishing touch, a couple of buttons along the seam where two papers meet.

Supplies:
Graphic 45 Hallowe'en in Wonderland DCE 
Creative Embellishments Pumpkin Corners
Stampendous Aged Spice Embossing Powder
Lindy's Green With Envy Green
Cheery Lynn Designs Halloween Dies and Flourish
Petaloo Textured Elements Black
Black cardstock

Fairy Dust Mini for Creative Embellishments

Do you believe in fairies?  I do, and I've created a mini album celebrating their existence using lots of Creative Embellishments chipboard pieces, along with Graphic 45's newest collection, Fairy Dust, to bring it to life. It is just the prettiest collection with vivid colors and lots of pretty flowers, and fairies of course!

I've recoreded a video walk through of the mini so that you can see all the details.

Creative Embellishments has some pretty fairy chipboard pieces and I've used one from the Tiny Fairies set on my mini album cover.  They are perfectly sized for little minis like this one. I painted her first with white gesso, then iridescent paint, and finally a nice coat of Stickles on her wings to give her that magical sparkle that fairies have!

Underneath the flowers is a corner piece from the Page Corners  Set 1, that I've heat embossed with Stampendous Shabby Green embossing enamel.

I used a Sizzix Eileen Hull Designs die to create the mini itself.  It's the Passport Journal die and it just makes the cutest little minis at 3.5" x 5". There are lots of pretty pages inside, I'll just share a few with you here.  On this page, I used a Creative Embellishments Fairy Dust stencil to add some "fairy dust" the the page along with another fairy chipboard piece.  I love this one reclining on the stump!

 The Mini Ornate Frames great for using in minis.  Sometimes it's hard to find embellishments small enough to work in little miis.  I heat embossed this one with Stampendous Shabby Green embossing enamel.

 Here's another of the page corners from the Photo or Page Corners Set 1  like the one I used on the cover.  This one is heat embossed with Stampendous Aged Wine embossing enamel.

I threaded some beads and charms onto thin wire and attached to the spine where they could dangle prettily!

Thanks for your visit today!  Be sure to stop by the Creative Embellishments store and see what's new.  Also, don't forget to enter our monthly photo inspiration challenge because you just might win a gift certificate to the CE store.  You can find the details about the challenge on our blog, it's the first post.

Creative Embellishments Products Used:

Sitting Fairies

Tiny Fairies

Mushroom Set 3

Photo or Page Corners Set 1

Mini Ornate Frames

Fairy Dust Stencil

Other Products:

Graphic 45 - Fairy Dust Collection, 8 x 8 Pad

Sizzix ScoreBoards XL Die - Book, Passport by Eileen Hull

Stampendous Embossing Enamels

Petaloo Penny Lane Flowers

Miscellaneous beads and charms

Memories Layout for Creative Embellishments

Last fall we met good friends in Nashville, TN and while there we toured the Jack Daniels distillery.  I captured this photo in the tasting room, I think Jen and Ken were enjoying themselves.  

I used several different pieces of chipboard from the Creative Embellishments store.  There are so many different styles to chose from, you're sure to find lots that you need!

I used Stampendous Aged Ochre embossing enamel on the title strip that is from the Small Moments Border Words set.

The two corner chippies are Flourish Page Corner 5 and I heat embossed those with Stampendous Aged Spice embossing enamel.  These flourishes go so well with this Stamperia Time is an Illusion paper collection.  I love using corner pieces like these as I think they often pull everything together.

I love the Acorn Clusters, they are so perfect for embellishing a fall layout.  I gave the chipboard some color with Lindy's mist.  I use mist because it doesn't fill in the etchings on the chipboard.  

Creative Embellishments Products Used:

Flourish Page Corner 5

Acorn Clusters

Small Moments Border Words

Thanks for joining me today, I appreciate it.  Be sure to stop by the Creative Embellishments blog and join in our November challenge.  You could win a $50 gift certificate to the CE store!

Friends Layout for Creative Embellishments

Hi Creative Embellishment fans!  Today I'm sharing a layout with a photo of some special Graphic 45 friends taken on my trip to Seattle last August.

I used the Infinite Rectangle Frame to focus the eye on the photo.taken at a great restaurant in Portland.  Yummy food!  The frame is lightly finished with gold embossing powder.

I used a piece of the Floral Lace Border and painted it with acrylic vintage white.

Underneath the flowers I used Flourish 15 that has been finished with Lindy's Mists.  I used the entire flourish with this cluster but on the other two clusters, I cut the flourish apart and tucked in pieces here and there.

I used papers from Graphic 45's Penny's Paperdoll Family to create this layout.  On the background I did some stenciling with the Metal Stencil.  Then I dotted on some glue and sprinkled in some Mini Prills.

I hope you'll join in our challenge this month. All you have to do is upload your project to our blog.
You could win a gift certificate to the store!  The monthly challenge post is the first post on the blog.  And, don't forget to stop by the store and see the new products that Nicolle is always adding!

Creative Embellishments Products Used:

Infinite Rectangle Frame

Floral Lace Border

Flourish 15

Metal Stencil

Other Products:

Graphic 45 Penny's Paper Doll Family

USArtQuest Mini Prills
Petaloo Flowers

Creative Embellishments BIG tag!

 One of my favorite recent additions to the Creative Embellishments store, is the Large Tags set.  They are the perfect size (5.5" x 10") for creating little pieces of art.  The French theme is carried out with Photo Play's French Flea Market collection, and of course an Eiffel Tower chippy from Creative Embellishments.  Continuing with the French theme, I added a cute poodle as poodles are often, erroneously, called french poodles.  They are in fact, just poodles, toy, miniature or standard poodles.  There's no french in the name.

The Eiffel Tower chipboard piece is a great 3" x 6".  I used Stampendous Shabby Chic pink embossing enamel to finish off the tower.

I really love the Rose Flourish  on the right side of that tag.  It's so pretty cascading from the pretty pink Petaloo flowers. I painted te flourish with water colors.  I like to use thin paints so that the etching in the chipboard doesn't fill with paint and disappear.

At the bottom I used a flourish from the Leafy Corner Flourish Set and it's colored with Lindy's mists.

I always like to pop up elements on my tags.  I think that really adds to the depth and dimension of the tag that really creates a really appealing look.

Creative Embellishments Chipboard Products Used:

Large Tags

Eiffel Tower

Rose Flourishes

Leafy Corner Flourish Set

Thanks for stopping by today.  September is Creative Embellishment's birthday month and we're celebrating with a 20% off sale so be sure to stop by the store before the sale is over!

Layout for Creative Embellishments

I dug deep into my stash and pulled out this old Kaisercraft collection, Curiosity.  It was just what I needed to get the creative process going!

I used a vintage photo of my family as the focal point of my layout.  I'm the little baby in the photo! 

Creative Embellishments has a great selection of frames and I chose the Scribble Frames 1 to highlight my photo. I painted the frame with a Ranger Lake Mist dabber gray and then finished it off with with Frosted Crystal embossing powder.

In the corners I used the Rose Page Corner.  I love how this design has the cutout roses cacading with the flourish leaves.

 Isn't it pretty how it fills the corners with the leafy vines and roses?   It made the perfect platform for my pretty Petaloo ranunculus.

I used a word from the Celebrate Word Set as a title to finish off my layout.

Creative Embellishments Chipboard Used:

Scribble Frames 1

Celebrate Word Set

Rose Page Corner

Thanks for stopping by today, I appreciate it so much!  Be sure to stop by the Creative Embellishment store, Nicolle has added some really fun chipboard pieces!