My Flying Unicorn September challenge

Last month we turned the forums over to the members and had them create challenges for the CT members and did they ever challenge us.  In addition to some fun challenges, they also sent us an ugly paper challenge.  Well the ugly paper challenge was a riot and really pushed us, the best thing is that he CT came up with some fantastic work out of that ugly paper!

So now that the Creative Team is back in control, its time for paybacks, LOL!!  I really want to challenge our members this month so I came up with a fun collage challenge.  I used Prima's Romance Novel an G45's Ladies Diary for my collage and included all kinds of embellies, everything from metal to handmade flowers.  Please join me in the challenge forums at The Flying Unicorn and give my challenge a whirl!

We always have great RAKS up for grags for our challenges and they are awarded on a random basis, we think every creation is beautiful so we don't use a voting system to determine our challenge winners.

Thanks for visiting and hope to see you at The Flying Unicorn.!

Scrapcake at the Flying Unicorn!



The Flying Unicorn specializes in carrying those hard to find papers and embellishments from overseas.  One of my favorites is Scrapcake and I used the One Moment in Time collection to do this layout of my Mom. The photo was take on Easter Sunday 1949.  I've used gorgeous Manor House flowers to help add to that spring time feeling!

 

The Dusty Attic chippies are treated with a fun technique that I learned from my good scrappying buddy, Shona.  I mixed micro beads into white gesso then I added some liquid pearls in peacock and ocean blue to get the varigated blue colors when I painted on the gesso bead mixture.  To complete this simple layout, I just layered the papers and added a doily and a ribbon floral border at the bottom.

 

 

 

Here you can see the detail of the microbeads on the chiipy, its a really great texture look.

 

 

These were yellow Fairy Floss Manor House flowers that I sprayed with Glimmer Mist in Cadillac Pink.

 

 

Be sure to visit the store to see this beautiful Scrapcake line and all the other lines that we also carry!

 

New Riddersholm Design papers

One of the great things a bout the Flying Unicorn store is that we carry those hard to find papers from overseas manufacturers.  One that  I really love is Riddersholm Designs from Denmark.  The papers are a nice weight cardstock and feature lovely vintage designs, they work great for vintage and shabby chic projects.  And the best part, these papers are 20% off from now through August 30th!

Here's a layout I did of my older brother when he was just a little boy in Verdun, France, the older child is a french friend.  I used the Riddersholm Huntington Garden collection mostly for this layout.

I made rosettes with my Tim Holtz Alterations die and used Bo Bunny Time Piece buttons to embellish the centers.  The other flowers are a mix of Flying Unicorn and Recollections flowers.

Thanks for visiting!!

Good times at the Flying Unicorn

We are just belly laughing at the Flying Unicorn this month.  The CT decided to turn the forums over to the members this month.  They are running the challenges and keeping us all amused with their antics.  They really pulled one on the Creative Team, they sent each of us a package that we couldn't open until July 31st when they posted a Mission Impossible Nightmare challenge for each of us.  In reality it was an ugly paper and embellies challenge and oh my, it was a nightmare.  We were allowed to use paint, mists, and inks along with black, brown, white or cream cardstock, oh and cardboard.  Otherwise we had to use at least the equivalent of a 4 x 4" portion of each of the 5 VERY UGLY papers they sent us and at least 4 of the embellies that they sent to us.  Well I thought, ok, where's the gesso, I'll just paint over these ugly patterns, oh but wait, no, the pattern had to be recognizable. Hmmmmmmmm

So here's my "prize" package, sweet huh?  LOL, sooooo not sweet!!  But there in the middle is a tag that says Time for a Tea Party, and bam, an idea hit me!

With the help of a lot of persimmon Distress ink and purple smooch mist, the above became this.  I used a sheet of black cardstock for the base paper and painted it with Luminarte and Pearlescent water colors.  The Bon Voyage paper is behind the photo and underneath the border cut paper.  The pp above with the yellow, orange and blue on it is a camping paper and has resist images on it.  Well I thought there was no way to disguise that so that is the border cut square.  The paisley paper was heavily inked with persimmon and is the paper inside the border cut paper.I cut leaves from the leafy paper, that was the easier part and the flowers are made from the scalloped pink and white paper, heavily misted with purple smooch!

YOu can still see the pattern of the pink/white paper in my flowers below. Check, met that requirement!

I had two fibers to use, one was a stretchy beige lace and that is now the purple there threaded thru the eyelet on the title tag.  The other is the gathered ribbon under the tag, that I did not alter, it looked fine just as it came to me.

Note the blue "thingy" below, that is actually a letter E button. What the heck was I to do with a letter E???  So it became a clip of sorts.  I cut off a little piece of the lace and thread that thru the button holes.

One thing that I learned from doing this layout is how fun it is to do something with reckless abandon.  You know, I didn't care if I messed anything up cause it was messed up before I started on it, LOL!!  So I just sprayed and inked and painted and let it evolve on its on,  it really was liberating, I think I should scrap like that more often.  I have a tendency to over think everything and spend sooo much time deciding what to do with different papers etc.  I think I will try  just working it one piece at a time.

Come visit us at the Flying Unicorn and see what the rest of the CT did with their Mission Impossible challenges, its really quite amazing how great everyone's layouts turned out!

August kit creations - Flying Unicorn

Our niece was married last weekend and for her wedding gift I am making her a scrapbook of her engagement and marriage.  I used the Flying Unicorn August kit to do this first page for her book.

I had lots of fun with this layout using Kaisercraft Lake House collection.  In the upper left corner I used molding paste and a Prima mask to create the corner detail.  After the molding pasted dried, I used Distress Victorian Velvet ink to bring out the detail in the masking.  On the lower right I have used a Dusty Attic corner chippy that I painted with white gesso.  I borrowed a technique from fellow CT member Shona, and mixed some micro beads into the gesso to give texture to the gesso.  The title chippy is also Dusty Attic and that is painted with white acrylic paint and Luminarte paint.  The chippies and flowers are from my stash. everything else is from the kit.

Detail of the molding paste masking.

Chippy painted with gesso mixed with micro beads.

This kit seems to work really well for romantic occasions!  This next LO is me and my sweetheart celebrating our 14th wedding anniversary and doing what we love to do, drinking champagne!   I used a mix of  Kaisercraft Lake House and Websters In Love papers.  I  especially loved the wooden Kaisercraft wood chippies that came in the kit.  I painted this one with Liquid Pearls in bisque.  I'm not very good at using Liquid Pearls to make pearls but I love using it as a paint - I usually water it down just a tad to make it glide on smoothly.  The floral vine, tiny pink roses  and vintage pink seam binding are from my stash.  Everything else is from the kit.  That seam binding really is vintage, my Mom gave me a box of laces and seam binding.  Some of the seam binding was priced at 25¢!

I love these Prima flowers that came in the kit!

Thanks for visiting!  There are still a few kits left, go here if you want to see more!

August KOM creations

Here are some projects I made with the Flying Unicorn KOM.  The OTP this month is 4 canvases  just waiting to be altered and gouache paint.

I chose to do a collage and I used the collage paste that was in a previous month' s OTP. I used images that I fussy cut from G45 Ladies Diary and some that I got from Gecko Galz. First I painted the canvas with some of the gouache paint in the kit. Then I used black gesso and a Crafter's Workshop template to make the black circular design. After that I started layering on different pieces using the decopage paste as glue and sealer. There's a bit of newspaper in there. I also used a script stamp and Archival ink (so that it would not smear). The larger Dusty Attic chippy was painted with gesso and then stamped. The other chippy was painted with gouache. The last things to go on the collage were the chippies, metal pieces and beads.

Here's another of my projects. Nika loves walking on her back legs and here she is "dancing" with my Dad. He is crazy about our dogs and they always herd him into the kitchen when he comes to visit so that he can give them each a dog cookie!

I used my WRMK lucky 8 punch to diecut the two scalloped circles. The quote is framed in a wooden Kaisercraft frame that is painted with acrylics and then coated with Ranger Crackle accents. I used two pieces of the Tattered Angels glimmer glass, they are such pretty accents. That beautiful cameo was made by our own dear Tammy, thank you so much for that Tammy!! I used a couple of small white doilies from my stash to set off the frame. The flowers are a mix of Petaloo (pink vine) and Flying Unicorn flowers from the store. The pink pearl swirl is included in the kit and there are two of them!

I used a DA Window chippy to create the looking thru the window effect and I thought it was a nice effect for the quote that says "Dance like nobody's watching, love like you've never been hurt, Sing like nobody's listening, Live like it's heaven on earth."

Ha ha, I think Nika has the perfect tilt to her head - wonder if I could get her on DWTS??

This kit is so very beautiful and full of soft feminine colors. However, you can also go in a different direction. I did this LO to illustrated the less feminine side of the kit and I think it worked great on this LO of my husband and Chili, our sweet spoo that has gone over the bridge.

The wooden Pink Paislee banner is from my stash as is the bling adorning it. I also used some polka dotted bloomers from my stash. Everything else is from the kit.

The journaling says:

Chili was Dick's dog and when he was home, she generally ignored me unless she wanted a treat. I took this picture of them just a few days before she died. She still has a smile on her face, even though she was so sick. We tried to so hard to save her but it was not to be. Her immune system was out of control and she died from the effects of multiple autoimmune diseases. 4/11/2010

Here's one more, I love this picture of Chena and Nika, it looks like they were having a serious discussion about something! thank you Donna for the beautiful butterfly!  Maybe Nika is trying to talk Chena out of going out west with Escape Kitty?

I used some of the diecuts from the embellie kit and fussy cut them to go on this LO. The rose on the left I made using a McGill punch.

Thanks for visiting!  There are still a few kits left, you might want to snag one because this kit is one of the best yet!!  You can get a kit here.

Flying Unicorn August KOM reveal!

Happy Kit of the Month Day !

That being said we are thrilled to show you Flying Unicorn's August Kit of the Month - Remember the Tomorrows .

KIT OF THE MONTH - REMEMBER THE TOMORROWS

PAPERS :

WEBSTERS—IN LOVE

Heartbeats

Our Song

Something Old

Lifetime

KAISERCRAFT LAKEHOUSE

Spa

Resort

Relax

Springs

Getaway

Serenity

Break

Country

WEBSTER STORY TELLER ALPHA CARDSTOCK STICKERS

EMBELISHMENTS :

Prima Mistables

Tattered Angels Glimmer Glass

Lake House Rub Ons

Zva Pearls

12” Rose Ribbon trim

12” White Ribbon Trim

1 6” crochet dollie

8 chipboard tags

Perfect Pearls—Heirllom Gold

FLOWERS :

Petaloo Small Peonies

Mixed Hydrangeas

Petaloo Mixed Hydrangeas

OTP—OFF THE PAGE

6x8 Canvas Panels x 4 by Fredrix

Reeves Gouache paints 12 colors

PATTERNED PAPER ADD ON:

WEBSTER IN LOVE

· DIECUT

· ARRIVE IN STYLE

· I DO

· SATIN AND LACE

· WORDS OF LOVE

· THE DRESS

· CUT THE CAKE

· BUTTERFLY KISSES

KAISER—LAKE HOUSE

· VILLA

· RETREAT

· THE COTTAGE

EMBELLISHMENT ADD ON:

· LAKEHOUSE STICKER SHEET

· CREPE RIBBONS BY TATTERED ANGELS

· KAISER MIN I STAMP—LEAVES

· LAKEHOUSE DIE CUTS

· FIREWORKS MIST ANGEL PINK

· FIREWORKS SPRAY BAMBOO LEAVES

· VERSA MAGIC CHALK INK SPANISH OLIVE

CARD STOCK ADD ON:

CORE’DINATIONS CARSTOCK

· AMARYLLIS

· LATTE

· COCO CREAM

· CELERY STALK

· PURPLE MELON

· WEATHERED TIN

· DECO CORAL

· SAND

FLOWER ADD ON:

· PETALOO FLORETTE

· PETALOO FLORETTE CRÈME

· MELISSA FRANCES MINI FLOWERS

· BBP SWEET TWISTED FLOWERS

· PRIMA BRETTON VINE

· PRIMA PARISIA MAYFAIR MIX

Here are some of the amazing creations by the Creative Team

The Off the Page Project, which is part of the main kit consists of 4 canvas panels and Gouache Paints

Here are some of the creations by the Creative Team :

Flying Unicorn's new creative team!

The day is here!! We are so ready to reveal the 2012-2013 of our Creative Team! We know that this team will inspire, excite and motivate you in a world of Creative Bliss.So without further adieu let me introduce to you Flying Unicorn's Creative Team :

DENISE JENSEN - Creative Team Director

My name is Denise Jensen and I’ve been scrapbooking for almost 13 years now. I’m a married mother of 4 (3 girls and 1 boy, well he is a man now) and grandmother of a very beautiful boy! I work at a center as the Recreation Coordinator for children with special needs. My darling husband is a police officer and between work and family, we are kept pretty busy in our little town of Marion, North Dakota. My children are all involved in sports and I like it that way, it keeps them busy!! I am a Girl Scout Leader, Sunday School teacher and Special Olympics Track and Field coach as well.

Scrapbooking is a passion of mine. I love what I do. I try to create something every day. I believe scrapbooking is an expression, not a competition. I also believe in sharing our love for this craft. Each one of us creates in our own beautiful way and there is so much to learn from one another.

I am the proud Creative Team Director for Flying Unicorn and love it! I have learned so much since I joined and have made some fabulous friends!

Denise's Blog

MAGGI HARDING - Creative Team Coordinator

My name is Maggi Harding and I live in North Carolina, USA, with my wonderful husband and two standard poodles that we refer to as the spoos. They are my children and of course, I do a lot of layouts featuring my furkids.

In 2005, I thought it would be a great idea to make each of my two best friends from college a scrapbook filled with memories of the 35 years that we have known each other. I was immediately hooked on this art form as I finally found something that combines my love of photography and writing with my artistic longings. Scrapbooking is my passion and I spend most of my free time pursuing my "scrappy" dreams. Through scrapbook art, I have awakened my "inner artist"!

I describe my style as eclectic vintage/shabby chic. I love to liven up a layout with bright and contrasting colors. I love scrapping 12 x 12 pages but I also have a real love for making paperbag albums and off the page projects. For me, scrapbooking is an artistic adventure, what can I create, how can I make this piece of paper come to life? Along with scrapping the pictures, I love to tell the stories and often reflect on how to tell the story hidden in my photographs.

Maggi's Blog

SHONA KEEHN- Creative Team

My name is Shona Keehn and I am from British Columbia, Canada. I have 3 children, lots of grand babies and a wonderful husband of 26 years. He is pretty supportive with my scrapping addiction and tries not to blow a gasket when I spend too much on it…lol

I have been scrapping for many years but have just found my scrappy style in the last year or so, Shabby Chic, and it is definitely something that I change up lots. I am always trying new techniques and love to make embellishments. I love to start with palettes and sketches. I find it amazing all the variations from just one starting point.

I get so much inspiration from everyone in the scrapping world and I hope that you can get some from me.

Shona's Blog

Tammy Henderson- Creative Team

Hello, my name is Tammy Henderson (aka Simplyme). I have 2 wonderful teenagers that keep me going and a wonderful husband; we have been married for 18yrs. I live in the Bootheal area of MO. I’m just a small town girl having a blast in the scrapping world! I have been doing this wonderful craft since 2005 and have been hooked every since. I love all types of art and the different mediums. I think that is the thing that has kept me in love with this craft, because it’s not the same ole thing. Anything goes and the sky is the limit. I absolutely love getting to combine pictures of my loved ones, with my favorite thing in the world ART! I have been a Creative Team member for 7mths for Flying Unicorn. I love every minute of it! My favorite embellies to use is Flowers!! Rare will you ever see a project done without one!

Tammy's Blog

Laura Ghully- Creative Team

Hi everyone I'm Laura (aka Angelbear). I am so proud to be on this wonderful Creative Team, with all of these amazing and talented ladies!

I live in a small town in beautiful south-western Ontario, Canada. I am a small town girl, and get lost in the big cities lol! I am a stay at home mom to 2 fantastic and energetic little boys - Cody is 11 and Ty is 10. They are 13 months apart and they keep me hoping! I am always busy with something with them!!!! I am happily married for 12 years to my best friend and the most patient & handsome man on earth, Jon. He keeps me grounded, is always there for me and NEVER asks how much I spent on scrappy stuff! He is a long haul truck driver, so it is just me and our boys all week, but when he is home, it all about us!

I started scrapping years ago when my sister took me to a Creative Memories beginner class and I although I really enjoyed it I just wasn't a Creative Memories scrapper and soon struck out on my own. I found a few very helpful and friendly sites on the web and have been trying new things and learning ever since. That's why I LOVE being on the creative team....I learn so much from these talented ladies!!!! I think my style is eclectic. sometimes I like a very clean and simple layout, sometimes my layouts are more layered and sometimes I ink, tear, layer and distress my projects! With my husband on the road, and two very active boys to keep me busy, I don't have a lot of time to myself to scrap so I make time! Almost every night after the kids go to bed, I take out my supplies and try an do something scrapbooking oriented every day to give me some 'me' time. My family is the focus of my life, my inspiration, and my motivation to scrapbook.

Laura's Blog

Kelly Foster- Creative Team

My name is Kelly Foster, I am 25 years old. I am enjoying a busy life in Minnesota, with my other half, Jeremy, and our two beautiful red-headed little girlies, Lilah (2) and Paisley (2 months). I started scrapbooking 2 years back, just wanting to preserve the thousands of photos I was taking!! I quickly became active with the online scrapbooking world, and my creativity just kind of "took off" and I have learned so much!! I am constantly experimenting with my style, but if I had to define what I'm currently doing, I'd call it "shabby/artsy/chic." I love lots of distressing, layering, and a little bit of messy. I love mixing lots of patterns together, and searching through the mess on my desk for fun bits and pieces to add to my layouts!! I've recently begun making cards, as well. I am currently designing for Once Upon A...Sketch, and 2 Crafty Chipboard.

Kelly's Blog

Jackie Clark- Creative Team

My name is Jackie Clark. I live in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada with my husband (who happens to be my highschool sweetheart) and our three boys. Elliot is nearly 6, Brennan is 3 and Colby just turned 1 so needless to say we are very busy! Fortunately like most young boys our sons are constantly on the go, providing ample photographic fodder for my scrapping addiction. My husband rolls his eyes when I say scrapbooking is cheaper than therapy and mutters something under his breath, but despite his doubts he is incredibly supportive of my hobby, even when it takes over the kitchen counter and dining room table. Still hands make me twitchy, and going several days without doing something creative leaves me climbing the walls, and as they say, happy wife, happy life!

I was introduced to scrapbooking at a Creative Memories party 12 years ago and I was instantly hooked. My style has grown and developed over the years and I am constantly learning and evolving as a scrapbooker. I have a pretty eclectic style — I enjoy shabby chic, and have been known to strew flowers and glitter over my boy pages, but I also like to change things up and go grungy. I love making cards; in my mind giving a handmade card is a way of telling the people in my life how special they are to me. Recently I have been delving into Mixed Media and I am IN LOVE! Whether it is the brightness of Dylusions sprays and Dyan Reaveley’s funky stamps or Finnabair’s dark paints and salvaged computer parts, I can’t wait to get down and dirty, and wear my ink-stained hands as a badge of honor.

Jackie' Blog

Adrienne Ford- Creative Team

Hi There!

My Name is Adrienne Ford. I was born and raised in Pennsylvania U.S.A and currently live here with my loving husband, and two beautiful babies- Luke, my rough and tumble yet sweet as pie two year old and my beautiful baby girl Karina. I am a kindergarten teacher by trade, but have left that field to be a stay-at-home mama for the time being. I have enjoyed going down this road of staying at home with my kiddos, but I could not do it without a cup of coffee in hand!

I got into scrapbooking when my son was born in 2010, so I am fairly new at this awesome hobby. I found that I not only needed a way to house all my gorgeous photos of him, but I also needed a creative outlet that was just for me. ( My husband was also was begging me to get a hobby!)

Since then I have been evolving as a scrapper and have been creating like crazy!

I absolutely LOVE flowers, misting, and chipboard which are normally incorporated in most of my layouts. I also enjoy playing with Art Mediums, white space, and clustering elements on my page. But one thing stays the same throughout-my joy and love of scrapbooking is ever-evolving and I love trying new techniques- the more artsy-the better!

Adrienne's Blog

Stephanie Eaken Creative Team

Hi!

My name is Stephanie Eaken& I am a 39 year-old (& holding!) stay-at-home mom. I have two kids who keep me busy, entertained & scrapping! My daugter is 9 & my son is 5. We live in Richmond, VA with my husband of 13 years & our two dogs!

I love all things related to scrapbooking! I started scrapping about 9 years ago when my oldest was a baby & have not stopped!! I look forward to my scrappy time in my space in our basement. I am currently on the design team for Let's Capture These Sketches.

I love working with kits, sketches and online challenges!! Paper and glue have been longtime friends of mine.

Stephanie's Blog

Monica Edwards - Creative Team

Hi my name Monica Edwards and I have been crafting since I was a teen.

It has only been the last 2 years that I ventured out into the blog and FB world and this is what opened my eyes to so many of the different facets of craft. My claim to fame was my flowers they “no pun intended” was what made me bloom.

I have 2 kids and have been married for over 20 years. I would say I am like a chameleon I change color or style. I enjoy the fun bright yet I also love the vintage, grunge look as well.

I believe they all can be mixed together in one way shape or form and that’s what makes crafting endless.

Monica's Blog

Tracey Gregory - Product Creative Team

Hi there-My name is Tracey Gregory I am a
married mother of 4 and a RN regional manager which has me on the road quite
often.I have been scrapping since 2005 and
have had the pleasure/"bragging rights" of being published several times in your
magazine, SNR and various Website challenges.

I am mostly a 12 x 12
distressed, shabby type scrapper but am driven by colr,texture and great
inspiration-those ideas that grab you and keep you misting and pasting til 2 am.

I like to try different "off the page" crafts as well.

Tracey's Blog

and then there is Me ....

Alda Stevens - Owner/Founder

I started the Flying Unicorn brand with selling handmade items on Etsy and doing some graphic design work in order to give me a creative release from Pillar Management Group, a property management and development company I also own. From there we have progressed to supplies for paper crafting goods ,a Kit of the Month Club and now manufacturing our own flowers and soon to add more to the Flying Unicorn Brand. But we are more then that. Flying Unicorn has grown to provide an online social forum where everyone is welcomed, to share, learn, teach, and never losing site of the people behind each creation. We emphasis at all times integrity, honesty, and pure enjoyment of a hobby that we love.

By applying creativeness, unparalleled customer service, and business partnering, Flying Unicorn in all aspects is to stand out and be ... One of A Kind.

http://www.flyingunicornblogspot.com