Graphic 45 is blog hopping with May Arts this week, March 21 - 25, be sure to stop by both blogs and see some amazing projects and a chance to win an awesome prize package!
My G45 design team box came the
other day and it was packed to the rim with new staples, papers, and beautiful May
Arts ribbons; it was a little slice of heaven for sure. My scrappy bff's were were at my house for a scrappy retureat weekend and they all turned green with envy as I removed each item from what seemed like a bottomless box
of goodies! I immediately zeroed
in on the EnchantedForest collection and all
the wonderful new Staples.
I decided to use a regular sized Policy Envelope and create a cross between a mini and a card t. It'll be a great mini/card to
include with a shower or wedding gift as Enchanted Forest has some great cut-aparts that work great for those kind of occasions.
The mini fits nicely inside the Policy Envelope that I embellished with a new Kraft Imagine Tag. I backed the Imagine cut out with black paper so that the Imagine word would really stand out, and then I used some cut-aparts and patterned paper to embellish the tag. I added some interest to the cut-aparts by die cutting one of them with a Spellbinders frame. Finally I added a pretty bow that I tied with May Arts silk and leaves ribbons and glued the tag to the front of the Policy Envelope. Who wouldn't love to receive a card in such a pretty envelope?
I love the combination of the blue silk ribbon and green leafy vines. It's just that little touch of "different" that I love.
The card/ mini is just two pieces of 8 3/4" x 6 3/4" black cardstock folded in half to create 4 pages, giving the mini 8 pages counting fronts and backs. Then I punched two tiny holes in the center, on the fold, and bound the mini together with a 1/4" piece of May Arts silk ribbon. I put photo mats in the mini as well as tags for journaling.
Graphic 45 is giving away a really exciting prize pack this week! It is worth $50 and includes May Arts ribbon so you can also create with this great product! All you have to do to enter is comment on the Graphic 45 blog and on May Arts blog or on the G45 Facebook Page. We will choose a winner and announce the winner on the Graphic 45 blog on Friday. Have fun entering, G45ers and May Arts fans!
Don't miss the Graphic 45 blog this week 'cause we're having a fun blog hop with May Arts Ribbon. I love their ribbons, so pretty and they coordinate nicely with Graphic 45 products!
Graphic 45 is giving away a really exciting prize pack this week! It is worth $50 and includes May Arts ribbon so you can also create with this great product! All you have to do to enter is comment on the Graphic 45 blog and on May Arts blog or on the G45 Facebook Page. We will choose a winner and announce the winner on the Graphic 45 blog on Friday. Have fun entering, G45ers and May Arts fans!
Oh my goodness, it's that time of the year, and what time is that you ask? It's time to strut your best Graphic 45 designs, of course! I've seen so many beautiful projects lately on social media and I'm always in awe of all the fabulous works I see from all of Graphic 45's followers.
SO ON TO MY AUDITION! 1. A mini from the City Scapes Collection
I begin with a new project, a Surprise Mini, that I created using lots of the new Graphic 45 Staples. You are going to love the new Policy Envelopes, tags, keys, and the small Door Knob and Plate. These new Staples are so great for making minis!
I call this my Surprise Mini because 3 of the 4 pages are made from Policy Envelopes and you can tuck surprises into each envelope. Imagine getting this mini stuffed with love notes, money, gift cards, little chocolate bars, movie tickets, how about an airplane or cruise voucher?? Now we're talking, right? The possibilities are endless and the recipient of this cute little mini will be so thrilleod to find the gifts you've tucked inside.
I recorded a video tutorial for you that takes you through making and binding all the pages.
The last page is constructed from cardstock, all the others are made from policy envelopes.
I left 1/2" between each page so that I could have some dimension and flowers.
Graphic 45 washi tape makes a great finishing binding for your minis too!
2. A project with it's own mind!
This next project is one of my favorites from the past year as it was just so much fun to do. Most projects, I plan out in my head and they usually look the way I plan, but not this one. It was all free form, I just picked up the scissors, started fussy cutting and building the project. It had its own life and I love the end result. Details and more photos here.
3. World's Fair is also great for layouts!
An audition from me wouldn't be complete without a layout or two because they really are my first love. Oh, I get a big kick out of making off the page and altered projects but what I really love the most, is a layout made from bright beautiful Graphic 45 colors!
Yep, that's me at CHA Las Vegas in 2013. Of course I spent some time at the Graphic 45 booth dreaming! This was one of my early design team projects so I thought the photo was quite fitting.
3. My new favorite collection!
Well, truth be told, all the Graphic 45 collections are my favorite but I have completely fallen in love with the Voyage Beneath the Sea collection! It's one of those collections that really gets my imagination going. I'm just dreaming of being a mermaid.....
Here's a video tutorial for making this wall hanging.
4. These are probably my most favorite tags ever, they are just so fun! How can you not love the fun imagery and brilliant colors?
5. Speaking of bright colors....
Bohemian Bazaar was the perfect collection to showcase this awesome photo of my husband and his cousin whom we both love so much!
6. My softer side
I think it's apparent by now that I am a bright and bold color gal but I do dip into the pastels occasionally. This is a card and tag set that I did with Once Upon a Springtime. I have a Snapguide tutorial for the step card.
I love Halloween for two reasons. 1) I love playing with skeletons and ghouls and goblins. 2) I get to eat all the Halloween chocolate because we never have any trick or treaters. ☺
This is an altered Letterbox Printer's Tray.
8. Another favorite project
This is one of my top 3 faves from the year. It was such a fun and messy project to make, as it has lots of mixed media on it - mists, masking paste, embossing enamel, ink etc etc. The flowers are handmade from the design papers too.
I recorded a video to show you how to alter your own tin can.
9. Just one more Halloween project:
I made this boot for my parents and filled it with their favorite chocolates for Halloween. It's special to me because my Dad passed awaya few weeks after I gave it to them. It makes me smile when I remember how he dug down to the bottom of the boot to get the Turtles out. Then he handed my Mom a couple of the Mounds and said, "these are for you honey."
10. My all time favorite collection is Raining Cats & Dogs.
If you're a pet owner, I'm sure you have many funny stories to tell about their antics. One of our assignments was to create a mini album with a vacation theme so I decided to have our dogs tell about their vacation antics in this mini.
I'll just share a couple of the pages. If you'd like to see the whole mini and read our furbabies' stories, here's a link.
I used the back of the Ephemera Cards for my journaling and then just hole punched them and added to my mini.This is a great way to use the Ephemera cards since they have such pretty images on the front and the backs are perfect for handwriting or printing on a computer.
11. If I'm not scrapping, you'll find me in the kitchen...
I garden all summer long so I do spend a lot of time freezing and canning the bounty from our harvests. I love to share my homemade goods with others so this project was a natural for me. I used Home Sweet Home and A Christmas Carol to alter this pretty wooden basket, and then filled it with apples and applesauce. It was a perfect thank you gift for my parents' neighbor who has been so good keeping an eye on them.
Thank you for taking the time to view this very long post! I really do appreciate it. It's been nearly a year now, and truthfully, I'm still a little shocked that I made the 2015 design team. What an honor and what a great year it has been! Thanks to all of you for leaving such kind comments about my work on the G45 blog, my blog, Facebook, and all the social media sites. You will never know how much that means to me and how your words have pushed me to reach for higher and higher creative goals. AND a very big thank you to Diane, Charee, Aimee, and everyone at Graphic 45 for trusting me to design for Graphic 45 with their gorgeous and fabulous products.
