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April 30, 2014

Dies Galore at La-La Land Crafts


This week our theme at La-La Land Crafts is Dies Galore. When I first read the rules I saw that we needed to use at least three dies, but when I put it on my calendar I named it the three dies challenge! So this week I kept this layout fairly simple...just three dies this time!!


My eldest daughter is ballet mad so I chose this gorgeous photo of a ballerina in pointe shoes sitting in the Paris metro. Underneath her is the words "faire un voyage" take a journey. I also added the flair with the word "voir" to see... I wanted this to symbolize the journey she is wanting to take to become a professional dancer. It is a hard journey and she may not realize her full dream, but if she works hard she can see where the journey takes her and how amazing will that be. This will go in a shadow box in her room.


The papers I used are Prima Cartographer, designed my talented friend Frank Garcia. They are full of things French and Parisian and so I just had to use my Eiffel Tower die as my focal point!! I also used the new Diamond Wire die as a bit of background texture. Finally I used the Heart Doily Border die underneath the photo. Simple layout, but I just love that Paris map paper and how the layout came together and shows off the beautiful dies. I hope you like it too!!

Beauty of Nature: Amazing April Kit from Frosted Designs

As you know, I have been through a lot with my family the last few months. I have not been at home all the time, and my dear brother in law has just passed only a week ago from a very short battle with pancreatic cancer. He was only 39.  But the world keeps turning even though we think it shouldn't sometimes, and my amazingly beautiful April kit from Frosted Designs: Beauty of Nature arrived while we were away in Dublin for the funeral last week. I was able to work on some projects this weekend when we arrived home, and it has been great to help me through all this...my creative pursuits are really my therapy.


Beauty of Nature

The beautiful April kit is chock full of 7 Dots gorgeousness in the form of the beautiful Nature Walk papers. Marion Smith's Nirvana collection in the kit is also stunning and I have featured it in my second layout. Feast your eyes here on all the amazing contents in the kit, the only thing I added from my stash here was some thread for my stitching! Beautiful mask, Lindy's magical paints, Tim Holtz Distress Markers, Prima flowers, wood pieces and crochet items...Maya Road metal pieces...UmWow chipboard, this kit is just full of gorgeous products!

Dream Big: Adventure Awaits Layout


For this layout I just had to choose a photo from a nature walk we did a few years back, of course!! The main paper is from the 7 Dots Nature Walk collection. I have also added several die cut pieces from the collection, as well as a sheet from Marion Smith's Nirvana collection under the photo.


I have painted the Chipboard Flourishes from Maya Road in the kit with the gorgeous Lindy's Stamp Gang Magical - Bells of Ireland Green, I just love the gorgeous sheen you get with these shimmery powder paints. I simply used a water brush to apply them.  I used two beautiful Prima Joyous Burlap Flowers for my layout, adding lots of other embellishment to my cluster: KaiserCraft Paper Blooms, Marion Smith Junque & Gems Metal Embellishments - Butterflies, praying mantis chipboards from the Um Wow Nature Walk Insect Chipboard Package, the postage stamp frame from the Prima Wood Die-Cut Icons - Stationers Desk.  Again I painted the chipboard mantises using the Lindy's Stamp Gang Magical - Mission Bells Brown for more lovely sheen.  You can also see several places where I used the Lindy's Mission Bells Brown mixed with molding paste to do my gorgeous masking using the kit's Harlequin Crafters Workshop Template.


In the top corner of the layout I added some more flourishes, frames, die cuts and a flower from the beautiful kit. Here you can see where I used the Bundled Sage and Walnut Stain Distress Markers and the cool new Tim Holtz Spritzer tool from the shop to make green and brown splashes on my page. I finished off the layout with some black stitching around the paper layers.

The second layout features Marion Smith's Nirvana paper. I love this photo of my oldest daughter Aine when she was a baby. I used several sheets from the collection, fussy cutting some flowers for my cluster around the photo. 

Love: Noted


I used more of the Prima Stationers Desk Wood Icons here, the butterfly, inkwell and Noted pieces and the gorgeous "Sweet Love" from the Prima Crochet Icons - Love You set. There are some Nature Walk die cut pieces used here and there and my final Prima Joyous Burlap Flower along with more Kaisercraft Mini Blooms.  



I took my water brush again and used it to drip and sprinkle on some of the Lindy's Stamp Gang Magical - Bells of Ireland Green then took the Tim Holtz Spritzer and my Walnut Stain marker and added splatters. Again I finished off the layout with some sewing around the edges. I really love how this turned out!!


Our new May kit will be out soon, and is another stunner, but I recommend this kit highly, so many gorgeous papers, mediums and embellies, you just can't go wrong.


April 29, 2014

I Wish for Peace


A beautiful soul in our family has just died after a brief but aggressive fight with pancreatic cancer. I needed to do something to remember him by and just loved this photo that had been shared on Facebook.  I wish for peace is meant in many ways, I wish for peace for Olly, peace in the hearts of all that loved him, though it may take a while for a true peace to be there as the grief is still fresh. Doing this layout helped me a lot and it was great to have time to remember fun conversations and great stories about my brother in law. He was my youngest's girls Godfather, they had a special bond with a shared interest in art, and he was both the girls favorite uncle, he will be deeply missed.


This month we were challenged to add handmade flowers to our layouts. I chose to add two Bitty Blossoms from my favorite Spellbinder dies. I added pearls to the center of both and placed them in with my other flowers.


I also used two amazing pieces of chipboard from UmWow Studios. I absolutely love this one with the hands and it perfectly suits this layout. The papers, stamps and die cuts are from the 7 Dots Cold Country paper, just beautiful!! Finally, I used the filmstrips and tags of Venice from Darkroom Door, as Olly loved travelling and his job was as a filmographer, again they just worked perfectly for this layout. The words are also from Darkroom Door and from 7 Dots Studio and I used many to describe him and things he loved to do. In the top of this closeup photo here you can also see a flair of a dandelion, again to me a perfect symbolism of how brief and fragile life is.

A sad layout, but one I am glad I did.

I did this layout as part of the DT for the Berry71Bleu April Challenge.

As tomorrow is the last day of this challenge, if you have a layout this month with a handmade flower in it,
 I encourage you to enter it and share it with us! There are some amazing prizes to be won!!!


This month we challenge you to create a project using handmade flowers !

There must be at least ONE homemade flower on your project.


I would also love to enter this in a few challenges myself.  I would love to join the Once Upon a Sketch challenge for this month. I used this sketch:


The theme for this month is an event that has changed my life. Right now we are still reeling from the ridiculously short battle my brother in law had with pancreatic cancer. He turned 39 on February 27 and I don't think his symptoms had started yet. He fought the bravest battle I have ever witnessed in the space of the five weeks that the cancer quickly ravaged his body but not his good spirit and his quirky and fun sense of humor. Watching his fight, seeing his friends and family he loved around him, has made me once again remember to take every day as a gift. None of us know what will happen tomorrow, so I squeeze my kids a little tighter and am grateful for a great husband and comfortable and happy life.  There are two tags on this layout and I have journalled these thoughts here. I have also taped the Prayer of the Faithful that I read during the funeral mass to the back, as well as an amazing story from Carl Sagan about Earth and our lives here on this small blue speck...a reading that Olly requested for his funeral. I will never forget my kind and funny brother in law and this layout has truly helped me process what has happened.

I would also love to enter this for the Scrap Around the World Challenge. I used the colors from the mood board, the butterflies and the script font for the large part of the title from this month's challenge. I also took the advice of the mood board and just let this layout develop from my emotions and how I wanted to remember Olly, I wanted things that represented him and reminded me of him.



My final entry for this layout is for the 7 Dots challenge, April Showers bring May flowers. We had showers of tears in April for sure and I have used a raindrop mask and drips of mist symbolizing tears and showers, then handmade flowers and lots of others for my May flowers. I hope that after our sadness we will be able to bloom again in our hearts. I know it is going to take some time though.



Thank you so much for taking the time to look at this layout.
It is the most special one I have done in a long time and I am glad I have it here to remind me of him!

April 26, 2014

Tic Tac Toe at Sugar Creek Hollow


This week at Sugar Creek Hollow we had to use the graphic below to complete a tic tac toe combination! I did two: a horizontal one of bling, lace and sewing and then the vertical sewing, distressing and die cut!! I have used Blue Fern Studios papers, some pink lace and some natural twine from my stash, some bling and some flowers... The die cut is a new honeycomb die from La-La Land Crafts. I finished off the card with some stitching using brown thread. I hope you like it and will come join us this week!!

April 25, 2014

I Like Your Style: A Layout for Creative Expressions


I'd love to share this layout with you this week featuring the gorgeous Sue Wilson Cordoba Dies from the Spanish Collection.

To start the layout I chose some gorgeous papers from the Tim Holtz Crowded Attic Paper Stash, a lovely brown base and the script patterned paper. I also used some green paper from the stash to make the flowers and background on my die.  I cut the script paper slightly smaller and made tears in the top and bottom of the page I adhered the script paper to the larger brown background. I glued down the torn sections of the paper making flaps.



I took some Coconut White 220 gsm A4 Cardstock and cut out the outside die and inside cutaway die layers of the Sue Wilson Cordoba Dies. I cut the outside largest die again with the green paper to layer behind the white die cut. For the chosen photo of Aine I used the small oval die in the set to cut out her image. I used this same die for my title "I like your style" a sentiment taken from the A5 Umount Antique Dressform stamp set.


I added some gorgeous Sea Green Sparkle Texture Paste which I applied through the That Special Touch Tracery Mask behind my photo. I added loads of gorgeous flowers using the Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms die.  For finishing touches I made a big single bow using the Creative Expressions 1.5" Aqua Silky Crush Ribbon and a Creative Expressions Key Charm.

I hope you like the layout and I thank you so much for taking the time to stop by!

Spanish Collection Cordoba Die  Tim Holtz Idea-ology Crowded Attic Paper StashSpellbinder Die Bitty Blossoms  Assorted Key Charms pk 18That Special Touch Mask Tracery  Cosmic Shimmer Sparkle Paste Holly GreenSILKY CRUSH RIBBON AQUA  1.5 Umount Antique Dressforms A5 Stamp Plate

April 24, 2014

With Sympathy for Visible Image


My dear brother in law passed away last Friday and we are all bereft. Too soon, too young. Such a brave fighter gone in a flash. I just had to make something this week as crafting takes me outside myself and helps me. Kind of my therapy. I think I will keep this tag for myself, just needed to make something to clear my head.

I've used the With Sympathy set, Small Butterfly, Harlequin Background and Tall Grass for this and added some fibres and beads as well as some flower.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

    
   


April 23, 2014

New Product Release for La-La Land Crafts!

I am so honored to be on the La-La Land Crafts design team and would love to show you the two projects I am showcasing for the new release:

Piano Box 3D Project Kit 

Featuring:
Whimsical Circles Tree 
Cherry Blossom 
Cherry Blossom Branch



Layout

Featuring:
Beautiful Day Sentiments

Build a Bee Die 
Bird House Die 
Random Flag Banner Die 
Whimsical Circles Tree
Whimsical Circles Flowers
Picket Fence 
Cherry Blossom Flowers
Honeycomb