September Swirlydoos Bejewelled Kit

Ok so you all know I LOVE Swirlydoos, but the September Bejewelled kit has GOT to be my most favorite yet. I mean this whole kit is SPECTACULAR!! Plus it goes great with my new photo shoot pics of my kiddos. I usually make more layouts before I post, but I HAD to share what I have done so far.

This is my daughter Rylee dressed as a little elf. I called this one Faerie Kisses because on her cheek there is some light dancing and it looks like little wings. I used some stickles on the diecut butterfly and I broke the pearl flourish in half to stretch it out a bit. I used my favorite Cricut font, Storybook for the title. This particular layout was for their sketch challenge that Beggahuna does. Look to the right under sketches for her blog site. She's fabulous!!

This layout is currently out for publication!!

So here is my sweet Tyler. Look really close because I altered her ears in Photoshop to make her look more like an elf. All of this was made from the kit, except for the knotted ribbon and the branches. I used the wonderful Storybook Cricut cartridge for the branches as well. Then I painted the leaves with green smooch, so they shine. One of my favorite things to do is cut out other pattern paper to create embellishments. I actually cut the entire gate out and used pop dots to bring it forward. Check back really soon for more Swirlydoos goodness :).

Look of Old Leather

Ok so I wanted to create a look of old leather and I think I came pretty close. This is a picture of a layout that I am still working on, so I am only showing the section with the book. From this view you can see that it's flat, but from a top view it looks pretty realistic. This angle was the best as far as picking up the sheen of the faux leather. So my goal was to go for a very old book that had a cover purely made of leather and no book board. Here is how I did it.

I took fudge colored cardstock and sprayed it with water on both sides. Then I crinkled it up quite a bit. After that I cut out the piece I wanted for my book and, while wet, I inked it with black so that it brought out the wrinkles. Then I let it dry and did it again for more definition. Then I took some crackle glaze and spread it sparingly all over the book cover so that it gave it a sheen like leather. I added the ribbon and bling to the cover along with a grungboard hinge and blingy brad. So as you can see, this is for an old medieval look or however you want to call that era. As soon as I am done with the whole layout I will post it as well.

Praise and Craze

I believe that praising God is important and that you can show praise in all that you do. So a lot of times when I create a layout I will add a verse or mention God in some way. A lot of the times I do hidden journaling, because my messages are for my family. On these two layouts, however, I wrote it for everyone to see. Here is a layout with Rylee and Brent making crazy faces. The rainbow ofcourse represents God's promise to us and the journaling reads; You guys are so silly. Every day you bring joy into my life and sometimes you bring a bit of crazy too. Don't ever stop being you and having fun in all that you do. Don't forget how to be a kid. Love you guys so very much. May God forever bless you.

The rainbow was painted on white cardstock then cut out. I used a Signo pen for all the journaling and doodled stiches around and on the photo. The red butterfly was found on Ebay. The little brads are Doodlebugs brand and the letters are Thickers.
Here is a layout of my daughter Raine. Wisdom is what I pray for her to have the most. She is at such a crucial age and the peer pressure in her life has led her to make some very poor choices. She is only 15, but feels that she has all the answers and is invincible. Sound familiar? The verse reads; When wisdom enters into your heart and knowledge itself becomes pleasant to your very soul, thinking ability itself will keep guard over you, discernment itself will safeguard you. Proverbs 2:10, 11.

I tore the journaling for an aged look and used some brown dry chalk. The pearls are done with liquid pearls by hand. The cardboard is painted with crackle paint and I spread some stickles over the visible areas. The background papers are Basic Grey Wisteria and I used Thickers for the title. As far as the cardboard goes, I always tear it off the packages I get in the mail.

A Walk Back In Time

I love things like Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Kings, Princesses, Knights, etc. I wanted to try and do a couple of layouts that had that same feel as well, so I put these two together.

This first one is of my niece and it's my favorite of the two. I actually made this one 2nd and put in everything I wished I did in the first. I do that a lot if you haven't noticed. I tend to get ideas after the fact lol. So anyway the scroll was made from manilla tagboard that measured 9x12 that I cut down on the sides to give it a curved look. Then I tore from the edges and used liquid chalk to give the burned look. I inked all over it and curled the ends. The letters are from Maya Road and I used Tim Holtz silver metallic alcohol ink on them so they look like metal. I just love that stuff. The flower buds can be found in my tutorial for folded circle flowers and there is a link to the right -----------> Here is my daughter Raine who is now 15, but she was around 10 in this photo. This photo really fits the theme of the layout. I used Tim Holtz grungeboard and inked it up with metallic alcohol inks. I did the pearls by hand after drawing a line in pencil and following it with my liquid pearls. The hidden journaling tag reads something along the lines of I am waiting for you to realize you do not have all the answers.

Faux Envelope

Just wanted to post an update to this post. I just realized today that Lisa a designer at Swirlydoos also did a faux envelope, so I felt bad, like I was stepping on her toes, even though I didn't know she made one. Anway I wanted to give her credit for the envelopes, but I will leave the tutorial here still.

I have noticed that a few ladies were using some old Prima packaging envelopes on their layouts. The look is incredibly cute and since I don't own any of those envelopes I decided to create my own faux one. Again these are VERY easy to do. Check out this layout I did with the Swirlydoos August kit: Here is what you will need as far as the basic plain envelope goes. I used an 8.5x11 sheet of cream colored cardstock, a corner rounder, a 1/2" circle punch, some pattern paper of your choice, two small brads, and some twine or hemp rope. (You can totally get creative here and use whatever fun things you would like to close your item)

Use the corner rounder on each corner of one end of the 8.5x11 sheet. Then fold over about an inch and a half of the top.
Now you can either choose to decorate your paper before you attach the the closing device or after, that's up to you. I punched two small circles of my pattern paper and attached them with brads, not glue. This way you can wrap the twine or cord around underneath it.
This is how I chose to wrap and close the envelope. Like I said you can totally get creative or just glue it down, whatever. Easy isn't it!!
When it comes to actually decorating your envelope, you can use basically anything and everything. I used a newspaper stamp and inked mine. Then I drew some stitching lines around the top of the envelope with a Zig marker. I also thought it would be cute to find some travel stamps or a top secret stamp, but I don't have any. You can even stick your cardstock in a printer and print something on it.

August Swirlydoos - LOVE It!!!

Oh YES!! My Swirlydoos August kit arrived and it's called Passion. I love it!! I have had a lot of fun with the purples in it. Check out what I have put together so far. Fun Fun Fun!!

Here is Tyler... I titled it Need because of all the reasons I need her in my life. I rumpled up the corner and stuck a pin in it.
Here is Rylee.. I didn't do a lot to this layout. I wanted to show as much as the pattern paper as I could so I mainly stuck to the center.

I think this is my favorite layout thus far... I absolutely love the feel of this page. I used the Heidi Swapp Invisible board and inked and misted it all over. This has such a fairy tale look to it.

My oldest daughter actually took this photo of Brooklyn and I. It's hard to see in the picture of the layout, but the photo is actually muted in color with a bit of a pink tone. I did some stitching on the left side of the photo with some GORGEOUS iridescent thread.

This is the layout I did based on the sketch that was made by Beggahuna!! I love these pics of her!!

Maya Road Tins

I have a ton of these really cute little Maya Road tins; from thin tins to the little lunch box style tins. I didn't want to throw them away, because it seemed liked such a waste. For a lot of the ones that are about 1 1/2 thick I used to sepparate out various alphabet letters, but I still have a lot left. Well here is a pic of one of the thin tins that I made into a picture frame/keepsake box. I just stuck the pic to the lid on the corners with mini glu dots and then I am having my hubby stick a little letter inside for Brooklyn to have, since this is her frame. On the back you can buy little stick on picture frame stands or make your own out of chipboard.