One Fine Day - Sketchabilities Sketch No.132

Hi,

how are you today? Hope you all great. Here's another sketch from Sketchabilities with Sketch No. 132

Here's my layout for that...

I have used the paper from 7 Dots Studio - Love Is In The Air. Their paper are just amazing for mix media. I didn't do much with the background as the colors were already perfect. I used a Mini Leaf Frame Stencil from Balzer Design. Once it dried, I stamped the edges as well as the photo with Kaiser Craft - Film Edges and the background paper with Kaiser Craft - Triangle. 

I glued everything straight away before I did some spraying but left the photo for the end so my embellishments won't stand out to much but still match the colors that I've sprayed for my background.

Then I sprayed my background with Dylusions Ink Spray - Black Marble and Lindy's Stamp Gang - C'est la vie Cerise to match the background colors as well as to pop out my photo. I splattered some black acrylic paint all around my page followed with Cosmic Shimmer H2O - Orange Gold, Blue Lilac and Purple Violet. I really love this H2O colors :) I corrected the colors a little bit (behind the photo or the flowers that didn't got spray) with this H2O colors. Once I satisfied, I glued my photo to my layout.

And here's our sponsor for this challenge. 7 Dots Studio is here with us as a Premium Sponsor in 2015.

7 Dots Studio was born from dreams and for dreams. We are a European scrapbooking company. Quality of our products is our top priority. Our collections are created by very talented artists - from clean, graphic designs to mixed-media, grungy collage look. But what you can always be sure are high quality and thickness of our papers, which make them work perfectly with all kinds of media. Among our products you will find scrapbooking papers, alpha stickers, die-cut elements, collage sheets, 6x6 paper pads, element stickers and tags. We are amazingly happy and feel very blessed to see that so many crafters and artists love our designs! 
Please visit 7Dots Studio Media Links below.

Hope you enjoy my layout this time and thank you for stopping by. Take care, Merry.

Home Sweet Home - JAN IAR Challenge

Dear all,
how are you all doing this week? Mine was great. My passion for mix media has grown stronger and stronger lately. I adore it very much. And comes to mix media, flowers are always brings beauty, especially the one from I am Roses, and somehow just realize a few months after using their products, that they have a challenge blog too, you could see it here. And for January, they have their challenge theme "Anything Goes". I love anything goes, so I thought, why don't I give it a try? I'd also like to include the challenge from The Mixed Media monthly challenge with this moodboard "new to you" since I wanna make something different with new technique..

I bought couple of months ago a plate. It's from NANU-NANA, a great shop for home decoration in my city. And here's how the wooden plate look.

I thought I bought and I wanted to make something different out of it. But can't figure it out what, till I saw the challenge from I am Roses. After a few make over, here's my wooden plate came out...

I did a lot of gesso, but before that, I applied a good amount of Mod Podge (Matte) all over the surface and covered it with some tissue. Once dried, I sprayed Lindy's Stamp Gang - Cape Cod Coral and Bodacious Blush. I then used structure paste with our stencils, to create more texture for my background. I set it aside and let it dry, while preparing my word "HOME". I hand drew the words on a water resistant paper. I cut it and line on the wooden plate to make sure they fit. I glued cardboard on the back of the words to give a  3D look. I applied similar technic with how I did my background to the words which was with gesso and structure paste. 

I glued the words "HOME" to the wooden plate and started to place the flowers where I thought I wanted to be. The flowers that I used from I am Roses are R2-426, R21-595(I took out the middle part and cut it in half and I placed it under two of the words) and S3-426. You could see more details on my photos. I added the glassbeads from 13@rts to create small splatters around the flowers, and some microbeads from my stash around the background with loads and loads of Mod Podge (matte). This idea came from Finnabair of course (I love her works) and I really like this new technique. Once dried, I brushed (to make more details came out) Inka Gold - Champagne around my flowers, my background textures and on the beads.

I would like to thank I am Roses and thank you The Mix Media Monthly Challenge for the challenges. Thank you all for stopping by and I hope you like what I made. Hugs, Merry.

Beauty - CSI Case File No.153

Dear all,
how are you doing? It's been a cold day here in Germany for these few days. It's even start to snow for days now. My little one get crazy with snow... she's very cute. :) Anyway, today I would like to share with you again another case from CSI (Color, Stories, Inspiration) with Case File No.153

And we're so pleased to have A2Z Scrapbooking as our January sponsor!

a2z Scrapbooking is proud to be a premier Hero Arts Retailer. Our Etsy store carries an extensive array of Hero Arts  products and we love special orders. Our company, which is run by volunteers, was founded in 2007 in an effort to raise funds or Celiac and Behcets awareness. Have a question or a special request? Please contact us! 

Be sure to check out the a2z Scrapbooking blog for lots of inspiration from their design team, who will be joining us as Guest Detectives this month!

a2z Scrapbooking is donating a gift certificate for each of our Case Files this month.

Here's my layout ...

The Color Scheme : Pale Coral/Peach, Orangey-Red, Pale Seafoam Green, Pale Yellow, Dusty Brown.

The Evidence : Border Punch, Drip Something, Texture Paste, Circles, Cake Accents, Sprinkle Something, Baker's Twine/String, Liquid Pearls.

The Testimony : I chose Presentation - Stack journaling Tags.

The tags said : "You can't eat beauty, it doesn't sustain you. What is fundamentally beautiful is compassion, for yourself and those around you. That kind of beauty enflames the heart and enchants the soul. -Lupita Nyong'o" 
I have used My Mind's Eye - The Sweetest Things (Tangerine-Wonderful). I prepared my background with gesso and stamps from Finnabair - Honey Comb and Kaisercraft - Film Edges. Then I used our stencil - small circle all over the paper, behind the cake to make more texture. I stacked 3 layers of paper to make the cake. You could see it more on the top left photo.

The banners I made it myself from the Pinterest, the tutorial you could fine it here. I cut all the photos since I thought they fit better to the cake. But then, before I glued everything, I saw something wrong with the cake, it didn't look like one. So I decided to use gesso to create the icing on top of the cake, and before it dried, I sprinkled it with Martha Stewart - Fine Glitter to make  the icing more real. Once it dried, I sprayed it with Lindy's Stamp Gang -  Cape Cod Coral, Clam Bake Beige to match the cake. All of our chipboards I colored black, rubbed Inka Gold - Apricot and finished with Glossy Accent. Once I'm happy with everything, I used Viva Decor Pearl Pen - White, all over the page and even on the cake. Hope you like it. Thanks for stopping by. Hugs, Merry

Our Journey - CSI Special Case No. CC-4

Hi there....

We're opening a very special Case File today, it's Special Case No. CC-4! CSI(Colors, Stories, Inspiration) is joining forces with Words & Paintery to bring you a special collaboration Case File That will be open for the rest of January. Here is the inspiration board for their challenge:

One of the perks of a Collaboration Case File is that you can create one layout and enter it for two different challenges. That means you have a chance to win a prize from Words & Paintery's sponsor and our sponsor, A2Z Scrapbooking.

To enter both challenges, be sure to add your layout to the CSI Gallery and to the Words & Paintery blog using their Linky tool, which can be found at the bottom of their blog post. Make sure you read the rules from both challenges to be eligible for a prize. 

Since we are celebrating CSI's third birthday this month, that is our theme tying together our Case Files. This week's frosty, festive Scene was found on Tiffany BIlls Designs blog.

So, are you ready for our special Collaboration Case File? Grab your forensics kits, CSI members, and get ready for some serious sleuthing as we open Case File No. CC-4.  

Here's my layout...

The Color Scheme : Aqua Blue, True Blue, Taupe, Light Grey and Off-White.

The Evidence : 3 of something, stars, rhinestones, glitter, something transparent, melt something.

The Testimony : I chose Presentation which is adding some sparkle to my journaling spot with glitter and rhinestones)

 The paper was actually a christmas paper, but somehow couldn't find again any blue paper that match the scheme. So I decided to use the color taupe as my background. Painted my background first with gesso and added some splashes of paint and some stamps. Made some layers for my photo. Spray my background with Dylusions Ink Spray - London Blue and Golden Acrylic Fluid - Phthalo Blue. For my chipboards, I used black acrylic paint, some I used Stickles - Baby Blue, some I did with Inka Gold - Ice Blue and some I did it with Liquid Pearl - Baby Blue.

 For the journal, since I've picked the title "Our Journey", so I decided to use this quote I found in Pinterest which said, "The best things in life are the people we love, the places we've been and the memories we're made along the way..." Like always, I would like to thank you for stopping over my blog, and would appreciate for a comment or two... :)

Happy New Year everyone and have a wonderful "first" day in 2015. Hugs, Merry.

Beauty - Sketchabilities Sketch No.131

Hi!!!

How are you all today? Mine's terrific!!! 

Welcome to our First Sketch of 2015!

Sketchabilities become more and more exciting! We have a great entries last Sketch. It was 66 entries... whoot.. whoot! Anyway, this month, we're doing a cross promo with White... with 1 - WW1. 

Basically, Sketchabilities(Karan Gerber) provided the sketch-and WW1 provided the colour! If you have been over on the WW1 blog this month, you will notice that Sketch #131 was  released early on their blog so you may have had a chance to get a head start on this one!

And this is the rule to play along ------>   The basic instructions for anyone that has not played along before is to use White + the challenge colour, which for this month is Placid Blue. They are the only 2 colours that can be used. You do not have to use white cardstock as the background colour but your layout needs to be at least 85% of white PLUS the one specified colour (placid blue) AND black can be used (approx 5%) for journalling/stamping or accenting but it is not to be the predominant colour on your page unless it is the specified challenge (+1) colour for that month. If you need to see the rest of the rules, just check out the White... with 1 blog. Or you could join their Facebook Page. And my layout for that...

I've used white cardstock with GOLDEN Fluid Acrylic - Phthalo Blue for the spray. The blue was quite dark, so the trick was, using a lot of gesso for the background and fill a lot of water in the spray and to drop just a bit of the paint. I added fine glitter from Martha Stewart to add more winter touch feeling to my layout... stamped some leaves from Inkadinkado Stamp - Fossil Leaves with Tsukineo Radiant Neon Ink Pad - Electric Blue and hand cut them all. For the title I added Stickles from Rangers - Baby Blue and finished it again with more glitters.

For the journal I've wrote it on the bottom part of the layout which is said, "NO BEAUTY SHINES BRIGHTER THAN THAT OF A  GOOD HEART". I know that she's still a baby at this time, but I hope I could show it to her one day, that true beauty is not always from appearance, but the most important thing is that she have a good heart.

Thank you for stopping by to see my layout and I really hope you like what I've done. And as for the rest of the day... hope you all have a fantastic day! Hugs, Merry.

Dear God - CSI Case File No.152

Dear all,
welcome to another festive challenge from CSI (Colors, Stories, Inspiration) with Case File No.152 to celebrate the third birthday from CSI.

We're so pleased to have A2Z Scrapbooking as our January sponsor!

a2z Scrapbooking is proud to be a premier Hero Arts Retailer. Our Etsy store carries an extensive array of Hero Arts  products and we love special orders. Our company, which is run by volunteers, was founded in 2007 in an effort to raise funds or Celiac and Behcets awareness. Have a question or a special request? Please contact us! 

Be sure to check out the a2z Scrapbooking blog for lots of inspiration from their design team, who will be joining us as Guest Detectives this month!

a2z Scrapbooking is donating a gift certificate for each of our Case Files this month.

And here's my layout...

The Color Scheme: Lime Green, Teal Green, White, Lemony Yellow, Tangerine Orange

The Evidence: Mesh, Polka Dot, Triangles, Stack Something, Watercolor Background, Stars. 

The Testimony: I chose Promt Idea from Paper Wishes No. 83 Write a letter to God.

The letter saying "Dear God, if today I lose my hope, please remind me that Your plans are better than my dream... Give me the wisdom to know what must be done and the courage to do it... Help me to put aside the things that are breaking my heart to pray about things that break Yours... And never let me be too busy to recognize Your blessings or hear Your voice..." 
I really love this color scheme very much. But before I really did it, I was struggling with the mood board for a while. Anyway, I started with white paper, did some gesso before spraying all the colors. I used Dylusions Ink Spray - Lemon Zest and Squeezed Orange and Lindy's Stamp Gang - Merci Beaucoup Mint.  I then used the stencil from The Crafters Workshop - Doodling Template to create more textures on my paper. Once dried, I stamped my background with Finnabair - Honey Comb and Kaisercraft - Film Edges and Triangles. Hope you enjoyed my layout this time.. Thanks for stopping by. Hugs, Merry 

Appreciate Every Little Thing

Happy New Year everyone!!! 

I wish all of you had a wonderful holiday and beautiful new start. I had a great holiday... was short but great at least... :) Well, here's another challenge from 123 Challenge Blog 

Here's my layout to that....

I love yellow, but to my suprise, I don't have any paper in yellow. Well, since last year, I decided, I shouldn't buy any more paper before I really dig in my stash. That's why I decided to use white paper.

I love Dylusion Ink Sprays. It's very easy to use. I've used Lemon Zest and Black Marble to create the background color. Our chipboards, I like it simple when I colored them black and then rubbed them with some Inka Gold - Gold to match the color Zitrone.

With the technique Folding, I decided I create a banner for the word "Appreciate" and I fold it like the picture above. Last but not least I used H2O from Cosmic Shimmer to create splatter for my background, they are Black Pearl, Orange Gold and Yellow Sun. 

I would also like to include this layout for the Off The Rails Scrapbooking Challenge with the moodboard below....

Thank you again for stopping by to see my creation...

Hugs, Merry

I Love You - CSI Case File 151

Hi all,
it's the third day of January 2015 already. And here comes the first case file to start the year from CSI (Color Stories Inspiration) with Major Case File No.151. You might have noticed we're calling this Case File the "Major Case." That's what our first Case File of the month will be called from now on (or as long as we're having 3 Case Files  a month)--it's the one that will stay open the entire month.

Here's my layout...

The Color Scheme : Foam Green, Carnation Pink, Bright White, Cream and Grayish Green.

The Evidence : frames, doodles, triangle, banner, sprinkle something(glitter), loops and pom-poms.

The Testimony : I chose Presentation which is hand-writing my journaling.

 The journal said, "When I tell you that I LOVE YOU I don't say it out of habit or to make conversation. I say it to remind you that YOU ARE the BEST THING that ever happened to me. xxx Mom."

The papers are from My Mind's Eye - The Sweetest Thing Collection and Project Life Theme Cards - Love. I did some gesso to soften the background a little bit. I colored the chipboards with black acrylic paint and rubbed some Inka Gold - Platinum and Magenta.

 I sprinkled some glitter in some corners of my photos and once I'm happy with my background, I glued the papers and the rest of the embellishments (buttons, half pearls and pom-poms) to my paper.

We're so pleased to have A2Z Scrapbooking as our January sponsor!

a2z Scrapbooking is proud to be a premier Hero Arts Retailer. Our Etsy store carries an extensive array of Hero Arts  products and we love special orders. Our company, which is run by volunteers, was founded in 2007 in an effort to raise funds or Celiac and Behcets awareness. Have a question or a special request? Please contact us!

Be sure to check out the a2z Scrapbooking blog for lots of inspiration from their design team, who will be joining us as Guest Detectives this month!

One lucky player will win a gift certificate to buy scrappy goods at a2Z Scrapbooking!

Thank you for stopping by to check my layout. Hugs, Merry