Rejoice

This is another page I made using my December kit from Swirlydoos.  What a gorgeous kit.  I made this page for Angelica's Butterfly Challenge.

 I was racking my brain over what I was going to do for Christmas photos this year.  It's funny how inspiration finds you in some of the weirdest of ways.  I was trying to put some things together for a page and I had purchased this lovely piece of Prima Jewelry from Swirlydoos store which was laying out on my desk.  My DD walks into the room and just puts it on her head like a head band and stuck a pose for me.  (She's too much!)  She started to laugh and I said "Wait a minute....that gives me an idea."  A Christmas picture was born.  *insert a choir of Angels singing*

I emailed my friend, Mandy, and asked her if she could work some of her Photoshop magic on a few of my pics.  Click here to see her awesome blog.  She has a link to her photography site too.  She emailed them back to me and they just took my breath away.  On this particular picture she added a fairy wing, a small blue butterfly and an overall ethereal glow to the photo.  Isn't it gorgeous?!  Wowie!!!  Props to Mandy!!  Thanks sweetie~

I used two of the papers from the kit.  I fussy cut the border out of the Creative Imaginations paper and placed it over the top of a paper from Bo Bunny.  I used my white Adirondack paint and with a small paint brush I highlighted the angels wings.  I had planned on using the Prima Jewelry that my DD wore in the picture in my page.  I think it is a nice touch.

I used some coordinating paper to make a small frame behind the photo and then wet distressed the circle behind it.  The Calla Lily and Crepe Paper Carnations were made by hand and if you click the name of each it will bring you to my tutorial so you can make them too! I've also started to keep a list of my tutorials in the left hand side bar of my blog. It is near the top.  The green holly came in the kit and I had the red ribbon in my stash.

The butterfly was provided my Lisa Gregory.  She provides a set of butterflies for each kit.  I added burgandy stickles to it and clipped off some berries from one of the sprays that came with the kit.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  I love your comments.  They always bring a smile to my face and a warmth to my heart.  Have a blessed holiday!!!  Hugs~

Summertime Fun

**Swirlydoos August Kit - Shabby Ambition**

This is my DD at one of our recent camping trips.  She was in the lake and have so much fun.  I got my big lens on and was able to zoom right in and get this shot.  She is soaking wet and covered in sand but it isn't keeping her from having a good time.

I used Creative Imaginations IOD, and 7 Gypsies paper.  First I cut the darker 7 Gypsies into 3 pieces; two thinner ones (different thickness) to go vertically and the other to go horizontally.  Then I cut another piece of IOD in a coordinating color and gave it a distressed scalloped edge.  I fussy cut around the edges of my main background paper so that the other pieces could slide in behind it.  Before I glued down the paper, I used a Tim Holtz stamp and black Archival Ink and stamped the wildflower bunches.  

I used an SVG to cut the face frame.  The frame is cut using two files.  Click here and here  to download the file I used.  The frame is really supposed to be used with two different papers.  I knew that I was going to have a lot going on with this page so I decided to use a tone-on-tone paper.  I cut all of it out using gray card stock and then inked up the main the frame.  I then added diamond Stickles to the all of the little pieces that you would normally throw away and glued them all into place.  Lastly, I added white pearls on the ends of the flourishes.  

I cut all of the leaves out using SVG files as well and inked those up.  I distressed a book page from Glitz and added that behind my photo.  The tag came with my kit as well and I inked that up and then added one of my favorite Tim Holtz stamps "the journey awakens the soul".  I thought it was fitting when I looked at her face and hoped that this would be a fun and wonderful memory for her.  The bigger flowers are all Prima and the little ones were in my kit as well.  The rhinestone flourish came in a prior Swirlydoo kit.

Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoy the svg files!!

Shiver Me Timbers!!!

***Swirlydoos August Kit***

AARRGGH ye ole chum bucket!  This was a fun page to do.  The photo was taken at our most recent camping trip.  It was pirate weekend at the campground we went to and it was a lot of fun.  I uploaded the photo to www.photofunia.com and placed my photo on the wanted poster.  The site is so easy to use and best of all it is FREE!    I downloaded a lot of clipart and used a masking tape technique for the circle behind my large chipboard flourish.

The paper is from 7 Gypsies and Creative Imaginations Beloved line.  I covered the large chipboard flourish in the paper from Beloved.  I inked around the edges and then painted a few places with Distress Crackle in Rock Candy.  Once the crackle, well...crackled, I then went back over it with some distress ink and rubbed it into the cracks with my fingers and then lightly wiped it down with a damp cloth so as only to remove the ink on the top and not down in the cracks.

 Next, I created the circle behind the flourish using a masking tape technique.  It is sooooooo easy!  I provided a tutorial and it is right below this post.  Just scroll down a scooch and you'll see it.  I decided to add some rub ons as well.  I was looking to give it a bit more of a rich, pirate-y feel.     I downloaded the pirate coins, map and the Jolly Roger. I cut out thin card board and used that to paste my coins to.  This way they have some substance to them and the paper won't curl.  I then added a little bit of glue in small random places on top of the coins.  This is so that when I used my distress ink on them it would end up going on heavier where the glue is and give the coins a dirty (as in dirt! I know what you were thinking LOL) look to them.  After I used the ink, I added some rock candy stickles to the sails on the ships and little black pearls to the eyes on the skulls.  For the Jolly Roger I decided to glue this to a piece of manila card stock.  I distressed the heck out of and then inked it.  Finally I used a wet distress technique to make it look more like aged linen.  I used a similar technique on the treasure map, only I didn't wet distress it as much.

Those gorgeous blue flowers, and the cute little white ones came in my kit and the black vine was from a past kit.  I threw in some pearls and jewels on the flourish chip board to represent the pirate's booty!  ARRGH!  I also threw in a key and a lock for good measure!  Now, it wouldn't really be a girly pirate if there wasn't any pink......so I added two pink butterflies.

I hope you enjoyed this and that you try the masking tape technique!!!  TFL~