Jackie's March Creations and Multi-Colour Embossing

Hi there! Jackie with you here today to share my March Blue Fern Studios layouts. This month I've been having a lot of fun playing with the thick, sumptuous Blue Fern Garden papers. What a fantastic accompaniment to Blue Fern Studios chippies!

I started with the Love Letters paper for my background. I wanted to add some additional details with mists and inks while preserving the lattice pattern on the paper, so I began by covering the lattice with gel medium on a paintbrush. Once dry, this allowed me to wipe away any misplaced mist.

I painted some of the grid pattern with blue mists and splattered some gold and brown mist around to further emphasize the white of the grid.

I wanted the "Natural Beauty" title from the All Natural set to have a curve to it. Because the chipboard is nice and pliable I was able to do so easily; I started by adhering the N with a bead of hot glue, then added the curve, adhering as I went. A nice easy way to add movement to your layout and to further integrate your chippy into your cluster.

For the Shabby Brick Bits, I started by inking them a dark brown, but decided it was too strong for the layout, and added some Lindy's Stamp Gang embossing powder, which is very iridescent. To tone down the green I inked over it with some brown. Don't be afraid to keep playing with your chippies until you are absolutely happy with them - they can take it!

Blue Fern Studios Products Used

Blue Fern Garden Paper:

- Love Letters (2 sheets)

Chipboard:

- Shabby Brick Bits

- All Natural Set

When the Design Team first received our Blue Fern Garden papers, we were all reluctant to add media to the papers - not because they couldn't withstand them, but because they are so gorgeous we were loathe to cover them up. I have since gotten over my fear, but you will notice on most of my projects with these gorgeous papers I have everything strategically placed so that you can still see the beautiful background detail.

For this next layout, I loaded on the wet media and water, layering the tear strips from the bottom of the papers (have you noticed each paper has a pretty little banner printed on the tear strip?) with squares and grids I had cut from the Love Letters paper on another project. Because of the thickness of the Blue Fern Garden papers, they withstand media better than most other papers I have worked with. To combat the slight warping, I gripped the background paper in between my hands after it was dry, and ran it fairly aggressively over the edge of the counter to smooth it out, leaving me with a layout that lays nearly flat at the end of the day. I love that this paper can take that kind of abuse!

Because this picture of my middle son was taken at the stable where he took horseback riding, the "Charmed" dangle from the Charmed Page Dangles set, with its upward facing horseshoe, was perfect.

I wanted the dangle to stand out from the background and for the details to stand out rather than just colouring it in a single colour. I started by painting the whole thing with a sparkly dark brown paint, then added my embossing powders for dramatic effect.

Using several different colours of embossing powder on the same piece is easier than you might think if you just have the right tools. My embossing ink comes in a dauber rather than an ink pad, so it was simply a matter of unscrewing the cap and painting it on with a paintbrush. I embossed each colour separately to avoid mixing the colours. Doesn't it make the word Charmed pop?

The Bits of Honey pieces were heat embossed with the same gold embossing powder I used on the dangle, but to roughen them up I stamped them with a texture stamp while the embossing powder was still hot. 

Blue Fern Studios Products Used

Blue Fern Garden Papers:

In Bloom

Love Letters

Calling Cards

& the tear strips from each sheet of the collection

Blue Fern Studios Chipboard:

Bits of Honey

Charmed Page Dangles