May Inspiration with Sandi Clarkson

Hello, Blue Fern Studios fans!

Sandi here with you today sharing 3 projects using 3 different collections. Because I work ahead, only one of these is done using our newest Tranquility collection. However, that gave me a chance to catch up on some faves. 
This month it seemed that "my jam" was using a mix of embossing powders and glitters on a single chipboard piece. So fun!


"Memories Captured"

My new favorite! This is one of those projects that is so sparkly in real life but is hard to capture with the camera. I've used the gorgeous Serendipity papers and layered and stamped them to create a unique effect. The darker pattern is Reminisce, side B. It provides such a dramatic backdrop.




The Deja Vu Atelier chipboard, as well as the Captured Words title chipboard were altered with black gesso as a primer and then glammed with Oatmeal, Garnet and Cotton Candy Embossing Powders along with some Dusty Rose glitter.

The contrast of the Oatmeal Embossing Powder on the blackened chipboard almost gives a silvery sheen. I love experimenting with different combinations! Here I've added a fussy cut butterfly and some of the Courtship Lane Roses and Blooms. I used the Courtship Lane branding strip as a subtitle.  Off to the right you can spy some of the Halftone stamping. 

The title is from the Captured Words set and is treated the same as the Atelier chipboard. To the right and under it, I've layered in a Whimsy Flourish that was colorized with a gelato and then enhanced with some random embossing using Lime Embossing Powder. Again, some Courtship Lane blooms were added. 

The Aloha Flower chipboard was primed with white gesso, then colored with gelato and and again randomly embossed. For consistency, I've used Lime on the stem and leaves, Cotton Candy on the flower itself. 

Blue Fern Studios products used:

Paper: Serendipity Contemplation, Reminisce, Anticipation and Calling Cards, Courtship Lane branding strip

Chipboard:  Captured Words, Deja Vu Atelier Chippie, Aloha Flowers, Whimsy Fourishes

Stamps: Halftone

Embossing Powder: Oatmeal, Garnet, Cotton Candy, Lime

Glitters: Dusty Rose

Flowers: Courtship Lane Roses, Courtship Lane Blooms

***

"Dream Big"

This next layout was so fun for me because it's a little different from my usual style. But with a photo this cute, you just have to let it inspire you!
 This is my sweet granddaughter MacKayla and her new foal.

Since this girl loves going to the barn, I thought this particular paper from Autumn Anthology (Cottage) might fit the bill. I used a few others for layers and stamped the background with the Dreamy stamp.
I grabbed some of the older Chicken Wire chipboard, inked it and tucked it in.

The right corner flourish you see is actually a trimmed corner from the Rose Frame chipboard piece which is almost 11x11 inches. Once again I went with priming with black gesso and adding a combination of fun Embossing Powders. This  time I've used a combination of the paper and the photo for my inspiration.  So, first, Seven Seas, then Tangerine and lastly Honey Embossing Powder. At the end of my composition, I dabbed with white gesso. A couple of Courthsip Lane blooms and that part was done! The little left hand corner piece was treated the same.

Since the Pretty Weeds flowers are right there to the left, let's talk about them. The flowers were embossed with Bonny Blue Embossing Powder while the stems were inked. Love how they brighten things up! 

I needed my title chipboard "Dream Big" (from the Optimist Set) to be light in  color, so I used the Bonnie Blue Embossing Powder again. Then later dabbed with white gesso. Here you can also see that left hand piece of the Rose Frame and more of the Pretty Weeds. And of course, good old Chicken Wire! All that was left was to add some more of the Courtship Blooms.

One more Pretty Weed over to the right of the little house image … which I'm imagining as a barn! 

Blue Fern Studios products used:
Paper: Autumn Anthology Cottage, Mercantile, Newsworthy, Calling Cards
Chipboard: Chicken wire, Rose Frame, Pretty Weeds, The Optimist Word Set
Stamps: Dreamy
Embossing Powder: Bonny Blue, Seven Seas, Honey, Tangerine
Flowers: Courtship Lane Blooms

***

"Blissful" 

Last but not least is my example for the Tranquility Reveal. 
My primary background paper is the B side of the Hushed paper. More Hushed paper was utilized as torn photo layers to help build the background along with a Calling Card. I've done some stenciling and added some random mist colors from my stash. 

All my chipboard pieces were treated the same to create a cohesive look. I've again done multiple embossing powder over clear gesso. 

Some Organic Coins were used as a photo layer and embossed with In the Navy, Nutmeg and Garnet Embossing Powder.  Fool's Gold Glitter was also added in for sparkle. The Scalloped Border chipboard is just barely peeking out on each side of the photo. My Blissful title was treated the same as well. 

I enjoyed using the new Tranquility Flowers on this page, so added them generously! 

A better look at that Scalloped Border chipboard and Blissful title. 

You can see bits of the Making Plans stamping that was done as I was preparing my background. I've used black splattered paint as a finishing touch. I also added some black dots to my lilies to make them more life-like. 

Just wanted to share one more image of these gorgeous Tranquility Roses and Lilies. 

Blue Fern Studios products used:
Paper: Tranquility Hushed and Calling Cards
Chipboard: Organic Coins, Blissful, Jubilation, Patience set, Scalloped Border
Stamp: Making Plans
Embossing Powder: In The Navy, Nutmeg, Garnet
Glitter: Fool's Gold
Flowers: Tranquil Blooms, Tranquil Roses and Lilies

That's it for this month! 
I hope you've found something to inspire you! 
Sandi

Frolic, Timeless and Autumn Anthology with Karine

Hi there,

It's my turn today on the blog. I have three layouts to share with you today. I was hoping to share some projects with the newest collection, but I haven't received my box yet, so I'll have to wait until next month.

It doesn't matter, I still love older collections.

Giggle

My first layout features the beautiful Frolic collection. I used the Friendship paper. I just can't believe how cute those little birds are. I think I have 6 or 7 copies of this paper! I love it!

I used modeling paste and a stencil to add texture on my background. Then, I glued thorn doilies with gel medium. Over that, I adhered dry wall tape. When everything was dry, I added my colors.

I layered parts of the Damask Panel underneath my picture and my flowers. I covered it with Snow embossing powder. While the powder was still hot, I sprinkled a little bit of Bonny Blue embossing powder and melted it again.

My title piece, part of the «Funny, Giggle, Smile» set, received the same treatment. I adhered it on top of my picture.

Famille

My second layout is more subtle. I used the Song paper from the Timeless collection. I love its colors.

My composition is based on the Aloha Flowers chipboard, which I painted with white gesso and covered with mist.

I also added the Chelsea Vines, that were coloured the same way.

You can see, in the background, that I used the Vintage Edges stamp with brown ink to add texture to my layout.

My title piece, part of the French Words set, was also altered with mists over gesso.

Special

My last layout features on of my favorite pictures of my daughter. Isn't she cute?

My background paper is called Newsworthy and it is from the Autumn Anthology collection. I chose it for its neutral colors. I added a little bit of color to the bird above, to help him match my layout. A light touch of white gesso helped to see all the details.

My layout is based on the Chelsea Medallion chipboard piece. I LOVE this piece! I embossed it with three colors of embossing powder: Fern, Cerulean and Azure.

To add a bit of interest below my picture, I layered two pieces of the Leafy Page Accents over my medallion. They were embossed with the same three powders as well as white gesso.

Lastly, my title piece, part of the «Perfect, Adorable, Special», was left raw, as it helped to bring the background color back into the layout.

I hope my layouts inspired you. Have a nice crafty day,

Karine

November Inspiration with Jelissa

Hello friends! Hope your weekend of trick n treat has been fun!

I'm up on the Blue Fern Studios blog today to share two layouts. And if you've been wondering, here are my little girl's photos at last! I finally found the time to process them and print them out for scrapping. And I got to say, the feel of a newborn in my arms and their intoxicating smell is just so addictive!

Here is my first layout, based on the November challenge sketch created by Michelle. I used lots of the gorgeous papers from the Autumn Anthology collection - pastels are really my favourite!

My take on the sketch:

This time I've pretty much stuck to the sketch changing only the title. My background is deliberately simple so as not to steal the limelight from the pretty papers  and chipboards.

Some closeups:

Under my flowers, I have the Floral Lattice Bits all heat-embossed and layered on top of strips of papers from the Autumn Anthology papers which I have the edges punched.

The French Ironwork chipboard which I heat-embossed as well - first with two different shades of brown and as an accent, I used the Fern Embossing Powder, one of the many new products from Blue Fern Studios. Some stamping in the background was done with the Garden Frolic stamp set.

Another half of the Floral Lattice Bit which I snipped off to balance the layout. Lots of layering too from different sheets of the collection.

My title, made up of words from two different sets - Baby Words and Perfect, Adorable, Special - which I brushed lightly with paint and inked the edges with gelato.

Blue Fern Studios products used:

Autumn Anthology - Parfumerie, Gazebo, Mercantile
Chipboard - French Ironwork, Perfect, Baby Words, Floral Lattice Bits
Mediums - Embossing Powder (Fern)

My next share is a video tutorial and I had heaps of fun doing it. Each and every one of my kids get a shadow box or canvas for their baby photo and my little girl is no exception. While I really love how sturdy the Blue Fern papers are, I wanted something that I could mount on a wall or display without warping over time. So I chanced upon the idea of transferring the entire sheet of patterned paper over on to my canvas.

Here is the project:

You can see just how different the background paper looks now! Because of the uneven-ness in removing the layers of paper, I had little patches of white all over, with some bits of the canvas exposed. It's a gorgeous white haze effect on top of a very pretty paper, and muted it just enough to fit the theme of the photo.

Some close-ups:

My title piece - I snipped off the "Hush" from "Hush Little Baby" to fit the composition of the canvas.

Aloha Flower chippie, sneaked in between all those layers of Calling Cards cut-outs.

My background is a mixture of simple stenciling as well as heat embossing with another sweet color "Petal" from Blue Fern Studios. I also cut out little butterflies and placed them all over the canvas.

Butterfly Friends chippie helping to fill out the layers and also to create visual flow.

Some of the background details.

And here is the start-to-finish video. That's all I have for you today, so sit back and enjoy!

Blue Fern Studios products used:

Autumn Anthology - Calling Cards, Newsworthy, Balcony

Chipboard - Aloha Flower, Butterfly Friends, Hush Little Baby

Mediums - Embossing Powder (Petal)

love,

New from Blue Fern Studios!

Welcome to the weekend!  Hopefully you have something fun planned.  Today we would like to show off the new chipboard pieces and sets we have added this week.

Victorian Corner

Aloha Flowers

Quatrefoil Frame

Novelty Trims

Radiant Bursts

Flutter Medley

Chipper Frame

Peek-a-Boos

These Peek-a-Boos are something new that designer Michele Singh recently came up with.  What are they for, you ask?  You know those times when you tear back a little bit of your paper (like Yuko has done in a couple of places on her layout below)?  Imagine tucking in one of these beautiful chipboard pieces so it "peeks out".  Love that idea!  And we're sure you will find lots of other ways to use these new pieces.

So, tell us what you think.  We love to receive comments from you.  Which are your favorites?