2 Layouts, and a Canvas, with Kelly Foster

Hi everyone! Kelly here..I am thrilled to be going on my second year here at Blue Fern. I hope you are enjoying all of the inspiration from our new (and returning!) DT members this month, I know I am!

I have three projects to share today so I'll get right to it!

"Love"

This first layout, I have used a bunch of little bits of Blue Fern Chipboard. I started with one of the frames from the Ever After Frame Set. I did a little stamping, embossing with black and bronze, and then added a bit of gold shimmering acrylic ink. I also tucked a piece of the Bits Of Honey, which I cut in half and left bare, into either side of the layering beneath my photo.

On the right side of the photo, I have placed one of the Garden Daisies (Small), which was painted with the same shimmery ink, a bit of green pearl paint, and topped with just a bit of a gold texture paste. To the cluster on the left side, I added one of the cute little dandelions from the All Natural set, which was given the same treatment as the Daisies.

Lastly, the title, "Love" comes from the "Good Vibes" set, and this piece was painted with a green pearly paint and a gold shimmering acrylic ink. I added just a touch of stamping as well.

Chipboard used:

Good Vibes Set

Garden Daisies- Small

All Natural Set

Bits Of Honey

Ever After Frame Set

 "Count Your Blessings" (8x10 Canvas)

This canvas, which I started some time ago, was finally finished when I chose the perfect bits of chipboard to finish it off! I made my flowers out of a vintage dress sewing pattern, and I added little strips cut from the Checker Bits as the stems.

The word "Blessings" comes from the Spiritually Speaking word set. This was simply given two coats of gesso so it would stand out.

Chipboard used:
Spiritually Speaking

Checker Bits

 "Sweet As Honey"

Last up, a sweet, girly layout. The Graduated Circles, this one cut apart a bit, make for such a fun page design. I painted this with Distress Paint, watercolors, gelatos, and then brushed on some gold texture medium.

The title was colored with Gelatos as well, in pink and butterscotch.

Chipboard used:

The Latest Buzz

Graduated Circles

Thank you so much for taking a look today, I hope you enjoyed my projects. Have a great day!!

*Kelly*

A Layout and a Card with Rae Moses

Hello, everyone! I'm Rae and I am so honored to be a part of the Blue Fern Studios Design Team! This is my first post, so I'll here's a little bit about me:

I live in Colorado with my husband and three children. I used to be a high school teacher, but I currently enjoy being a stay-at-home mom. I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, and crafts of all kinds! I've been scrapbooking for about six years, and I am hopelessly addicted! I love creating layouts and altered projects of all kinds. I love the shabby chic, elegant, and grungy styles. I love layers and distressing!

Here are a couple of my first projects I have made for this month:

"Delightful" Layout 

If you follow the BFS blog, then you've seen this layout already because it's my take on the January Sketch Challenge. :)  But, I thought I would share some closeups of how I treated the chipboard. 

For this snowflake dangle, I painted it with gesso, then added some Distress Glitter.

I also painted this dangle with gesso, and once it was dried, I used some purple chalk ink on the bows and outlined the heart. I finished it off with Tattered Angels Glitter Glam.

 For the "delightful" piece, I painted it with gesso, then I pressed the purple chalk ink onto it in a random fashion.

Chipboard used: Winter Dangles, The Optimist Word Set

"Beautiful You" Card

I just adore this Shabby Layered Frame! I thought it would make a perfect fit for a card, so I made one with it. And, because I was going for a basic distressed look, I decided to cover the bottom layer of the frame with paper. I simply traced the frame on the paper I wanted to use, and cut it out and glued it to the chipboard, and then used a file to sand the paper to show the fine details of the outline.

For the top layer, I decided to simply "brush" it with black archival ink, careful to leave some of the raw chipboard showing.

Chipboard used: Shabby Layered Frame

"Blooming Beauty" Layout

There is A LOT of chipboard on this layout!

For these Graduated Circles, I used basically the same technique that I did for the card above, but I used brown archival ink.

On this Spring Branch, I started out with a heavy layer of gesso, then I randomly poured clear microbeads on it while the gesso was still wet. Once dry, I used Silks Acrylic Glaze paint in Guatemalan Green. It was a little brighter than I wanted, so I applied Distress Ink in Walnut Stain to make it match better with my color scheme of my layout.

For this frame from the Petite Boutique Frame set, I put on a heavy coat of Croco paint from Viva Decor. Once it dried, I dabbed on some Vintaj Patina paint, and finished it off with brushing it with Distress Ink in Walnut Stain.

And, for my title, I used the Blooming Beauty piece. I used the technique I used on the frame above for the "Blooming" part, then I covered the "Beauty" with black glitter.

Chipboard used: Graduated Circles, Spring Branch, Petite Boutique Frames, Blooming Beauty

Thank you for taking a look at my projects! And, thank you so much to Leslie and Valerie for having me as part of this team!

Creations with Patter

Hi! It's Patter jumping in a little earlier this month. I thought I would share two cards that you could easily create and use as thank you cards or whatever occasion you need after the Christmas holiday. You will need the Blue Fern Studios Shabby Layered Frame chipboard, Gabrielle Butterfly Set, and the Graduated Circles. Let's get started!

Hello
For my first creation, I wanted to use the Shabby Layered Frame. This frame measures 4 1/2" x 5" so it was perfect to use for a card frame. I cut my card base and then got to work on dressing up the frame. I started with a layer of gesso on the frame, and then I used some white DazzelerZ. Once that was all dry, I used a sponge to add touches of gold paint on the frame randomly. Here is how it turned out:

Blue Fern Studios chipboard used: Shabby Layered Frame

I used a "hello" sentiment but that could easily be changed to any sentiment you would like to use.

Made for You
For my next card, I used two pieces of Blue Fern Studios chipboard. The first is the center from the Graduated Circles set. I used the lightest color of distress ink to color it. I wanted it to match the woodgrain color in the patterned paper I used. It looks like I left the chipboard raw but there was a slight color change when adding the ink. It turned out to be just the color I wanted.

And for the Gabrielle Butterfly, I covered it in gesso first. Once it was dry, I added two layers of DazzelerZ. I let the first layer dry before adding the second layer since the butterfly is so delicate. It helped to build up the paint a bit by allowing it to dry between layers on this delicate piece.

Blue Fern Studios chipboard used: Gabrielle Butterfly Set, Graduated Circles

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you got some useful ideas to try on your Blue Fern Studios chipboard. Have a Merry Christmas!

It started with 2 pieces of Kraft paper...

 It's me, Lisa!! December is here!! I hope that everyone is getting into the holiday spirit!!! Well, with the hustle and bustle of the season, It may be a little difficult to find time to create. But Create I must, so I pulled out 2 pieces of 12x12 Kraft paper..After all, it is the color of chipboard. I covered them with gesso...Then the magic began...

 I created this layout as a gift for a dear friend who lost her husband this year.
I primed the Graduated Circles with gesso. Then painted them with acrylic glaze and dabbed some black paint over it when it was dry.

 I painted the By the Sea words with flat black acrylic paint.

  I always save the innards from my panels chipboard. The diamonds came from the Harlequin Page Panel. I glued them to the background and painted them with gesso to blend in, before I sprayed the whole page with mists.

  This next layout was totally inspired by Australian artist Di Garling. I just pulled some chipboard from my collection and got busy.

To adorn the Spring Branch, I covered it with some texture paste and let it dry. Then I painted it with acrylic glaze.

I painted the Doodle Flowers with acrylic glaze as well. I added a rhinestone to the middle of this one.

 
I painted and tucked some of the Doodle Flowers among the flower cluster.

Thank you for joining me today on the Blue Fern Studios Blog. Make sure you check back often to see the inspiration created by Design Team. You can join me on my blog for details, and the story behind the By The Sea layout.

Sharing a layout and a card.

We are coming to a close of 2013 in just a couple of months. I have enjoyed my last year working with all of the beautiful Blue Fern Studios chip board and look forward to a new year with new designs!! In the mean time, check here often as new designs are added to the inventory often!!
For my first project I did a 12x12 layout. I had to create a sweet layout to match the wonderful photo of my daughter and her kitty. He really is Sweet As Honey.

I hope you save the innards of your chip board because they add a wonderful design element to your projects!! And if not, you can always purchase a pack of the various pieces where you find Blue Fern Studios chip board. I used gesso as a base, then used a crackle paint on top, then finished it with a glaze medium after the crackle dried.

I base coated all of my chip board peices with gesso and used 2 colors of glaze medium to color  the pieces.  After they were dry, I inked the outer edges slightly for dimension.

I used a couple of colors of glaze medium on the flower chip board and used a pearl pen to add the stamen in the middle.

 Blue Fern Bits  

Graduated Circles

 Large Garden daisies

 Small Garden Daisies

 The Latest Buzz

For my next project, I created a card. Sometimes simplicity brings out the beauty in a chip board piece. I didn't want the beauty of the bicycle shape to get lost, so I made it the star of the card.

All I did was heat embossed it using a fine black embossing powder. I used layers of paper to frame the piece. This card can be used for many occasions.

Penny Farthing

Thanks for visiting today and I cant wait to bring you my next Blue Fern Studios projects for December.  Please visit us often here as the designers bring you inspiration day after day. You don't want to miss a thing!!

Cages All Over by Camilla

Hi! Camilla Ekman here with some new projects and I am using some new fabulous chipboards from Blue Fern Studios. 

To create this rather neutral layout I layered some different patterned papers from Maja Design and also used a mask to create a white swirl. As a photo mat I used the BFS Graduated Circles. Underneath the circle I used two Blue Fern Flourishes, one to the left and one to the right. I clustered some flowers and a vine and added two cages from the BFS Veranda Cage Set. The chipboards are painted in white gesso.

Blue Fern Studios products used:

Next is a girly layout where I use the BFS Princess Window as a part of my photo mat. A beautiful cage from the BFS Veranda Cage Set and a Bohemian Butterfly shine among the flowers and pearl swirls. Those chipboards are also painted in white gesso. The papers are from Maja Design.

Blue Fern Studios products used:

My last project for this month is a bag card. I decorated the front of a paper bag. You can put a small gift inside and then close the paper bag and give it away as a card. The BFS Grande Cage is the centre of attention and I have only added a few small roses and some pink seam binding. The papers are from Maja Design.

Blue Fern Studios products used:

Make sure to stop by the day after tomorrow to see some new projects from the Blue Fern Studios Design Team!