May creations by Maja

Welcome, dear Visitors, to the Blue Fern Studios blog today :-)

It's Maja here to share some projects I made for today's post.

Let's begin with the layout you already could see  - my sample for the BFS May sketch challenge.

As usually, I followed the sketch quite closely, trying to incorporate all the elements. I used the Timeless collection. For the background, I layered the Freedom and Maconnerie sheets and then repreated the brick pattern from Maconnerie using bricks (mine were leftovers from the Brick Panel, but you may also get them in the Blue Fern Bits set) I coloured white:

Under the photo you may see the tags I cut out from the Calling Cards sheet. Then I embossed the Merriment word first with Garnet ep, and then with Mystic Plum - as it is semi-transparent, it resulted in a new, shimmering colour :-)

I decorated the Love This word from the Arrow Words set, and placed it on an ornament I cut out from one of the Calling Cards tags. I completed my page with a piece of lace and mini roses:

Merriment:
Papers: Timeless: Maconnerie, Freedom, Keepsakes, Calling Cards
Chipboard: Arrow Words, Serendipity Words 2, Shabby Brick Panel/Blue Fern Bits
EP: Garnet, Mystic Plum

 For my second layout I used our latest release, the Tranquility collection - I just fell in love with the wood patterns included!

I couldn't resist using one of those beautiful woods for the background ;-) Then I matted the photo with the darker wood pattern and placed it onto the largest of the Splattered Circles chipboard set and added flowers from the two sets that match the collection. Then I surrounded the photo with pieces from the Seeing Stars set.

I coloured my chippies with four different embossing powders, re-heating and adding pinch of various colours here and there to get a varied, distressed look:

For the title I used a piece from the Spiritually Speaking set and embossed it with In the Navy ep - I just love this deep dark blue it gives! And then, as a cherry on top, I added yet another star in the form of a metal charm from my stash :-)

Angel Eyes:
Papers: Tranquility: Serenity, Jubilation, Calm, Patience
Chipboard: Seeing Stars, Splattered Circles, Spiritually Speaking
EP: Mushroom, Icicle, Oatmeal, 14 Karat, In the Navy
Flowers: Tranquil Blooms, Tranguil Roses and Lilies


Mother's Day is celebrated on different days around the world, but many countries celebrate it in May. And so, last but not least, come two cards I made for this occasion:

I also used papers and flowers from the tranquility collection - as you can see, it's perfect for boy themes and romantic creations too :-) I went for the pink palette with one of the cards and combined some chipboard pieces from various sets, painting them or embossing with embossing powders:

The other card features one of the chipboard sets that go with the collection, Jubilation Corners, and the aqua-green flowers from the collection blooms.

I first coloured the chipboard with various mists for a delicate shiny look and then accentuated the butterflies with white crackle paint. I just love the shabby chic effect!

Mother's Day Cards:
Papers: Tranquility: Hushed, Peaceful
Chipboard: Veranda Cage Set, All Natural Set, Jubilation Corners, Mini Flourishes
EP: Oatmeal, Cotton Candy
Flowers: Tranquil Blooms, Tranguil Roses and Lilies, Courtship Roses


And that's all for today, thank you for visiting and do visit us later for more inspiration :-)

hugs, Maja

March Layouts by Maja

Good morning, BFS Fans, welcome to the blog today :) It's Maja here to share three layouts I made using our latest collection, Courtship Lane. 
Ladies first, so let's start with a girly page :)

I like to layer papers for the background and add stamps - and so I did here. For the top layer I chose the Concert Hall paper as the young lady in the photo plays the violin. I also matted the photo with various papers and formed a semi-frame using Whimsy Flourishes, "closed" on the other side of the photo with the Village Sign Post piece embossed with Copper ep. Then I added some flowers and embellies:

The title word "Happy" is embossed with three eps in the purple palette for an ombre effect:

Papers: Calling Cards, Concert Hall, West Plaza, Royal Street
Stamps: Deja Vu, Forever, Vintage Edges
Chipboard: Whimsy Flourishes; Happy, Heart, Love;Village Sign Post
EP: Iris, Lilac, Mystic Plum, Verdant, Copper

For my second layout I opted for a cheerful spring palette of colours. This time the background features only one paper, Parkway, and no stamps.

I used several designs to mat the photo and they fill the beautiful frame Clip Frames set. I added colour to it with two shades of green embossing powders: Sage and Lime. I made the words stand out by embossing them with Oatmeal ep. Together with the large "Handsome" piece (embossed with Honey) they form my title:

Then I added some chipboard accents from the Arrow Words and Directions sets - to highlight them against the green frame I used Copper ep to emboss. I also added pieces of the Chickenwire Panel that I left saute.

I use flowers also on my boys' layouts, as they still don't mind ;) Here I used beautiful Courtship Blooms and Courtship Roses:

Papers: Parkway, Royal Street, Calling Cards
Chipboard: Handsome, Arrow Words, Directions, Clip Frames, Chickenwire Panel
EP: Sage, Lime, Copper, Oatmeal, Honey

And finally my last layout for March for which I chose orange tones of papers and embellishments:

I composed my background by tearing the house image off the West Plaza paper and layering the rest upon the Lover's Lane sheet. Then I added some stamping and a backet pattern using white modeling paste and stencil and then splashed some tangerine, golden and white mists:

Using two pieces from the Circle Groups I arranged a triangle-shaped design under the photo. I embossed them with Ginger ep and added some pieces from the Cogs & Gears set. I embossed them with Nutmeg ep for more contrast and placed upon or inside the circles:

One of the Arrow Words makes my title - I embossed it with Copper ep because it's very glittery and really makes this small piece pop out:

To finish off my page, I added some Courtship Blooms and metal charms:

Papers: Bourbon Avenue, West Plaza, Royal Street
Chipboard: Arrow Words, Circle Groups, Splattered Circles, Cogs & Gears
Stamps: Widgets
EP: Honey, Ginger, Copper, Nutmeg

I like how by selecting papers I could concentrate on main colours of the collection - green, purple and orange - separately to create varied backgrounds and climates for my pages.

That's all for today, thank you for visiting and see you later!

Maja

Winner, Winner - and some amazing featured layouts!

Hello everyone!  It's time to announce the winner of our July Sketch Challenge, and to feature some amazing layouts.  We love to show off how you use Blue Fern products.

We will begin with this month's winner, selected by a random draw.........and the winner is entry #7,  created by Alison Bevis of Australia.

Congratulations Alison!  As the winner, you will receive a package of Blue Fern Studios chipboard.  Please send me an e-mail, within the next 7 days, to {valerie(at)bluefernstudios(dot)com} to claim your prize.

Here is the lovely layout Alison created for our July Sketch Challenge using paper from the Sanctuary Collection.  She also used several chipboard pieces - Smile, as her title, Seaside Frame, Checker Bits, and Circle Links.

We are always pleased to feature a few layouts from those that were submitted for the challenge.  You all spend so much time creating layouts for us, and we want you to know how much we look forward to seeing you use our patterned paper, chipboard and stamps!  Of all the amazing projects, here is a selection of 5 layouts that we would like to feature this month.

The first feature this month was created by Taru Jehkonen of Finland.  Aren't theses colors beautiful?  We love how Taru began with a sheet of paper from the Ombré Dreams collection, and created this stunning background.  The frame is from the Splattered Circles set, and the title is one from the Laughter, Happy, Smile set of words.  

Marie-Eve of Canada also used paper from Ombré Dreams for her sketch layout, which features some amazing touches of gold!  She used a circular frame on her layout (Graduated Circles), Shabby Brick Bits, and the title is from our French Words chipboard set. 

We immediately fell in love with this one from Rae Moses of the US.  The Boston Lattice chipboard piece is the perfect back-drop for this sweet photo.  The paper is from the Dejá Vu collection.  We love the addition of the scalloped border. 

 The next feature this month also has a scalloped border and striking black accents.  This stunning layout was created by Connie Hall of Canada using paper from the Montage collection.  The Heaven Sent chipboard title, from the Spiritually Speaking set,  couldn't be more perfect with such a sweet photo.

And last, but not certainly not least, is this layout from Joanne of Canada, who has used another sheet from our Ombré Dreams collection.  The simplicity of this one is what caught our eye.  It really lets the photo shine!

That wraps up our July Sketch Challenge.  Thank you to ALL who participated.  

We sure hope you will be back creating with us this month.  You can see the August sketch challenge by clicking on the link on our sidebar.  Have a great month!

March Projects using Love Story by Melinda Thompson

Hi Everyone :)

Another new month so another lot of new projects which I am happy to share with you all!

This month I focused on the Love Story Collection papers.  Love how you can achieve so many looks from the one collection of papers.

Here are my projects. For this layout of our adorable puppy, I have used papers from the Love Story Collection - The Grand Ball, Amazing Heart and Calling Cards.  My chipboard has been treated with Gesso first and highlighted with inks, mists and paints. I just kept adding until I was happy with the effect.

 "Sweet Girl"

I love to layer up my chipboard as well to give lots of depth and texture to my project.  And using negative bits from the packs are awesome if you want to create a confetti look.

Paper Collection: Love Story
Chipboard: Garden Daisies - Large, Negatives from the Broken Rings set, Daisies Collage, Splattered Circles


 My second project I was inspired by the richness of the papers in the Love Story Collection.  The photo in this layout is of my late Grandmother who has been gone 30 years last year.  I was only a 4 years old when she passed away and don't have any memories of her. I love that this photo is of her in her much loved rose garden and I was immediately drawn to the gorgeous floral pieces of chipboard to use in this layout.

 "Forever in our Hearts"

The chipboard pieces are simply painted in some gold acrylic paint and then I randomly added some colour in different places for extra interest.

Paper Collection: Love Story
Chipboard Collection: Dresden Corsage, Gingers Poppies, Eclectic Hearts,


Thanks so much for stopping by today...happy crafting :)
 Melinda

A Layout and a Card with Patter

Today I have a layout and a card to share with you using the new Blue Fern Studios paper line called "Sanctuary." It is a beautiful line that can be used for anything, any time of year. I am going to show you how I used it on a heritage page and a Christmas card. You will see how versatile this new line is! Let's get started.

Cherish

This is my husband back in about 1966. Wasn't he a cutie? Well, I must say he still is. LOL! Anyway, for this page I used, the papers Sanctuary Bountiful and Sanctuary Conservatory. Such beautiful colors for this 8 1/2 x 11 heritage page.

To cover the Splattered Circles and Spare Parts chipboard pieces, I covered them in gesso, and then used some distress stains in various colors.

To cover the Adore, Love, Cherish chipboard piece (the title), I used the same technique as above but then I also added some darker gelatos to the chipboard.

Blue Fern Studios Papers: Sanctuary Bountiful and Conservatory 

Blue Fern Studios chipboard: Splattered Circles; Adore, Love, Cherish; and Spare Parts

Christmas Wishes

For this card I used the Sanctuary Meadows of Time and Sanctuary Conservatory papers. The chipboard piece is called Seeing Stars.

To alter the chipboard, I covered it in silver Inka Gold and then added some silver and gold embossing. To finish, I added pearls around the edge.

Blue Fern Studios Papers: Sanctuary Conservatory and Meadows of Time 

Blue Fern Studios chipboard: Seeing Stars

A Perfect Day

This is an 8 1/2 x 11 layout I created for this month's sketch challenge. This is one of my daughter's, and she just had back surgery 3 weeks ago. This is when we took her to the Billy Graham Library for the first time. Her back issues were being controlled at that time with a TENS unit you can see her wearing. Anyway, this 8 1/2 x 11 page not only uses the new November sketch from Blue Fern Studios but it also uses the Montage papers. Yum!

To color the Lattice Fence chipboard piece, I covered in gesso. While the gesso was wet, I added two different colors of embossing powder to emboss the chipboard. And you can see the fun result below.

The Arrow Words chipboard piece was also treated in the same way except once I embossed it, I then rubbed black gesso over the entire piece. I wanted it to pop a bit more off the page, and thus I added the touch of black to this piece. I think it ended up looking like the sepia photo a bit.

Blue Fern Studios Papers: Montage Invitation, Now and Then, and Bouquet 

Blue Fern Studios chipboard: Lattice Fence, Arrow Words 

Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to join us in the Blue Fern Studios November Sketch Challenge. Click here to see all of the details!