My First Post By Keren Tamir

Hi Everyone!!

Keren here with my first post for Blue Fern Studios and I'm really excited to showcase my work with these beautiful chipboards!!

but first a little about myself:

I'm 39 years old. I am a wife to a wonderful husband who is very supportive of my scrapbooking and a mother of two amazing kids; a 12 year old boy and a 7 year old girl. I've been scrapbooking for 10 years and I mainly scrapbook about my family. I love to create and experiment with many different mediums and techniques.

My style is a combination of Shabby chic and mixed media. I use lots of flowers and vines together with different artistic mediums on my layouts. My style is always evolving and that’s one of the things I love about this art.

One of the main reasons I started scrapbooking was to preserve memories and photos for my children. However over the couple of years, I’ve started to enjoy another aspect of scrapbooking. I love the artistic outlet that it gives me. I love to create and I’m passionate about what I do.

I’m delighted to be joining Blue Fern Studios on this new journey!!

I hope you enjoy my creations!!

you can also find me HERE on my blog.

Now without further adieu here is my first project:

"All You Need Is Love"

Altered Canvas

This is a 12x12 Canvas I created for a friend. 

Its one of the most powerful messages, sang by one of the greatest bands of all times.

If all of us just loved, this world would be a better place!!!

I covered the Ornate Heart with gold crackle paint. Then I edged it with brown ink and stamped it randomly all over with a script stamp. I also used the script stamp on the background. Finally I smeared some gold glitter stickles all over the heart.

You can see the heart's texture a little closer below. The crackle paint gave it an antique look.

The Love title from the Valentine's Word set was simply sprayed in black ink.

Blue Fern Studios chipboard used on this Canvas:

Ornate Heart

Valentine's Word Set (Love)

<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>

"You Shine"

In this bright and cheerful layout of my son I have used a few pieces of the Tattered Diamond bits. I cut them in different places so I could spread them throughout my page.

They were first covered in Turquoise acrylic paint and then stamped with a script stamp using a darker shade of acrylic turquoise paint.

You can see the diamond bits in a close-up below. I also smeared some white gesso on them to blend it with the rest of the layout.

The title "You Shine" is from the Optimist Word Set.  It was covered in the same dark hued paint from above.

Blue Fern Studios chipboard used on this layout:

Tattered diamond bits

The optimist Word Set (You Shine)

Thank you so much for visiting the Blue Fern Studio's blog.

I hope you enjoyed my creations

Have a wonderful day!!

Keren

Inspiration from the Colors of Sea Glass

Greetings from Joyce in Southern California!   I came on the scrapbooking scene three years ago when I came into possession of some old family vintage photos.   I decided to preserve them and tell my family’s stories through those photographs. My intention was to only scrap these photos and put them away for future generation’s enjoyment.  However, I came down with the hoarding ailment so many of us have caught, and I started stalking art stores for supplies, joined an online monthly scrapbooking kit club where it exposed me to the terminology, trends, and manufacturers.  I immediately became smitten with this art form because it allowed me to incorporate all my previous skills of drawing, watercolor painting, bead work, home and apparel arts, and a legitimate excuse to buy more art supplies.   I’m excited to be back designing for Blue Fern Studio’s (“BFS”), because I enjoy taking something raw like chipboard and transforming it into a pretty embellishment.  But most of all, I enjoy sharing ideas and techniques for the BFS Follower.  My style?  Well, I will leave that up to those of you that view my work.  You can find me here at BFS on the 17^th of each month, and every day on my blog at  http://scrapsofelegance.blogspot.com.

Today, I am sharing a project inspired by the colors of sea glass, and using a fiber tissue technique to create structure, texture and dimension on some of the chipboard pieces.   

Technique:   Apply gesso, or white paint, to the chipboard and allow to dry.  Then apply glue to the chipboard and tear off small pieces of the fiber issue paper and work it in and around the defined areas of the chipboard and set to dry thoroughly.  I normally add several layers, and fold and scrunch the paper as I mold the paper to the chipboard.  Once the fiber tissue paper is dried, apply clear gesso (do not use the regular opaque gesso) and let the application dry.  Apply mist in the same color family with a small paint brush in three stages starting from the lightest to the darkest color, and allow each stage to dry before continuing to the next stage.  Save the darkest color application for valleys created by the fiber tissue paper (don’t over work the valleys too much with the dark color, it should be done sparingly).  After the final application is dried, apply a light application of metallic paste on the peaks of the fiber tissue paper. To further enhance the design of the chipboard piece, use a water color pencil around the shape of the chipboard, and into very small crevices.

The small 4 x 4 canvas below is transformed by adding the pretty delicate leafy page accent chipboard using the same fiber tissue paper technique on top of a hand-cut corrugated heart. You can see the water color pencil work better on this chipboard piece.  

Check back with me here in the future, because I’ll be providing a pictorial tutorial on the fiber tissue paper technique I created on one of my future design team projects for you. 

Tip for the Day:  Use clear gesso instead of opaque gesso on your chipboard when you’re creating with light colored water based mists.  The opaque gesso acts as a resist and repels light colored water based mists, and you’ll waste your mist product. The clear gesso will absorb the color beautifully and allow you to work with lighter color mists.

Thank you!



3 Feminine projects by Evgenia Petzer

Hello wonderful scrappy friends! its Evgenia Petzer with you today, its my first post over Blue Fern Studios blog and i am so excited to join this amaizng team of ladies. I really love chipboard and the BFS designs are so close to my feminine style.

I will start by introducing myself: I am 29 years old, born and raised in Russia, but now we live in sunny South Africa, thats the native country of my husband. We have a 5 year old son and another boy we are expecting in about 2 months time. We also have a cute little yorkie and a ginger cat. I have been so lucky to design for some great manufacturers and to give lots of scrapbooking classes in Russia and here in South Africa.

I will start today with a handmade notebook/journal in a fabric cover. I love this tiffany shade of aqua now...

BFS Products used: Symphony border, Vintage Locks

Both of chipboards used here i covered with craft acrylic paint and on the symphony border i applied glossy accent afterwords, it hepls to "melt" these two colors together.

The pages inside are handdied in some tea and coffee for more vintage look.

Next is the shabby chic card:

BFS products used: Grande Cages, Leafy page accents

Both of chipboard pieces are embossed with a Zing powder, and the cage is sprinkled in between with microbeads

my parents will have soon their 30th wedding anniversary and I amde this card for them

BFS products used: Symphony corners medium, Leafy page accents

Both of the chipboards I embossed with Zing powders, mixing 2 colors on each chipboard piece.

Thank you so much for your visit! Hope you enjoyed my projects:)

Two layouts by Marie-Josée Hamel

Hello all,

It's my turn today to share my first layouts with you as a new DT member. My name is Marie-Josée Hamel, aka mariemily.

I am a French Canadian living in the Ottawa region with my husband, Michael, and my daughter, Emily, who is 9. I discovered scrapbooking in 2006 and have been hooked to this hobby ever since. You can see my other projects on my blog, Les créations de mariemily (in French and English).

I am really excited to be part of the Blue Fern Studios DT and I hope you will find my projects inspiring.

Today, I have two projects to show you.

"C'est toi la plus belle" layout

I am a huge fan of rainbows and I love to use this color scheme on my layouts. Here, I decided to paint the Chunky Heart Panel and to alter it with shimmery paints, namely the Silks acrylic glazes:

 

Then, I added color to the center of some heart using Twinkling H2O watercolors:

And I sprayed all the colors of the rainbow over my layout:

Here's a close-up view of the painted chipboard:

"Le roi de l'hiver" layout

I took this picture of a snowy owl on December 29 and decided to use it to create a winter layout in a monochromatic scheme.

I used the Blue Fern Frame. I primed it with gesso, then added Silks Acrylic Glazes in Iridescent Green, and applied Stickles here and there with a paintbrush.

Two layouts and a journal book by Maja

Hi! Maja here today =) So happy to be here with my first post. 

I´m Maja Stokk from Sweden. I´m a mother of five children, married and teacher with passion for mathematics. I have been in to scrapbooking since 2008 and love it! My style is "flowery" a bit romantic or grungy. I also use lots of mixed Media on my projects. So happy to be a part of this team!

 I´m starting this new year with a new Art Journal book.

For this  journal book I have used the "Blue Fern Bits" which I love. It´s fun to create textures with them. I just glued them on the book and went over it with some modelling paste and lots of different colors of mist and ended up using a stamp here and there. Some flowers, bling and a ribbon. ready =).

Next comes two layouts I made. The first one on my teenage son who´s not that easy to catch with the camera.

I have cut out cicles from the BFS chipbord "Circle Group Panel". Painted it with black gesso and then it had dried I went over it with some white gesso and ended up using some enamel on the top. Other chipbord used on this layout are "All Natural Set", "Directions", "Widget Works" and "Picture Perfect".

Also on this layout I have used the BFS chipboards "Picture Perfect" and "Widget Works" and I  used bits of the "Chickenwirw Panel".

That all from me this time!

See you =)

A layout and an art journal with Jackie Clark

Good morning! I'm Jackie Clark, and I'm very excited to be a new Design Team member at Blue Fern Studios for 2014.

A little about me... I am a very soon to be 35 year old mother of three little boys. I have been married to my highschool sweetheart for 10 years, and we have a rowdy black Lab who rounds out our family. I live in beautiful Vancouver, BC, Canada, and we enjoy all the West Coast has to offer - skiing in the winter and boating, biking and swimming in the summer.

I have been scrapbooking since 2000, but took a couple years off after the birth of my oldest son; when I came back to it my style evolved from flat, multi-picture, two page layouts to what I love today - texture, color and dimension. You can see more of my work on my blog at www.scrapsofbrilliance.blogspot.com.

Now on to the projects I've prepared using Blue Fern Studios chipboard for January.

I generally scrap photos with people in them, however this lighthouse on the easternmost tip of Mexico that was attached to the hotel we stayed in last year was too beautiful not to scrap, and coordinated perfectly with the By The Sea set. I also added in the word "Sunshine" from The Optimist Word Set and some clouds from the Cloudy Skies set.

Though the color scheme for both sets of words differs, they were treated in the same way - I primed them with gesso, then built up colors with Gelatos and finished them off with some shimmery paint which added some dimension and toned down the brightness of the Gelatos. I quite often add additional layers of media to my chipboard until I get an effect I am happy with.

The lighthouse was painted with shiny dimensional paint to match the lighthouse in the photo.

The clouds were also treated with two colors of shiny paint which I applied with my finger to give them texture.

Blue Fern Studios Chipboard Pieces Used:

By The Sea

The Optimist Word Set

Cloudy Skies

My next project was a Christmas gift for my niece, who loves art journaling and card-making. I made the covers out of cardboard and built the journal up from there with her tastes in mind.

The Circle Groups chippies provided fantastic anchor points for my cluster. I started by painting them with a metallic paint, then ran them through my embossing machine and added touches of metallic purple paint to accentuate the raised areas.

Lo and behold, one of my metal clock accents fit perfectly inside one of the circles.

The film strip from the Picture Perfect set was simply pressed into a black ink pad, leaving some areas untreated. The word "Captured" was painted with gesso and then I added some of the metallic purple paint I'd used on the circles.

Blue Fern Studios Chipboard Pieces Used:

Circle Groups

Picture Perfect

Thank you for stopping in to have a look! I hope you will check back often; the rest of the Design Team will be introducing themselves and sharing some marvellous inspiration over the course of the month. And a special thank you to Leslie and Valerie for including me in this wonderful team!