From Romance To Grunge by Nicole Doiron

It's me Nicole and I am thrilled to be back with you to share some of my creations.
I have 3 layouts to show you today, going from romance to more romance to grunge!

Let's start with this one... soft and elegant.... using the Courtship Lane collection.

I stamped some of the tiny dot stamp from the Halftones set and
used Imagine Ink Snow embossing powder to add texture to my background.

It's no surprise that one of my favorite themes to scrap is love. And so this title Amour from the French Words set, was perfect for this picture of me and my man!

The majestic chipboard piece below is French Ironwork.  I covered it, as I did to the title, with Mystic Plum embossing powder, then frosted it with a little white.

The smaller flowers used are from the brand new BFS Courtship Roses and Blooms set.  They're beautiful!

Bordering the photo is one of the Leafy Page Accents. and some fussy cut flowers.

Blue Fern Studios Supply List:
Paper: Courtship Lane (Lover's Lane, Bourbon Avenue, East Plaza, Calling Cards)
Chipboard: French Ironwork, French Words, Leafy Page Accents 

Stamp: Halftones

Imagine Ink Embossing Powder: Mystic Plum, Snow

Flowers: Courtship Roses, Courtship Blooms

***

My second layout is quite similar in style to the first one .

I chose a combination of papers from the Sanctuary, Love Story and Frolic collections.
That is just one of the many things I love about Blue Fern Studios papers... no matter the collection, they are all so versatile and work together very well!

Creating part of my title is the word 'Happy' from the Optimist Word Set... I simply painted it red.
Then, dangling from the bottom of my picture is the Mini Frame Dangle which I cut in two pieces and covered with Imagine Ink Oatmeal embossing powder and white paint.  In the frame, I put a piece of red Frolic paper and added some Fire Engine glitter to give it a little sparkle.

The other piece of the Mini Frame Dangle I used on the left side of my page as a flourish sneaking up from the mini prints.  You can see glimpses of Garden Frolic stamp on my background.

Included in my flower clusters are the beige Courtship Blooms.  I sprinkled some more Fire Engine glitter in and about the flowers.

And last but not least, you can see some Frolic Mesh treated with Ebony embossing powder.
The picture is of Yves and I on one of our very first dates, which was already 10 years ago!

Blue Fern Studios supply list:

Paper: Sanctuary (Birdsong Melody, Calling Cards)

Love Story (True Harmony)

Frolic (Calling Cards)

Chipboard: Optimist Word Set, Frolic Mesh, Mini Frame Dangle

Stamp: Garden Frolic

Imagine Ink Embossing Powder: Oatmeal, Ebony / Glitter: Fire Engine

Flowers: Courtship Blooms

***

Now let's get down to the grunge part of this reveal!

This last layout today was inspired by the Blue Fern Studios April Sketch!

Ever since I started designing for Blue Fern Studios, I have been holding on to these particular chipboard pieces and was so anticipating creating the perfect boy layout.  I'm not sure if this layout is anywhere near perfect, but I have to say that I really love the way it turned out.

I started off a background paper from the Love Story collection and then covered it with blue and black mists as well as dabs of metallic blue paint and splatters of white.  I also did some black stamping using the Journey and Texture Set One. You can see here the title Boy Meets World which I embossed in Cerulean Imagine Ink embossing powder and lightly dabbed with more blue metallic paint.

For sure two of my favorite BFS chipboard pieces are the Techno-scape and Working Parts!  I love anything grunge and steampunk even though not my usual style.  On these pieces, I used Icicle embossing powder and then added some light dabs of blue.

Other chipboard used are two circle arrows from the Directions set, embossing with Ebony.

This gorgeous little boy is Tristan, my friend's son.

Blue Fern Studios Supply List:

Paper: Love Story (The Grand Ball)

Chipboard: Boy Meets World, Directions, Techno-scape, Working Parts

Imagine Ink Embossing Powder: Cerulean, Ebony, Icicle

Stamp: Journey, Texture Set One

Hope you enjoy! 

I would love to read your feedback in the comments!

April Inspiration With Debbie

Hi everyone!  Debbie here with you today.    It's hard to believe that Spring is here.  It's been roller coaster of a ride with the temperatures.  One day in the 70's and the next day in the 40's.  I'm anxious to get outside and start prepping my flower beds, but I guess I am going to have to wait.  Hopefully next week it will warm up.  In the meantime, cooler temps makes for more scrappy time!  Today I have three  layouts to share created with the  Courtship Lane and Serendipity collections. 

 My first layout features papers from the Serendipity collection.   I used the Contemplation paper for the background and added some random stamping with the Arcadia Textures and Dreamy stamps.  The layers under the photo are from Calling Cards, Glee and Merriment. I also added flowers from the Courtship Blooms.

I took the Rose Collage chipboard and cut it in half.  I stamped it with some dark red and brown ink and then applied some Tattered Rose distress stain.  I then randomly applied  Dusty Rose Glitter. 

 Here you can see some of the Courtship Bloom flowers.  I added some Turkish Panel Chipboard pieces which I treated in the same fashion as the Rose Collage.

My title Anticipation is from the Serendipity Words 1.  To the right of the picture is the other half of the Rose Collage.

Blue Fern Studios Supplies

Paper:  Serendipity

Contemplation, Calling Cards
Glee, Merriment

Chipboard:

Serendipity Words 1

Rose Collage

Turkish Panel

Imagine Ink Glitter:
Dusty Rose

Flowers:
Courtship Blooms

Stamps:

Brocade Textures, Romantic Textures

My next layout features papers and flowers from Courtship Lane and a treasured family photo.  I used side B of Bourbon Avenue for the background.  Some random stamping with the Brocade Texture and Romantic Textures stamps and some light masking.  Lots and lots of fussy cutting to add multiple layers under my photo.  I used the Main Street, Concert Hall and Calling Cards papers.  Scattered about you will find flowers from Courtship Roses and Courtship Blooms.

On both sides of my layout I used Organic Vine Corner chipboard which I embossed with Lilac and White embossing powers.  Tucked beneath the photo are pieces from the Spring Trinkets chipboard which I embossed with White and Fuchsia embossing powders.

The title was embossed with a mixture of White, Fuchsia and Mystic Plum Embossing Powders.

Blue Fern Studios Supplies

Paper:  Courtship Lane

Bourbon Avenue, Main Street,
Concert Hall, Calling Cards

Chipboard:

Spring Trinkets

Organic Vine Corner

Everlasting Love

Imagine Ink Embossing Powder:

Lilac

Fuchsia

Flowers:
Courtship Blooms
Courtship Roses

Stamps:

Brocade Textures, Romantic Textures

My final layout was created for the April Sketch Challenge.  

I chose to scrap a photo of my mom, sister, brother and I from way back when.  I used the Lovers Lane side B paper for my background and the Parkway paper to create layering under my picture.  Lots of stamping on my background using the Dreamy, Romantic Accents and Arcadia Textures stamps and paint splatters.


I used a mixture of the Sage, Honey and Garnet embossing powders on the Tangier Page Panel chipboard,  along with some Peridot, Merlot, Pyrite and Grape Glitter.

Here you can see some of the new Courtship Bloom Flowers in brown and tan.  For those  interested that cute little girl in the picture is me!

To the right of my photo I used the Lace Heart Border which I embossed with the Sage and Honey embossing powers.  I added some gold microbeads and Peridot glitter.

My title is from the Captured Words chipboard set.  I went a little crazy with the embossing using a mixture of Sage, Honey and Garnet embossing powers along with some Pyrite glitter.

Blue Fern Studios Supplies

Paper:  Courtship Lane

Lovers Lane, Parkway

Chipboard:

Lace Heart Border

Captured Words

Tangier Page Panel

Imagine Ink Embossing Powder:

Sage, Honey & Garnet

Glitter:

Peridot, Merlot, Pyrite, Grape

Stamps:

Arcadia Textures

Dreamy
Romantic Accents

Flowers:
Courtship Blooms

I hope I have inspired you!
Thanks for stopping by!
. . . Debbie

My layouts for April and a video featuring the Courtship Lane Collection by Marie-Eve Bernard

Hello,

This month, I had fun with the beautiful Courtship Lane Collection.  I like the soft look of this collection.  The colours remind me of spring. Spring is not completely arrived here, in Québec.  Hope it's better for you!  Can't wait that spring arrive here too!  The new flowers sets are awesome.  They match perfectly with the papers. 

Selfie

It is not often that I create a layout with a picture of myself.  I'm not really a selfie kind of girl.  I prefer picture of my princesses, but this time, I'm please with the result! 

On my background, I stamp with the Essential Texture Stamp set with embossing ink.  Then I add Ginger Imagine Ink Embossing Powder.  Once heated, I put colours on my paper with watercolours.  Notice, that I prep my paper first with clear gesso.

I put two coats of Ginger Imagine Ink on the Whimsy flourish.  The word Selfie is from the Selfies set.  I put heavy body gesso on it an use the same watercolours colours that I previsouly used on the background.

The littles greens and  browns flowers are from the Courtship Lane Collection Too.

 I cut the Screen panel into pieces.  To alter it, I use several colours of Imagine Ink Embossing powder.  I used Sage, Verdant, Lime and Ginger.  I put a color, i heated it.  Put a little bit of another one and heated it...Use this process, till i'm pleased with the result.

Blue Fern Studios List of Supplies:

Papers

 Courtship Lane Parkway

Courtship Lane Lover's Lane

Chipboards

Whimsy flourish

Selfies

Screen Panel

Imagine Ink Embossing Powder

Sage

Verdant

Lime

Ginger

Stamp set

Essential Textures

Reminisce

I want to remember this precious moment forever:  my girls loved the beach.  Can't wait to go back in Maine for the Summer Vacation. I made a how-to video for this layout. Hope to inspire you with this! Thanks for watching!

  Blue Fern Studios List of Supplies:

Papers

 Courtship Lane West Plaza

Courtship Lane East Plaza

Courtship Lane Calling Cards

Chipboards

Floral Lattice Bits

Serendipity Words 2

Roman Clock set -small

Imagine Ink Embossing Powder

Lilac

Iris

Imagine Ink Embossing Powder

Grapes

Stamp set

Forever

Thank you and hope it inspire you to play with this wonderful collection! See you next month!

Marie-Eve

Sandi's April Inspiration!

 "Brown Eyed Girl"

Hello there, everyone! Sandi here with you today!
I am going back a bit and creating a couple of projects with our Serendipity collection.

It's wonderful mix of rich earth tones and grunge widen it's appeal to more paper crafters.

The background paper on the first project is Chronicle and then I've added torn Glee, Contemplation and Calling Cards.

Hiding on the left is a Butterfly Grid remnant from a previous month. But the main focus here is the Berry Stem embossed with Verdant And Grassy Knoll. You can see a bit of the Brocade Texture stamp which I adore! 

Brown-Eyed Girl was simply inked with brown and then given a dose of random glitter. 

I had fun with the Techno-scape chippy using Ginger Embossing Powder and then sprinkling on Mermaid Glitter! I cut it in half so that it could peek out under my layers. 

Great close-up of the Brocade stamping. 

Blue Fern Studios Products used:

Paper:

Serendipity Glee, Chronicle, Contemplation, Calling Cards

Chipboard:

Butterfly grid remnant, Brown Eyed Girl, Techno-scape, Berry Stem

Stamp:

Brocade Texture

Embossing Powder:

Ginger, Verdant, Grassy Knoll

Glitter:

Mermaid

***

"And so … "

There is nothing I enjoy more than creating a canvas project! It feels so liberating to know that if I mess it up, I can just cover it with gesso and try again. And sometimes, you just get stuck in a rut when you do layouts consistently. So, the other day, I let loose and allowed the inner artist to have some expression.

I started with an 8x8 canvas and decided that I wanted to use this inspirational quote from the Serendipity Calling Cards sheet as my focal point.  I also tore some scraps from the Merriment sheet to place in the center and in the corners.

Before adding my papers, I prepared the background with gesso and then had fun with my Imagine Ink mists, Fern, Cotton Candy and Winter Mint .. drying between colors.  More dimension was created with some stamping utilizing the Brocade Texture, Textures 1 and Photography stamps.  Of course, I did some stenciling and created texture with super heavy gesso. 

The Twilight Garden Frame frames my primary focal point. I first painted it black and then used  Oatmeal, Peacock and 14K Embossing Powders to give it character! Great combination, by the way. I love how rustic it looks! 

Then I added some embellishments that were laying on my desk, some flowers, a junkyard light bulb, ribbon and a couple of stick pins. I fussy cut some of the Merriment butterflies and worked them in as well. 

Of course, I had to use one of my new Courtship Blooms because I adore their size and shape. 

My finishing touch was to apply some mircro-beads with clear gel medium. 

Blue Fern Studios Products used:

Paper: Serendipity Merriment and Calling Cards

Chipboard: Twilight Garden Frame

Stamps: Brocade Texture, Textures 1, Photography

Imagine Ink Mists: Cotton Candy, Fern, Winter Mint

Embossing Powder: Oatmeal, Peacock, 14K       

Flowers: Courtship Lane Blooms

***

Since I felt that I hadn't really got to dig into my Timeless papers, that's where I went next.

"The Perfect Moment"

I prepared my background with gel medium and black gesso pushed through a stencil. Then I  used some gold mist to bring out the yellow tones in the paper. I finished with the Postal Texures stamp to remind myself of my Grandma's faithful correspondence.

The photo of my brother and me with our Grandma Key was taken on her small farm in Indiana. She was such a special lady, always had a kind word, worked hard, raised 10 kids and loved her flower garden. She was so faithful to write me and there was always a mention of how her flowers were doing ... or that she couldn't wait for Winter to be over so that she could get outside. So, I had to pull out my fave BFS chipboard, Ginger's Poppies and put them on her layout!

I prepared the Poppies, as well as the Paisley and Vine Flowers with white gesso, the used gelato for color and went back with my embossing powder in Garnet.  Before I went to heat the powder, I sprinkled in some Pyrite Glitter, just to give the flowers a hint of shine like dewdrops. 

Just a close-up.

Additionally on the Paisley and Vine leaves, I did some stamping with Postal Texture stamps, always a nice touch!

Lastly I added some dimensional flowers and berries and a random key laying on my desk. Nothing is complete these days without some added glitter or microbeads, so I've added some black chunky glitter.

Just a couple of dimensional shots!

Blue Fern Studios Products used:

Paper: Timeless Artistique. Abode and Calling Cards

Chipboard: Ginger's Poppies, Paisley ands Vine Flowers

Stamps: Postal Textures

Embossing Powder: Garnet

Glitter: Pyrite

Thanks for coming by today!

Remember to tag Blue Fern on your social media uploads. 
I'll be back on the 17th with some social media Features! 

It could be yours! 

A Winner and Featured Layouts

It's that happy time of the month.  The time when we get to announce the winner of last month's sketch challenge, and to show you our featured layouts.

Let's get to the winner, first.  Based on a random draw, the winner of our March Sketch Challenge is:

Entry #20, which belongs to Paivi, of Sweden.  Congratulations Paivi!  As the winner, you will receive a package of Blue Fern Studios chipboard.  Please send an e-mail, within the next 7 days, to {valerie(at)bluefernstudios(dot)com} to claim your prize.

Here is the "Fabulous" layout Paivi created using an amazing photo and paper from the Ombre Dreams collection.

Each month we also like to feature some of our favorite layouts from those entered in our sketch challenge.  This month we have five layouts we would like to share with you.  These layouts represent a variety of styles ranging from layered, to artistic, to clean lines.  All are lovely and show the many ways Blue Fern paper and chipboard can be used.  Thanks to these creative women for showcasing Blue Fern products so beautifully!

Mona Eidhammer 

Bev Code

Dashiki

Rachael Pancoast

Kavitha

Thanks to everyone who entered our sketch challenge.  

If you haven't yet entered one of our monthly sketch challenges, we would love to have you join us! 

You can find a link to the April challenge at the top-right of our blog.  

For those of you who are regulars, we love you and hope to see you again this month!