Two New Layouts by Kim Price

Hello everyone, it's Kim here today and I have a couple of new projects to share featuring some of my favourite Blue Fern Studios products.

My first project is a dimensional layout created for a frame to be hung on the wall. I've used patterned papers from Montage - this collection truly takes my breath away every time I create with it - and some stunning chipboard pieces to showcase this photograph of a friend's daughters.

I've used the largest clockface piece from the Large Roman Clock Set which really set the scene for the rest of the layout. I simply gave this piece a coat of gesso then added some color with an off white shade of acrylic paint and added some watercolor in a shade to coordinate with Montage. The final touch was to add some chalk to give it a real vintage feel.

Adding the chipboard clockface to my custom made background I then went ahead and cut out some of the designs from my Montage patterned papers layering them up with some dimensional dots along with a few of the pieces from the Cogs & Gears set and lots of flowers. The two large butterfly images are photographs from my personal collection. Because this piece is intended to be hung on the wall I have chosen not to give it a title but to instead let the project speak for itself.

For my second project today I've created layout featuring the Sanctuary collection. The soft muted colors in Sanctuary remind me so much of time spent with nature and I've used a favorite snapshot of the girls taken when we were on a bushwalk in Australia and came across an unexpected waterfall.

I started out with a torn and tattered sheet of Meadows Of Time patterned paper, layering it over the dark side of Bountiful patterned paper and adding the fussy cut birds image from Birdsong Melody.

I've then give the largest piece from Mesh Bits, two Berry Stems and the "joy" sentiment from the Good Vibes pack a coat of gesso allowing them to thoroughly dry. A touch of watercolor really takes chipboard to a whole new level and I'm really loving how the Berry Stems have turned out using this method.

To help the "joy" sentiment stand out from the rest of my layout I've highlighted each letter using a fine black Sharpie, added some sweet little flower blooms and a scattering of sequins to finish off.

Thanks for calling in today, I hope you have enjoyed my projects for March and I look forward to calling in again next month.

February Sketch Challenge Winner & Featured Layouts

We would like to take this time to announce the winner of our February Sketch Challenge, selected by a random draw.  Congratulations to entry #18 from Jorunn of Norway!  

Jorunn, you have won a prize package of Blue Fern Chipboard!  

Please send me an e-mail, within the next 7 days, 

at {valerie(at)bluefernstudios(dot)com} to claim your prize.

Jorunn created this layout using paper from our very first collection, Blue Fern Garden.  It is in celebration of her 10th wedding anniversary.  The Blue Fern title and other chipboard pieces first received a coat of gesso, and then glitter was added.  What a beautiful way to remember this special celebration!

Now we would like to feature some of the layouts that were uploaded for the February Sketch Challenge.  I was drawn to the beautiful color of blue that Jorunn used on her layout, and I noticed that several of you also used a similar shade of blue/green.  We would like to feature a few of those layouts this month. 

Marie-Eve Bernard of Canada applied mists to this beautiful blue paper from our Ombre Dreams collection for this fun beach layout.  You can see that she also applied mist to chipboard from the By the Sea and Circle Groups sets.

Diane Mercier's lovely layout features the same shade of blue/green using Blue Fern Chipboard as a title and an accent piece. I love the artsy look of this one!

Joanne of Canada also used the Adorable chipboard piece for her title.  The background is paper from the Ombre Dreams collection.  Look at how those beautiful blue eyes stand out!

Alison Bevis was excited to find paper from the Ombre Dreams collection when she recently attended a class.  She used it so beautifully, along with Olga's Balloon chipboard piece, to scrapbook this sweet baby photo.  I love how Alison and Joanne (above) combined this shade of blue with yellow.

We hope you enjoyed this color-coordinated collection of beautiful projects created by the participant's in our sketch challenge.  It's always exciting to see how you use our products!

Of course, we have a brand new sketch for you this month.  You will find a link to the sketch post at the top of our sidebar.  Have a great day!

Always and Forever

Hello friends!

How is your Monday? I'm home with a sick child but having fun doing some craft work with him. Today, I have a reverse canvas tutorial for Blue Fern Studios that I would like to share with you. It's created with the stunning new "Love Story" collection and I used some of the gorgeous chippies from BFS as well.

Here is the canvas:



Lots of fussy cutting and layering, which I felt was a good way to bring out the loveliness of this collection.

Some close-ups:

Popping up my elements for dimension and sneaking in the Floral Medley chipboard in between. I'm also very into canvas frills after I found a huge bargain pack for only $2 at the local textile district. Told myself that I must find the time for such bargain hunts in the heart of the city.

Tucking in flowers to fill out the space, and dotting the background with bling.



My title piece from "calling cards". I did a lot less alteration on my flowers this time round, preferring to let the colors from the papers take the limelight.

And here is the start to finish video for this reverse canvas. Hope you enjoy it!

Blue Fern Studios products used:
Love Story collection - "calling cards", "concerto", "twenty-one", "sweet song", "Forever" stamps
Floral Medley Frame
Flourish Medley



love, 

March Sketch Challenge

Really? Could it be March already?  Well, that's what the calendar says so that means our sketch designer, Michele Singh, has a brand new sketch for you! 

 I love the beautiful chipboard frame (Keepsake Frame) on this month's sketch, but as you will see below, you don't HAVE to use a frame on your layout.  Our Creative Team interpreted the sketch in several different ways.  

Keren Tamir used a frame from our Ever After Frame Set

Zaneta Glowa used layers of beautiful Love Story paper under her photo, instead of using a frame. 

Yuko Tanaka rotated the sketch and used our Boston Lattice chipboard piece behind her photos.

Melinda Thompson used paper from the Sanctuary collection for her layout and she also chose to layer paper under her photo.

 The 4-piece Memory Frames Set is very popular and is what Karita Vainio used for her sketch layout.

We have many chipboard pieces that can used as a frame.  Kim Price framed her photo with the Roman Clock and added some Blue Fern flourishes. 

Marie-Josee Hamel's background paper is from Ombre Dreams.
Instead of a frame, she let patterned paper in a contrasting color, frame her photo.  

Blue Fern title

Mini Ring Things chipboard set

What's next? 

One lucky winner, selected by a random draw, will receive a prize package of Blue Fern Studios chipboard!

In addition, we will also select 3 (or more) layouts to feature.

We have just a few simple rules to follow if you would like to participate in our sketch challenge:

1.) Feel free to interpret the sketch as you please by means of taking it as-is or 

flipping/turning/mirroring it to suit your needs! 

2). Please note that you can do whatever type of project you please - a layout, card, 

  canvas, altered item- whatever suits your mood and style! 

We would love to see the different ways our sketch can be used.

3.) You must use at least one piece of Blue Fern Studios chipboard OR use Blue Fern Studios paper on your project. Please note that you do not need to use the pieces featured in the sketch

- use whatever suits your fancy! You can find the store nearest you HERE.
 {Do not use any other brand of chipboard on your project please!}

4.) Upload your project using the Inlinkz tool below by midnight EST on March 31, 2015

We look forward to seeing how you use our sketch and Blue Fern products!

An InLinkz Link-up

Some inspiration from Bente

Hi, today it's me Bente here to share my latest projects with you. 

I have used the most recent beautiful paper collection from Blue Fern Studios for my creations.

It's called 'Love Story' and as you can tell for yourself it's really beautiful. I loved combining these stunning patterned papers with a variety of Blue Fern Studios chipboards

 For this page I used the 12x12 Chickenwire panel and cut out a section of it for my page.
I whitewashed the chipboard with some gesso.
I even used a piece of this same panel for one of my cards. I used the smallest size  'Splattered circles' to frame my photo after using a chalk inker to colour it black.

My title is made up of a combination of a die cut word (hello) and a chipboard word, sunshine, from the Optimist Word Set.
To build up some background texture I used the tiny stars of the new stamp set 'Forever' .



Here is m,y second page. I love this pictuer of my daughter and you may have seen it before :-)

I used the Adore,Love,Cherish word set here as well as the Ironwork Arch and one of the smaller birdcages. I inked the arch black and gave the rest a lick of gold paint and then dabbed some white paint on top.



A lot of layering going on here with these gorgeous papers.



I built up the background with several layers of gesso stencils, mists and paints.



To round off this post I have a couple of feminine cards to share.



As I said earlier I used the chicken wire panel for one of the cards. For the other card I picked the lovely Ornate Frame. It's so elegant and easy to use for all kinds of projects.





I hope you can see in this picture my treatment of the frame. I spread some gesso on top with my fingers, then covered it in glue  before finally sprinkling some sparkly  'Art Sugar' on top.
It looks really pretty IRL.



That's all from me today.
Have a great week end with lots of time to be creative.
Hope to see you soon again!

Bente
xx

'Happy' by Marta Lapkowska + VIDEO tutorial

Hello crafty souls :)

It's Marta here with my very first video tutorial just for you.

 

Firstly I would like to say how happy I am joining Blue Fern Studios team. I hope to inspire you with my video tutorials and welcome you in my mixed media world.

I was born and raised in Poland. I am currently living in Ireland and have been for nearly ten years.
I graduated as a Sociologist from Wroclaw University in Poland. I am a proud mum of a beautiful girl Emily. My inner soul is trully a creative person. Since I remember I have loved art, craft, creations and have a passion for innovative techniques.

My craft journey started from making cards for close relatives. Slowly I was trying new things, learning new techniques. After all I fall in love with mixed media and journaling. I adore teaching people and share my knowledge.

I love playing around, experimenting and creating unique pieces.

From cards and tags to layouts, mixed media canvases, journal pages and altered objects.
For the past three years art and craft is my way of living - so far it's the best journey I could have imagined.

If you would like to see more of my works please feel free to visit my blog:
http://artistycrafty.blogspot.ie/

For todays post I created mixed media scrapbooking page 'Happy'.

This beautiful photo shows my friend's Wedding Day.

 Stunning 'Sanctuary' collection was a perfect match to the photo. I used paper called 'Bountiful'. 
I added few different chipboards and stamps.

Used products:

   
   

I used embossing powder to alter the chipboards. 
This is a great way to add dimention to your project.
Few close-ups:

I hope you will enjoy my video and get some inspirations.


 
Happy crafting, Marta xx