Celebrating My Freedom To Create This 4th Of July By: Renea Harrison

Happy 4th Of July!!! I hope this Independence Day finds those of you who celebrate, enjoying time with your family and friends, and enjoying so many of the freedoms that we as American's have.

Today, I am celebrating my freedom to create in three different styles. First up is a Shabby Chic layout that I created using the Blue Fern Studios Courtship Lane Paper Collection. 

I started with a layer of Blue Fern Studios Courtship Lane~Main Street Paper, and then layered on another layer of Courtship Lane Bourbon Avenue Paper, that I did some stenciling with texture paste, corner rolling and distressing on. I then added a layer of lace and then took more of the paper collection and created a matte for my photo.

At the corner of my photo, I took a Blue Fern Studios Courtship Violin Chipboard Piece, and crackle painted the violin portion of the piece, letting it air dry to get a deep crackle finish, and then I rubbed different layers of purple and lavender ink over the top to bring out the textures.

I then colored the greenery part of the piece with markers, and then used an embossing ink dabber to randomly add in, and  coated it with some Imagine Ink Sage Embossing Powder to get a raised two tone surface.

I then added some mulberry flowers, a daisy from the Blue Fern Attic Charm Flower Collection, some burlap string bows and a sweet metal heart.

Next, I took some Blue Fern Garden Lattice Bits, coated them in embossing ink, and then coated them with Imagine Ink Mystic Purple Embossing Powder, heat set the powder, and added on some pearl accents, and placed the bits randomly around the edges of my layout.

I added some more mulberry flowers to the top lattice piece along with some a matching burlap string bow. To top my piece off, I added in some of my handcrafted Dragonflies for dimension.

Here with this side shot, you can see all the dimension and texture that those amazing Blue Fern Products can help you create!!

Blue Fern Studio Supply List:
Paper:
Courtship Lane~Main Street
Courtship Lane~Bourbon Street

Chipboard:
Courtship Violin

Garden Lattice Bits

Imagine Ink:
Mystic Purple Embossing Powder
Sage Embossing Powder

For my second project this month, I wanted to create something with a bit more of a grunge feel to it. I love playing with color and inks, and sometimes like to challenge myself to create without using flowers or the more feminine embellishments that most work that I see contains. It challenges me to step outside the box and to be more creative, and I love that the Blue Fern products allow me to still create something amazing and visually stimulating without having to grab a package of flowers, or any fluff.

I started with a layer of Blue Fern Tranquility~Calm Paper,  and then layered on a second layer of Blue Fern Tranquility~Patience Paper, tearing the right side, and heavily inking that edge, then layered on a 3rd layer of Blue Fern Tranquility Serenity Paper, that I distressed and inked the edges on, and then tore and heavily inked the right side edge, layering it over the 2nd layer, so that the 2nd layer so that it peeked out, then layered in some film strip transparencies. I then used texture paste and a stencil to create the raised texture on the paper, spraying it with 3 different layers of spray stain to capture the colors I used in the layout.

I created a background layer by taking corrugated cardboard and spraying it with 3 different layers of spray stain, and then inking the edges. I grabbed a Blue Fern Grunge Frame,

and first stained it with a brown color, then used a clear embossing ink dabber randomly, added coated it with Imagine Ink Seven Seas Embossing Powder, and heat set it, then randomly dabbed with the clear ink again, coated it with Imagine Ink Peackock Embossing Powder, heat set it and then inked back over the whole piece. I then distressed and inked the edges of my photo and added it on.

The clock pieces are Blue Fern Small Roman Clocks that I stained and layered in.

Here you can see all the dimension of all the layering in that I did with the gorgeous Blue Fern papers and embellishments.

The "Story" piece o my layout is a chipboard piece from the Blue Fern~Story, Fairytale, Magic Set. For this piece I inked it in 2 different colors, randomly dabbed it with an embossing ink dabber and then coated it with Imagine Ink Copper Embossing Powder, and heat set it~YUM!!

For the finishing touches I rolled some of the paper scraps and tied them with burlap string bows, added some More of the film strips, a paper button and some metal accents. I just love those blues and browns in the Tranquility line, so bold and so perfectly grungy!!

Blue Fern Studios Supply List:

Paper:
Tranquility~Patience
Tranquility~Calm
Tranquility~Serenity

Chipboard:
Small Roman Clocks
Grunge Frame
Story, Fairytale, Magic Set

Imagine Ink:

Seven Seas Embossing Powder
Peacock Embossing Powder
Copper Embossing Powder

For my final project this month, I decided to do a Mini Album with a Magical Fairy Theme using the Blue Fern Studios Attic Charm Paper Collection:

I used a gate fold album that was perfect for using the Blue Fern Royal Gate Chipboard to create a piece where the gate actually opens. The cover was layered with Blue Fern Attic Charm~Haberdashery Paper.

A Side View.

I did a crackle finish on the gate and then heat embossed it with Imagine Ink Pearl Embossing Powder, and then over inked it with a gold color.

The edges of the album are coated in a pink Glitter Glass. The "Magic" piece is from the Blue Fern Story, Fairytale, Magic Chipboard Set. I heat embossed the piece with a mixture of  Imagine Ink Honey & Buttercup Embossing Powders, and then went over the edges with some green ink to highlight it.

I added flower and feather details. The Daisy, and small green flower are from the Blue Fern Attic Charm Daisies and Courtship Blooms Flower Collections.

When you open the right side of the gate. you are greeted with a Blue Fern Attic Charm Calling Card.

When you open up the whole album, it folds out to a large sectional that is layered with Blue Fern Attic Charm~Curio Paper, lace and a large Blue Fern Gazebo Chipboard Piece that I painted white. The edges are done out in Imagine Ink Blue Ice Glitter.

Page 1 and 2  are covered in Blue Fern Attic Charm~Spring Posy Paper, with pockets created from Attic Charm~Foyer Paper, along with 3 pull outs and a booklet piece created from the Attic Charm~Calling Cards Paper. Details include: lace and a sweet bunny from the Blue Fern Chipboard All Natural Set that I painted white.

Pages 3 and 4  feature Attic Charm~Foyer Paper, and a Blue Fern Attic Stairs Chipboard Piece that I heat embossed with Imagine Ink Oatmeal Embossing Powder.

Pages 5 & 6 feature Attic Charm~Generation Paper, and have to heart doily accents.

Pages 6 & 7 are covered in Attic Charm~Generation Paper, and lace.

Pages 8 & 9 are covered in Attic Charm~Attire Paper, and the page 9 features a Blue Fern Lace Round Chipboard Piece that was heat embossed with Imagine Ink Sage Embossing Powder.

Pages 10 & 11 feature Attic Charm~Calling Card Paper, with Calling Card Cut Outs for accents, along with a garden fairy die cut and a wildflower from the Blue Fern All Natural Chipboard Set that I colored the stem with a marker and then inked the flower head on.

The last set of pages gives you this fold out appearance that matches the the very 1st fold out section using Attic Charm~Curio Paper.

The back of the album is covered in Attic Charm~Spring Posy Paper with the edges finished out in glitter glass.

I hope that you have enjoyed all of my projects this 4th of July, and that you find the time to to grab some of those YUMMY Blue Fern products for yourself, and celebrate your freedom to create!! Hugs ~Renea

Blue Fern Studios Product List:
Paper:
Attic Charm Papers~
Attic Charm
Haberdashery
Curio
Spring Posy
Foyer
Generation
Calling Cards
Attire

Chipboard:
Gazebo
Royal Gate
Magic (from Story, Fairytale, Magic Set)
Bunny (from All Natural Set)
Attic Stairs
Lace Round
Wildflower (from All Natural Set)

Flowers:
Attic Charm Daisies
Courtship Blooms

Imagine Ink:
Embossing Powders:
Breeze
Pearl
Sage
Honey
Buttercup
Oatmeal
Imagine Ink:
Blue Ice Glitter

November Projects by Melinda Thompson

Hello Blue Fern Studio Fans!

I am here with you again today to share you my 3 projects I created this month.  I had so much fun using 3 different lines of paper and lots of gorgeous chipboard and the new range of Imagine Ink Mist!

My 1st project I used papers from the Frolic Collection..Gosh I could have kept on creating with this one...it is just devine.

I used the large Grunge Frame and cut it up and layered the strips on the base of my paper. I have painted them with Gesso to begin with then I have used Imagine Ink Mist in Sky and Winter Mint.

 For my "arch" down the bottom of my layout all I used here was an off cut of one of the circle frame chipboard and used the same process but highlighted it with Imagine Ink Mist in Jingle Bells.

"XOXO"

I just adored the XOXO chipboard.  Again I painted it in Gesso first and then used some watered down paint to colour it.

My 2nd project I used the paper collection Paisley and Vine. Again such stunning and bright colours in this paper range.

Here I have used the Grid Pieces cut up randomly and layered over the base of my layout as well as the Deja Vu Luminaires Chippies and the word Love from the Adore, Love, Cherish word set. My chipboard pieces are covered in Gesso first and then painted on with some watered down paint.

"Love"

And lastly my 3rd project I used the beautiful Autumn Anthology papers.

After I created the texture on my background which included chipboard pieces from the Techno Squares set, I used the Imagine Ink Mist in Sky and randomly sprayed the background moving it around with some added water.

"Fun"

I loved using the Doily Bunting chipboard in this layout. I covered it in Gesso first and them inked the edges and then blended it with the Imagine Ink Mist in Sky.

The title "Fun" came from the word set "Crazy Silly Fun" and the frame around the photo is part of the Clip Frame collection.

Thank you very much for stopping by today.  

Happy Crafting!

Melinda :)

Summer snapshots

Hello BFS fans!
I hope you've all been great! I'm happy to be back and share with you some of the colorful snapshots from my summer.

'Bloom and grow'
It's all about the soft, white washed colors, with just a hint of teal and pink. The chipboards treatment is simple - I'm using either plain or just covered with a layer of gesso.
Chipboards: Deja vu border, Blue Fern frame (piece), Layering stems

'Totally love you'
This is one of my favorite BFS papers and I've been saving it for long! It's so decorative that it needs just a small amount of embellishments. I used piecec of old lace and chipboards to frame my story.
Some messy stamping is just added to get more contrast in the pastel backgrund.
Chipboards:Radiant suns, Blue Fern frame, Dot grid panel, Quaterfoil panel

'Remember (Krakow marketsquare)'
A selfie with my daughter while visiting Krakow marketsquare! A quick vacation layout, if you don't count the time for fussy cutting the roses ;)
Chipboards: Mixed chains, Grunge frames, Memory frames, Blue Fern frame (yes! again - this giant piece lasts forever)

I have about 1000 photos from this summer, so I might be sharing some more next time :)
Have a great day everybody!
DT Zanka

Bente's July inspiration.

Hi, I hope all of you in the northern hemisphere are enjoying a lovely Summer, 

and that the Winter is not too bad on the rest of you :-) 

Today I have some layouts to share with you that are absolutely 'fresh from the press' so to speak.

I was in the UK last week celebrating my eldest daughters graduation from university and 

when I got back I had to finish my projects rapidly!! 

-But with such awesome products to play with it's not a problem:-)

My first page is based upon a pink paper from the Montage collection. 

On top is a paper from the Deja Vu collection. As yo can see the collections mix very well.

-Especially when you add a litttle mixed media here and there. :-)
I 'framed' the whole page with the largest sized Graduated Squares, painted white then inked around.

 The gorgeous piece of chipboardbelow the picture is one of the recent shapes and called
  Rock Wall Bits. I painted it beige , stapmed on it and addedsome pink glitter. The part of the Grunge Frames chipboard piece above the photo was given the same treatment. I just love to add glitter to my pages at the moment :-)

The cute small dots scattered all over my page are the insides of then alpha stickers that I used.

I used the Montage collection for my second project. I love all the lovely yellow papers in that collection:-)

And here are some close ups of the details.

I used one of the Memory Frames as my title and hid it partially behind my photo.

The arrows are from the Directions set and simply painted black.

Making banner-pieces or mats behind the photos are such great ways to use up those left over pieces from your favourite patterned papers.

And finally here is my page for the current sketch challenge that you can find HERE.

The chipboards I used are:
Laughter, Happy, Smile and Floral Clock.

And a closer peek at some of the details:

That's all from me for today!! 

Have a good week!