Blue Fern Studios + 7 Dots Studio = Love

Hi Blue Fern Studio Fans!! It's Lisa here, with a new set of layouts for your viewing pleasure. I hope to inspire you this week with my work.  What a delightful surprise when we found out that we were doing an awesome swap with 7 Dots Studio. It was like a match made in heaven!! But then again, Blue Fern Studios chip board will go with any paper or medium!! This first layout was done with the 7 Dots Studios collection Messy Head. I simply adore the wood grained pattern paper. I topped it with the print pattern paper and edge punched it. The paper and Twiggy Branch inspired me to use this photo of Flamingo's I took at Sunken Gardens a few years ago. They truly are "delightful" creatures.

I decided to leave the branch in a more natural color considering the wood grained paper went with it so well. I did rub a little Rock candy Stickles on it to give it a little sparkle. Then I just added some tiny flowers that I die cut.

  I love the word sets. I base coated the word and after it was dry, I dabbed on 2 different color glazes.

I used a white acrylic gesso to coat the Doily Bunting and the butterflies, and while the paint was thick and still wet, I sprinkled some Micro Beads in 2 different colors onto it and pressed them into the wet  paint.

A detailed look of the microbead/gesso technique. 

Twiggy Branch

Doily Bunting

The Optimist Word set

                              
                                                                   Brigitte Butterfly Set

For this next layout I used Messy Head once again. I cant tell you how beautiful the 7 Dots paper is!!

On the flourish I used some crackle paint. Whe the paint was dry and crackled, I rubbed some soft chalk ink over it so that it seeped into the cracks. Then I just dry rubbed the ink off of the paint leaving it on very lightly in some spots. .

I did the same treatment to the Circle Motifs. Then I added a bit of pink ink and rubbed it lightly over the whole surface.

I took one of the circle Morifs and cut it in half. I positioned the pieces on the edges of the layout. They look like 2 different pieces. I only used 1 piece, and there are 3 pieces in the set.

                                                             
                                                                   Blooming Flourish

                                                                        Circle Motifs

                                                                    
Thank you for taking the time to stop by and check out my creations this week. I surely had a wonderful time with my Blue Fern Studios chip board pairing it with 7 Dots Studios. Be sure to check back here on the Blue Fern Studios Blog often as the designers share their work and techniques. You are sure to be inspired. 

September Sketch Challenge!~ and a SWAP!

Welcome to the month of September and our NEW Sketch Challenge! We had some amazing entries last month~ thank-you if you played along! Be on the lookout for our prize winner and features on Thursday the 5th :)

To kick off our new month and new sketch challenge, we also have a SWAP to reveal! We have teamed up with 7 Dots Studio of Poland and all month long, our design team will be using 7 Dots Studio products on their projects! Additionally, the 7 Dots Studio team will be using Blue Fern Studios products- so make sure you stop by their blog this month too and see how their talented team is putting our pieces to work! 

FUN!!

This month we have another beautiful sketch created by the very talented Michele Singh:

This sketch- as always- could easily be rotated or mirrored. We would love to see your take on it! 

Here are a few samples from the design team:

Kelly Foster

(7 Dots Studio "Domestic Goddess", "Dreamer", & "Messy Head" Collections)

Frau_Muller

(7 Dots Studio "9th Wave" Collection)

Kristine Henanger

(7 Dots Studio "9th Wave" Collection)

Valerie Serfozo

(7 Dots Studio "The Queen's Heart" Collection)

Camilla Ekman

(7 Dots Studio "The Queen's Heart" Collection)

Patter Cross

(7 Dots Studio "Messy Head" Collection)

Lisa Gregory

(7 Dots Studio "9th Wave" Collection)

Erin Blegen

(7 Dots Studio "Messy Head" Collection)

So many different ways to do this one- and don't you worry if you don't have the chipboard pieces featured in the sketch- feel free to interpret it as you like with whatever you have :)

As always, we've got a great grab bag of chipboard for one randomly chosen participant:

In addition to our prize winner, we will also select a Top 3 to feature in our winner post!

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! **Please note that you can do whatever type of project you please- a layout, card, tag, canvas, altered item- whatever suits your mood and style! We would love to see the different ways our sketch can be used.**

2.) You must use at least one piece of Blue Fern Studios chipboard- but you do not need to use the pieces featured in the sketch! You can find the store nearest you HERE. {Do not use any other brand of chipboard on your project please!}

** We had a couple entries last month who did not use chipboard, so please note this step as you will be disqualified from the prize drawing and features**

3.) Upload your project using the Inlinkz tool below by midnight EST on September 30th, 2013.

We look forward to your entries!

August Projects: Erin Blegen

Good morning everyone :) Erin Blegen here to share with you my projects for August. I've got a bit of variety today, so I hope there's a little bit of something to suit the different tastes out there!

Let's start with my art journal page:

"Live"

I'm new to art journaling, and am really loving the process- even if "flat" layouts/projects aren't my usual style. But I like that it forces me to try new techniques and work with different mediums to replace my usual flowers and frill ;)

These Manor Hinges were just what I needed to accent this page. After starting out with gesso, I used a script stamp and applied randomly over the surface. I then added a touch of watercolors and some gold embossing enamel.

Products Used:

Manor Hinges

Next up, I have a layout to share:

"Natural Beauty"

I couldn't wait to use this title for my beautiful niece Lilah. It was a perfect fit ;)

Just a little bit of gesso and that was all it needed!

These new Graduated Circles are just awesome :). So many things you can do with them- I used this one as a frame. After applying a random bit of gesso, I added a bit of embossing enamel and zapped it with a heat gun.

Finally, these Berry Stems were the perfect touch for this layout.

Products Used:

Berry Stems

Graduated Circles

All Natural Set

Last, I have a tag to share:

"Friends" Tag

A good tag needs a great accent piece. And that is what I found in this Ironwork Accents piece.

I've used a transparency in the past to back my chipboard, and I really liked that- so I did it again here. It made it easy to apply my title. I've again done some stamping and used some embossing enamel to decorate this piece, before adding a few beads as a final touch.

Products Used:

Ironwork Accents

I hope you enjoyed my post today :) Thanks so much for coming by...

and don't forget about the August Sketch Challenge! There are just a few days left- so don't miss out, okay?

Take care :)

Projects by Kotlyarova

Hello, ladies!
Olga is here with you today. I would like to share my new Blue Fern Studios projects with you and hope it will inspire you.
I love watercolor! We can make a lot of interesting effects with it.

Chipboard used:

For this project I use chipboard as a mask. I would like to achieve lightness and tenderness, so the colors here are not so much. But the photo looks very advantageous!

Chipboard used

 Well, here is just an explosion of color! Also with watercolors. More colors for this fun foto :)

 Chipboard used:

Thanks for stopping by and have a nice day!
Olga