If Happy Little Bluebirds Fly. . .

I finally got a layout done this month. My whole family has been sick off and on all month (including me) . . . so I was busy taking care of them and myself and hadn't found the time to scrap for weeks! *sigh* There just isn't enough time in a day, is there? Anyhow, here is a layout I did to play along with a Round Robin at The Flying Unicorn. The picture is of my son and was taken in March on the first really beautiful, warm Spring day we had. He loved going to the park and the swing and I happened to get this picture in which I think he looks so sweet and thoughtful. I used a line from the song "Over the Rainbow" as the title to go along with his thoughtful expression.

I used some of the contents from my April Scrap That! kit for this layout, which includes papers from the gorgeous "Sweet Nothings" collection by Kaisercraft. I used a page of GCD music-sheet patterened paper from my stash as the background page to tie in my song lyrics title. I edge-distressed the GCD paper and added a few random punches along the edges with a Martha Stewart edge punch and added lace peek-a-boos behind the punched sections. I edge and water-distressed the With Love page from the Kaisercraft papers and layered it on top of the base page. I added a square of distressed corrugated cardboard and matted the photo on some more Kaisercraft paper.

I used a small bluebird and tag from the "Sweet Nothings" Collectables as embellishments. I added the small bluebird to the top right of the cardboard square and added a twine swirl leading to the left side of the page.

I used the tag from the collectables and added a layer of vellum on which I had printed my title. I also added a twine bow to the tag. I used some Bazzil Basics brown cardstock and the Martha Stewart Garden Gate deep edge punch to create the double-punched border strip on the layout. I measured the depth of the punch and cut a strip of paper to allow me to punch both edges with a narrow strip down the middle....I love this look.

I fussy-cut the birdcage from the Dozen Roses Kaisercraft paper and added it to the right side of my layout with some 3-D foam adhesive. I cut a bunch of little blue flowers on my Silhouette to coordinate with the blue flowers on the birdcage and used Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink in Mocha to create the flower centres. I added the flowers to a Dusty Attic Sweet Pea border, which I cut into two sections and treated with two colours of Distress Stain (Stormy Sky and Forest Moss). Here is a close-up of some of the vine/flowers and one of the lace peek-a-boos.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today!

Materials Used:

Patterned Papers: GCD Studios - Tina Higgins "Paris Nights" collection - music sheet; Kaisercraft - "Sweet Nothings" Collection - Dozen Roses, With Love, Collectables; Bazzill Basics Brown Cardstock; Corrugated Cardboard; Recollections Light Blue Cardstock; Vellum; Dusty Attic Sweet Pea Border; Distress Stain in Stormy Sky and Forest Moss; Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink in Mocha; Twine, Lace; Martha Stewart Punches - Garden Gate Deep Edge Punch and Arch Lattice Edge Punch; Aleene's Tacky Glue; Glue Dots - Memory Book and Mini; Memory Tape Runner XL.

Beauty - The Paper Mixing Bowl Challenge #2

I cannot believe it is April already - this year is going by so fast! Today brings the reveal of our second challenge at The Paper Mixing Bowl challenge blog. This month we have a traditional Easter treat for you - Hot Cross Buns! Even though the recipe/sketch are Easter-inspired, you do NOT have to do an Easter layout. Since my wedding anniversary is in April, I decided to use a wedding photo for my layout this month!

Here is the recipe card for this month's challenge:

I raided my stash for this layout and used some glittery paper and some embossed paper that I had been holding onto for a while. I shifted my sketch slightly for my layout, moving my picture to the left and the journalling to the right side of the page. I managed to use all the Utensils except stitching on this layout (the bolded items in my layout description are the utensils).The Main Ingredient for this challenge was "White Icing" - meaning that white had to feature prominently in the layout - so I've used the white embossed paper, white doilies, white tags and white flowers for this element. I decided to go with a two-tone layout and chose shades of pink as my alternate colour. I punched the white paper and one of the layers of pink paper with a Martha Stewart Punch-Around-the-Page Double Loops punch. I had to use a lot of liquid glue for this layout because of the glittery papers I used - FYI glue runners and glitter paper don't go together! I added two different sizes of round doilies to my layering, using the smaller one as the mat for my photo. I added some crinkle ribbon around the edge of my photo to finish the cut-edge of the circular photo. I used Petaloo Color Me Crazy Wild Roses around the title and in the upper left corner of the layout.

I cut-out an oval doily on my silhouette and used it as the background for my title, which is a chipboard word by dusty attic. I painted the title with Distress Crackle Paint in Tattered Rose and then inked it (after it dried) with Distress Ink in Tattered Rose. I wasn't thrilled with how it had turned out so I added a coat of Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink in Shabby Pink and then a layer of Ranger Crackle Accents.

The chipboard dress form is also by Dusty Attic. I painted the dress form with Distress Crackle Paint in Tattered Rose and then inked it (after it dried) with Distress Ink in Tattered Rose. I then added Distress Stickles in (you guessed it) Tattered Rose to the "body" of the dress form. I used Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink in Illuminate on the remainder of the dress form. I finished off the neck of the dress form with three half-pearls to create a 'necklace'.

The final element of this layout is the journalling tags - which I cut on my Silhouette and printed on my printer. I had some difficulty getting the printing straight...so I might recut/reprint the tags. I added some more of the crinkle ribbon to the tag loops. The journalling is about how I felt on my wedding day and reads:

Every woman deserves to feel beautiful on her wedding day - and I did. I loved my wedding dress - I felt so happy and, if only for an evening, like the most beautiful woman in the world. Even though my fiancé and I had been together for years, our wedding day was so special. I look at my wedding pictures and I remember the joy and excitement of that day and how it was the start of a new chapter in our lives. 

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today.  I hope you'll hop over to The Paper Mixing Bowl blog and play along with Recipe Challenge #2!

Materials Used:

Patterned Paper: Doodlebug Designs - Paisley Impressions Cardstock (white) and Ladybug Daydream Cardstock (Dark Pink Glitter paper); SEI Mimosa Collection - Daquiri paper; Recollections White Cardstock; Doilies by Wilton; Petaloo Color Me Crazy Wild Roses; Prima Rose Leaves; Dusty Attic Mini Words #2 chipboard word "Beauty"; Dusty Attic Dress Form #2 (small); Distress Crackle Paint in Tattered Rose; Distress Ink in Tattered Rose; Distress Stickles in Tattered Rose; Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink in Shabby Pink and Illuminate; Ranger Crackle Accents; Basic Grey Opaline Half Pearls; Crinkle Ribbon from stash; Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page Double Loops; EK Success Corner Rounder; Circle Cutter; Silhouette Die Cutter; Aleene's Tacky Glue; Memory Tape Runner XL; Glue Dots - Memory Book and Mini.