More From CHA...

It's February! WOW can't believe we are already into the second month of the New Year! I have a few more projects to share from this past CHA and would like to start today with another altered Art Box from Graphic 45.

A little on the larger side at 8x8, this box is the perfect canvas on which to create.  The box in the middle slides out to reveal the inside - perfect for a decorative project or left bare to hold treasures and keepsakes.

Here is the inside box as well as the outer 'shell' shown together.

I decided to create a romantic, layered decorative project on the inside of my box - adorned with flowers, doilies and whimsical butterflies.

Here is the side view to give you a better idea of the true colours in the light.  I also altered my metal pieces and tips of my flowers with some acrylic paint in buttercream as I found it gave more of a vintage inspired feel.

 

 

Thank you so much for your visit today - until next time!

New From CHA - French Country

Hi everyone!! Just popping in today to share a new layout with you.  I created this project for this past CHA using the brand new, French Country Collection from Graphic 45.

I chose a very neutral colour palette considering the amount of gorgeous, bright colours in this collection.  For some reason, I was just drawn to the greens and how they stood out against the black.

I added some cream paint along the edges of my flowers as well as some of my papers for a more aged feel.  There are so many little cards and tickets and little treasures to cut out from the pages of this collection - I just went wild and added in a heap of layers worth of beautiful imagery.  Although, looking at this layout now, it does look a little 'flat'... perhaps a few sheets of crumpled up newsprint behind each layer would have added the perfect lift...

Thanks so much for peeking in today.  I'll have lots more CHA projects coming up in the next little bit. 

Layering Tutorial

I've had several comments in the past about my layouts having oodles and oodles of layers and how I get my projects to look so dimensional. To start, you need a whole lot of paper, the embellishments you will be using and the general composition of your layout ready to go. (click on photos for larger images)

I am a total thrift store shopper! I LOVE it! It is such a thrill to enter a huge store and come out with treasures galore for undr $5.00! Things I find at thrift stores include doilies, objects to alter, old/vintage lace, etc and books.

Here is an example of a vintage encyclopedia I picked up for $3.00! Look how thick this is! I will never use all these pages up - but they are just the perfect addition to my otherwise 2 dimensional layouts. To get the dimension on my layouts that I love, here's what I do: Rip out a few pages from my trusty vintage book, crumple them up like you were going to throw them out.

Now gently unravel so that you have a very crumpled, and dimensional piece of paper. Glue this to your project making sure that there are raised portions. I often add several pieces to my layouts. The best part about these crumpled pieces are that they raise the focal point of your layout as well as offer the perfect nooks and crannies with which to tuck the rest of your embellishments. I tend to have white space issues. Any part of my layout that is 'bare' gives me anxiety. LOL! I need to cover things with embellishments and/or layer with paper. For this reason, I love the Noteworthy product from Bo Bunny! Tons of little bits of coordinating papers - the perfect size to tuck under your photos, etc. I will often only use parts of embellishments - I will cut stickers in half, cut flowers in half, cut trinkets in half, etc. so that just the part of the embellishment that I want to be shown is visible.

Here you can see my layout in each phase. Firstly, right after I have added the dimensional paper, next after adding a few embellishments and again after adding even more embellishments and layers.

 

 

And here is the finished layout - layers, dimension and all! Thanks so much for your visit today!!

Bunny Supplies
Patterned Paper: Stripe, Poppies, Trellies, Cut Outs, Garden, Sunrise/Serenade
Cardstock Stickers: Treasured Friend
Combo Stickers: Serenade
Chipboard: Serenade
Jewels: Serenade
Noteworthy: Serenade
Layered Chipboard: Serenade