I recently joined an awesome kit club at http://www.swirlydoos.com, which has the most BEAUTIFUL kits for someone like me who likes vintage/shabby/technique driven type scrapbooking... they also have a monthly challenge based on using their product kits and a sketch. Luckily, the colors in this month's kit matched up to this week's CSI color challenge, so I made my layout and submitted it to both sites. Two birds with one stone!
Here is the sketch provided by Swirlydoos.....
...and here is the case file for CSI....
And here is my layout! I must say.... I love, love, LOVE how it turned out... one of my
faves of all time.... I want to first point out the large circle behind the photo... one
of the cool things about the Swirlydoo site is that they have a ton of tutorials... flower making,
new techniques and many more. There is also a technique add-on for the monthly kits that features
new items every month, and there are technique tutorials to show you how to use them... even
though I did not order the technique kit, I did check out the tutorials, and found one by Lynne Forsythe that was AAHHH-MAZZZ-ING! She showed how to use gelato sticks on corrugated cardboard to create a really shabby, distressed look... I just purchased some gelatos and decided to give it a try.... I LOVE how it turned out- it really gave some cool texture to my layout!
Here is a link to her tutorial:
Check it out! Thanks Lynne!
Anyway, I employed a lot of really cool techniques on this layout in addition to Lynne's
technique... I started by writing the story of my grandparents romance that I wanted to tell... it reads:
"On a fine spring day in 1937 Ohio, a young man named Bill decided to skip out on his high school graduation and hop on a train bound for California. After arriving and settling in, he started frequenting a drive in, where he spotted a lovely red headed young lady by the name of Ruby.
At first Ruby denied his advances, since she was dating someone else. But in the end, Bill won out, and they were married after only 4 months.Their life together was not all roses and romance... they had financial and emotional struggles... they were seperated by World War 2... they endured happiness and heartache. But in the end, their love for each other persevered, and they were married for 61 years before Bill died. His last words were to Ruby, declaring his love.
They were my grandparents, and I am truly touched by their true love story."
I wanted a handwritten look, so I chose a font that I liked, and printed the journaling onto
a transparency. Then I distressed and inked all the edges of all the papers I was using as
well as the photo...
See how pretty the journaling looks... almost like a book page!
I used the chipboard frame from Dusty Attic in my kit as the round element from the sketch,
and embossed it with Stampendous Shabby Embossing Enamel in Shabby Green...
these are my new favorite embossing powders! Anyway, then I did some slight inking over the embossing, just to tie in the colors...
The hands of the clock are by Tim Holtz, and I used a small pearl bead in the center.
Here is another view of the corrugated cardboard "done up" with gelatos... I also used a white
paint dauber on it as well as on the edges of the papers, photo and flourishes... the flourishes are
a Tim Holtz Sizzix Bigz die...
Did you notice the little pearl stickpin? That also came in my Swirlydoos kit!
There is a lot of detail on this layout... I used a little metal plaque covered with cardstock
that I wrote the date the picture was taken on....
Here is another interesting detail... doilies! Yup... the paper kind used in bakers everywhere...
they are cheap, pretty, and you can spritz them in all sorts of colors... I used Tattered Angels mist in Taupe for this one... the rub on (LOVE) is Kaisercraft, from their Periwinkle collection. It is on a piece of shaped chipboard that I covered with patterned paper.
Some more subtle details... a wooden tag (Prima Craftsman collection), and vintage pearl
heart button, and a round button I made myself.... Martha Stewart makes some
really cool molds for clay (you can get them at Michael's), and polymer clay (found at most craft stores...) is super easy to use... just soften it up a little in your hands, press it into the mold, pop it out, and bake it in a 275 degree oven for about 15 minutes. It will seem soft when you pull it out, but it will harden up as it cools. I have used this technique for other things (like jewelry making) and you can paint the polymer, use perfect pearls on it, ink, or whatever you like... it is very versatile stuff!
The flowers that came in my kit were a bit too blue for the rest of my layout, so I gave
them a little Tattered Angels mist bath (Taupe). I also used plain white paper roses that I spritzed with TA mist as well, and added a little white paint dauber to. The final touch was another wood piece from the Prima Craftsman collection.
Whew! This is quite a layout! But ever so much fun....I am really proud of it! I also
have some more flair.... it is on the "Watch List" for CSI this week... way cool!
So for those of you celebrating Thanksgiving, I hope it was a good one, full of good food, family and fun.... we all should be so thankful for ALL the blessings in our lives EVERY day...
Bless you all, my crafty friends, and I will see you next week!
Shelley
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