Flower Pot -Scraps of Darkness -Prima October BAP

Here is my entry for the October Prima BAP Challenge.  This is a wonderfully creative design Brit Sviggum.  I had a ton of fun with this. (updated - this was featured for Oct)


This was created using elements from the Scraps of Darkness retired kits.
Don't let the name fool you - it's a versatile kit that can lend itself nicely for soft and romantic or edgy and flirty.  I decided to go a little flirty here.


My sewing on my edges....well ya know - I don't have a clue how to sew.  I've had the machine for about 20 years and never learned how to use it.  I changed the stitch setting in an attempt at playing around and now cant figure out how to get it back to a darn regular stitch.  I dont want zig zag stuff.  But guess what?  I'll have zig zags foreveh.  Sorry folks.  I'm a "one trick pony " now.  LOL

This is a photo of a flower pot at Boldt Castle in the boat house.  I scrapped the same room a few weeks ago in black and white.    The flower pot/ planter is located in the table next to the chair.  When I walked into the room, I was actually taken breathless by the light shinning on the flower pot and the chair.  It was glowing.  What you see has not been manipulated in photoshop.

Here is my Prima product list:

• Prima - E Line - Self Adhesive Pearls/ Crystals - Bling - Assortment 14 #300586
• Prima - Roosevelt Collection - Flower Embellishments - Eleanor #543891
• Prima - Clear Acrylic Stamps - Fence #551032
• Prima - Wood Embellishments - Decorative Clocks 554613
• Prima - Metal Embellishments - Keys - Style 2 
• Prima - Wood Embellishments - Doors - Set 1 560669
• Prima - Romantique Collection - 12 x 12 Double Sided Paper - Estella 
• Prima - Printery Collection - 12 x 12 Double Sided Paper - Page Four 
• Prima - Ingvild Bolme - Chalk Fluid Edger - Old Rose 
• Prima - Fairy Belle Collection - Chipboard Pieces - 2 #950286
• Prima - Stencils Mask Set - Sublime Screens - Mix 3

Thanks for looking.  Stop by Scraps of Darkness and check us out.

Feature at Colorful Creations-Girl in Curls (Scraps of Darkness)

I am being featured at Colorful Creations.  This is Girl in Curls.

I used elements from Scraps of Darkness Oct Kit, Morticia's Wish to make this layout.  I also grabbed other elements and embellies from retires kits to finish the piece. The papers are My Minds Eye Halloween collection that I used and made all-season. 

This layout was created using the sketch from Laura Whitaker  for Colorful Creations.

Below, I used Dusty Attic Foliage DA0506, inked it with Donna Salazar Mix'd Media Inx in Moss, then the edges in Leather.  The stamping below are two of Donna Salazar's stamps, Acanthus and also Vine.  Stamped in Leather. 

I used the Dusty Attic Paris Post Mark DA0320 and simply inked it with Donna Salazar Mix'd Media Inx in Leather.

This beautiful butterfly is also what makes Scraps Of Elegance kits absolutely unique.  It is handmade by Renea Harrisson

This layout was created using the sketch from Laura Whitaker  for Colorful Creations.

Thanks so much for visiting.  Please consider stopping by Scraps of Darkness and checking out the club.  Also Swing by Colorful Creations and try your hand at the sketch or any of the other talent building challenges currently going on.

Moments -Prima October PPP

This is my entry for October  Prima PPP Challenge. As an update, this was featured at Prima.
Here is the palette.

I used elements from retired Scraps Of Elegance and Scraps of Darkness kits to create this.  I dug in my kits and found some great supplies.

I took this photo recently of my niece at the pumpkin patch, but did not want this to be a Halloween type creation.  I am going to tell you straight up that the only cooperation I got in this whole piece was my niece in the photo.  And usually she's not overly thrilled with Aunt Jennifer taking photos. I'm usually chasing her down beggin for mercy. 

I must start by asking if you have ever wanted to put your head down on your art table and give up on a piece?   Oh sure - I bet everyone paper crafter and artist has.  I console myself by thinking this - it may not be true.

The following is my little testimony to tell you that the path is not always easy.  The journey may be difficult, frustrating and seem hopeless, yet with a little perseverance and a lot of thought, the outcome can be satisfying - different than you expected, yet still satisfying.  ( yeah I  got all this philosophy out of paper crafting. too funny!)

So what happened?
As soon as I started this piece I realized the path was all wrong.  I pulled out Prima's Donna Downy Poppies  and Peonies  6x6 mask.  I grabbed the Dylusions Crushed Grape.  At that point I looked at  my layout and new I was headed in a wrong direction.  What a tragic mistake.  It was just not the color I was looking for - love the Dylusions, but wrong color for this piece.

So I placed the mask down again on top of the Dylusions hoping to line up perfectly and added more color, more paint, more globs, more molding paste, more layers, more, more ,more.   ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!  Enough already.

I finally ended with flowers I could live with.  But it took a lot of struggling to get there.  It was not easy, not effortless, not flowing and really, not a lot of fun.

Once the mask layer was done, you'd think I was on easy street.  Ready to roll and finish with a few embellishments. Normally that's how it goes.  Not to be this time.

The gorgeous rich Prima Bel Canto purple flowers were my next meltdown.  They are stunning flowers in person but needed to be altered a little.  So the smack down started with them as well.  I wanted them to blend in with my new vision of the page - which was totally altered from my original vision.   Out came the Adirondack paints, Purple twilight, Sunshine Yellow, Lemonade, Snow Cap, Eggplant.  Oh my gosh, please end this madness.   So you can see where they ended up.

Next, my Dusty Attic Chicken wire DA0179, usually a well behaved happy chippy, tossed it's hat in the ring of madness.  It wanted to be neked, I wanted it white.  We argued and cussed and finally we settled on yellow.

Moments INDEED!

Please consider joining us at Scraps Of Elegance and Scraps of Darkness - for the alternative scrapper.
Thanks a lot for looking.

Scraps Of Elegance and CSI-Colors Stories inspiration. case file 43

Scraps Of Elegance and CSI-Colors Stories Inspiration are teaming up for the month of October. Welcome to case file #43.

Cest La Vie

I took this photo in September 2011.  It's the granddaughter of my friend. I loved taking photos of this darling young lady since she gave me such attitude in her look.  When I found the little tag that said Cest La Vie, I swore it was printed with this young lady in mind.  What a doll she was. 

My journaling: You tie our hearts in knots. 

I used the Dusty Attic Foliage DA0506 and covered it with Stampendous Aged Enamel in Green. 

These are Kaisercraft paper blooms in coconut with some Dusty Attic foliage and some berries I added for filler.

Evidence 

•   foliage
•   flourishes
•   rub-on (inspired by the watermark in the lower-right)


Testimony 
•   Inspiration Words: formal, tie(s), event -- use these as inspiration for your journaling, not just as a title.



This was based on a sketch by Mistra Hoolahan for Dusty Attic. 

Please join us at Scraps Of Elegance and check out CSI-Colors Stories Inspiration.
Thanks for visiting.  

Little Dancer - Scraps Of Elegance -Case file #42

Welcome to CSI Case file #42, Sponsored this month by Scraps Of Elegance.

It's so easy to scrap within a color palette that is comfortable, and typical for us.  Typical for me would be creams, browns, oranges and rusts.  Not blue and red.  While certainly a gorgeous palette, I fear red and blue in my scrappy world. 

I don't really know why, but those are difficult colors for me to use.

I had to throw off my kid gloves and do a paper smackdown with a whole bunch of molding paste slathered all over the page, like the frosting on these cupcakes.  Now that was a ton of fun.  I sure do love molding paste, but fluffy sugary frosting is still king for me.  

I dug into my Scraps Of Elegance  retired kits to find the Carta Bella Beautiful Moments collection was just what I needed as my base.  Then I added some other embellishments from retired kits. The Kaisercraft Miss Match Collectables Doily die cut, the My Minds Eye Twine from Indie Chic collection.

Little Dancer

This is a photo of my niece that I took for he dance recital in May.  She is 5.  She is doing one of her dance recital poses for me.

You are small, yet you are as beautiful as a butterfly fluttering in the fields. 

You are small, yet you bring the biggest smile to our faces.

You are small, yet our love for you is larger than the biggest mountain.

I used the Dusty Attic Chicken Wire 12x12 DA0457.    I chose to leave it neked underneath the slop of molding paste I laid down. 

Evidence 
•   flowers
•   texture/modeling paste


Testimony
•   Inspiration Words: small, better/best choose/choice, daily-- use these as inspiration for your journaling, not just as a title   I chose small. 

You are small, yet you are as beautiful as a butterfly fluttering in the flields. 

You are small, yet you bring the biggest smile to our faces.

You are small, yet our love for you is larger than the biggest mountain.

 Thanks for spending time here.  

Scraps of Elegance and create something beautiful today.

Scraps of Darkness Autumn Basket

Autumn Basket - created using some leftovers from the September Scraps of Darkness Kit, My Guy. 

I found a really cool hanging basket in the clearance section of my craft store so I snagged it and dug out my leftover scraps from the Scraps of Darkness kit. 

The kit featured the rich masculine papers from Kaisercraft Sears and Son, as well as the Prima Craftsman collection. I found these two collections to be extraordinarily complimentary.

After I had my fun creating masculine layouts and pieces, I needed to do something girly again and decided to make flowers and leaves.    That's how diverse this kit is.  Strong and masculine for one layout, then soft and feminine for the next. 

The flowers are die cuts from the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die. 

I used the McGill Starburst punch for the center and the topped with a Creative Charms brad.   I sprayed with Dylusions Ink Mist in Pure Sunshine and Lemon Zest.

 I used the Dusty Attic Foliage DA0506.  I painted it first with Adirondack paint in Gold, then covered it with Stampendous Aged embossing enamel in Gold.     

Here is a photo of the leaves I made from the Tim Holtz leaves die. 

Even my sweetie pie Escape Kitty likes the basket.  Though I have not met a kitty who didn't like a basket or a box. 

She's helping out. 

Kitty and I thank you for looking.  
Please consider joining us at Scraps Of Darkness.

Scraps of Darkness Oct Reveal - Morticia's Wish Blog Hop

If you have arrived here from Mandy's blog, then you are on the right track. 

Welcome to the Scraps of Darkness Design Team Reveal Blog Hop!

We are unveiling our October kit "Morticia's Wish"

The Scraps of Darkness Oct Kit, Morticia's Wish, is the premiere Halloween Kit.   The October kit is always anxiously anticipated.  It's  jammed with Halloween goodies, unique embellishments and  fun papers.  Scraps of Darkness does Halloween like no one else can.  That's because Scraps of Darkness is the Kit for the Alternative scrapper.  

We have two special guests joining us this month- Carta Bella , and  Susan Longman,guest designer.

Carta Bella  is giving away an awesome prize! One collection of the winners choosing! Thta's awesome.

Meet our guest designer, Susan Longman

Scraps of Darkness is giving away are fabulous October kit to one lucky winner!

All you have to do is become a follower of the Scraps of Darkness Blog and “like us” on Facebook. Visit each participating blog, become of follower of those blogs and leave a comment.

When you have visited everyone, return to the Scraps of Darkness blog and leave us a comment letting us know how much fun you had!
If you post about this blog hop on your own blog you will be entered into the drawing twice for and extra chance to win!

We are sure you will be inspired by our talented design team!
The October kit is our signature kit and you won’t want to miss out on one.

Please Note: Open to international entries however you are responsible for shipping charges in excess of  $10.00

You have until Wednesday 10/17 9:00 am PST to complete the hop.
The winner will be announced on the Scraps of Darkness blog on 10/18.
Be sure to check back on that day to see if you have won…

Here are the pieces I created using the Oct. Scraps of Darkness Kit, Morticia's Wish.  
Here is a look at my work.  You can see the rest of the design team's work here.

Autumn Mansion

This design is based on a sketch by Charlotte Jenkins, also known as suepup in the scrapping world.

It's a photo I took in July at Boldt Castle, in New York.  This is the boat house.  Here are more incredible photos of Boldt Castle.

I used the Dusty Attic Chandelier 2pk DA0080 here and painted it with Donna Salazar's Mixd Media Inx in Schoolhouse.   I also added some Prima bling here and some Stickles in Paprika. 

Halloween Graveyard
This is a reverse canvas.  I wanted to created a 3D grave site effect.

I used a bunch of different Dusty Attic pieces here.  Above is the Scroll Border DA0219 under the scull. 
Below is the Ornate Gate small DA0189 that I painted black, embossed with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo embossing powder as well as Scattered Straw to lighten it up in places.

The skeleton was from the Dollar Store.  yeah - crazy huh? I got a four pack for a buck.  woot woot. That is also where I bought the black cheesecloth that I used on the top of this as draping.

I used the Dusty Attic Crooked Fence DA0620 here.  That was just perfect for this graveyard.

This is the original photo I took in 2009 at Mt Hope Cemetery in NY.  The gates were my inspiration for my art piece.

Creepy House
This is a photo I took in September 2012, while on a trip to North Carolina to meet up with some fellow scrapping friends.   This trip is graciously hosted by Maggi Harding, fellow artist.  Her husband takes a day to escort us around the North Carolina country side for cool photographs.

This old house captured our fancy in a spooky and creepy kind of way.   Thanks to the Hardings for making this layout possible.

I used the trees in the photo as inspiration.  This layout also has a stick pin created by Mandy Harrell stuck in the flower cluster.  this may be my favorite of her stick pin creations - though I may very well say that each month when the pin arrives in my kit.

I used the Inkadinkado Stamping Gear set to create my stamped circle.  Very cool tool.

 I used the Dusty Attic Long Stem Flower DA0462.   I painted the flower chippy with Adirondack paint in Snowcap white. The I inked with Donna Salazar Mix'd Media Inx Mossy for the green.  Then I used the Honey and the Leather colors of Mix'd Media Inx to accent the chippy and the leaves shown above and below. 

The leaves are form the Heartfelt Creations/ Spellbinders Bella Rose die and stamp set.

 I used the Dusty Attic Ravens 4pack DA0179 here and coated it with Lindy's Stamp Gang Obsidian Dawn embossing powder.

I used the Dusty Attic ATC Frames #1 - 3pack DA0673 below.  I cut in half and convered this with
Lindy's Stamp Gang Obsidian Dawn embossing powder.

Thoughts on Life
This is a photo I took of my husband in July 2012 while we were on a weekend get-away to a music festival in Alexandria Bay, New York.

The design is by Nadia Cannizzo.

My husband is a guitar player.  When he changes out his stings on his guitar, he always rolls them in a circle before tossing them away.  This time, instead of tossing them out, I grabbed them.  They look very cool all rolled up.  That's the metal piece you see in the layout.  I wanted to capture the essence of the photo - we were having a great time, in a peaceful place, enjoying music.

I used some cheesecloth to create the water by adding a lot of molding paste to hold it in place, then using mists to color.

This is an image of the amazing stick pin by Mandy Harrell from the Sept, MY Guy SOD kit. 

This is a photo I took of my husband in July 2012 while we were on a weekend get-away.

Photo after I added the words in photoshop.  Took me a while because I used a different font for each word.

Thanks for looking at my art work.
Please consider joining us at Scraps of Darkness

Your next stop.......Renea's blog. 

Have Fun!
Here is the full list of blogs to visit
Scraps of Darkness/
Carta Bella
Mandy Harrell
Jennifer Snyder
Renea Harrison
Karen Zueger
Susan Longman
Lisa Novogrodski
Elena Olinevich
Michelle Phillips
Karolina Stopyra
Escape Kitty
Back to Scraps of Darkness

Dusty Attic Long Stem Flower DA0462

Dusty Attic Ravens 4pack DA0179