Tales of You & Me - By Prima's Frank Garcia

Prima's newest collection by Frank Garcia, Tales of You & Me,  is one of those collections that is a "must have"  - with soft warm colors.  I thought they would be great for my vintage page.  This collection is also one that creates a little panic when you are holding it in your hands.  Panic?  Why Panic?  Well , because the papers are way too gorgeous to cut.  You flip the papers over and over and look at them trying to decide if you have the guts to make that first cut needed to start a project. 

Heck, all paper crafters have had this problem at some point.  

I know that you have tons of courage and some great creative ideas too.  You can do it!  Beautiful paper is meant to be used and shared and adored by many.  The reassuring thing about Frank Garcia is that once you have used up Tales of You & Me, his next collection will be gorgeous as well.  Somehow Frank magically manages to keep on doing that.   And the process goes on and on.  For now, I may have the best solution yet...grab yourself a few sheets - some to cut and some to stash.  This way you can create with peace of mind.  

This is what I created.  It's a layout of my parents as kids - I decided to edit the photos a bit for color.  

Here is my creative process:

Step 1.  As we previously "discussed", cutting and ripping are hard BUT has to be done.  Great news - you only need one side and you can set the other piece aside for another project, card or tag.  

Step 2. I grabbed one of Prima's Doily 6x6 stencils and added some stenciling to my page.  I love using Finnabair's Art Basics Heavy Gesso because it stays white and bright when dry.  

Step 3. This next process has three parts to it.  Lightly mist the ripped edges with water.  Gently roll the paper with your finger tips.  Dry the paper with your heat gun.  I think this particular step of drying the paper is important because the paper becomes a little stiffer and will stay curled after it has been dampened and dried. 

Step 4.  I wanted to create layers of rolled edges  so I ripped some additional paper for layers and will glue them all to the page.  Follow the same instructions in Step 3.

Step 5.  Heat Dry these paper strips as well. 

Step 6. Glue the paper layers to the page.  

Step 7.  Add some paper doily diecuts using Prima's wonderful new Embroidery Doily die. 

Step 8. I add my photos to Prima's Resin Frame by Ingvild Bolme - Baroque Frame. Then I used a 4x6 Journaling card from "Tales of You & Me" collection as a mat backing. 

Step  9. Add the photo frame to the page and start embellishing with flowers.  I used Prima Tales of You & Me - Flowers #586263. 

Step 10.  Prima's Memory Hardware by Frank Garcia in Grand Rosette Trim makes great custom rosette embellishments on a page.  Add some Prima Color Bloom mists and customize the color to match anything.  I used Color Bloom in Tea Stain and Cotton Candy.  
Step 11.  Tuck the custom rosettes into the flower cluster and add some floral berries from Frank Garcia's Victorian Christmas collection called "Red Stocking". 

Step 12. The wood embellishments and SIIC from the "Tales of You & Me" are totally adorable.  I added these to the side of my page.  

Step 13. It's time to finish up my floral clusters and make them more lush and thick.  I punched some pines and now need to customize the color.  I misted with Lime Wedge and Tea Stain Color Blooms.  I also dried with my heat gun. 

Step 14. Tuck the greens here and there. 

Step 15. Add a finishing bow. 

  Here are some close ups of the finished page.  

Thanks for stopping here.  Enjoy Frank Garcia's collections! You can find the Tales of You & Me collection right here.  You can find Frank's other collections here as well and all the other fun Prima goodies at the Flying Unicorns Store. 

Products:

990848 Prima Tales of You & Me paper - Beaute Cachee

990831 Prima Tales of You & Me paper - Jardin de Fleurs 

990824 Prima Tales of You & Me paper - Belles Melodies d Amour

583798 Prima Tales of You & Me - Wood Embellishments
990992 Prima Tales of You & Me - 4x6 Journal Cards
584818 Prima Tales of You & Me - SIIC
586263 Prima Tales of You & Me - Flowers
573850 Prima Color Blooms - Lime Wedge
573737 Prima Color Blooms - Cotton Candy - this works as well
573836 Prima Color Blooms - Tea Stain
990466 Prima Memory Hardware by Frank Garcia - Grand Rosette Trim
583477 Prima Victorian Christmas by Frank Garcia - Red Stocking Flowers
584009 Prima Die - Embroidery Doily
961442 Prima Heavy Gesso White
892098 Prima Resin Frame by Ingvild Bolme - Baroque Frame
Prima Stencil


Other:
Gingham Ribbon
cream cardstock
Martha Stewart Branch Punch
Gold Braiding Trim
Ribbon: