Thursday, February 27, 2014

Those holiday pictures Part 2 - Okinawa Story

Hello people!

I'm back for Part 2 of my reveal with Blue Fern Studios, featuring their new paper line Blue Fern Garden.
I've just mentioned that we got back with tons of photos from a family holiday in Japan, and one of the quickest ways to show a friend these photos is to put them in a mini-album (note: I showed this to some guests we had over for dinner and the husband commented, "You know there are those plastic albums with plastic sheets where you can slot the photos in right?" Sometimes the men just don't get it...)


This is a canvas album I got from the local scrapbook store and I had a lot of fun altering the cover with some glimmer mists. I also used a piece from the Ever After Frame set and covered it with two different shades of embossing powder for a duo-toned effect. I then fussy-cut out an element from Blue Fern Garden "Calling Cards" as a mat for the title. The mini was titled "Okinawa Story" because that's the web url for their official tourism page, which I had gone to several times to do my research for the place.

Some of the inner pages:




There was a honeycomb pattern on this sheet (In Bloom) so I painted the Bits of Honey chippy and tucked it under the photos. Here's a tip: don't discard the extra strip at the bottom of your Blue Fern Garden papers. There are beautiful patterns on them and I found the thickness to be just perfect for layering banner strips. I've used these throughout my mini. 




More cut-outs from the "Calling Cards" sheets. I think I've already almost used up the ones given to me in my DT pack. Yes, that's how much I love this one! I've also painted the Spring Branch chipboard with lots of Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals.



I painted the Heart Panel Chunky with some water colors, inked the edges and layered it under my photos. 

If you have not gotten these fabulous papers, don't wait any more! Here is a list of places you can find Blue Fern Studios products so be sure to check them out.

That's all I have for the month of February. I'll be back in March with more great stuff to share, so do come back for more inspiration.

love,

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Those holiday pictures Part 1 - Perfect Moment

Hello friends, how is everyone?
I'm so glad to be back on blogosphere; the past few weeks have been extremely busy with assignment deadlines plus, we were away for a wonderful holiday!

It was an awesome 6 days in Okinawa and I was the happy photographer snapping away pics of the gramps and grandkids. These guys spend so much time together but I've hardly gotten any decent pictures of them. This one's one of my favourites and I've scrapped it as part of my DT work for Blue Fern Studios. I was inspired by one of my favourite artists Stacey Young, and scrap-lifted one of her layouts.


I must have been living under a rock because until 3 weeks ago, I didn't know there was such a thing as transparent gesso. And boy was I over the moon when I found it! It basically allowed me to achieve the same fluid effects for my paints without the white-washed background that you get with regular gesso, so the patterned paper shows up very nicely. And this technique was what I used for the beautiful Blue Fern Garden papers sitting quietly in a parcel, waiting for my flight to land at the airport. 

Some close-ups:


I spent quite a bit of time on these chippies and it was really fun playing with the Lindy Stamp Gang Magicals. The colors are rich and brilliant, yet soft at the same time. I painted the chippies with them and smeared some Shimmerz Texturez after the paint dried. The paper layers were cut-outs from the paper "Calling Cards" in the Blue Fern Garden collection. Michelle Singh did such a fabulous job with this line and it is just the right kind of design and color I would buy for my shabby mixed media projects. The paper's also heavier, which takes mediums and paints very well in that it doesn't warp. 


For the Petite Window piece, I patted texture paste on it to give a rough look. I did the same for the Country picket fence in the background and for a moment, felt like Tom Sawyer trying to paint his fence, except that I don't think I want to share the job with other people :p


See how nicely the floral designs in the paper shows up under the blue and green paints? For these, I used both the Magicals and the lovely paints from 13@rts.


Painting and stamping and masking on the background. What's not to love about mixed media? The title is cut-out from "Calling Cards" - that paper must have been designed for me because there are just so many beautiful word and card elements to use.

This is what I have to share for now, do drop by again to check out Part 2 of my holiday photos which I've put in a mini album made from more Blue Fern goodies.

Until then, happy scrapping!


Love comes in Green

Hello beautiful people!

February has been such a busy month and I barely had time to catch my breath. With so many things going on - youngest starting child care, DT assignments, Chinese New Year gatherings, job hunting (oh, did I just say that out loud...), I'm just stretched a little thin. But what better than a beautiful wedding to lift up the spirits eh?

One of our young friends in church is marrying a wonderful lady, and our eldest has the honour of being their page boy. The bride is an avid paper crafter like myself and she is immensely talented, so I had to work very hard to meet her expectations for some of the wedding items I offered to hand make for her, using of course Green Tara goodies.


The bride wants a rustic mint-green wedding and didn't like the original ring pillow that came with the jewellery so I tore out the old stuff and replaced them with this sweet little ensemble comprising of some Gold Mesh, Burlap and Glitter Organza Hearts ribbons. I topped it up with a bow made from the Double-sided Vertical Stripe Satin ribbon and a Wild Rose. Eldest is very shy about bearing the ring (his name is not Frodo by the way) so we are still trying to convince him. He did say that mummy's creation is nice but he's afraid. 


I made this flower crown from scratch and wove the flowers into the skeleton. The flower arrangement wires came from two shops - Spotlight (the thick one) and Daiso (the thinner ones) and it was quite therapeutic doing the weaving (I also happened to be watching "Sherlock" while doing this). The apple blossoms came in white, so I painted the centre with the Pale Green chalk spray I got from 13@rts.



These are my personal favourites because I've such a soft spot for mason jars and quaint little bicycles. I spotted the bicycle in the stationary shop near the food court where we always have our lunch after Sunday service. The minute I saw it I knew I had to do something crafty with it. The mason jars were recycled from my dessert adventures - there's a neat little shop at Everton Park where their sponge and mousse cakes come in mason jars. The bride had the really beautiful idea of using them as table deco so I tried to make something out of them. 




For the jars, I first used a layer of Gold Mesh ribbon before layering them with either the Natural Jute Ribbon or the Off-White Flower Lace. I misted the large White Flower Lace with mint green spray and used it as a piece for the Heirloom flowers, which I painted the centre using the same mint green spray. I also used the Silk Flowers with Crystal and Mini Rose to highlight the jars.


 For the cluster on the bicycle, I layered the Natural Jute Ribbon, the Herringbone Ribbon, White Flower and Off-White Flower Laces, Pearl Trim and the Satin Leaf Garland.


That's all I have to share for now. After a day at work with barely enough sleep migraine is setting in and I really need my bed. Until then, happy creating!

love,


Saturday, February 8, 2014

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Hi folks! It's a wonderful weekend isn't it?

As promised, I'll be revealing the winner of my YouTube channel launch giveaway today. And the one lucky random girl is:


Congrats Michelle Logan! You said:


For your warm support, you've won yourself a $30 gift certificate to C'est Magnifique Kit Club, happy shopping! Please send me an email (sunnyjeli@gmail.com) to claim your prize. But do reply within 7 days or I'll have to pick another winner.

And lastly, thanks to everybody for playing along. Your comments and love are really, truly appreciated!

love,

Saturday, February 1, 2014

I Love You More

Hello dear readers, we're already into the second month of 2014!

Right now I'm in lovely Okinawa with my family and enjoying a well-deserved break from work. The cherry blossoms are so lovely here and I hope to show you some pictures soon. But before that, I want to share my take on Blue Ferns Studios' February sketch. 


And my take on it:


This is quite different from my usual style as I've gone all colorful here with very minimal mixed media work. Once in awhile, it's fun to try out something new eh?

Some close-ups of the chipboards I used:


Love these curly words! just simple misting and heat embossing with clear EPs.


The filmstrips chippie which is absolutely adorable.


The bits of honey chipboard which I find very suitable for layering in clusters.


And lastly, the heart chunky panel which is so versatile. I've used it as part of a background and here it's layered with another cluster. Some simple stamping and embossing, and you can see so much texture there.

I hope I have inspired you today and remember to submit your entry for BFS' February challenge by the end of this month. There's an amazing prize pack to be won by one random winner, and you get a chance to be featured as well!

Also, my giveaway is still happening here until 7th Feb so do follow the simple instructions for your chance to win a $30 gift certificate from C'est Magnifique Kits!

love,