Willow Roses

Spring is in the air - even though it is rainy and dreary, I can smell it in the rain, hear in the trees and see tiny signs of it everywhere.  So yesterday, I started working my class for April since I will be traveling over the next few weeks, wanting to get ahead for once!  I was initially leaning towards the FiFi/Fido lines with its spring palette of colors, but I just wasn't feeling it, if you know what I mean.  I just got those papers in this week and I haven't had a chance to think about it, walk around the table and look at them to come up with ideas for what I want to do with them.  I have had the Willow papers in for a while and I knew immediately at some point in this new teaching adventure, I wanted to take a different twist with them.  They were designed for family heirloom photos, which is fine and I am sure I will take that challenge on as well, but I was drawn to the ivory, rose, black and gray papers more so than the blues, so I went with it and, voila', my Willow-Roses design.  No Anna Griffin designer influence here - all me.

It's a two page layout featuring box-pleats on both pages and a lot of cutting with a craft knife (too many small details for scissors).  I even added a filet-style mat on the main page.  Tres' cool!  I was thinking "Mother's Day" when I designed it, which always makes me think of my grandmother who passed away from breast cancer.  So my teaching fees on this class will be donated to breast cancer research this time.

No dates yet for this class..Maybe the Sunday before Easter, otherwise with will be May 1.  Stay tuned.

Snow Day of Scrappin'

We're snowed in (again)!  I am quite tired of all the snow this winter. Is it spring yet?

Anyway, after shovelling, I retired to my scrap room and got a few layouts done.

This first layout is a design I use a lot to showcase two 4x6 photos.  This page features Webster's Pages Home for the Holiday's Mistle Toe Kisses paper mounted on chocolate brown cardstock. The holly spray is from Prima and the lace and sticker embellishments are also Webster's.

I love the look of the  little journalling card tucked under the glittered leaves

I also have enjoyed playing with the Anna Griffin Valentina paper.  Here's another idea I scraplifted from the AG website.  I changed the title to make it more fitting of my two boys horsing around in the snow, but what a fun Valentine layout for boys. Who cares if it's pink!

 

Hope you find some time to get creative in between shovelling this winter season. Enjoy!

Valentina

Have you seen the latest papers from Anna Griffin?  I bought both new lines - Isabelle and Valentina - from the HSN special (BTW - my first purchase ever on HSN!).  They are delightful - a welcome change from some of her lines from last year (I wasn't a huge fan of either Flora line or the Riley line) but I do love these newest papers. 

This layout design is right off her website showcasing the Valentina craft projects.  I had to cut the rose petals free hand from a self-made template.  I tore apart a silk rose I bought at the floral department of a craft store to create the template.  I made some smaller than others to recreate the look.  I used the card stock version of the red flocked damask paper to better fold and bend the paper into looking like a flower.  I also used my bone folder to crease the veins into the leaves. I'm quite happy with my scraplift. There's a couple of other layouts on her site I want to try.  I got some great shots of my boys tussling in the snow this weekend that would look perfect on the "Valentine Be Mine" block layout!

Pam K. is teaching a class at Scrapbooks-Plus using this line.  Check it out on her blog.  It is completely different take on using these cheery, red papers. I haven't signed up for the class yet since the store has been closed due to all the bad weather, but will do my best to get on the list before it sells out.

With all the bad weather here in the DC area, I can't think of a better way to brighten things up than making happy, colorful Valentines.  I think I'll start on my cards next!