Celebrate Life . . .

Today I have a canvas to share that I made with an incredible amount of love, along with shedding many tears for my beautiful mother who is in the end stage of alzheimers.    All that she was is gone.  I will always remember her for the simple pleasures that she loved.  The smell of a flower from her garden, a gentle breeze blowing, the sun shining,  and the birds that once gathered at her bird feeder.  I wanted to capture the simple things in life that she loved . . . flowers from her garden, a key to unlock the front door of what a one time was her home,  butterflies that could always be found in her garden and most of all the simple gesture of a smile.  She had the most beautiful smile and was always so happy.  Her laugh was contagious and her smile would always brighten up anyone.   I know for myself I take life for granted when it comes to the simple pleasures of life.  It has only been through my Mom that I have come to realize that I need to be thankful for the little things in life.  Celebrate each day and enjoy life and live in the moment.  Simply put . . . Celebrate Life!

I was inspired by a couple of challenges when I created this canvas.  The May Epic Anniversary Challenge at Scrap Around the World, with a beautiful moodboard created by Helen Tilbury.  I drew my  inspiration from the the word celebrate,  the colors, the bow and  the doilies on the presents.  The background of my canvas was created using the Tim Holtz doily stencil and I included a couple of crochet doilies.   Many layers and lots of mists, paints, inks and embossing.  I love the gold on the bottom of the balloons and used some Stampendous Shabby Pink Embossing enamel with the little flecks of gold.

I was also inspired by the May challenge at Berry71bleu, Simply Pleasures and their moodboard.

I was inspired by the beautiful flowers and butterflies.

A few closeups:

I hope that everyone enjoyed the long weekend!  The weather here was beautiful!

Thanks for stopping by!
 . . . Debbie

Live Laugh Love Canvas

I really enjoy working with canvases.  Seems to be more of them lately then layouts, but I love the artistic approach I take when creating art using a canvas.  I've been working on this one over the past week and a half, a little at a time and finally finished it last night.  I was drawn to a couple of challenge blogs this month and really wanted to create!

This month at Berry71bleu Mandy is hosting a Mixed Media Challenge:

and Christin is hosting the February challenge at Scrap Around the World.

I love Christin's mood board! I was particularly drawn to the icing on the cake and created some layering with papers and lace on my canvas.  I was also drawn to the subtle touches of gold in the mood board along with the vibrant pops of fuchsia.

A few close ups:

I incorporated a lot of mixed media into my canvas including some modeling paste, gesso, mists, inks and paints.

I hope I have inspired you and as always thanks for stopping by!

. . . Debbie

"Nature is the art of God."

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!  I sure did but gosh it went by too fast!  I've got a canvas to share with you today that I created for Marivic's "Autumn Is In The Air" challenge at Berry71bleu.  Our sponsors for the month of October are Speedball Art Products and Gelli Arts.  

I drew my colors from the October Challenge mood board:

We'd love to see how this mood board inspires you.  Link up your projects by the end of the month for your chance to win one of two fantastic prize packages! Check out all of the details here.

Thanks for stopping by!

. . . Debbie

Walking In The Forest

Happy September 1st!  

Can't believe how fast this year has flown by.  I am hosting the September Challenge at Berry71bleu this month.  It's a sketch challenge.  I designed the sketch and in addition to using it I ask that you incorporate some mixed media into your project.  We have two great sponsors this month, Maja Design and The Porkchop Show.  Each member of the DT was given the Walking In The Forest collection by Maja Design to work with this month.  Here is the layout I created.

Love this photo of my Grandmother combined with the pretty papers from the Walking In The Forest Collection.

Here I have used some chipboard from Scrapiniec, who sponsored our DT.  I also used the new Prima mask Lace Doily #1 by Finnabair.  Love this mask!

I incorporated a lot of stamping in my layout using Kaisercraft stamps and inks.

Please come by Berry71bleu here to check out of the details for the September challenge and then create a project for a chance to win on of our prizes this month.

Thanks for stopping by!

. . . Debbie

Mixed Media Canvas

This month at Berry71bleu our challenge is hosted by Norma and it's a fun one, "Get Creative With Textiles."  Our DT is sponsored by Inkido with papers from their Beautiful Memories collection and Scrapiniec, a Polish manufacturer of gorgeous chipboard along with Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft who sent the DT lots of products to work with.  I decided to step out of my comfort zone and create a mixed media canvas for Norma's challenge.

I really enjoyed working with the gelatos from Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft.  Love the rich colors and various ways you can use them.

Here I used a Prima Mask and applied some modeling paste.  After the paste dried I used various colors of gelatos, Guava, Butter Cream, Chocolate, Metallic Blueberry and Earl Grey on the modeling paste.

I  applied some Faber-Castell Design Memory Crafts Gesso on a metal heart and once it dried I dabbed on some Chocolate gelatos.  I also dabbed my flowers with the Chocolate gelatos.

 I covered the Scrapiniec chipboards with gelatos, using Chocolate on one and a mixture of Earl Grey and Metallic Blueberry on the other one.  Love the details of the Scrapiniec chipboard!

I would love for you to join in on the fun and create a project for our August Challenge!  Check out Norma's post here and check out the wonderful prizes we have from Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft.

Thanks for stopping by!
. . . Debbie

A Beautiful Summer Day

Hi everyone!  Today I am sharing a layout I created for the July challenge at Berry71bleu,

"Anything Goes"!!!

  Yes, you read it right, anything goes -  create whatever YOU want to in July and link your project up for your chance to win some fabulous prizes!

This month Berry71Bleu is also sponsoring CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration!   Our Design Team is  joining CSI as Guest Detectives for the entire month of July.  We'll be sharing our layouts here after they go live on the CSI site each week. Join us for any one of the weekly CSI Challenges for a chance to win a $35 Gift Certificate to the Zeus and Zoe Etsy Shop!

 

My page is based on Casefile #80 at CSI. I have used the colors from The Scene -

Canteloupe Orange, Chartreuse, Pale Pink, White & Taupe.  When looking through my paper stash I came across the Songbird collection by Prima, perfect for the CSI colors!

Our July DT sponsor and Main Prize sponsor is:

Heartfelt Creations with a $30.00 Gift Certificate

 

Heartfelt Creations

Blog: http://www.heartfeltcreations.us/blog.php

I used their Vintage Floret Frame set  (die and coordinating stamp) to create the background for my picture along with a corner chipboard piece by Scrapiniec, DT sponsor for the month of July.

Here I've added lots of flowers from my stash along with two chipboard pieces from Scrapiniec.

And here are a few more closeups of my layout:

For our July challenge we also a a random winner prize:

July Random Prize:

A one-of-a-kind Berry71Bleu Handmade Tag by Marivic Clifton

 

A special thanks to Scrapiniec Die-Cut Chipboard for sponsoring the Berry71Bleu Design Team, who will be sharing projects with their chipboard for the next several months.

Scrapiniec is the first Polish manufacturer of laser die-cut chipboard products for use in scrapbooking. They satisfy even the most unusual individual orders and are characterized by reliability, high quality and friendly customer service.

I hope I have inspired you with my layout!  You have until July 31 to create!  

Remember, "Anything Goes" . . . can't get any easier then that!
Check out all of the details of the July Challenge here are Berry71bleu.

Please read the Challenge Rules before linking up your projects.

Enjoy The Little Things In Life

The June Challenge at Berry71bleu is all about Summer . . . What is the thing you love to do most in the Summer?  I spend a lot of time outdoors enjoying the sunshine.  You can find me working in my flower gardens, or sitting out on my deck with a cool refreshing drink and a good book to read. My favorite author is Fern Michaels.  

 Our Design Team sponsor for the month of June is 7 Dots Studio.

We were lucky to be furnished with some collections to work with.  I used papers and tags from their Domestic Goddess, Hopefully and Love Is In The Air collections.

Our prize sponsor this month is Jacquard.
I was furnished a couple of colors of their PearlEx Power Pigments to work with and used them on the chipboard and lace on my layout.
 

I first covered my chipboard with some bronze ink.  Then I applied some distress crackle paint and PearlEx Green-Purple and Violet-Brass.  Once dried, I repeated the process.  I also randomly inked the lace below my picture and added some of the PearlEx colors.
 
 A few closeups:
Lots of layering -

Here I used a piece of hexagon chipboard from UmWow Studio
which I inked with some black and bronze ink.

I altered my picture in PicMonkey, a free online photo site.  I added a frosted edge around it in purple.

There is plenty of time for you to join our challenge.  

Please check out all of the details and prize information here.

Thanks for stopping by!

. . . Debbie

Supplies:
7 Dots Studio:  Domestic Goddess, Hopefully, Love Is In The Air
Jacquard PearlEx- Green-Purple and Violet-Brass
Ranger Perfect Pearls Mist Cappuccino
UmWow Studio Chipboard
Bo Bunny Stained Textures Stamp
Tsukineko Inks:  Pretty Pastel, Jewel Box, Flower Pot, Planetarium Metallic
Kaisercraft Stamps - Wood Panel, Flutter
Kaisercraft Rubons
Martha Stewart Wild Flowers Deep Edge Punch
K & Company Embellishments

Fifty

This month Berry71bleu is collaborating with Once Upon A Sketch.

To enter this month's Berry71bleu challenge you must use the sketch provided by OUAS and incorporate numbers anywhere on your project.  In addition, you need to use chipboard on your project which is Berry71bleu's part of the challenge. Here is my layout for the May Challenge at Berry71bleu, a layout of my sister celebrating her 50th birthday.

The DT was provided with papers from Lucky 7 Factory, our main sponsor this month.  We all worked with their Technologie Collection which is part of our main prize.  We were also fortunate to work with chipboard provided to us by Scrap FX.

Here are a few closeups:

And here is the lovely sketch I worked with from OUAS:

We have lots of prizes up for grab this month so the rest of this post is going to be a long one, but well worth it!

Main prize for May: Lucky7 Factory
 

The Lucky7 Factory is a young company in Quebec, Canada. It all started around a table practicing our favorite hobby, scrapbooking. Our friendship circle then added another string to its bow; by becoming business women.

For 3 years now, we offer collections that include double-sided papers and handmade ornaments. We are now in our seventh collection (Technology). With the latter, we offer handmade flowers, buttons and alphabets stickers. Together, they are perfectly coordinated.

Our goal is to create a quality product while respecting our beautiful planet. That is why our paper is 100% recyclable. It is thick enough to make cards and is the perfect support for mix-media techniques. It is quite versatile. The handmade ornaments are made with lots of love and care. To ensure customer satisfaction, we try to surpass ourselves with each new collection.

In addition, via our blog, we love sharing tips and tricks to create while recycling everyday objects. Twice per month, we create challenges that help motivate or get you out of your comfort zone.  It is also a great way to get to know each member of our Design Team (DT) and follow the evolution of the company.

Through this adventure, we love talking to our customers and share our passion with them.  These moments are always filled with small joys and madness. This represents us very well!

Come discover us by visiting our blog, our Facebook page and Pinterest.

Blog: http://thelucky7factory.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lucky-Seven-Factory/104851736221583
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/frarin/lucky-7-factory-scrapbooking/

First Prize winner will receive these new collections from Lucky 7 Factory

Second Place Prize:

Rapakivi

Rapakivi is young Polish company that designs original scrapbooking papers. We love our work which is also our hobby and we want to share our passion with other scrapbookers. Our papers are always full of colours and beautifull patterns. For our designs we use only acid & lignin free, thick (250 gsm) paper with FSC certification. In our plans we have also other product dedicated to paper crafters. 

Second place winner will get Just a Note collection from Rapakivi.

 The owners of Rapakivi were so nice to get you two sets of it!

Just A Note Collection

and a collection from

Sweet Melody Collection

6 double sided papers

Third Place:

 3rd place winner will get a collection from Rapakivi BE OPTIMISTIC. 

The owners of Rapakivi were so nice to get you two sets of it!

 

Random prizes:

ScrapFX

and

Studio75

We are a polish producer of scrapbooking papers and other craft embellishments.

Special Moments collection:

I hope you will join us this month at Berry71bleu.  Create a project and link it here on our blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

. . . Debbie