Sunday, November 8, 2009

Girly Girl - Crate Paper Mia Collection

I was so fortunate to be able to play with the whole Mia Collection from Crate Paper. It had so many different papers and embellishments in sage and hot pink. I would have never combined those two colors, but crate paper impressed me with this paper pack.

Such gorgeous papers and embellishments. Just perfect for a layout about my beautiful little girl. I started with two borders that I cut down and layed in the center of the page, just below the main image. Then I cut a vine of leaves and flowers from a 12x12 paper and added it with pop dots. I tucked a jounaling circle below the bottom border and added an oval sticker with the date. At the opposite corner, I added a smaller photo surrounded by a custer of other embellishments layered one on top of each other. Then at the top right I added a tab and decorated it by added a circle and flower embellishement behind it. Then I finished it off with the title around the tab.

I especially love the way I found a dark paper for the background. It made all the photos and embellishments *pop* from the contrast. I am just thrilled with how it came out.

Shopping Spree Layout


This layout is just so much fun, I love it! It is created using My Mind's Eye papers. The first is from the Abbey Road line called Hello World Shopping Spree paper, and the other is from the Lucky Me line called Open Toed Paper. These papers seemed perfect for my daughter's first trip to go shop at the mall.

Ever since she was born, she had a huge facination with barrettes, braceletes, earrings, ribbons and lace and all things girly girl. She is such a cutie, and everytime she sees something she likes she has to touch it and try and put it on. And did I mention that she is just 1 years old! So I gave her quite a treat when I took her to the mall and let her out of her stroller in what she came to think of was the most heavly place on earth, the Clarie's store. She walked around and touched everything and tried to put things on, and despite the looks from the store staff, I let her loose and followed her around with my camera snapping away. She loved it! And Mom got the best pictures of her little lady for her scrapbook. :)

Meeting Michelle Van Etten from Prima & Tattered Angels (with Glimmer mist!)


I had the honor of meeting Michelle Van Etten, a Prima Endorsed Artist-Educator and was absolutely blown away by her scrapbooking techniques and layering expertise. Her stuff was simply amazing and I wanted to know how to do it all! She is so sweet and personable and willing to teach me anything that I would ask at the class. I just love her!


The first class I took was her Family Treasures class which was all about layering. I learned how to use paper and embellishment layering as a method to add dimension to my project. I made a layout using prima flowers and Graphic 45 papers, ribbons, die cuts, chipboard, and so much more! We distressed and inked just about everything, and used liquid fabric glue to adhere all the heavier items. I felt so proud of this finished project, it is simply amazing! The class included a canvas that I inked on the sides and adhered the layout. The photos are of my baby girl at my vanity mirror getting fixed up, lol! I now display this canvas proudly at my home's entryway.

The second class was a Tattered Angels mini album using Glimmer Mist! I finally learned how to use the Glimmer Mists correctly, and what amazing things it can do. I was suprised that there was so much that you can do with the glimmer mists. We used resists and sprayed to get layering, we created puddles of color and dipped embellishments, and then rubbed and spritzed and patted down to get all kinds of different effects. This class was so much fun. I learned so much! Now I can finally pull out those bottles of glimmer mists that I've been storing and unable to use correctly until now!

My favorite thing about these classes was meeting Michelle Van Etten and being in awe of her talent. I respect her so much for making masterpieces out of everyday items. She is just amazing. At the end of the class she gave us a DVD of her teaching the class we had just taken, so we can finish the mini album at home, or refresh ourselves on the techniques later on. I love that!

Click below to purchase any of her amazing classes with step by step DVD so you can take the class from your very own home! Check it out: