Love, Cherish and Adore

Hi Friends,

Happy National Scrapbook Day!  I hope my scrappy friends are working their paper magic today.  I'm dropping by to share my latest layout of my endearing grandparents John and Vesta Jones.  Last summer I was able to visit my dad and he wanted me to have this lovely picture of them.  Although they didn't live nearby, my parents took me to see them several times when I was a little and the one thing I remember so clearly about them is how sweet they were on one another.  I think this photo captures their love for each other perfectly! 

Their sweet smiles ooze happiness to me and I can imagine grandma leaning her head back oh so slightly for a little cuddle against grandpa's shoulder.  They are so sweet together, I wanted their photo to take center stage on this vintage inspired layout.  To do that, I kept the design fairly simple but played up a few simple techniques to create loads of great dimension.   

I started by cutting a this lovely photo frame and shadow from my Cricut using the CTMH Artiste cartridge.  I placed it center stage and layered it up with cardboard so I would have plenty of room to tuck goodies here and there to give the layout a sense of  balance.  Then I sewed around the bottom layer using black to give it a subtle pop of contrast:  

I used the same layering technique to lift the double punched corners, printed flowers and balloon.  This simple step adds so much depth to your layout, I just love the added dimension.  

To increase the vintage appeal I tucked some beautiful cream colored Venice lace just along the bottom of the frame.  This also helped to soften the bold color of the coral hand rolled tattered roses.  See how nicely the added dimension lets you layer in the flowers and leaves tucked here and their around the ornate frame. 

I finished off the layout by adding my chipboard titles "Love, Cherish & Adore."  I finished them with Pearl Drops in Avocado color and added a layer of glossy accents to give them some shine.   And finely I added stickles to the leaves (using eucalyptus), flower centers and rolled rose edges (using fruit punch), and white roses (using diamond) for some pretty sparkle. 

Well friends that's it for me today.  I want to thank you for dropping by and I hope you take the time to celebrate National Scrapbooking Day by creating something from your heart!  Hugs ~ Dawna

A Day to Remember

 Morning Friends,

Just dropping by to share a layout I created using Teresa Collins very pretty Summer Stories Collection.  I used a few of my favorite techniques on this simple layout.  I say simple because so many layouts are being done with so much mixed media these days, that sometimes I think we are losing sight of the main reason we do them!  That of course would be to showcase our beautiful pictures.  While I haven't added mine yet, it is sure to be front and center on this layout. 

A Day to Remember

Here's is a close-up of the large rosette which I cut from the CTMH Artiste Cartridge then layered it with a large scalloped circle and a few chipboard sentiments to use as my title.  The bird and flower frame is from Dusty Attic.  I gessoed the chipboard frame, and used water color pencils to add a touch of color to the bird and leaves.  I didn't care for how the original flowers turned out, too coral or orange, rather than pink, so I just covered them with the organza black and white flowers.  And you can see the doilies in the this picture a little bit better too.

 

You can see that I also gessoed a doily stencil from Prima in the background which softened the look of the printed papers.   And last you can see some random zigzag sewing around the frame and edges. 

At the bottom there is another smaller rosette with a large rose chipboard to balance out the page.  I used Prima's sparkle paste on the rose chipboard to make it very sparkly!  Note to self:  A little goes a LONG way! 

As we take one last look at the whole page you can see that I've created two peek-a-boo lace and pearl openings.  

 

Overall I like the effect of the pink and white on black, to me its has a very striking effect.  I hope you enjoyed this layout. 

Until next time, thank you for dropping by.   I hope you have a wonderful  day my scrappy friends!  Hugs to All ~ Dawna

"Vintage Dress Form Mirror for Goodie Bag Swap

Hi Friends,

This is the next post I'm making to share all the pretties I created and collected for a Goodie Bag Swap that Martica is hosting at scrapbook.com.   Please refer to the "Life Doesn't Have to Be Perfect to Be Wonderful" Tag Post for complete swap details.  

This is a 10 item secret sister swap, which is not only a large swap, but lots of fun since I already know my secret sister! This mirror is for category #7 the vintage altered item.

My secret sister loves shabby chic, vintage and in particular dress forms.  So I thought she might enjoy a mirror that she can display wherever her heart desires.  The vintage shabby chic frame holder is part of this gift, so she has the option of setting it on a table top or she can hang it. 

Here's a  few close up pictures I hope you enjoy:

Upper Corner Flower Cluster

The flowers are handmade using pearlized hot pink cardstock and Donna Salazar's Tattered Flower and Leaf Dies.  The hip rose buds are from Wild Orchards and the ornate corner chipboard is from Dusty Attic.  I Gessoed the chipboard so its a simple white matte finish.  The pearl brads are from Michael's. The background paper is from Teresa Collins "Sweet Afternoon" designer paper collection.  

Vintage Pearl Chandelier Close Up

This vintage chipboard chandelier is also from Dusty Attic.  I used Gesso as a base-coat, then finished it off with Liquid Pearls in White and Ruby Red.  I added a matching satin bow and hung a few small strings of iridescent pearls.  

Vintage Dress Form

This beautiful vintage dress form comes from Blue Fern Studio's and really dresses up this simple mirror.  I used the same media process for this as I did for the chandelier with the only difference being that I backed it using a basic pink cardstock so it wouldn't get lost in the patterned paper. 

Lower Corner Flower Cluster

This flower cluster is the same as the one described above.   I used green patterned paper from Graphic 45's Country French paper collection to create all the leaves and love the embossed effect (even though it doesn't show in these pictures). 

Well friends that's it for this post.  Thank you so much for dropping by and may I hope you're enjoying a perfectly wonderful day!   Big Hugs ~ Dawna

Botanical Tea Shabby Chic Clock

 Morning Friends,

Dawna here with a lovely clock I created for my very sweet and talented friend, Glenda (aka ILOVEPAPILLONS) at scrapbook.com.   Glenda adores shabby chic, which is still somewhat new to me, but I wanted to try my hand at something she would enjoy displaying in her new scraproom.  

I loved Graphic 45's Botanical Tea paper collection and when I saw Blue Fern's "Floral Clock," I knew right away I wanted to use them to make Glenda a shabby chic clock.  

As a base I used Dusty Attic's 8x8 shadow box from their 2013 CHA release.  And, I recently won a goodie bag from Martica at scrapbook.com in a recent Tag Challenge she hosted and received this lovely 4" long swirly white lace.  I knew it would be the perfect finishing touch for Glenda's project.  Thank you Martica! 

Glenda always has a kind word and is always encouraging others around her.  She is very creative and always inspires me with her beautiful creations.   I've really enjoyed getting to know Glenda better this past year and appreciate having her in my life very much.  Her family roots are in South Africa and she currently lives in beautiful sunny FL with her husband.  She's an empty nester, like me, so we spend time enjoying our family, friends and creating. 

Glenda loves her new clock and promises to find a perfect place to display it in her new scraproom.  Here's a few more close ups I hope you enjoy:

Well friends that's it for me this morning.  For a complete list of products used on this project, please feel free to visit my gallery, Dawna's Place on scrapbook.com.   Thank you for dropping by and may I wish you all a happy day!   Big Hugs ~ Dawna


 

Graphic 45 Nutcracker Sweet Dusty Attic Shadow Box for "Scraputante"

Good morning friends,

Today I'm bring you a little something 'funtastic!"  That really should be a word!  I started with Dusty Attic's new 8x8 chip board shadow box frame (available from Scraputante.com) and used Graphic 45's Nutcracker Sweet to embilish it.  Love how fun it came out!  Here are a few close up pictures of some of your favoriate Nutcracker charactures like The Sugar Plum Fairy, Claira and The Wooden Soldier.  Hope you enjoy! 

Well friends that's it for me today!  Hope you enjoyed your little visit to my neck of the woods.  Enjoy your day and until next time, scrap happy!  ~ Dawna

PS:  My Nutcracker Sweet Dusty Attic Shadow Box was featured on Graphic 45's Gallery located at:  http://www.g45papers.com/gallery/idea-details.php?ProID=1938&ProCatID=All&DID=All