MMMC #24 - Butterflies and Blooms

May already?!! This year is flying by way too fast! But of course, a new month is always welcome around here because that means we have a brand new theme at The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge! The month of May wants to see your projects featuring Butterflies and Blooms!

We are beyond excited to introduce our May Guest Designer... KEN OLIVER!!! He is also offering an awesome prize that includes a set of Color Bursts and the Best Ever Craft Mat!

Now here is my project using some of the fun fun fun Ken Oliver Color Bursts!

I actually spent my entiiiire Saturday just playing with my new Color Bursts. I had a pile of beautiful colorful papers on my desk, but the background of this card was one of my favorites.

I created the background by placing my Crafter's Workshop 'Mumsy' stencil on top of watercolor paper. Then I sprayed over it with water and carefully removed the stencil. Now the fun part! I sprinkled a few different Color Bursts and the water just soaks that color right up! Love love love!

The flowers and leaves are die cut in watercolor paper with Essentials by Ellen 'Wild Garden' dies. Then I sprayed the die cuts with water and sprinkled them with green or purple Color Bursts. I backed them against some white cardstock with matte medium and then cut them out for my card.

Thanks for joining me for my first ever project using Color Bursts! I know it's not the last... in fact I'll have another one up tomorrow ;)

Make sure you join the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge for your chance to with some Ken Oliver goodies of your own!

Ranger Heat It Craft Tool

Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies, Wild Garden by Julie Ebersole

Ken Oliver Color Burst Liquid Metals, Verdi Gris

Ken Oliver Color Burst, Lemon Yellow

Ken Oliver Color Burst, Alizarin Crimson

Ken Oliver Color Burst, Violet

Ken Oliver Color Burst, Merlot

Ken Oliver Color Burst, Lime Green

Ken Oliver Color Burst, Orchid

Crafter's Workshop Templates, 6x6 Mumsy by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

Canson XL Watercolor Paper Pad 9x12

Sizzix Big Shot White & Gray

WOW Embossing Powder, Regular - Black Glint

VersaMark Ink Pad

Ranger Multi Medium, Matte Jar, 3.8 oz.

EK Tools, Precision 5 Inch Scissors with Sheath

ATG Double-Sided Refill Tape, 2 pk, 1/4"

Mix it Up Challenge

This is my first MIX IT UP Challenge! I'm very excited to be joining Dona over at the Paper Issues blog with her Mix it Up Challenges. This is a challenge where we encourage you scrappers to get MESSY! And for April we're talking all about TEXTURE. 

I really hope you aren't sick of the Dear Lizzy "Happy Place" collection because, well.... I'm not. Anyways I have a little photo tutorial for how I created the background using texture paste, Distress Ink pads, and a Crafter's Workshop stencil.

I started by smudging some red Distress Ink on my craft mat, then a little scoop of texture paste, and mixed them around until my paste turned red. I also did the same thing to get a pink and an orange texture paste...

Next I placed my Crafter's Workshop "Doodled Pattern" stencil on my blank scrapbook paper. I covered a third of the page in the red texture paste, the middle portion in the pink texture paste, and the last third in orange texture paste. While the pastes were still wet, I ran over all of the stencil with my clean palette knife. This helps blend the colors into each other...

And here's what it looks like once all the paste has dried...

You can see that all the colors blend into one another when you go back over the pastes with your palette knife. I love it!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you play along with our TEXTURE Mix it Up challenge!

As always, you can get all of your paper goodies at the Paper Issues online store for 20% off with the code RWKRAFTS :) !!!!!!

Scraplift Sunday

Happy Sunny Sunday! The weather is so beautiful (finally!) and I'm in the mood to scrap some summer photos. Here's what I created today... I'm playing along with the Paper Issues 'Scraplift Sunday' challenge over at their Facebook group.

This layout is so much fun, and what a great way to use some wood veneers I've been hoarding for more than a year (or 2)! Here is the lovely layout by Tegan that we're lifting...

And now some more close ups...

I used a mix of products from Simple Stories "Carpe Diem" and "I Am" collection. I also added some wood veneers from the Pink Paislee "Citrus Bliss" collection. 

The photo is of Matt and I in Baltimore's inner harbor. The pic was taken not long after we had just moved to Baltimore and bought our first house.

And just so you know... Meeko insists on being in every. single. photo. I ever take. So he has no shame stepping on my layouts!

Remember you can always get 20% off your entire order at Paper Issues using the code RWKRAFTS at checkout! The Carpe Diem line was just restocked so make sure to grab some before it's gone again!

Cabin {Theater} in the Woods

I'm so excited to be a part of this month's Paper Issues "issue"!!! The issue is Into the Woods which can be interpreted in a lot of ways like using wood veneers, wood grain patterns, scrapping a photo of a hiking or camping trip... there are so many ideas! 

I had a lot of fun with my Into the Woods inspired layout...

I used the theme in a lot of different ways. I scrapped a photo of a theater in the woods, used 'woods' in my title, incorporated birch tree and woodgrain papers, and also added wood veneer stars. 

 This vintage one-screen theater is tucked away in the trees of the Chautauqua Institution (my favorite place). Every year I visit I make it a point to sit in the little balcony of this theater and watch whatever movie they decided to play that week.

The embellishments I used are from the Crate Paper "Wonder" collection, which is still available in the Paper Issues store!

Remember, you can always get 20% off your entire order at Paper Issues when you use the code RWKRAFTS at checkout! 20% off! EVERYTHING! Thanks for stopping by!

Mom and Me

If you aren't in summer mode yet, my layout will definitely help ya get started! I'm playing along with the new April Take 5 Challenge over at Paper Issues! Have you joined this challenge yet? It just started in January and it's such a great way to get your creative juices flowing.

I love this photo of my mommy and me in our favorite place... Chautauqua, NY. Here is our attempt at a selfie while on the docks at Lake Chautauqua.

There are a lot of items in the challenge for you to pick from, but the five I used are: the color pink, a sticker, solid paper, a die cut, and glitter. I hope you'll play along! Make sure you join the Paper Issues Friends and Fans page on facebook to enter the April challenges!

and OF COURSE all of the products used in this layout are available in the Paper Issues online store! I'm clearly still obsessed with the Dear Lizzy Happy Place collection... pick yours up before it's all gone!

Use code RWKRAFTS for 20% off your ENTIRE ORDER at Paper Issues!