Monday, November 10, 2014

2 Cards and A Multicolour Technique for Detailed Chipboard

Hi there! Jackie with you today, sharing my November projects.

Christmas season is fast approaching - can you believe it? Every year I promise myself I will be better organized and start my Christmas cards early, and nearly every year I end up re-using gift tags I made in previous years - but not this year! This year I'm getting an early start on my Christmas cards, using some gorgeous holiday-themed chipboard. And in the process I came up with a technique for easily adding lots of colour to detailed chipboard - don't you just love when creative inspiration strikes?

I found the idea for a shadow box card on Pinterest and couldn't wait to try it out for myself. Because Blue Fern papers are so thick, I didn't need to use a cardstock base, I built the card directly from my background paper. Though not a Christmas paper in and of itself, the Picnic paper from the Blue Fern Garden collection easily lends itself to Christmas projects.

Here is a side view of the card showing the dimension of the shadow box.


I love the Holiday Wreath set, and was loath to discard the punch out pieces, but that left me with a dilemma - how could I colour the insets and outer portions in different colours? My end solution was a combination of poster pen, glitter, leafing pen and alcohol markers, covered with embossing powder to prevent the colour looking flat.



I mounted the Christmas Tree from the Let It Snow set on Blue Fern Studios' signature chipboard packaging, punched out the wavy bits and treated those with a snow medium, and while that dried heat embossed the tree with two colours of embossing powder. The stump is made from a punch out piece from another piece of chipboard (I always save these because you never know when they'll come in handy).


Blue Fern Studios Products Used:

Blue Fern Garden paper: Picnic
Blue Fern Studios chipboard packaging
Chipboard: Holiday Wreath Set
Let It Snow Set

I was so pleased with the way the wreath turned out I created a second card with a photo tutorial to show the process.


I began by adding my highlights - for this piece I used a white poster pen to fill in the whorls in the wreath. There are a couple punch outs missing - don't worry, it won't be noticeable unless you're looking for them.


I then began adding colour using alcohol markers. The brush tip allows for precision, and the alcohol ink is not water soluble so it will stay where you put it. For this wreath I chose to only use one colour of ink, however as you can see from the first card, you can use as many colours as you'd like to achieve the look you're after.


I covered the piece with embossing ink, and then with a silverizing embossing powder, tapping the piece off so that the coverage was heavier in some areas than others.


Here is the finished piece ready for my card. The embossing powder gives the piece beautiful sheen and lots of texture.

And here is the finished card:

The mittens from the Cozy Christmas set made a perfect accent piece for the wreath, heat embossed with three different colours of embossing powder (I used a paintbrush to paint on the embossing ink to keep the colours from mixing).


Some red glitter glue completed my holiday wreath.



Blue Fern Studios Products Used:

Blue Fern Garden paper: Signature
Ombre Dreams paper: Susan's Dream
Chipboard: Holiday Wreath Set
Cozy Christmas

Thank you for your visit today!

Friday, November 7, 2014

November projects with Camilla

Hi!

Camilla here with some new projects using the new Montage collection and some lovely Blue Fern Studios chipboards.

First a layout where I have used a frame (Collage Frame) and a title (Grunge Talk). 


First I painted it with white acrylic paint and then sprinkled some glass glitter onto it. Finally I added some clear beads.



My second project is a card where I have also used a frame (Jasmine Collage) and a title (Arrow Words).


The frame and the title are covered with platinum crackle texture paste.


I hope you like my projects and make sure to pop by soon to get more inspiration from the rest of the design team.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

October Sketch Challenge Winner and our Featured Layouts

This month you treated us to a large number of entries for our sketch challenge and we thank you.  We love seeing how each of you use our products and our sketch together.

First, we would like to announce the winner of this month's prize package from Blue Fern Studios.  The lucky winner is:


...entry #1 which belongs to Caroline (aka Kermit) of Canada.  
You have won an awesome prize package from Blue Fern Studios!  Please e-mail  me at {valerie(at)bluefernstudios(dot)com} to claim your prize.



Since we had so many layouts this month (and they were all stunning!), we decided to feature more than three.  In no particular order, here are six layouts that caught our eye, for various reasons:
Bec of Australia combined paper from our Ombre Dreams and Montage collections with several Blue Fern chipboard pieces to create this layout with lovely soft colors.  Bec says it's one of her favorite layouts, and we can certainly see why!


 This layout, created by Fena, of the United States, really stands out with the vibrant pops of color.  Fena used paper from our Ombre Dreams collection, combined with our very popular Bits of Honey chipboard and finished it off with our Wonderful title.  


Scrapbooking is all about memory keeping and that's what Linda Pekrul had in mind when she combined this sweet photo with Blue Fern paper (Montage collection) and chipboard.  After the recent loss of her father-in-law, she created this layout to display at the memorial table.  What a precious way to remember him.  We are sorry for your loss, Linda.


The next layout was created by Amy Prior who says, "I just love Blue Fern Studios products so much they are definitely my new favorite go to brand for papers and chipboard I am a little obsessed to say the least he he".  Amy used paper from our Montage collection, altered it with some mist, and added a Blue Fern chipboard title to this colorful layout.


 Sandi Clarkson of the United States began with paper from our Ombre Dreams collection.  For her chipboard pieces (Circle Flourish and title from our Optimists set), she simply painted the chipboard with a coat of clear gesso, and inked it with chalk ink.  What a beautiful look!


Paivis of Sweden also started her layout with paper from our Ombre Dreams collection and the Checkered Bits chipboard.  Paivis loves Blue Fern paper because it is thick enough to use for mixed media projects.  We like that about our paper, too!

Our November sketch challenge has been posted on our blog.  You can use the link in the top right sidebar to take you directly to the sketch.  We look forward to seeing how you use our products with the sketch. 


Monday, November 3, 2014

2 Layouts and a Gatefold album by Lisa Gregory

Hi There, Lisa here, welcoming you to November! That  means 3 more designs from me to inspire you.

For this first layout, I was in a purple kind of mood. I used Ombre Dreams paper in  Joyces Dream. I loved the purple and blue tones in the paper. I did a little masking with molding paste and chose sprays to enhance the colors. I mounted the paper on a piece of corrugated cardboard and did some distressing  around the edges.


Surrounding the photo I used Tattered Diamond Bits chipboard that were sprayed with spray in 2 colors. I also took apart the Organic Vine chipboard and used it in 2 places on the layout.


I took 1 piece from the Gingers Poppies Set and used embossing powder on it. Then I sprayed it with spray for added color and shimmer.


 I tucked some of the Tattered Diamond Bits in between the paper and cardboard in my peekaboo spots around the edges.


For my next layout I wanted to go for the golden theme of Autumn. I used the Montage Collection in Invitation.


I heat embossed gold embossing powder on the Royal Monarchs butterfly. Then I used some German Gold Glass glitter on spots of the wings. Once it was set. I glued on some rhinestones in different colors. It looks like jeweled brooch. This brooch was my inspiration. I didn't want to distract from the beautiful intricate details of the Monarch butterfly, so I only added a few rhinestones.

 I treated the Treasured Floral Frame  the same as in the butterfly.


I heat embossed the Blessings chipboard from the Spiritually Speaking set. 


This next project is a 6x6  Gate Fold album. I found I could use the word cutouts on the inside along with some room for journaling, or photos, or both!

I used the Blue Fern Garden paper collection in Boudoir for the front, back and inside covers.


The inside tiers were made from a variety of tags, small pictures and wording  from Ombre Dreams and Montage.


 I created 3 tiers to the Gate Fold album. There is plenty of room to add pictures and journaling.


 The backs of each section would be perfect to place small photos.


I added a small clasp closure to keep the album closed. The Spring Frame was heat embossed using  embossing powder. There is a gold undertone that simply shimmers in the powders and the coverage on chip board is amazing!


Thank You for joining me today for my November Blog post. I hope you visit us often as the Design Team always has gorgeous inspiration for you. Don't forget our Sketch Challenge as well as the arrival of the new Blue Fern Studios paper collection "Sanctuary"!! We are very excited!!
 xoxo








Sunday, November 2, 2014

A Montage Layout with Jelissa

Hello friends, how was your weekend? I finally got to have a good rest after two long days of a scrapbooking workshop in school and some time to catch up with my assignments.

Today, I'm sharing my monthly Blue Fern Studios video with you, a layout created using the fabulous papers from the new collection Montage.

Here's the project:



I've used the "Fairyland", "Wisdom" and "Merchantile" papers for this layout, tearing and layering the papers in the background to create texture.

Some closeups of the chipboards and clusters:


A piece of the Roman clock


A Bohemian Flower chipboard which I used to alter a flower





Here's a video of how I put it all together. Sit back and enjoy the tutorial!



Blue Fern Products used:

Fairyland
Merchantile
Wisdom
Calling Cards (Montage)
Roman Clock Set (Large)
Bohemian Flowers



 love,

Saturday, November 1, 2014

November Welcome and Sketch

Welcome to November.  Is the weather changing where you are?  It sure is here in the United States.  

Our goal is to give you a jumping off point for your next layout by providing you with a new sketch on the first of every month.  Our sketches are created exclusively for Blue Fern Studios by Michele Singh.  To go along with the sketch, we also like to have a Sketch Challenge, and give you the entire month to participate.  Let's take a look at the November sketch, along with inspiration from our Creative Team.

 photo 28c97e90-41b5-44e1-8d0a-83bdf2d65849_zps025f36f4.jpg

And now we'll show you how our Creative Team used this sketch to create some stunning projects.  Each layout below is on Blue Fern Studios paper and includes Blue Fern chipboard, as well.

Lisa Griffith



Yuko Tanaka

 photo BFS5_zps0e574133.jpg 


Jackie Clark



Marie-Josée Hamel



Leila Cardoso



Patter Cross



Camilla Ekman



Kelly Foster



Keren Tamir


One lucky winner, selected by a random draw, will receive a prize package of Blue Fern Studios chipboard!
In addition, we will also select 3 layouts to feature.
We have just a few simple rules to follow if you would like to participate in our sketch challenge:

1.) Feel free to interpret the sketch as you please by means of taking it as-is or 
flipping/turning/mirroring it to suit your needs! 

2). Please note that you can do whatever type of project you please- a layout, card, 
tag, canvas, altered item- whatever suits your mood and style! 
We would love to see the different ways our sketch can be used.

3.) You must use at least one piece of Blue Fern Studios chipboard OR use Blue Fern Studios paper on your project. Please note that you do not need to use the pieces featured in the sketch
- use whatever suits your fancy! You can find the store nearest you HERE.
 {Do not use any other brand of chipboard on your project please!}

4.) Upload your project using the Inlinkz tool below by midnight EST on November 30th, 2014.

We look forward to your entries!