August Blog Hop Winner and a Layout with Mon Ami Gabby and Kiwi Lane

Whew!  That blog post title is certainly a mouthful!!  And without further ado, the random winner of a set of Tiny Celebrate templates is...

 bird said...

I love your layout!! And I am already a follower!!

August 22, 2014 at 5:53 PM

Congratulations bird!!  Please send me an email letting me know that you are my blog hop winner and also your mailing address and I'll get that little package of creative goodness out to you as soon as possible!  (You have 2 weeks from today to claim your prize.  If I've not heard from you, I'll randomly choose another winner.)

Now on to today's post:

It's my turn on the Kiwi Lane blog today, and I came up with a pretty simple one page layout using Mon Ami Gabby embellishments and Kiwi Lane templates.  As with the majority of my layouts, I started with framing my page with my Kiwi Lane templates like this:

I have a slight confession- this is not my real "before" photo.  My real "before" photo was too difficult to see on the floral paper with the cream colored background.  So I staged this one on a green background so you could see how I framed my page.  You're welcome. ;)

And this is what my finished layout looks like:

Supplies:  patterned paper, card stock, journaling card (Echo Park); blue flower, crepe paper, tulle (Mon Ami Gabby); letter stickers (Pebbles, Inc.); jewels (craft supply); pen (Staedtler)

Templates:

Playtime 3, 4

Accents 1

Tiny Nature 1T

Nature 1

Photos

Pretty cute, huh?  Did you know that Mon Ami Gabby sells rolls of crepe paper?  And it's thicker and wider than that stuff you get at the party supply store to decorate for birthdays parties, etc.  To get the ruffled effect on the scalloped border just below the photos, simply stretch the edge of the scallop (after you've traced and cut) and then let it contract.  The light yellow mesh border is actually a tulle that has some foam-like stuff sprayed on it.  I know that's not very descriptive, but I'm having a hard time trying to find the right words... anyway, it's a bit messy to work with (tiny bits of the yellow and white foam were all over my work space), but I loved the look when I layered it in with the crepe paper!  And most of the foamy bits stay in the tulle, so don't worry if it seems like there's a lot coming off. :)

One other thing I did with this layout was sand all the edges, instead of inking all the edges.  The reason for this is that I wanted to keep the layout feeling light and airy (like a spa) while still defining the edges of my layers.  So I used a nail file and sanding block to take off just enough of the top layer of printed paper to get the white core to show.  I did the same thing around my photos, too.

I've seriously loved all of the products that I've been able to use from Mon Ami Gabby this month!  They add so much to my layers and work so well with the templates from Kiwi Lane!  If you haven't had a chance to check them out, I highly suggest either visiting their blog, Facebook page or Pinterest boards, and Instagram, if not all of the above.  They are full of fun and creative ways to use their plethora of embellishments!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting!

Kiwi Lane's August Blog Hop!!

Wahoo! It's blog hop time!  You should have hopped over from Charity's blog, but if you happened to wander over from somewhere else, I highly recommend that you scurry on back to the beginning of this Kiwi Lane blog hop!  There's lots of fun to be had, a few prizes along the way and some awesome inspiration you won't want to miss!  If you happen to get lost along the way, here's the entire line-up:

1. Kiwi Lane Designs 

2. Barb 

3. Alicia 

4. Charity 

5. Gail (You are HERE!!)

6. Connie Wallenbrock  (Go HERE next!!)

7. Brittany 

8. Christina

Make sure you comment at every stop along the way- you'll be entered to win a $25 for the Kiwi Lane Shop (Yippee!!).  You have until 11:59 pm MDT Sunday August 24, 2014, to leave your comments.  One random commenter will be picked from one of the blogs on the hop.  The winner will be announced on the Kiwi Lane Blog on Monday, August 25th.  And there might be another little prize given away on this blog, too.  You'll just have to read all the way through to find out... :)

So, I always have a hard time picking a project to make for blog hops.  I feel like I need to show you some fun and new or exciting way to use the templates.  I was struggling to come up with something this time, so I started sorting through photos.  I found some that we took while visiting the Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City a few years ago and it got my creativity going.  I decided to use my templates to create a wetlands scene, complete with birds.  You ready?  Here it is:

Supplies: cardstock (Bazzill, American Crafts, Provo Craft, DCWV, We R Memory Keepers); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye, Scenic Route, Imaginisce, American Crafts); alphabet stickers (American Crafts); enamel dots (My Mind's Eye); ink (Ranger); pen (Staedtler)

I'm so in love with those little birds!  I made them using the paisley and banner shapes in the Tiny Celebrate template set, and the wings were made using a leaf template from the Tiny Nature set.  I added black enamel dots for their eyes and drew some legs.  Cute, no?  I used the circles and ovals from the Tiny Shapes template set and the grass was done with the ice crystal shapes from the Winter and Tiny Holiday sets, along with a Tiny Wildflower template.  I used Martha Stewart fringe scissors to make the grass blades.  Here are some close ups of the birds:

And there you have it!  Don't forget to comment for a chance to win a $25 gift code to the Kiwi Lane Shop!

And as an added bonus, I'd like to giveaway a brand new pack of Tiny Celebrate templates (pictured above) to one lucky commenter on this blog.  Just make sure you tell me what the best part of your summer was (in your comment) to be eligible to win!  You can also follow my blog, if you'd like.  If you do, I'll give you a bonus entry in my giveaway- just tell me you are a new follower in your comment (or tell me that you're already a follower).  You have until 11:59 pm Sunday, August 24, 2014 to get your comment submitted.  I'll announce the winner here on my blog on Tuesday, August 26th.

Thanks for stopping by!  Head on over to Connie's blog to continue hopping!

Templates:
Tiny Celebrate 5T, 7T, 8T
Celebrate 5
Tiny Nature 1T
Tiny Wildflower 5T
Tiny Shapes 3T, 4T, 7T, 8T
Tiny Holiday 3T
Paisley Place 1A & 1B
Sunnybrook Lane 1A & 1B
Winter 1
Photos

Home Decor with Mon Ami Gabby and Kiwi Lane

So I'm stepping out of my box for my post this time.... or maybe I'm stepping off my page... I don't know.  

Either way, I got to work with some splendiferous products from Mon Ami Gabby!  Have you ever heard of them?  Chances are, if you've ever gone to a Scrapbook Expo or Creating Keepsakes Convention, you've seen them! They are the company that has embellishments galore- and tons of super cute stuff!  Every time I've seen them at a show, I've had to hold back to keep from buying everything in sight (which they would have liked, I'm sure, but my bank account would have cried.).  Anyway, I was given a whole plethora of pretties to work with in shades of blue, yellow and white.  So much fun!  I wanted to showcase Mon Ami Gabby's products along with Kiwi Lane's templates and I wanted to step off the page, so here's what I came up with:

Supplies:  paper (Making Memories); burlap (DCWV); stamps (KI Memories, Hero Arts); ink (Ranger, Tsukinedo); paint (craft supply); jewels (Doodlebug); flowers, buttons, ribbon and crystals (Mon Ami Gabby)

Templates used:

Tiny Celebrate 3T, 4T, 6T

Paradise 4

Mini Scallops 2A

It's a little hanging tray with the following quote: 

"Shared joy is double joy and shared sorrow is half sorrow. -Swedish Proverb"

I've had this quote hanging around my scrap space for a while (ok, more like YEARS!!) and had always wanted to use it on something and never had.  This seemed to be the perfect opportunity!


So the tray that I started out with was something my grandma game me a few years ago and had gotten buried on my desk.  I found it recently and had it fresh in my mind when my Mon Ami Gabby stuff arrived, and an idea was born!  Here's what the tray looked like before:

(Sorry for the icky picture.  It was late at night and I couldn't get the lighting right.  One of the hazards of midnight crafting, I suppose.)

I sanded it and put a coat of ivory acrylic paint on it, then scuffed the edges and corners for a shabby look.  Then I hand stamped the quote.  And that's why it's kind of funky.  I know the spacing is uneven and nothing is in a straight line.  It adds to the charm, right?  Or it reveals that I'm still a novice stamper, even though I've been doing it for 12 years....

Anyway, once the paint was dry and the quote was stamped and trimmed, I started to layer... and layer.... and layer!  That is one thing I really like about Mon Ami Gabby and Kiwi Lane- they encourage layering!  Mon Ami Gabby has this super cool burlap ribbon that has wired edges and is printed with a chevron pattern and I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it.  Only it seemed to be too overwhelming for my small scale project.  So I used my templates on the ribbon to break it up and keep some of the cute ribbon, without an onslaught of pattern.  For the top banner, I folded the ribbon in half and used part of the Tiny Celebrate 6T template to cut small triangles out.  I then used hot glue to attach it to the wire that I cut off the ribbon.  

For the bottom part, I used the Mini Scallops 2A template along one side and kept the wire on the other side so I could do some pleats. 

I loved how the Kiwi Lane Templates added some more depth to the layers of flowers, buttons, ribbon and crystals from Mon Ami Gabby!  I also liked that I combined rough burlap, delicate paper roses and elegant crystal teardrops on this project and it all worked together to make a shabby chic decor piece.  I hope you try some layering on your next home decor project- especially mixing elegant with rustic. You might just love it!

And if you have loved looking at the fabulous products from Mon Ami Gabby, they have a wonderful Pinterest board you can follow HERE  and you can follow them on Facebook HERE.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Scrapping!