lovin' seven

another amazing kit from the ladies at the Urban Scrapbook. this month the challenge was to use Faber-Castell Gelatos on our layout. i first used them on this layout for one of my classes. i loved them then and i still love them now.



this time i wanted to try a watercolour look on the background that i saw on a layout by Anabelle O'Malley. if art has a watercolour technique i almost always fall in love with it. i just love the look of the imperfect and free form it gives the subject matter. i could have made the colours darker by adding more layers, but i preferred to have the lighter colour.

i used a gesso/gelato mix to paint one of the photo frames. the same mix was used to give a wash to the other frames. i am totally loving these trendy photo frames. now you can get a variety of sizes, styles and colours. they are a must-have.

another use for the gelatos is to rub them onto the surface of your embossing folder. mist with water and then wait a few seconds while the water mixes with the colour. add paper and emboss as usual. i used the doily embossing folder that comes with this paper line. {doilies by Crate Paper Styleboard} after it dried i cut out a few of the doilies and added them randomly.



this is one of my favourite stencils. they need to make more like this design!

i also used the gelatos to add colour to the ribbon. then i darkened a few areas of it with some Distress Ink.



some paper ripping. then some more gesso.



you can rub the Gelato on your non-stick mat, then add any multi-medium of your choice. it will always be colourized to a tone of the gelato. for the flowers i mixed mine with gesso. using some of the white gesso allowed me to mix the white and pink to make these flowers more interesting. although they were still very pretty by themselves!

see the ribbon tucked behind the flower and bow? it started out as a length of bright yellow ribbon. i changed mine to a pastel by adding gesso. on another strand i used my pink gelato and gesso mix. the third strand had gesso and a green gelato.



i added a few words to describe my daughter at this age.

see that little green banner under the photo? they are from Basic Grey. ever have a special document that you want to include in an album, but it didn't fit with the layout or in a page protector? these are designed to fold in half, be attached to the item - use at least 2 of them - and then it has holes to be held in place by your binder rings. they are sold in at least 6 colours. if you are a fan of project life, then these would come in very handy. i'm not a project life fan, so i cut mine in half and used them like an embellishment.

thanks for stopping by. i enjoyed creating this layout and accepting the challenge this month.

i hope you have made plans to stop by Urban Scrapbook and check out the layouts in person. so much inspiration in one little place!

live in the moment

this photo was taken in 2009. my babies seemed so grown up at the time. my oldest was just about to start kindergarten and my youngest would soon start her first year of preschool. their lives were so simple. as their parents, ours was not quite as much! however it definitely reminded us to enjoy each moment despite the quickly passing days.



this has been a fun year for the design team at Urban Scrapbook. each month has a new challenge. this one was to follow a sketch. i did an entire year of classes creating layouts on a variety of sketches a few years ago. you can check them out here. if you have not yet tried creating layouts or cards using a sketch, you do need to give it a try. sometimes they end up looking exactly like the sketch and other times it looks nothing like it. as you go through the process of putting the papers and photos together, it eliminates the questions: "does this arrangement look ok? would this embellishment look better here....or here....or here...?"



if you have not tried it yet, you MUST buy the Xyron sticker maker. i pop my letters inside and it puts dry adhesive on the back of them. it's seriously the best thing since sliced bread.
and if you have not tried the "Wink of Stella" glitter brushes....well....get with it! don't even bother to ask me which colour you should get. i'm still in debate over which one would be the best addition...because you definitely need them all.



i confess that i tried a few techniques on a few other sheets of paper. did. not. work. like. i. wanted. sigh. i think they will work for a different set of papers....but i didn't have much time to mess around and bring them around from the dark side. some days are like that. onwards and upwards!

i hadn't made these pinwheels in awhile. they are just plain fun to put together. after making a big mess of things i needed a little pick me up! haha!

as you can tell blogging and scrapbooking have fallen through the cracks of my life for the past bit. it might look like i'm stepping away from one or both of them...but i'm not! honest. i'm trying to balance my life between work, family and this incredible hobby. i was just thinking that i should create a page comparing my first classroom to my present classroom. the differences are enormous.

stay with me. i may not be posting as frequently as i used to, but i'll still be here. living in the moment.