Welcome Spring Step-By-Step

This month's main kit from My Creative Scrapbooks contains so many beautiful floral die-cuts and chipboard pieces from Carta Bella's Spring Market collection, and one of my favorites is the pitcher of flowers. Recreating a similar pitcher, super-sized, and to have this as the centerpiece of a scrapbook page was what I set out to do.

First I needed to sketch out a pitcher. It wasn't as difficult as you'd imagine! I used a ruler for the straight lines and free-handed the rest, albeit with lots of eraser marks, as I adjusted the size and height to fit the paper and my page.

Here it is cut from the sketch and placed on the black and white print I intend to use for the pitcher:

Next I turned over the paper and traced my template on the reverse side, so that I could better see the pencil marks when cutting. Remember to flip your template too, unless it doesn't matter which way the spout is facing.

The lines show up much better on the lighter colored print, making it easy to follow with my scissors.

Here is the pitcher, cut and flipped to the desired side:

And here are the flowers that will eventually come together to fill it:

But first, the pitcher needs a little white highlight with dry-brushed gesso. To achieve the light effect, I loaded my brush with gesso, then brushed most of it off on a paper towel, before lightly swiping the paper, following the lines of the pitcher. I repeated this until I was satisfied with the look.

And now, for a fun background, using a mix of watercolors and gelatos. I had my handy chipboard flower arrangement nearby as a model, as I was attempting to bring in those same colors of pink, peach and yellow to my paper.

First, I brushed sections of waxed paper with various colors, being careful not to mix and muddy them up.

Then I smooshed a clear baggie over the waxed paper to pick up areas of color, and transferred it to a plain white cardstock. I smoothed and smeared and re-smooshed until the center of my background looked like this:

And now I don't want to cover it up! lol. 

But onward I go, adding the pitcher, button-centered flowers, and bits of greenery to fill in the spaces, tying on the tag, adding my title, and finally backing with pink cardstock.

I originally imagined this page would hold a photo of my plant-filled kitchen window, but I forgot to add it to my print order! Guess what? I think I like it just fine as a decor item. Eventually I'll get that photo printed and add it to the page. Meanwhile this happy spring scene will sit on my easel and brighten my workspace.

Pinnacle Party

Today I'm sharing another page from the April main kit from My Creative Scrapbooks, and this might be my favorite. I started with a grass green splatter and smear background. Really high tech! ;)

Then added my matted photo and this pretty "Celebrate" tag, whose colors and flowers inspired the arrangement at the bottom of the page.

Die-cuts from the kit were combined with cardstock and patterned paper to create large layered flowers, accented by additional die-cuts, stickers, and several leaf clusters.

At some point I noticed the grasshopper on one of the Patio Party collection papers. (He did a great job of blending in; nature's camouflage is pretty remarkable!) Of course I had to add an oversized grasshopper to my bouquet, cutting him freehand from the same paper from which I cut the leaves.

"Party this way!" he says.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll be sharing my pages from My Creative Scrapbooks' May main kit, so check back next week.

Tales from the Trail

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. That may be true, but sometimes you need words to tell the whole story, a story the photo doesn't reveal. And that is precisely why I needed to create a scrapbook page with this photo, one that includes more journaling than usual. It's the story of our hike to this lake...and consequently a ride to the emergency room! :o

The whole purpose for this pre-breakfast hike was to capture an early morning photo of this lake and pier. I intended to lay down on the decking and get a really awesome shot of water, mountains, trees and sky.

Then, as my journaling describes, "it all went downhill...literally."

With 2/3rds of the page devoted to photo and journaling, I had one long strip of paper left on which to place my embellishments.

First, bits and pieces of patterned paper from My Creative Scrapbooks' April Main kit were layered away. A honeycomb-pattern strip of packaging was added to the mix. Then the fun begins, as die-cuts and stickers complete the page.

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!