60 Butterflies Layout...

Hi everyone... I've been working on this layout for the past couple of days. I fussy cut out the blue butterflies that I found on Swirlydoos. I added perfect pearls & diamond stickles, then topped them with glossy accents.I then traced and cut out the black butterflies from bazzill basics. I also found a tutorial on Swirlydoos about making your own bling, so I made the black swirls using this technique. I also saw a similar technique on Scrap That using liquid pearls. To finish off the layout I used a very fine point sharpie to add stitched lines.

Thanks for stopping by!
Mary

Layout of the week!!

My layout was choosen for LO of the week over at Swirlydoos!! The Swirly Girls are so very talented and it means so much to me that they choose my LO!! Thank you, Thank you girls!!
Post:
Babies are the most precious angels of all. And when they are sleeping...Well you just want to squeeze them!! Our LO this week is from Mary aka mariellen. It is just beautifully gorgeous. Here is what Mary explained about the work on her LO.
"On this layout I did a whole lot of fussy cutting, sanding and distressing. I used my teeny tiny hole punch to make the border around the brown scalloped circle. I then used a bigger hole punch to the center of each scallop to weave the tulle through. I then printed off some butterflies and added Stickles and Mod Podge to give them a lil shine and strength. I used a Wilton doily and inked it green and added brown chalk to the edges. For the alphas I used my Cricut to cut them out in triple then glued them together, chalked them and added diamond Stickles. It was a fun layout to do..a little different then my normal style of scrapping."

Well, looks like Swirly Style to us!! Thank you so much for sharing all of your techniques on this LO.
For those of you afraid to cut up beautiful paper...
Dont be afraid...
You may end up with a beautiful creation like Mary's "Hush Lil Baby"!!
And that would be a wonderful thing!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Mary

A Layout in an hour?? You got to be kidding!

LOL..Yep you read that right. Color Combos Galore's challenge this week was to use the above colors and the exact sketch and do it all within an hour.. Well I went over by 10 minutes..hahhaha I decided at the last minute to add paint to the background.The background paper is actually a dark gray but the photo makes it look blue..hmmmm

Thanks for stopping by!
Mary

Tranquility.....

I made this layout for the August sketch Challenge over at "My Scrapbook Nook" . Although I titled the layout Tranquility...it was far from a tranquil sketch. It took me two days of frustration to get the layout to look like I wanted it to, but I'm happy with the result.
The picture is taken on the East Bluff of Mackinac Island, where we used to live. JC and I loved to take walks up there. It was such a peaceful place to sit and watch the Island in motion. There could be hundreds of people on the Island and there in that place you felt like it was just the two of you surrounded by the beauty of the Island.
Details:
Paper Used ~Tim Holtz-Idea-ology,Basic Grey- Census
Bazzill Carstock
Pink Paislee Rubons
Stazon Black Ink
Making Memories ink
Offrey Lace
Wilton Doily
Ribbon Flowers - dollar store
Prima flowers

Thanks for stopping by!
Mary

"Swirlydoos" Challenge. Life isn't about being yourself, but creating yourself...

I made this layout for a challenge over at Swirlydoos. I combined two challenges in one. One challenge was using "Swirlys"(Create a layout of any size with some "swirly" on it. You do not have to be a Swirlydoos kit subscriber or use anything from kits. What is "swirly"? It can be some flourishes in the shapes of swirls, swirly stamps, swirly border punches, swirly vines, swirly path of butterflies or stars etc.) the second was a Grunge contest. I'm not big on doing layouts of myself, but I am thrilled with the way this turned out. The flowers I made using Karen's Flower Tutorial that I posted below.
Within this layout, there are many techniques taken from the Swirlydoos Forum; making your own bling,the butterflies are made using Swirly butterflies, & the leaves are a swirly template. Hop on over to Swirlydoos and check out the fab kits & the friendly forum...hope to see you there!

Details:
Paper: Bo Bunny - Mama Razzi, Tim Holtz - Idea-ology paper,
Bo Bunny - Mama Razzi cut outs
Karen Foster - Chain Charms
Tim Holtz - Ranger Ink - Currant
Tim Holtz- Ranger Distress Ink-Walnut Stain
Color Box - Chalk
Making Memmoreis - Paper Distresser
Liquid Embossing - Licorice Opaque
Stazon - Timber Brown
Ranger - Glossy Accents
Prima Flower Centers

Thanks for stopping by!
Mary

Fabric Flowers...

I made these flowers using Karen Wilson's Tutorial. She is a designer for Scrap That! Check it out...it was so easy & fun to do.

Thanks for stopping by!
Mary

Hush lil baby.....

On this layout I did a whole lot of fussy cutting, sanding and distressing. I used my teeny tiny hole punch to make the border around the brown scalloped circle. I then used a bigger hole punch to the center of each scallop to weave the tulle through. I then printed off some butterflies and added stickles and modge podge to give them a lil shine and strength. I used a wilton doily and inked it green and added brown chalk to the edges. For the alphas I used my cricut to cut them out in triple then glued them together, chalked them and added diamond stickles. It was a fun layout to do..a little different then my normal style of scrapping. Thanks for taking a peek...let me know what you think, I love reading your comments!

Details:
Paper: Websters Lullaby, Anna Griffin #AG1341, Recollections from Michaels,Bazzill basics cardstock.
Recollections Autumn pearls
Martha Stewart Corner punch
Ranger Stickles - Diamond
Cricut Cart- Plantin Schoolbook
Tulle- Dollar Store
Wilron Doily
Studio G Ink
Colorbox chalk
Offrey Lace
Fashion Pins - Splash
Prima Flowers #538712

Thanks for stopping by!
Mary

The Question is....

I created this LO for the challenge over at "Color Combos Galore". The inspiration came from the window pane on the door.
The quote is from Henry David Thoreau... "The question is not what you look at, but what you see."

Details:
Paper: My Minds Eye - Cheerful, Polar Bear Press - Inked Heirloom Collection, Cosmo Cricket - Sojourn, Martha Stewart - Holiday ppaper, Colorbok - Texture paper, Bazzill Cardstock.
Offrey Lace
Cricut Cart - Accent Essentials
Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Antique Linen
Pop Dots
Color box chalk
Stampin Up Paper piercing tool
Misc: Thread, Fibers, buttons

Thanks for stopping by!
Mary

A couple new layouts to share....

Just a few pictures that I took from our visit to Historic RiverStreet in Savannah, Georgia. The buildings along RiverStreet date back to the American Revolution. The roads are cobblestone and the street is lined with galleries,pubs restaurants,gift shops,pretty much anything you can think of. You could spend hours visiting all the shops and the checking out all the local artists displays. We will definetly be going back to visit all the historic homes and buildings in Savannah.
Details:
Paper: Bo Bunny - Paradise Boardwalk, Crate Paper - Brunch Collection,DCVW & Bazzill
Cricut Cart - Plantin Schoolbook
Dry Wall Mesh - local hardware store
Color Box chalk
Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass
Making Memories DIstresser
Shells - beach














This is a Layout of JC & his son Tyler. We spent a few hours at Lake Michigan playing in the water and building sand castles on the beach.
Details:
Paper: Gartner Studios - Bon Voyage Collection, Over the Moon Press- Red China Brush & Bazzill Cardstock
Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass
Cricut Cart - Plantin Schoolbook
Making Memories Distresser
Pop Dots
Color Box chalk

Thanks for looking!
Mary

Woot Woot I've been published again..

Scrapbooking News and Reviews will be publishing NINE of my LO's in the August Magazine Issue. I was so surprised this morning when I read that e-mail. Hope you have a chance to check out their magazine, definetly worth the time. I get lost looking at all the LO's and techniques they have to offer.

Mary

Grow...live honestly & creatively

Webster pages -Your Life
My Minds Eye - Breaking Free
Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Tumbled Galss
Color Box Chalk
All Night Media Liquid Embossing in Gold & Licorice
Diamond Stickles
Stampendous Crystal Snow
Handmade flowers & butterflies
Handmade bling

Thanks for looking!
Mary

Our Adventure...

Hi Everyone...We just returned from a spontanious two week road trip. We were eating lunch & I said to JC that I was bored,he said he was to. So I said lets drive somewhere. So within a half hour we were packed and on our way... Our adventure took us through North Carolina,Virgina, West Virginia,Ohio, Michigan,Indiana, Kentucky,Tennessee, and then home to South Carolina. While driving JC said hey how about camping...I'm like sure! So we purchased a tent and sleeping bags and all the stuff you need for camping and went camping in Michigan. It was way too hot to camp in Kentucky & Tennessee. While in Ohio, We got to go to Jc's nephews party for their new baby, she is a doll. The next day JC's sister took me to a store where you could buy cardstock for $1.50 a lb...no kidding. So I stocked up on cardstock. The following day we went to Archivers...woohoo my credit card was smoking after that stop. They had Tim Holtz's book " A Compendium of Curiosities" and so yep.... I just had to have that. It's such a cool book. Then we were off to Michigan to see my family and do some camping. On our way home we stopped in Kentucky and went to the Mammoth Caves. It was quite interesting. The temperature that day was in the 100's, but the cave was 52 degrees.We spent two days there, going on a 2 1/2 hour tour the first night and then a 4 1/2 hour tour the next day. We had planned on making a few more stops on our journey home, but it was so hot n humid we decided to just drive on home. Let me tell yah..I was happy to be back home. I'm pretty sure I won't be saying I'm bored for awhile. LOL Here are a few pics from our adventure.


Baby Myah..only 5 days old.

Camping...

Sunset...Interlochen, MI... State Campground

Sunrise...Lucky Lake Capground....Muskegon, MI

One of TY's many fish...


Swimming & skimming on Lake Michigan



Mammoth Cave

Smokey Mountains, Tennessee

TFL!!
Hope to get some scrapping done tomorrow!
:)
Mary