Baby's First Year Album with Maja Design and a Giveaway!

Hello friends!

By the time you're reading this, we would be up in the air on our way to Australia for a family holiday. I'm looking forward to a good time of rest and bonding with the kids, as well as catching up with family and friends there.

But first, a jumbo post for Maja Design today. I have a video tutorial to share with you, and it's a baby girl's first year album I made for our little girl who would be arriving in September. The Vintage Baby collection by Maja Design couldn't have come at a better time!

Here's the cover and some of the inside pages:

I made an accordion fold for the inside pages, with one side using lots of die cuts from the papers and the other with ample space for photos and journaling. The idea is to keep the whole album as simple as possible so that I have plenty of space for her photos and recording of her milestones.

And some of the details:

And here's the video tutorial:

And before I go, here's the other part of the jumbo post. I'm hosting the giveaway for April at Maja Design and this month's prize is the gorgeous Coffee in the Arbor collection!



To win this, simply carry out the following steps:

1) Become my blog follower
2) Subscribe to my Youtube channel
3) Follow the Maja Design blog
4) Share on your social media platform
5) Leave a comment here to say you have done so

That's it! I will pick a winner on 14th May when I return from my trip. And that's all I have for today. Thanks for dropping by!

love,

New Beginnings with Blue Fern Studios

Hello friends, and welcome to the new year!

I'm up on the Blue Fern Studios blog today with a video tutorial of how I put together a mixed media journal cover, using nothing more than Blue Fern Studios chipboards, some metal bits from Wild Orchid Crafts and flowers. I was very inspired by one of my friends Joyce Kers who kept a journal on inspirational women in her family, and I wanted to make a similar journal but of my family tree which I hope to fill up in the year 2015.

This is the project:

and close-ups (warning: graphic-intensive!)

I have always used papers, cloth or canvas to create my layers but for this journal cover I decided to create my layers with the chipboards from Blue Fern Studios instead. The intricate laser-cut designs are perfect as every layer they form has lots of interesting details to catch the eye.  

I wanted a blank white base to start with so that I can play with the new mediums I got for Christmas, but didn't want my chipboards to feel boring. So all the chipboard pieces were covered with different texture mediums. Of those that I used, the fibre paste and lace were from a very cool lady I met on Tuesday for lunch (thank you Yvonne for the lovely candy and the altered box!).

My title piece which I kept simple.

Here is the video of how I put everything together:

List of supplies:

Chipboard (from Blue Fern Studios)

Metal clocks and flower filigrees: Wild Orchid Crafts

Mixed Media Resist Canvas Album (Prima)

Mediums - Golden, Liquitex, Windsor and Newton

Paints and Pigments: Luminarte, Lindy's Stamp Gang, Shimmerz, 13@rts

And since the weekend is just around the corner, why not play along with our new sketch for the new year? Here it is, designed by Michele Singh:

The rules are simple and can be found in the link above. There are also gorgeous products from Blue Fern Studios up for grabs so get those creative juices going!

So that's all I have for you today. Have a wonderful weekend ahead!

love,