'Today' my last post for Words & Painterly

Hello lovely readers! 

Are you ready for some colorful inspiration?

Check out this months challenge over at Words & Paintery....

'today'

I know I've said this before, but this months palette were so hard for me!

The colors themselves form a beautiful combination, but I just could not find anything

in my stash that would work. After several false starts, I just went with a light blue 

background, and then used some Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays to color some white

Prima flowers. I like how it all turned out in the end.

Here is the challenge this month:

Find all the gorgeous projects by the design team here.

Here are a few close ups:

I have really enjoyed designing for this team, there were so many months that the challenges 

really pushed my creative limits, I especially love how to prompted me to experiment 

with different colors. But all good things must come to an end and it's time for me to move on...

I hope I have inspired you a little today to push yourselves to try new things, new colors....

you never know what will be the end result!

Back on Friday with some happy news!

Lisa xo

'Stars and Stripes'

Hi girls! It's time for some mid-month inspiration with a gorgeous new

color palette from Words & Painterly!

'Stars and Stripes'

I'm not going to lie girls...this color combo was tough!!!! As usual, (I hate it but it's true) I had left this layout until the last moment, and I really didn't know what I was going to do, but I pulled out some Bobunny papers and some 2 Crafty Chipboard and just tried not to overthink it :)

Sometimes the layouts I struggle with turn out to be my favourites! Does that ever happen to you?

Here is the June challenge:

You can find more details about the challenge here.

I used a piece of some of my son's old jeans in the background, 

love the deep blue color of the denim,

and what's more American than a pair of Levi's?

The prompt this month is 'Be Proud of your Country'...and even though it's very unfashionable these days to be a proud American, I don't give a s***, ....I am! I came to the United States - (by myself)- looking for a fresh start in my life with a couple hundred bucks, two suitcases and a whole lot of hopes and dreams, all of which I have worked very hard to have come true. That's the beauty of my country, you can be anything you dare to be, all it takes is hard work and determination and you'll get there :)

I used some 2 Crafty Chipboard pieces here, one called 'Cassies's Flourish'

and some pieces of another called 'Stars' that I painted with some watercolors

and then lightly stamped.

I hope I inspired you to be proud! and show us your interpretation of the challenge :)

Lisa xo

'take chances'

'Nothing lasts forever. So live it up, drink it down, laugh it off, avoid the drama,

take chances and never have regrets because at one point

everything you did was exactly what you wanted.'

- Marilyn Monroe

Hello girls! Are you ready for some inspiration? I felt so inspired by this quote from Miss Monroe herself that I went looking for a pretty photograph of her and found this one, isn't it gorgeous? 

Wasn't she the epitome of beauty? 

I was thinking about her (and another blonde lady who I was fascinated with all my life, Princess Diana) while creating this layout, and how some of the most beautiful women in the world are often unfortunately, some of the most unhappy. 

To find out more about the March Words & Painterly challenge, 

our Creative Guest and the prize for the month, please go here.

Here are a few close ups:

I used some gorgeous Blue Fern Studios paper from the 'Timeless' collection, and 

then I used some Prima Mica Powder in 'Powder Pink' mixed with gesso through a 

Prima stencil on my background.

I would like to enter my layout in a challenge on a blog called Skrapovy that's

all about creating with dark backgrounds, more details on the challenge here.

Thanks for visiting!

Hugs, Lisa xo

'as it was before...'

Hello crafty ladies....it's time to share the new challenge for February 

over at Words & Painterly! 

'as it was before...'

Creating my 'scrap-art' is my favourite past time, but when I'm not doing my art, I love watching period films. I recently saw Keira Knightly in 'Anna Karenina' and I fell in love with the costumes and beautiful sets. When I saw this photo had all the colors of the new challenge, I knew what to do. I used some Cold Country papers by 7 Dots Studio, which even through all the haunting black also has some of the prettiest purples and icy blues.

Here is our new challenge....

I hope to see you join in the fun this month, we have two great prize packs and 

a wonderful Guest Designer, please read about her here.

Here are a few close ups...

Lots of black stamping on the background, and some Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays.

I sewed on some black mesh lace onto the background as a

nod to the stunning gowns in the film.

Thanks for the visit!

see you soon..Lisa xo

January Challenge at Words & Painterly

Hello crafty friends! It's been a bit quiet on my blog, but lots of things going on behind the scenes :)

Today I'm happy to show you an art journal spread that I created for the new

January challenge at Words & Painterly!

Looking for some inspiration this time, I found a BoBunny ephemera pack in my stash
(read:hoard) that had some vintage circus images that were the perfect colors.

To be honest, the colors were a bit hard for me this month, I started with the brown and blue 

easily, and then added some pops of red, voila! I really hope you'll give it a go this month!

To red more about the challenge and check out the prize pack, please go here.

Here are a few details...

The 2 Crafty Chipboard piece called "Glenda's Swirl" added some vintage flair.

That's all for me today, hugs! Lisa xo

'Blue, Grey and Silver'

Hello girls:)

....it's finally getting chilly where I live, so when I saw the icy new colors for Decembers Words & Painterly challenge, I found one of my sons winter portraits and away I go...

'Blue, Grey and Silver'

Even though I design for Scraps of Elegance, I also purchase the Scraps of Darkness kit each month, as Melinda picks out the best papers for all of our kits...this layout was created with the gorgeous wintery December Scraps of Darkness kit called 'Silver Bells'. I used this super cool BoBunny paper, the winter pinecone stencil and the little silver snowflake charms from the kit and added in my own flowers, some 2 Crafty Chipboard snowflakes, and some silver beads.

To find out where to purchase our kits please go here.

Here is the new color palette...

To see all the Words & Painterly designers take on this new challenge, please go here.

And check out our Face Book group here.

And a few details....

I love this paper!... the white birch trees matched the background in my 

little boys portrait perfectly.

I hope I have inspired you to create something a bit frosty and join in the challenge!

See you soon,

Lisa xo

'Melancholy....

...were the sounds on a Winter's night.'

- Virginia Woolf

Hello my sweet girls....it's late Sunday night, I've had a terrific weekend with lots of crafty time to scrap and I've created some layouts to share this week. First up is my project for Words & Painterly, who on the 15th of every month have a brand new color palette to be inspired by.

Here is the palette for November...

And a few close ups...

This layout turned out exactly how I envisioned it, which doesn't happen very often.

When I saw this month's colors I immediately thought of white winter snow against black trees....

I used a lot of different mediums here, but my favourite was the 13 arts silver glitter 

paint which made everything sparkle.

I've just been on the Words & Painterly blog to help select the winners for October and I was so pleased to see so many truly lovely entries! That makes choosing so hard :)

So glad to see this blog growing with each new month.

That's all for me tonight....

Have a lovely week...

Lisa xo

Words & Painterly 1 Year Anniversary!

Hello friends, it's the middle of the month and time for some color inspiration over at 

Words & Painterly. The blog has a brand new look and also some brand new team members!

When I first saw this month's color palette of fuchsia and gold 

I thought of India! a place that I have always wanted to visit...

Here is this month's colors...

Aren't they beautiful? To read about the new challenge please visit the blog here.

As a special treat this month to celebrate the Words & Painterly blog 1 year anniversary,

Marie has coordinated each of the designers to post a tutorial on how they made their project.

So check back often this month and don't miss out on going behind the scenes :) 

We also have a fantastic Guest Designer, Louise Nelson, and some great prizes to be won! 

Here are a few details:

I have used two beautiful pieces of 2 Crafty Chipboard on this project, 

'Moroccan Panel' and 'Floral Branch'.

I wish I was practiced enough to film a video tutorial, but I'm not quite there yet...

So I have prepared a step by step of how I created this layout.

Step 1. I started to prepare my chipboard pieces by covering them with a light coat of white gesso,  rubbing them with some Inka Gold paint in shimmery pink, then I embossed them very lightly and unevenly in glittery gold embossing powder.

Step 2. I prepared my paper with a coat of clear gesso so the inks don't seep into the paper and dried it. Then I started with my mists in pink and gold just randomly applying them with a paintbrush and adding water.

Step 3. I wanted the colors to be really vibrant, so I also used my gelatos to build up some bright color on my background. I just add the gelato, a few drops of water and spread around the page with my fingers.

Step 4. I added some stamping randomly around my page.

Step 5. I created some texture using heavy white gesso and a stencil, let it dry.

Step 6. I glued down my photo, and all of my embellishments, flowers, my chipboard, and some gold sequins. After this was all in place, I went back in with my mists to really intensify the colors,

And that's it!

I hope you enjoyed my (simple) tutorial, and I would love to see you join in this month 

and celebrate with us! 

Until next time,

Lisa xo

'summer sunday'

Hello girls....it's the middle of August (can we please fast forward to fall already?)

and I'm here to share some inspiration with you in the form of a brand new challenge over 

at Words & Painterly...

'summer sunday'

I have to admit this months color palette was a bit of a challenge for me...but that's why I love challenges! It almost forces you to think outside of your own box. I found this pretty photo on Pinterest and just went with a nature theme.

Here is this months challenge...

For more info on this months challenge please go here....

The prize this month is the new 7 Dots Studio collection Lost and Found ! 

I would like to enter this layout in a new challenge blog I found called 'Creative Club'.

For more info on this sketch challenge, please go here...

Here are a few close ups...

I started with a piece of 2 Crafty Chipboard called 'Viney Page Frame' that I 

covered in brown ink and then added some Petaloo flowers.

I would love to see you play along this month!

Happy weekend Lisa xo