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25 March 2014

Marion Smith Designs meets Petaloo!



Welcome to the Marion Smith and Petaloo combined blog hop!  Thanks for finding your way to my blog - I hope what I have for you today will inspire you!

I decided to team up two of Marion's recent collections - Motley and Garment District as the vintage tones blended so well with the prettiness and sparkle of the Petaloo blooms.

First up I'd like to show you a layout I created using Motley, a selection of Marion's resins and Junque Gems, and of course some gorgeous soft Petaloo blooms.  I also stamped and clear embossed the background teal card stock with a couple of Marion's new texture stamps.   This just breaks up any 'blank' spaces very subtly.





Products used:

Motley Collection by Marion Smith Designs






Texture Stamps by Marion Smith Designs



Petaloo Botanica Collection -  Soft Pink




Moving on now to a sweet card and coordinating envelope, using Garment District papers and Petaloo blooms in teal tones.  I managed to sneak in one of Marion's cute little paper doillies and a shabby white metal embellishment!  I just love the demure tones of this collection.





Products used:

Garment District by Marion Smith Designs



Petaloo Botanica Collection - Teal



Petaloo Velvet Hydrangeas  - Aqua Blue



Well, thanks for joining me on this blog hop! I hope you are enjoying yourselves so far!  Click here to return to the Marions Smith Designs blog or here to look at more gorgeous blooms from Petaloo!

Till next time!
Maggie

14 March 2014

Graphic 45 2014 Design Team Audition!



Phew!  Getting this posted just in the nick of time!  We are expecting tropical cyclone Lusi to hit shortly, which will bring with it gale force winds, torrential rainfall and power outages -  so we are told!  No power = no internet = no blogging!


So here it is folks, my inaugural Graphic 45 Design Team Audition.  I must admit to feeling quite nervous about his one - the competition is pretty fierce for one of these coveted spots - and the submissions that I have seen so far have set a very high standard.  So, best of luck to each and every one of you applying!


I really wanted to create a couple of projects using the latest and greatest papers - By the Sea and Botanical Tea.  Which meant waiting patiently (i.e. wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth!) for the papers to arrive in NZ.  Which in turn meant a late start!  But all is well, and I am happy with the resulting items!


I am not one for creating projects that have no practical application - that's just me!  When I make something, it needs to have a purpose, otherwise it just becomes a dust collector.  This again was the emphasis when deciding what projects to create.


I'd like to warm up for this audition with a couple of cards.  Those of you who have done my classes know how much I love pop-up and interactive cards.  I hope you enjoy these two:


Botanical Tea - Thinking of You Pop Up Card


I think it would be pretty difficult to mess up with these papers - they are quite sublime in their vintage beauty!  With oodles of elements to fussy cut, Botanical Tea is perfect for an interactive project.


Card Front




Inside - Pop Up in Action




12 Days of Christmas Card


I created this card with the emphasis on an unusual opening, rather than an interactive piece.  To give the card front its convex share, I used 2 layers of card stock, then the patterned paper.  This gave the covers some 'weight' to use when shaping them.  More fussy cut elements of course, with the essential application of very fine glitter dust for that touch of sparkle and magic!

Card Front






OK, lets continue on with a couple of OTP items. 


By The Sea Board Game


Move over Monopoly!  I would like to introduce you to a new board game called 'By the Sea.'  I have had this board in my stash for nearly 9 years now.  I knew that one day I wanted to create my own board game, it was just a matter of waiting for the right inspiration and paper line to come my way!  Voila!  By the Sea.




Essentially, this is a timed game.  Set the timer for 10 - 20 -30 minutes or more and off you go.  Starting on the Bon Voyage tile, throw the dice and move said number of spaces.  Each tile will have instructions to either collect shells from the 'bank' or lose shells, with 3 tiles offering you the chance to pick up an Opportunity Card.  The Opportunity Cards will significantly boost or deplete your shell collection!  The winner is the person with the most shells at the end of the timed period!









My children have tested the game -and it does actually work!  What's more, they said it was fun!!!!  Not as fun as it was to make this project - I loved doing this!


Typography Inspirational Wall Art

Personally, I reckon all children need to be inspired on a daily basis - if only even in a small way.  The minute I saw the Typography line from Graphic 45 I knew I wanted to create an inspirational piece of art for my son to hang in his bedroom.  The quotes and the colour ways are perfect for a young man.





After cutting out the quotes and other miscellaneous pieces, I mounted them on chipboard pieces.  These are in turn mounted onto a piece of foam board (to counteract the weight of the tiles).  Sometimes, less is more, so I elected to embellish this piece on this basis.  Plus, I really wanted the emphasis to rest on the messages more so than the decorations.

And now for some good old-fashioned 12 x 12 layouts incorporating a little mixed media!


















Well folks, that should give you a good example of what I'm all about, creatively!  I hope you enjoyed the journey - and fingers crossed that I can post next month with a G45 DT Badge to boot!

Special thanks to G45 for taking time to visit my blog and consider my work.

Til next time...
Maggie