Welcome to Swirlydoos' May Kit Reveal Blog Hop Block Party!!

If you came here from Vicky's blog, then you are on the right track. If not, go back to Swirlydoos' blog and start from there. We have some amazing projects for you to see today !! Make sure to leave a comment on all of the blogs for a chance to win!!! Check out Swirlydoos on Facebook and Like Us!!!

Presenting: Au Naturale! 

The earthy tones mixed with pinks and blacks make the paper in this kit to die for! And, the project kit is out of this world with the new Tim Holtz Assemblage clock! If you subscribe, you've already been petting this kit, and if you don't, first get over to the Swirly Store and see if there are any of the May ones left, then SUBSCRIBE!

I hope you are enjoying what you've seen so far along the hop! Here's what I did with this month's kit:

"Serenity": A Video Anatomy

So this month, it was my turn to do our monthly feature, "Anatomy of a Layout", and I decided to do a video anatomy for fun. :) A cool aspect of this assignent is that we only use the main kit to create the anatomy page, so I used a little bit of EVERYTHING that came in the main kit. You can see the video here: VIDEO

Let us know what you think about doing a "video anatomy"!

Altered Clock

So, I have been dying to get my hands on the Tim Holtz Assemblage Clock, and Krissy was able to put it in a tech kit for us as soon as they became available!!!!! I love this clock "shadow box" as you can do so many different things with them. I decided to include a mini album on the inside. Here's some pics of my finished clock:

And, of course, being part of the education team, I made a video so you can see how I pulled this off:

VIDEO

So, that's what I've done with this kit so far. :) Thanks for stopping by, and hop on!

You have until midnight, eastern time, on Friday 5/17 to complete the hop. Winners will be announced on the Swirlydoos Blog on Saturday 5/18. In order to qualify to win here is what you need to do:
1: Visit all of the blogs and leave a comment on each. This way we know you were there. Become a follower if you're not already. Take your time. There are REALLY beautiful things to see along the way.
2: Before you leave each blog, look for the “special” words and write it down.
Once you have visited all the blogs and collected all the special words, they will create a sentence.
3: Finally, go back to the Swirlydoos blog and leave a comment letting us know how much fun you had, tell us the sentence that was created with all of the special words you collected. Can't wait to hear from you.

My special word is : are

The party continues over at Lisa's blog. Have fun!

Flourish with a Bling May Projects and the May FWAB Challenges

I thought I would take a few minutes to showcase a couple of my May projects for the fabulous company, Flourish with a Bling. 

First, the incredibly talented Elena Olinevich is hosting the FWAB May challenge: Buttons and Bling!  I was lucky enough to provide an example for this challenge. So these are the rules:

• create Card, Layout or OTP
• add FWAB
• and buttons

Here is what I came up with for this challenge:

An altered box using the pink pearls from the 100 pearl pack, and also the black frame from the Bella rhinestone flourish set, along with buttons from the Prima Lyric collection.

Next, I'm pulling double-duty with this one: 

This is a layout I created using the Swirlydoos "Hello Beautiful" kit, and also for a challenge I am hosting for NSD on the Swirlydoos website (see blog post below). I just couldn't resist using the silver Elise flourish- I cut it into two pieces to fit the flow of my layout to give it the shine it needed to set off the rest of the color palette and embellishments. 

Thanks for looking!

Swirlydoos Celebrates NSD!

We are having a fun day with challenges that last all week long! Come check out my challenge. Here's the example:

Hope you join us and have a scrappy kind of day!

Welcome to Swirlydoos' April Kit Reveal Blog Hop Block Party!!

If you came here from Lisa's blog, then you are on the right track. If not, go back to Swirlydoos' blog and start from there. We have some amazing projects for you to see today !! Make sure to leave a comment on all of the blogs for a chance to win!!! Check out Swirlydoos on Facebook and Like Us!!!

"Hello Beautiful!" is the perfect name for this kit! Such beautiful papers and colors, perfect for Spring!

If you haven't subscribed yet, you may be lucky enough to find the April kit and add-ons in the boutique. 

"Find your Inner Beauty" Canvas

So, as part of the education team, it is our job to create a project using the technique add on, and here is is mine: 

The mirror is not in the kit. I bought it at Michaels in the photo frame section. And, I have to tell you, that I feel so bad that this is the best pic I could get- photographing a mirror is CRAZY difficult. :) Who wants to see my ugly mug in the mirror trying to take a picture, RIGHT? But, I do have a step-by-step video on how I made this that you can see HERE, and it will give you a much clearer and closer look.

"Shh..." Layout

This is my layout based on our April sketch, which is crazy beautiful! I decided to do a corner flap and used the ric-rac that came in the kit to make it appear like fabric, just like how the blue paper appears to look like blue jeans, keeping with that them with the rivets and snaps, which I thought was perfect for a baby boy layout. 

Thanks for looking!

You have until midnight, eastern time, on Wednesday 4/17 to complete the hop. Winners will be announced on the Swirlydoos Blog on Thursday 4/18. In order to qualify to win here is what you need to do:
1: Visit all of the blogs and leave a comment on each. This way we know you were there. Become a follower if you're not already. Take your time. There are REALLY beautiful things to see along the way.
2: Before you leave each blog, look for the “special” words and write it down.
Once you have visited all the blogs and collected all the special words, they will create a sentence.
3: Finally, go back to the Swirlydoos blog and leave a comment letting us know how much fun you had, tell us the sentence that was created with all of the special words you collected.  Can't wait to hear from you.

My special word is : what

The party continues over at Blue Fern Studio's blog. Have fun!

Swirlydoos Vintage Chic Kit Second Reveal

I can't even begin to express how much I LOVE the Prima Engraver line! The papers are FABULOUS! They are great for all projects, but I chose to scrap the men in my life with them because there aren't many lines out there that are fit for masculine layouts.

The first layout is based on our monthly sketch:

"Not All who Wander are Lost" Layout

This is a picture of my husband taken a few years ago in Death Valley at a place known as the Wandering Rocks, which is really weird! The rocks actually move, and because of the climate, they leave a trail. 

So, I used the Zutter distresser on all of the layers. I I folded and crumpled up the map paper, smoothed it out, then rubbed Distress Ink over the rumples. I did faux stitching to complete the background. The hanging vines  and branch are from Memory Box dies.

"You Make Us Proud" Layout

This layout is based on this month's Prima BAP. This is my son's school picture this year. 

I used a 12X12 cardboard base for the background- I ripped up the edges then painted it with black gesso, then with the Olive Vine Silks paint. I folded the paper to accentuate the lines that were already on the paper, then inked the folds.  To complete the background, I used a Prima mask (polka dot) with Wendi Vecchi Embossing paste. (Seriously, this stuff is amazing- if you have trouble getting crisp images from your masks, this complete solves the problem.) I used a piece of Blue Fern Studios border coming from the bottom of the picture.

"The Tiniest Feet" Layout

These feet are my youngest's taken when he was just one month. To get that background I cut the papers in a wavy motion, then distressed the edges with a tool, then my fingers.  I used that same technique with the photo mat. The heart punch is from Martha Stewart, and the vines are chipboard from Blue Fern Studios. 

Thanks for looking! 

Swirlydoos Anatomy of a Layout: Vintage Chic Kit

Hope you are all having a fabulous Saturday! I wanted to share a layout I made using the fabulous Vintage Chic kit.
I thought I would do a travel layout. Years ago my husband and I were on vacation, and as we travelled through Iowa, we visited a unique place The Grotto of the Redemption, and picture on my layout is a post card from there.

I have a video tutorial on this layout, so feel free to check it out!

VIDEO

Welcome to Swirlydoos' March Kit Reveal Blog Hop Block Party!!

If you came here from the Swirlydoos blog, then you are on the right track. If not, go back to Swirlydoos' blog and start from there. We have some amazing projects for you to see today !! Make sure to leave a comment on all of the blogs for a chance to win!!! Check out Swirlydoos on Facebook and Like Us!!!

We also have a DT call for Educators!! As you know we have a kick-butt Education team and we are looking to add to our family. If you love to create tutorials and share your love of the craft with others, we would love to have you on our team. The deadline is looming!!! Please click on THIS LINK to learn more!!


And, without further ado, we present to you... VINTAGE CHIC, the fabulous new March kit featuring the Prima Engraver line!

And, the add-ons, as always are to die for, so make sure, if you are not already a subscriber that you hit THE BOUTIQUE and see what, if any March kits are still available!

The education team has the great honor of working with and showcasing the monthly Technique/Project kit. This month, Krissy out together a fabulous ensemble featuring the Bo Bunny Life Journal Day Planner- a very practical and beautiful project. Here's what I came up with:

Side View:

Front Cover:

Front Cover Closeups:

Inside Front Cover:

Inside Front Cover Closeup:

Inside Back Cover:

Inside Back Cover Closeup:


Be sure to check out the video too!

VIDEO

Thanks for joining us on the blog hop today!


You have until midnight, eastern time, on Wednesday 3/13 to complete the hop. Winners will be announced on the Swirlydoos Blog on Thursday 3/14. In order to qualify to win here is what you need to do:
1: Visit all of the blogs and leave a comment on each. This way we know you were there. Become a follower if you're not already. Take your time. There are REALLY beautiful things to see along the way.
2: Before you leave each blog, look for the “special” words and write it down.
Once you have visited all the blogs and collected all the special words, they will create a sentence.
3: Finally, go back to the Swirlydoos blog and leave a comment letting us know how much fun you had, tell us the sentence that was created with all of the special words you collected. Can't wait to hear from you.





My special words are: If it





The party continues over at our guest designer's blog, the fabulous Manda Kurtz!!!!  Have fun!