More Graphic45

The snow is melting (a little)! I caught a glimpse of wood from the deck! It's still far from gone, though. My little angels have been dragging their toys outside, and when I stepped off the deck to try to retrieve them, I literally sunk in snow up to my thigh. The good news is that it's ALMOST March, which means we're headed toward warmer (we hope!) weather! Someone remind me again why I moved back to Iowa from South Carolina?

On to brighter things ... PAPERCRAFTING!!! Today I'm going to share more Graphic45 items. (I promise I do use other things, too, but I always give them away ~ or my one of my not-to-be-named scrappy best pal sells them ;-) ~ so I don't have photos to share at the momen

My 8-year-old niece is the best! She knows how much I love to scrapbook, so she's always asking me to make things for her. Recently, she asked me to make a special birthday present for her - a scrapbook with 20 pages, one for each year until she turns 20! How could I resist! As I looked through my paper stash I ran across a sheet of "Unforgettable" from the Baby to Bride Collection. I am a fanatic for stripes, and I loved double-sided design of minty-green stripes/multi-design boxes (florals, letters, etc.). I used the stripes for the base, the tore a border from the opposite side of the paper sheet and inked the edges. I tore an opening in the middle and attached a button to create an "opening". I had a little extra paper leftover, so I cut out a couple of the decorative squares and adhered them with pop dots to add dimension. Beyond that I added a tag, Prima flowers, buttons, and Bazzill (photo mats). One page down ... 19 more to go!

Here's another example of a layout using "Unforgettable" from the Baby 2 Bride collection. I love the design of the paper, so I really didn't want to cover it up, yet I still wanted to do something creative to showcase the cute picture of Brittany. (This one is for Grandma and Grandpa's scrapbook!) To create a unique look, I tore the frame, rolled the edges, and inked them. The paper is so delicate that I wanted the photo and elements around it to provide a sharper contrast. he flowers are Primas, the ribbon is a velvety base with another layer of beaded ribbon on top. The "Unforgettable" paper has a variety of decorative boxes on the sheet, some of which spell out B-A-B-Y. For the title with Britty's name, I cut out the "B" and "Y", added liquid glass on the letters, inked the edges, and adhered them with pop dots to both ends. For the middle part of the title, I cut out four of the decorative squares from the paper, spelled out the rest of the name with rub-ons (Making Memores), inked the edges, and adhered them with regular adhesive. (Note ... if you don't have an ATG gun, I would highly recommend investing in it. I find that the adhesive is extremely affordable if I buy it in bulk, and it seems to last forever so I'm not making daily trips to get adhesive!) The journaling is on strips of off-white paper (actually, it's computer paper that happened to match), and I inked the edges. The butterfly is modified from K&Company.

Brittany loves to host tea parties! No matter who the company, she's always organizing up a tea (juice) and crumpets (cookies or grapes) gathering! I had this picture of Britty and her grandpa engaged in such a party, but I couldn't find the right paper to use until I found Graphic45 Playtime Past Collection. I covered the wooden frame with "Life's a Ball", then cut out elements (dress, tea pot, etc.) from "Dollie's Teaparty" and "Playtime Past Tags". I used Modge Podge to cover the paper and cut-outs, then placed identical cut-outs adhered with pop-dots on top of the first ones to create dimension. To highlight the photo, I outlined the opening with beaded ribbon, then added Prima flowers, brown fiber, and a vintage tassel to the corner. (I added the flowers so the frame would include all of Britty's favorite things - team parties, dolls, grandpa and flowers.) I needed something else to complete the frame, and I remembered that I had an old library book from early in the 20th century that addressed etiquette. I tore out the page on "Beverages" and adhered it to the corner to continue with the theme while adding an interesting and unique element.

Like most scrappers, I have a ton of scraps - leftovers that I know I will use SOMETIME but that pile up quicker than I can use them. As I was unpacking a box I ran across a styrofoam heart wreath that I really liked and decided would be perfect in the master bathroom. I wanted to coordinate with the shower curtain and my extra TP box, so I chose to cover the wreath with scraps of Graphic45 papers. I tore strips, then wrapped them around the wreath. (I used lots of different papers from various G45 collections.) I crumpled each strip and inked the edges for a vintage look. (The picture doesn't show the dimension and depth, which really make the wreath pop!) I then wrapped beaded ribbon around the wreath, added a couple of buttons/charms and a vintage dollhouse picture, and flower. The final touch is a hook on the back to hang it. This was so easy to make, and it made great use of my scraps!

This last item is a simple thing, yet it is really pretty. I used Graphic45 "Masterpiece" from the Renaissance Faire Collection as the background (the actual card base is an off-white Bazzill cardstock). The "love" element is from Now and Then. To create a vintage look, I sprayed with Glimmer Mist (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!), then used a paper towel to soak up the excess. Once it dried (which was quickly) I adhered it to the card using pop dots for dimension. I further accented the element by coloring the flower in the hat with a red Spica marker (another fave) and by adding a couple of rows of gems to the bottom of the heart. To finish off the card, I added a row of beaded lace down the side. The card is very simple, yet beautiful! Sometimes less is more!

Until next time, happy papercrafting!