One of my faves - Graphic45

I love papercrafting, but my inspiration and interest shot to a whole new level when I was introduced to Graphic45 papers last year. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the colors, and the designs are out of this world. The thing that I find so amazing is that, while the papers have a classic design, I can create items in either a classic or more modern form. Also, the individual lines are very versatile and can be mixed and matched to create many wonderful things!

Here are a few of the fabulous things I've created with Graphic45 products:

My brother-in-law's parents took their family on an Alaskan cruise last summer. I found it hysterical that the pictures from their July trip had them all wrapped up in blankets while our Christmas photos were taken at the beach on a summer-like day. To record this. I chose to use the Graphic45 Botanicabella Collection papers ("Birds in Paradise", "Dragonfly Duet", and "Botanicabella") as a background for the summer setting, while I used a Christmas line from another company for the December photos. Although the two paper lines are completely opposite in color and design, I LOVE the way this layout turned out. It is now framed and hanging in my nephew's room!

This once drab clipboard turned into an amazing photo display with just a few touches. The background paper is Graphic45 Botanicabella Collection "Eden's Symphony" (checked). I then layered "Dragonfly Duet" from the same collection in the middle, trimmed with beaded ribbon. I then added miscellaneous flowers, buttons, and brads to the top to hide the clip. The tags, also from the Botanicabella Collection was so much fun to do! To give the tag at the top an old-fashioned look, I crumpled it up, made small tears in it, and inked the edges and creases. The one at the bottom is attached with pop dots to add dimension. On the back of the clipboard I attached a picture hanger, and after I took this photo I added a photo of my 8-year old niece and her best friends. She now has a unique picture frame to hang on her wall!

One of my favorite things about Graphic 45 is that it's easy to make fabulous cards! for this I used Botanicabella Collection "Love Letters", and Times Nouveau Collection "Copacetic" and "Bees Knees", and die cut tag. I inked the edges of the papers and tags, then layered the papers. I added a random heart-shaped doily (complete with a few strategically-placed ink stains for an old-fashioned effect), then attached the tag to the doily. For a final touch, I added a random charm to the corner.

One of the things I love so much about Graphic45 is that it's double sided, so the inside of cards can be pretty, also. After adding a light-colored paper with inked edges for writing a message, I cut out squares of Copacetic, then cut them in half diagonally and created cool corners to enhance the light paper. In the lower left corner I added one of the tags from the die-cut sheet and voila! a card is born!

This was such a fun layout to produce! My oldest dog-ter, Dinky, loves two things - her cousin's American Girl doll and getting on my sister's furniture (where she isn't allowed). This photo was too precious to pass up, but it took me forever to come up with the layout concept. It had to be just right! The Botanicabella Collection provided the perfect background for this Nature vs. Nurture theme. I chose the papers not only because I loved the colors and theme, but also because it allowed me to complement some of the subtleties, such as the natural design on the chair and the whole nature (the dog) vs. nurture (taking care of the doll) theme. The bird and flower are cut from a 12x12 sheet, and the circles are cut using Spellbinders Nesties (LOVE them, too!). The charm on the side is actually from a remnant of ribbon I found. Once again I had a blast doing the tag, as I crumpled, tore, and inked it to make it look old and worn. The VS chipboard letters are leftovers from another company, and the rub-ons are Making Memories.

This is, perhaps, one of my favorites, and it came about in a crazy way! When I moved back into our house, one of the first things we did was redo the bathroom. It's a small space, with not much storage, so we didn't really have any place to store an extra roll of toilet paper. The shower curtain has kind of a vintage feel, so it's been hard to find deco to match. When I saw the Renaissance Faire Collection, I immediately knew it would compliment the rest of the decor. I started with a plain chipboard tubular container and covered the base with Times Noveau Wallflower. I then cut out part of the design from "Renaissance Faire", adhered it to the base, then used Modge Podge over the entire base. Once it dried I cut apart some Prima Flowers I had purchased from QVC many years ago and placed them over flowers in the design to add dimension. I also added a couple of vintage charms to further create the look. I covered the lid with the back side of the "Renaissance Faire" paper, then Modge Podged it. Once it dried I added a velvety ribbon and a large Prima flower. Who would think an extra roll of TP could look so good?

Enough for now. I look forward to sharing more designs with you soon! Toodles!