Green Tara Design Team

Ribbons and flowers and lace - oh my! I was thrilled to receive notice this week that I made the Green Tara DT. Have you seen their new gingham frills, organza twisted pearl strands, gardenia and aster flowers? GORGEOUS! They even make silk flowers with crystals, paper roses... and did I mention every shade of mulberry paper imaginable? Oh yeah - scrappy heaven! Looking forward to playing with some of my favorite things. Take a peek...

Congratulations to the other ladies who made the "green team" too, can't wait to work with you!

Amanda Kitchen - Australia

Geraldine Pasinati - Australia

Mistra Hoolahan - Australia

Tina Dalton - Australia

JJ Sobey - Canada

Adore

I decided to play along with the September Prima BAP sketch challenge and the Let's Get Shabby challenge #27. The papers are from Prima's Shabby Chic and Nursery Tales collections and all the flowers and bling are Prima too! The Dusty Attic chipboard is from my shop.

For this layout I also drew on inspiration from this image from http://www.etsy.com/shop/TallulahBelles - the sponsor this month for the Let's Get Shabby Challenge. Kris' gorgeous selection of hand-dyed doilies is called Paris Blooms Vintage. I was most inspired by the colors and texture and tried to capture the vintage/shabby essence of these beautiful doilies on my layout (I want these sooooo bad!).

Here is the beautiful sketch I used.

Thanks for stopping by again this week!

Hope - Pion Design

I had a little bit of extra time on the weekend to scrap so I decided to give TCR palette #75 a go with my Pion Design papers. The Dusty Attic is also having a style challenge until September 18th and I gave Maiko Kosugi's flower clustering style a try on this page too!

I really adore the Studio of Memories collection - perfect colors for both genders. This is a photo of my daughter as a newborn. After two boys it was our greatest HOPE that we would have a girl to complete our family. I paired the papers with some doilies, a chipboard frame from my shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/vickyalberto) and tons of flowers.

Here is the gorgeous palette I used as inspiration from The Color Room challenge site. Love these colors!

Thanks for stopping by today! I'm really having fun participating in so many challenges this month. Stay tuned for one or two more!

Dec 10, 2006 Layout

I was so inspired by the new Pion Design Waiting for Santa 2 papers and the Once Upon A Sketch site I discovered, that I decided to give the current challenge a go.

These are my sons at the age of 1 and 3 sitting on Santa's lap together for the first time. The photo was a perfect match for the paper colors. The journaling behind the largest postcard tag reads:

"You were so nervous to sit on Santa's lap, not only because you were in awe of him... but you were also a little uncertain if you were on his naughty or nice list after the sibling squabble that Saturday morning. Christmas morning was sheer delight to see he had listened to your wishes and you both were on his good list that year"

Here is the wonderful sketch I used.

Thanks for stopping by!

A non-layout

I just love this Bo Bunny paper from the Scrap That! Somewhere in Time - August kit. I wanted to create a simple "non layout" and more of a scene to be displayed as artwork for my den. I used a heap of Dusty Attic chipboard from my Etsy shop, gorgeous Prima flowers and vines, plus the Prima September palette as inspiration.

 I used this Prima September palette as inspiration.

Here is a close-up of half the package of DA French Window with a Pion Design image from one of their gorgeous vintage image sheets.

Here is a close-up of the pretty flowers.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to enter my Dusty Attic chipboard giveaway!

Pion Design and 3 challenges!

I received my Pion Design "Waiting for Santa" 2 papers last week and online surfing noticed a whole bunch of terrific challenges so I decided to give a few a go - all at the same time LOL (see details below). This layout "memories"is of my boys as toddler/pre-schoolers. Let me just say that this Christmas collection is THE BEST since Cosmo Cricket's "Be Good" one (that I am still hoarding since I only have one sheet of each :)

Here is a close up of the Dusty Attic holly flourish from my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/vickyalberto

Here is a close-up of the Prima flowers and the lacing. The holly under the title chippie was actually cut from the longer flourish near the photo.

This is TCR palette I used for color inspiration. I think it was fate that this was released 2 days after I received my DT papers.

This the the Dusty Attic sketch I used for layout inspiration. I just flipped the sketch.

This is the "Let's get Shabby"blog challenge #27 image I used (from http://www.etsy.com/shop/TallulahBelles) for texture inspiration. Since doilies weren't going to work on this layout, I used burlap in the same tan tone and used white ribbon and a winter white snowy picture. Here is a link to the image (http://img1.etsystatic.com/il_fullxfull.265692949.jpg - Snow White Vintage White and Cream Doilies to Delight).

I have to say, I am pretty happy that I managed to cram 3 challenges onto one layout that I did for DT work too!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Last 3 Creative Imaginations Guest Projects

Of course I saved the best projects for last this week :) Let me first say that it is no secret that Pink IOD Papers and Prima Flowers = A Perfect Layout (in my opinion). The IOD Devotion collection is such a fantastic eclectic group of papers with endless design possibilities. This is my all-time favorite IOD collection to date, although there has NEVER been a collection of theirs that I didn't like :) Here is a picture of my chubby baby a few years ago in the kiddie pool. I added some feminine lacing to break up the dark floral pattern and to add interest to my page. Gotta love all that pink!

Design Tip: Just use a regular office hole punch to create beautiful lacing on your pages.

Here is a second layout using the dark orange/red and green in the collection. I was actually inspired by the IOD Beach Cottage collection to create this beach layout. I've been itching to used the amazing Dusty Attic chipboard shells that I sell through my Etsy shop (visit http://www.etsy.com/shop/vickyalberto to see all available chipboard styles) and found this picture that went better with the Beloved papers so I decided to give them a go together. This is a picture of my eldest son as a baby (he is now 8 years old) and I in Cuba, while on our first ever family vacation. Ahhh to be 29 again, LOL! I added a lot of texture on this one with burlap, netting, fabric flowers from the Funtoolas Etsy shop (thanks Cindy!) and several torn and distressed paper layers. I adore the die cut shapes that come with all the IOD collections! The chipboard shells were coated with Deco Art Snow Writer for texture and then I used pink and tan chalk in to define the edges.

I was inspired by The Color Room Palette #73 for this layout.

Here is a close-up of the flowers and shells in the corner:

My very last project to share with you is an altered wood picture frame using more pink papers from the collection. I will be teaching this shabby chic project, complete with the large handmade layered flower and fussy cutting, in Calgary, Alberta at the North store location of Scrapbooker's Paradise on October 15th.

I was inspired by The Color Room Palette #68 for this frame - couldn't resist the pink palette. I plan on putting this decorative frame in my daughter's bedroom.

Here is close-up of the handmade layered flower:

I would like to thank Creative Imaginations for the honour of being featured on their blog and to all of you who took the time to read my posts this week.

While you are here, don't forget to scroll down to the next post to find out how to win one of my 3 Dusty Attic chipboard prize packs this month!

HUGE Dusty Attic Giveaway

OK, I've teased you about it since last Friday, so here is my...

3 ways to win Dusty Attic Chipboard GIVEAWAY! 

I have teamed up with Jennifer Hedger at The Dusty Attic and will be giving away 3 chipboard packs, to be won 3 completely different ways and, shipping anywhere in the world!

PRIZE #1) I am the September sponsor for the fantastic Creative Scrappers sketch site. 

TO WIN: All Creative Scrappers entries for sketches 172-173-174-175 (enter as many times as you wish) will be entered in a RANDOM draw to win this amazing prize containing brand new Dusty Attic and a few of the best sellers from my Etsy shop. Deadline is September 30th.

PRIZE #2) All orders that I receive from September 1st to 30th will also be entered to win a random draw for this awesome prize containing these newly released styles:

Visit http://www.etsy.com/shop/vickyalberto today!

PRIZE #3) For all my blog followers (and I still can't believe there are over 500 of you)... here is some blog candy containing some fabulous chipboard from my shop:

3 EASY STEPS TO WIN THIS:

1. FOLLOW my blog (if you don't already). This is how you will find out if you win the prize.

2. WRITE a short post about me being a Dusty Attic retailer - please include the blog candy prize image and my Etsy address - http://www.etsy.com/shop/vickyalberto - on your blog or Facebook page if you don't have a blog).

3. Leave me a message at the bottom of THIS post, with the LINK to your post, and tell me what DA piece is at the very top of your "wish list" (so that I know what you want me to carry in my shop).

All of these prizes are open to win by anyone, from any country. Thanks again to Jen for sponsoring the first two prize packs for this great September giveaway!

Winners will be announced the first week of October for all 3 prizes - good luck to everyone! 

More Creative Imaginations GDT Projects

Back with more Creative Imaginations creations I made for their feature this week. I adored the Breathless Collection by Marah Johnson when it was released but never had the chance to work with it so... when asked what papers I wanted to play with, I jumped at the chance to get my hands on these before they are no longer available. This VERY "alternative" style layout features a postcard advertisement of the Bedouin Tribal Bellydance Fusion dance troop from a local studio I dance at (the most amazing exercise for post baby bellies and great "me" time!). I took the gate diecut and chopped it to frame the distressed papers. I've always done some sort of dance classes most of my life and say that I've been "bitten" with the urge to explore my creativity though various mediums. Dance is one of my addictions (along with chocolate, paper art and watching Vampire Diaries - all at the same time is bliss :) NOTE: The portrayal of this layout does not reflect their beautiful dance style -  it is just a fun art experiment for me to try scrapping a different style. The intention was not to offend any dancers. Also, don't expect to see pics of me - I refuse to perform, LOL!

I used a large black flower from the Funtoolas Etsy shop (thanks Cindy!) and created my own red ones with velvet hydrangeas (bunch bought after Christmas at Michaels Crafts on clearance) and Prima bling centres. I will be doing that again - gorgeous flowers for practically nothing and they look similar to the Petaloo ones!

For my second project with the Breathless collection, I made a bonbon gift box using a simple free template I found at http://www.ruthannzaroff.com/mirkwooddesigns/bonbon.htm

That's it for today but I will be back TOMORROW with details on my huge Dusty Attic GIVEAWAY (3 prize packs up for grabs - 3 ways to win one). I will also be back on Friday to share more designs I made with the Creative Imaginations IOD Devotion collection. Don't worry, I'll be back with my girly, shabby chic style too - my comfort zone, LOL. Thanks for stopping by!

Message for Kathy

I don't usually do posts like this but I got this really AMAZINGLY flattering comment from one of my blog followers "Kathy" regarding my handmade flowers:

 Kathy said...

I love your work. Read about your classes and would give anything to take the Wild Spirit Layout.

Have someone video tape it and sell it. Talk to Scott at Blue Moon Scrapbooking. He is figuring out a way not to make it available to whole internet but to purchasers.

I need to learn what you are teaching so bad.. Please have someone video tape the class. Check out USTREAM classes. Prima uses it and so did Swirlydoos for a workshop we paid for. We received the materials beforehand and then watched the class to learn what to do.


I am so excited about your class and then I got really disappointed when I realized it wasn't online.


Please think about doing this == a new source of funds and becoming more know in the scrapbooking world.

August 29, 2011 6:43 PM

I can't access her e-mail to respond (Kathy you can e-mail me at vickya@shaw.ca)...  but all my flower tutorials are available with quick links in the right sidebar of this blog. I am not technical person at all so no videos yet, but they are detailed tutorials with lots of step by step pictures (yes VERY painful to produce, LOL).

So... I was wondering if this is a popular idea for scrapbookers  - taking online classes that is? Personally, I'm a in-person kinda gal who prefers shopping in stores rather than online. Taking or teaching classes online never crossed my mind because I've never even taken any sort of traditional scrap class myself. I know funny that I teach them locally! Anyways, would love to know your thoughts on this. Leave me a comment - I do read every single one of them (and they are always appreciated).

Thank you to all my very wonderful followers like Kathy - I have a treat for you so come back on Thursday for my huge Dusty Attic giveaway (there will be 3 prize packs to be won in September!)

Guest Designer for Creative Imaginations!

I am beyond thrilled to be a guest designer for Creative Imaginations. Today I am sharing a brand new layout I created with the IOD Wild Spirit line. These gorgeous papers were also featured in the Scrap That! August kit - just a few kits left so grab one soon before it sells out! I will be teaching this layout, complete with two large handmade wild rose flowers, in Calgary, Alberta at the North store location of Scrapbooker's Paradise on September 17th. The picture is of my handsome and very supportive hubby who actually "gets" why I scrapbook since he is in a creative field himself. The warm and cool color combination of this paper collection is sunning don't you think?

Here are the blue handmade flowers I am teaching:

I was inspired by a Dusty Attic sketch for this layout. 

Here is a fun and quick little kirigami gift box I made with one single sheet of IOD Beach Cottage paper, including the handmade flower.

That's it for today but I will be back on Wednesday and Friday to share more new designs I made with the CI papers I chose to work with. Thanks for stopping by to take a peek at my work today! Check out the feature at http://creativeimaginations.typepad.com/creative_imaginations_blo/2011/08/guest-designer-vicky-alberto.html.


Don't forget to come back on Thursday for my HUGE Dusty Attic GIVEAWAY!!!

Scrap That! Reveal Blog Hop

If you have just arrived from Tina's blog, you are just about done the hop (when you get through my post), if not, head on over to Scrap That! to get started hopping. 

This is the most exciting blog hop we've hosted so far. OK, so why is this one so exciting? Let's see... an exclusive Pion Design "Birdsong" kit (and you know how much of a Pion fan I already am :), FOUR really amazing prizes up for grabs, surprise guest designer Gabrielle Pollacco joining us today and DT alumni Darien Anderson returning to work with this awesome kit! PLUS, watch for Karola Witczak's creations with this kit in a few weeks too!

Now on to my projects...

My first layout is of my daughter taken while at a friend's a few years ago. Guess what we were playing? LOL. I just loved the vine in the add-on embellie kit and made some of my wild roses to match (click link for tutorial). The only thing I added from my stash is the large doily, everything is in the kit including bare chipboard letters that you can alter to match your layout!

Design Tip: Make flowers to match store bought ones for a glorious cluster.

In my second layout of my hubby and I almost 10 years ago (wow times flies!), I paired my 2 favorite papers from the Pion collection with the gorgeous Prima bling and flowers in the kit. I added the doily and Dusty Attic chipboard from my stash but the embellies are all from the main kit. See how I used the flower paper in 2 layouts? You will want to get double papers this month (and they will sell out FAST!)

Design Tip: Try cutting a doily or diecut paper and reversing the shape for an interesting design.

For my third layout, I added yet another doily to create this layout of my daughter on our back deck. There is so much beautiful white lace in this kit and amazing butterflies from http://www.etsy.com/shop/kaylori77 -  I adore this sweet lady's Etsy shop! The doily and lavender flowers are from my stash. The large white flowers are from the embellie add-on kit.

Design Tip: Use Deco Art snow writer to give chipboard a thick stippled look and surround with white faux stitching (I use a SewEasy tool for perfect "stitch" separation). I will NEVER sew, LOL!

Here is a close up of the beautiful Prima flowers:

This "Joy" layout was inspired from a sketch created by my Ideas for Scrapbookers teamate Heather Landry. Here is her awesome sketch, checkout her blog for more (http://miraclesmommadesigns.blogspot.com)

Lastly, I made a layout of my eldest son as a baby purely with the main kit, nothing from my stash nor from the embellie add-on kit! This main kit was packed with beautiful papers, doilies, lace and butterflies to cut out.

Design Tip: Pair handmade flowers with cut-out ones from the papers to create an economical yet pretty cluster. Here I made some of my sugarplum flowers (see link for tutorial).

This layout was inspired by LG's beautiful sketch perfectly made for this kit. I just flipped it. I think we have the best sketch designer, don't you?

Here is a peek at the main kit (so beautiful):

And here is the must have add-on (one word - amazing):

My SECRET WORD, which is RETAILER. Make sure you visited all the blogs for the 12 word sentence!

BLOG HOP ROTATION

Scrap That! - http://scrapthatchat.blogspot.com
Darien Anderson - http://darien-lovingmylife.blogspot.com
Dusty Attic - http://dustyattic.ning.com
Gabrielle - http://gabriellepollacco.blogspot.com
Ivana - http://papergirlcrafts.blogspot.com
Karen - http://agirlsscrapobsession.blogspot.com
Lisa - http://kaye2222.blogspot.com
Pion Design - http://blog.piondesign.se
Robin - http://robinshakoor.blogspot.com
Shona - http://suchawonderfulmess.blogspot.com
Tina - http://tina-mypaperpantry.blogspot.com
Vicky - YOU ARE HERE

**Remember, that there are FOUR prizes to win, and FOUR ways for you to enter. Here are the details:

1) First of all, you will need to visit all TWELVE blogs :) **This is important** Each blog has a special word.  As you hop be sure and write down the special word from each blog. Once you have all the special words they will make a sentence.  You will need to email the SECRET SENTENCE to friends@scrapthat.ca.  All correct sentences received will be entered in a draw to win the Dusty Attic Prize Pack.  (Please note: Dusty Attic does not have a blog but just follow the link leave a comment on the forum thread in their community.)

2) Everyone who emails us with the correct secret sentence will be sent a short marketing SURVEY.  Once you have completed the survey you will be entered to win a Scrap That! Exclusive Pion Design “Birdsong” Kit.

3) If you want to enter to win the Grand Prize of a Pion Design Prize Pack, then head over to our COMMUNITY (http://www.scrapthat.ca) for details on our monthly CHALLENGE.  The challenge will run from August 26th to September 14th so you have LOTS of time to post your creations.  You can enter as many times as you like.  You do not need to be a subscriber to participate.  The more entries, the more chances you have to win!

4) Finally, if you post our BLINKIE on your blog you will be entered to win a Scrap That! Gift Certificate - super easy right?  Just post a link to your blog in the comments the Scrap That! Blog so we can come visit :)

We hope you all had good fun hopping with us today, thank you so much for playing along!  Watch the Scrap That! newsletter on September 22nd to see if you are one of the lucky winners!

WAIT! Don't leave yet... I have some VERY exciting news to share about NEXT week:


1) I will be guest designing for Creative Imaginations! That means 7 new projects will be revealed over the week.


2) I will be doing a really HUGE GIVEAWAY with THREE amazing prize packs to WIN! Come back here on Thursday, September 1st for the details.


OK, now I'm done, LOL... sorry for the long post. Don't forget to e-mail the secret sentence to friends@scrapthat.ca. See you back here next week!