C'est Magnifique GIVEAWAY

The owner of C'est Magnifique Kits is very generous with her blog readers. Each month, Leslie gathers up the bits and pieces from her current kit, and offers to send them to one of her followers.

It's easy to enter Leslie's giveaway - but you need to enter directly on the C'est Magnifique blog. 

The giveaway will close at midnight on April 12th. The winner, selected by a random draw on the C'est Magnifique blog, will be announced the following day. Good luck to all who enter the draw!

C'est Magnifique April Sketch

I'm back today to share my last project made with the beautiful April kit from C'est Magnifique kits. Everything except the title and small roses are in the main kit. What beautiful flowers, chipboard and resin butterflies in this amazing kit! The picture is of my hubby and I when we were dating.

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I used the wonderful kit sketch as inspiration (I just flipped it)...

Don't forget to enter your interpretation of this beautiful sketch for a chance to win a fantastic prize! See details on the C'est Magnifique blog.

C'est Magnifique APRIL Kit Reveal!

Today is the design reveal for the April "A touch of refinement" kit. C'est Magnifique kits always has terrific kit and this one is no exception. The colours are so vintage and versatile this month! With the Riddersholm "Fall flea market" collection you can scrap boys, girls, couples, babies - anything works with these colours!

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Up first is a layout of my daughter when she was an infant. Heavy distressing, beautiful flowers plus a little cheesecloth from my stash adds a bit of texture to this shabby chic layout. The pretty resin butterfly is in the main kit (along with any more :)

Here is a picture of me (in the middle) with my cousins on New Year's Eve - over 30 years ago! This kit has such a great mix of flowers to complement the vintage colours of the papers. Some gorgeous chipboard in the embellishment add-on too! I inked the frame with the chalk ink from the main kit and then added crackle gloss over top. I also inked a doily from my stash to add texture to this layout.

Here is a casual shot of my hubby, back when we were dating. I used gesso and inked some corrugated cardboard with the pale blue chalk ink in the kit - again adding texture to my layout. I even placed some cardboard behind the wood pieces in the kit. A few "manly" flowers from the add-ons too.

Lastly for today, a folded 4"x4" kirigami gift box made with 2 of the kit papers and topped with embellishments from several of the add-ons this month. Here is a link to my TUTORIAL on how to make a kirigami box.

Here is a peek at the pretty main kit this month...

I think used all but one kind of the flowers (so far) from this beautiful add-on...

Don't forget to check out all of the C'est Magnifique designer creations today!  I will be back on April 1st with my sketch layout so stay tuned!

It's never too late to add chipboard!

It's never too late to add Dusty Attic chipboard to a project. Have you ever looked back at some of the first layouts you ever created and thought "not a bad START but..."? That's how I feel about a lot of my first projects. These two that I'm sharing today begged me to polish them up. I updated each of them with an extra background paper layer, tons of beautiful Dusty Attic chipboard, plus a few other embellishments too.

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I spattered the chipboard with 3 fabulous Dusty Attic paints.

Dusty Attic products added: 

Leafy frame set (DA0605)

Big bro title (DA0172)

Mini scrolls (DA0685)

Bridal veil blooms (DA0805)

Navajo white paint (DA0903)

Faded denim paint (DA0913)

Mountain meadow paint (DA0916)

Some of the most common things we do as new scrapbookers is put limited layers and few textures or details on our layouts. Often our design concept/composition is good but we fail to add the extras that turn them from flat to fabulous. I was no exception to this when I started this hobby (almost 5 years ago!). A few simple changes can drastically improve the look of your project.

I painted and stamped over all of the chipboard pieces.

Dusty Attic products used:

Corner flourish #3 (DA0623)

Monarch Butterfly (DA0819)

Baroque corners (DA0543)

Navajo white paint (DA0903)

I know you're curious how those projects looked before I updated them so here is a peek.

One good thing about being a "newbie" scrapper was the fact that I had poor adhesive and cheap sticker letters - so it made some things very easy to remove from these layouts.

20% off SALE at C'est Magnifique!

March Madness - 20% Off Storewide!

What has happened to Leslie? Has she gone crazy?
Perhaps she's gone mad.......March Madness, that is!
Shop in our Store this weekend and take
20% off your entire purchase.

EVERYTHING in the Store is included in this discount,
including Clearance Items.

Please use the following code in the "Coupon Code" area at Checkout:
20off

This sale is valid through Monday, March 24th.

Have fun shopping and enjoy your weekend!

C'est Magnifique April kit sneak peek

Here is a sneak peek at the amazing C'est Magnifique April 2014 kit.  Some beautiful kit add-ons were revealed this week!  You'll have to wait until March 31st to see the main kit contents, and the design team project reveal, but for now you can drool over these...

THE PAPERS

THE FLOWER ADD-ON

THE EMBELLISHMENT ADD-ON

THE MIXED MEDIA ADD-ON

Something Tattered and Dusty Attic Sketch

I'm here to share with you a special project I made using some gorgeous Something Tattered Stamps and Dusty Attic chipboard - a match made in heaven! I started off by using a script stamp from the French Script "PARIS" stamp set on my white background. After adding a few layers of burlap and papers it was time to embellish. All of these papers were old stuff in my stash and the only one I know for sure is that the beautiful green die cut is from Basic Grey. The picture is of my husband with his mom and step-father (taken the day after my wedding in the Bahamas :)

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In the top corner I used some butterfly stamps from the French "MARS" (March) stamp set on white cardstock and fussy cut them out, then mounted with small foam adhesive. The Dusty Attic chipboard around the picture are corners from the "LEAFY" frame set. I splattered them with Dusty Attic "NAVAJO" white and "PESTO" green acrylic paint.

The "HAPPY MEMORIES" chipboard title was painted white gesso and stamped using the brand new "SWIRLS" stamp set.

Here is the Dusty Attic sketch challenge for March, I rotated it as per below.

Don't forget to enter the monthly DUSTY ATTIC sketch challenge for a chance to WIN SOME CHIPBOARD!

French Script "PARIS" stamp set on my white background

 French "MARS" (March) stamp set on white cardstock and fussy cut butterflies out

"SWIRLS" stamp set on chipboard title

C'est Magnifique March GIVEAWAY!

The owner of C'est Magnifique Kits is very generous with her blog readers. Each month, Leslie gathers up the bits and pieces from her current kit, and offers to send them to one of her followers.

It's easy to enter Leslie's giveaway - but you need to enter directly on the C'est Magnifique blog. 

The giveaway will close at midnight on March 12th. The winner, selected by a random draw on the C'est Magnifique blog, will be announced the following day. Good luck to all who enter the draw!

C'est Magnifique Sketch Challenge

Back today to share my layout created with the C'est Magnifique March Sketch, using one of my favourite Blue Fern papers from the March kit. I added some punched out white butterflies, but otherwise everything is from the main kit and add-ons. Really gorgeous embellishments this month! I used the awesome pink Art Anthology spray in the main kit to alter the chipboard.

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This is the inspirational sketch for March.

Don't forget to enter your interpretation of this beautiful sketch for a chance to win a fantastic prize! See details on the C'est Magnifique blog. Here is a peek at the main prize (there is also a chance to win a store gift certificate too!).

C'est Magnifique MARCH Kit Reveal!

It's reveal day and I have more to share today of my creations made with the C'est Magnifique "Between Winter and Spring" March kit. I just can't get enough of this amazing kit!

Up first is a blend of the Blue Fern and UHK paper in the kit - a match made in heaven! The large white flowers are handmade using leftover fabric wedding petals and some lace my grandma gave me (see my Lace Rose TUTORIAL). I also used a bit of cheesecloth from my stash to add softness and texture to this layout. Don't you just love the blue flowers and chipboard in this kit?

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Next is a tall gift box I made using an easy template I found online. I added a little cream seam binding (from the C'est Magnifique store). The Blue Fern paper is so gorgeous!

This is the template I used and my "unit" measurement was 1.75 inches.

Lastly for today, an altered headband using the beautiful lace and flowers in the main kit (my daughter begged me to make this when she spotted the lace). I want another one of those lace collars!

Can you believe I still have another project to share with you tomorrow using the monthly sketch? Also, after all of the projects I posted this week... I still have plenty of leftovers from my kit to make at least 2 more projects! This kit is so full. Hmm... now to find more time to create, LOL. Oh and here is a peek at the main kit this month...

Look at all the pretty treasures to play with!

And I always get the flower add-on too!

See you back here tomorrow for the sketch reveal!

Dusty Attic Project for FEB

I'm here to share my February Dusty Attic project using the gorgeous new "string of hearts frame set" (DA1017). I just adore this beautiful chipboard. I also used some letters from the "mini ABC set upper" (DA0861) to for the XOXO title that I set in the largest heart.

I had this picture of my daughter as a baby (in an old frame) and decided it was a perfect size for this kind of "frame" layout. As you can see... I am still in the Valentine's spirit too. Pink is my favourite colour to scrap and this picture was actually taken on Valentine's day 2009! The beautiful paper and flowers were all purchased from C'est Magnifique.

EASY TEXTURED CHIPBOARD TECHNIQUE

1. I built up the frame with two layers of thick gesso, pouncing a stiff brush to leave peaks of gesso (and drying completely between the layers applied).

2. Next, I sprayed with a peachy pink mist, from a distance, to lightly coat the chipboard.

3. Dark pink mist was randomly applied, but this one was sprayed very close - to have it pool around the gesso peaks. The peaks act like a resist to give a nice rippled textured effect.

4. On the letters I simply primed them with white gesso and then applied glass bead gel.

String of hearts frame set (DA1017) - largest piece was used

Mini ABC set upper (DA0861) - used for the XOXO title

First look at March projects for C'est Magnifique

I'm sharing just a few little peeks at some of my creations made with the C'est Magnifique March kit. This kit is one of my favourites to date and there are so many beautiful treasures to play with.

A toddler napping in a stroller IS a perfect moment. Just look at the gorgeous Prima embellishments in this kit that perfectly match the gorgeous Blue Fern papers! I added a few doilies from my stash to extend the pretty lace paper that I fussy cut.

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Next up is a layout made combing the UHK and Blue Fern papers. The collections blend so well together! Again, I added a doily on here to add a bit of texture. I fell in love with this stock image and had to use it for a display layout (for my fireplace mantle this Spring). The lush flowers are from the add-on.

I couldn't resist using my scraps (from the previous 2 layouts) to make a little card too. I added a few little leaves around the flowers (from the flower add-on) to frame the cute little bird graphic. The pearl gems can be found in the embellishment add-on for March.

Well, that's all I'm showing you for today so be sure to check out the full design team reveal on February 28th. You'll be amazed at how versatile this kit is - "see" you soon!

C'est Magnifique MARCH Preview

Here is a sneak peek at the amazing C'est Magnifique March kit. Some beautiful kit add-ons were revealed this week! You'll have to wait until February 28th to see the main kit contents but for now you can drool over these...

click on images for larger views 

THE PAPERS 

THE FLOWERS

THE EMBELLISHMENTS

THE MIXED MEDIA

I'll be back on February 26th to reveal 2 project sneaks made with this kit. The full reveal is on February 28th from the entire C'est Magnifique design team.

Something Tattered Valentine Project

Happy Valentine's Day! I'm here to share a cute little project created with Something Tattered Stamps - a treat bag that I will fill today (for my kids to have an after dinner surprise). I first stamped a plain pink craft bag with the brand new POWDER antique wallpaper stamp, added some distressed Prima paper, and then cut a hole through the front of the bag.

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Next, I used 2 stamps from the French AMOUR stamp set just below the circle and added clusters of Green Tara flowers around the opening. The final touch was glueing some old plastic Prima packaging to create a peek-a-boo "window" in my bag (the white words were already on there!).

Here is a look at the gorgeous Something Tattered stamp sets I used for my gift bag project.

Be sure to check out the Something Tattered Blog today to see what the rest of the design team has created in celebration of "Love Day".

FEB Dusty Attic Sketch (and Prima PPP)

The large Dusty Attic skeleton clock face (DA0430) is my all-time favourite chipboard piece and I never tire of finding ways to use it. I paired the gorgeous clock with a word "eternally" from the word pack #2 (DA0476) and lots of pretty Prima papers and flowers (using the Prima PPP as inspiration). The picture was taken 12 years ago on my wedding day - seems like yesterday!

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I used the gorgeous sketch created by Nadia - one of our incredibly talented Dusty DT members!

Here is a close-up of the clock finish.

EASY DISTRESSED LOOK TIP:

Using Ranger Distress ink in "pumice", I randomly pressed the ink pad onto the clock leaving some bare chipboard exposed (and then let it soak in and dry completely).

Next, I used Ranger Distress ink in "black soot" and did the same as above - very randomly. It is THAT EASY! I have tried using other inks (like chalk ink) but cannot achieve the same look... they just all blend together and look bland.

Here is the beautiful Prima PPP palette for February.