Sep 29, 2019

EVERYDAY DOCUMENTING - CItrus Twist Kits



Hi there!
It has been so busy lately in our household, between work, the kids and every day life,  but having the Life Crafted Album and the September kits at hand have made it easier to be able to record my memories on  a daily basis.




It is no secret that i love large titles, so i reached for the Spencer Stamp set and used it to create my title in different papers of the Explore kit, and fussy cut them to create my title.  I chose the navy paper from the Add-on kit as it will show tall the papers nicely.




I chose to mat a piece of the wood grain paper from the Explore kit on a colorful paper from the Add-on kit.   Then used a few stickers to embellish the page, as I wanted the picture and story to stand out.




For my next page, i used a combination of papers from the Explore and Add-on kit.  Since I was stamping onto papers, i chose to do the same for this page, and stamped my title on  one of the Explore kit papers and fussy cut it.




I worked with layers for this layout, and added one of the ephemera pieces under the beautiful typewritten teal paper.  Then added the title on a block and added a layer of embellishments to complete my title page.





I continue to work on layers on the other side of the page, and chose to use branding stripe as a layer behind the paper, and then layered ephemera in a cluster behind the picture.  All those clear stickers on the Add on kit can easily pop on  page once you add them to white cardstock and fussy cut them. 

I love how easy this came together, and honestly it  took no time to put them together with the September 2019 Citrus Twist Kits.  Make sure you check them out!

XO

Sep 23, 2019

THE 2 OF YOU - Scrapbook Nerd



Hi there!

It is time for our monthly Sketch Challenge over at Scrapbook Nerd, and this month's sketch is a playful and simple one that will make you pull scraps of different patterned papers to construct your page.




I love the quilted look on the background of the page, so i chose to stay close to the sketch when creating my page, and decided to use the Spoonful of Soul collection from Jillibean to create this page.



The background uses 2" squares from various papers from the collection.  Once i glued on the page, i used simple hand stitching to join them together, and curl t he edges of the papers a bit.





For the picture, i added layers of the same papers behind it, and added clusters of embellishments (all from the collection) along with feather cut outs; these were created using a cut file from Handipaper and then painted gold with Shimmer watercolor from Prima Marketing.




I chose to keep the location of the title and lines of journal as in the sketch, and used bold black alphas (Shine On collection- Amy Tan) for this.  A few splatters of gold and black ink complete the page.




Stop by the Scrapbook Nerd Shop to check all the materials used in this page, and check the sketch in the Scrapbook Nerd Friends and Family page on Facebook.

As always  do not hesitate to contact me with any questions!

XO

JOY - Simple Stories






Hi there!
Nathalie with you today with a new layout that is all about the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas!  The new Country Christmas collection from Simple Stories is perfect to document all those memories of Christmas passed, just wait till you see all the details on the papers and embellishments.




I wanted to have a large focus for this page, so i chose to paper piece a poinsettia bough on the page.  For this, I pulled two cut files from Just Nick Studio and used them to build  the centerpiece on my page.




I cut the Poinsettia from the 4x6 elements  and Joyous Noel papers; for the flower's leaves i chose a paper from the Basic paper pack, and cut the Pineneedle boughs from Good Cheer and Holiday Greetings papers.




I assemble the flowers together, and then used foam adhesive behind the pieces to add a bit of dimension to the page.    I chose the Winter Wishes Paper as the background for the page as it contrasted and complemented the colors of the flowers nicely.




The chipboard frames that are included in this collection are amazing as they already have embellishments on them, so all i had to do was add the picture behind it, and nestled it in the flowers.  A few small embellishments complete the look.




To finish the page, i trimmed a bit of the borders and glued it to the Scarlet/Dots paper from the Basic pack,then used chipboard and a few stickers to create the title at the bottom right corner of the page.  A few drops of gold ink complete the page.



I hope this inspires you to check the new Simple Stories' Country Christmas collection, i am sure you are going to love it !!






Sep 20, 2019

ALTENEW | REFRESH YOUR WATERCOLOR BRUSH MARKERS BLOG HOP + GIVEAWAY


Hi there!
welcome to the Altenew REFRESH YOUR WATERCOLOR BRUSH MARKERS BLOG HOP + GIVEAWAY . You are arriving from The Hedgehog Hollow's blog (a list of all the participants is available at the bottom of this post).

Today Altenew is releasing Refill bottles for their popular Watercolor Brush Markers.  I am so excited to work with this small containers of joy that i decided to use them to create a set of cards and a layout.  Let's get started:




For these cards, I started by clear embossing the Ornate Foliage images on heavy cardstock using Altenew's White Embossing Powder and Ink.  Once the images were ready to color, i pulled Sea Breeze, Misty Moutain,, Lagoon, and Emerald refills to detail the flowers.





Coloring the images took some time, as i wanted to be detailed with each image.  All it took was a few drops of the Watercolors to detail each petal.




First a wash of the color to the petal, followed by extra pure watercolor to some areas to create depth and dimension.




While the images dried, i worked on the card pannels.  I chose Warm Sunshine to create the background of this card on Mixed Media paper.  Then stamped a sentiment from the Weekend Doodle Stamp Set with Black Obsidian ink and added one of the images with foam adhesive.



For this card pannel, i used the Silver refill to create a soft ombre effect on the background.  Here i added a sentiment from the Weekend Doodles Stamp set with Black Obsidian ink.  This time,  i clustered the two images together at the bottom right edge of the card.     you can see how the cards came together in the upcoming video:





 Just love how these turned out, the Watercolor marker refills are such a perfect medium to color images away.


Now onto my scrapbook layout:




For this page, i started by creating the large mandala image on white cardstock using the Floral Mandala Stencil with Altenew embossing paste.  I mixed a bit of Rubellite and Fresh Lemon refills to the paste to bring color to the impression.





While the paste dried, i started to recreate the color of the sky and water in the background using Lagoon, Dusk and Turquoise Refills and the packaging.  I am impressed at the vibrancy of the watercolor.




To assemble the page, I used the mandala impression as my grounding point and placed it on the left side of the page.   I added two pictures of a recent vacation around the mandala, and then chose embellishments from the Reflections and Live Your Dream collection to complement the pictures.




This was so much fun to put  together, using the watercolor marker refills, and i hope  they inspire you to check them out and use the promotion Altenew is having on their Watercolor Marker Ultimate Bundle this weekend:


Enjoy $50 OFF the Watercolor Marker Ultimate Bundle from 9/20/2019 at 12:01 AM EDT until 9/21/2019 at 11:59 PM EDT. No code needed to enjoy this deal! Not valid on previous purchases. While supplies last. Shop HERE: https://altenew.com/products/watercolor-marker-ultimate-bundle 


Now it is time for the fun part of this blog hop, GIVEAWAYS:


To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 6 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or Altenew Scrapbook Blog by 9/25/2019 for a chance to win.

Altenew’ll also draw a winner to eceive a $15 gift certificate from the comments left on each designer’s blog on the blog hop list below. All winners will be announced on the Altenew blogs on 9/27/2019.


I hope the projects have inspired you to check the Watercolor Brushes Refills, but it is time to continue to be inspired by visiting Lydia Fiedler's blog. Remember you can always come back here or visit the Altenew Card Blog to start the hop, here is a list of all the participants for your convenience:



Nathalie DeSousa <<< YOU ARE HERE


It is always a pleasure to have you visit my blog, and hope that you have fun hopping around. Remember to contact me if you have questions on how the projects came together.

Til next time!




Sep 18, 2019

AUTUMN LOVE - JustNick Studio




Hi there!
Nathalie with you today with a new layout all about those warm cozy feelings Autumn brings along.   I  usually look forward to Nicole's emails with the new upcoming cut files, so when i saw the new Fall Foliage Background (coming soon to the shop) i just had to use it on a page.

I love Fall colors, so i wanted to highlight them on the page, as the background for the beautiful cut file.



To bring out the details of the cut, i chose to create my own background using VIcki Boutin's Pop Acrylic paints.  I simply masked the cardstock and used a flat brush to create the ombre square on the page.





While the background dried i cut two Fall Foliage  backgrounds ( to fit the colored square) from white cardstock, glued them together, and then glued them to the background.  I made sure some of the leaves were not glued fully together, so that they create interest on the background.




The picture of my babies was converted to black and white and added at the bottom corner of the square.   I used one Leafy Floral cut out to decorate the bottom of the picture along with a few phrase stickers.  Then for the title, i used a combination of alphas and the word "Love" - this was created using the Love 1 cut file from kraft paper-.



I love how this turned out, the boldness of the background creates the perfect canvas for the cut file and makes everything on the page pop.   Remember to check these JustNIck cut files and all the new files that are revealed each week.

Thank you so much for stopping by,

Sep 17, 2019

EVERY DAY DOCUMENTING - Pinkfresh Studio




Hi there!
Nathalie with you today with a few projects all about documenting the everyday moments and those sweet special moments using the beautiful and versatile Office Hours collection.   I have journal my entire life and adding photos to the written lines led me to Traveler's Notebooks and scrapbooking, and now i want to share with you how i used the Office Hours collection in my pages.  Let's get started...



For my first TN entry, i chose to document one of my daily coffee breaks.   I reached for a pocket page to house my journal lines and picture. 




 I love the Busy paper as it gives you perfect 3"x4" cards and journaling spots that can easily be used.  I cut the small clipboard card and added my lines of journal followed by a fussy cut cup of coffee.   To contrast and complement the color, i chose to add accents of blue to the pockets.




To create my title page, i created the word "coffee" using the Adore Alpha Die set and the Organize paper.  The letters were glued to the center of the page followed by the blue mini alphas and a few embellishments from the collection and those beautiful phrase stickers from the Just a Little Lovely collection.  To finish the page, i used the Espresso liquid watercolor and an empty plastic cup to create the coffee rings on the page.  Easy peasy!




Now let me show you what i did with the other side of the pocket page.   My kids are getting ready to go back to school which means lots of reading and work being done ahead of time.   I chose to go with a grid design for this page, and set the pictures on opposite sides of the layout.





I created my journal card by cutting a piece of the Hard work paper and adding stickers to create the title for it.





  For my title card, i used pieces of ephemera and chipboard to add dimension to the card.   So simple and easy to put together with the Office Hours collection.


If you are a messy creative like me, then i am sure you have a few pictures of your craftermath!  This time i decided to enlarge the picture to fit the page and added a few embellishments from the Office Hours collection on it.




   For the other side of the page, i chose to carefully cut the tabs of the Prioritize paper so i can lift them up.   I used a piece of the packaging to add my lines of journal and then glued it to the Fussy cut  tabs. 



Once again, i reached for the ephemera pack to add my title.  Just love how these came together, and you can see how they were built in the following video:




For my second project, i chose to use one of the new cut files (available soon) to create  scrapbook page about my kids first day of school. 




 I chose to separate the floral part of the cut file so i can move it around on the page, and then just used the inside of the note cut file to cut a few notes from the Busy, Plan, and Hard Work papers.



 I scattered the notes on the background (Dreams paper) and then worked on backing all the cut files images using pieces of paper from the entire Office Hours collection.



I added my babies picture to the bottom note,and then used the florals  die cuts to embellish each note.



To create my title, i used a combination of the collection's alphas and then added embellishments throughout the page.  The following video will show you how this page came together:




I hope these inspire you to use the Office Hours collection to document your everyday memories in any format of your choice.  You will love the results!
XO