C'est Magnifique June Kit Reveal

Hi everyone. 

Before I show you my latest creations, I wish to tell you that I am taking a break from everything for a while. This will be my last post for a while. I am not at my best right now and unfortunately we are dealing with a major health issue within our extended family and my mind and heart are not on scrapping or blogging etc. I hope everything will be OK, but I have made some decisions in regards to Design Teams etc etc and although something very big will be announced soon, I have decided to take some time off from other commitments. I am sorry that I will be missing in action or not answering your emails etc for a while. Please understand when I am ready I will come back but for now I ask you to please understand me as you always do.  Thank so much ..

A beautiful kit has just been released at C'est Magnifique kit club and I am here today to show you my remaining layouts I created with this kit and the add ons. 

To find out how you can join the club please see here. 

To purchase this month's kit please see the store HERE where you will find some of these kits and add ons still available. 

Created with the main kit contents only

* This layout is of my youngest daughter Ioanna. I named it sunshine because this is what she brings into my life. It sounds cliche but its true. 

* I used Fiskars Scalloped Banner punch to create the banner 

* I also fussy cut a lot of the designs printed on the papers to create intricate details. 

* I used 2 masks to create an interesting background with the brick mask and the chicken wire mask and the ink that comes in the kit and gesso

* I inked the Maya Road canvas buttons with a brown ink before layering them amongst the other circles around my picture. 

 * I captured this image, of my daughter first in line with her teacher walking back to class after morning assembly. She won an award that day but this is the image I see everyday..her walking away with her class and each morning I miss her more and more

From The Main kit

* Megs Garden - SPring Flowers paper

* Prima wood tickets sun kiss

* Bo Bunny Country garden combo stickers

* maya Road skinny mini spools

From The flower add on 

* Prima Buckskin Laredo Flowers

From The Embellishment Add On

* Pink Paislee Spring Jubilee Tags

* American crafts Chestnut Thickers

* Bo Bunny Country garden Noteworthy Die Cuts

* Megs Garden - lace Doilies

 **For this layout I went down another direction in regards to colour. 

**I decided to use the neutral colours of the papers together with the greens to add some colour. 

**I used many of the die cuts here to create a layered look at the back of the photo. 

From The Main Kit

* Les Papiers de Pandore - Etiquettes and Pique Nique papers

* Bo Bunny Country Garden combo stickers

* Maya Road - Canvas buttons

* May Arts - Checked Ribbon

* Maya Road - skinny mini spools

From the Flower Add On

* Petaloo Forget me Nots

* Manor House Creations - Marguerite /sugar and spice combo

* Prima Sunkissed Vinetta Flowers

From The Embellishment Add on

* Bo Bunny Country Garden Noteworthy Die Cuts

* Prima large window closers

* Megs garden - Lace doilies

This layout is of my 2 girls and their cousins who visited us recently. 

* I used a lot of flowers here to overlap too once again create a garden scene under the opening windows combined with the grass cluster and the fence. 

From The Main Kit

* Les papiers de Pandore - Ouvrages en cours paper

* Petaloo - Frosted Roses

* Dusty Attic - Grass Cluster

* Wrights - two tiered lace

* Want2Scrap - Jumbo Brown Bling

From The Flower Add On

* Manor House Creations - Marguerite /Sugar & Spice combo

From The Embellishment Add On

* Prima large window closers

* Fabscraps - Picket fence

May Giveaway **WINNER*

Thank you all for taking part in my giveaway in May. 

The winner is..

116. Julia (Russia)  

CONGRATULATIONS! Can you please email me at nadiac78@hotmail.com to claim your prize? 

Thanks so much everyone!

Wishing You Happiness - Imaginarium Designs DT work

Hey everyone. How was your weekend? Mine was nothing short of eventful to say the least. Seriously feels like I am chasing my tail every single week. Does it ever end? LOL! I have to laugh..because if I think about things too long I will start crying so I better not go there. Anyway..things could be far more worse so ..let's just enjoy that we are alive yet one more day right? Like the song playing on my blog right now says, its a wonderful world...It is !

So I made this small canvas a little while back for Imaginarium Designs. It was shown on the blog yesterday and I can now show it to you here. 

This canvas is only small...about 10cm x 10cm and it is a gift for someone who is turning 18 in a couple of months. 

I simply applied gesso in random places on the base of the canvas. 

I then used a Prima mask and brown paint to create the floral pattern on the left hand side corner, while also applying gauge in random places in the center. 

 I had a scrap piece of paper from a Prima collection which I punched with a border punch and used it as the first layer. 

Tips for using the chipboard: apply gesso, then dab light coloured ink and with your fingers run a darker paint in random places on the chipboard. Finish with a coat of Glossy Accents.

Once the chipboard was dry,  I then layered it together with my flowers on top of each other finishing with the title. To adhere the title to the flower I simply used strong glue in the spot that touch the flower and pressed down till for a few minutes. 

You can find all the chipboard pieces I used at the Imaginarium Designs website HERE

IDP00036 Wishing you Happiness

IDC0003 Corners with 4 Circles

IDS00012 Penny Farthing

Other supplies

Prima Marketing: Flowers, mask, paper

Webster's Pages: blue trim

Miscellaneous : gauge, ink, liquid pearls

Hope you like this :) 

Hope you have a lovely week everyone! 

Bye for now, Nadia. 

C'est Magnifique & Color Stories Inspiration Week 4

Today is the last day that the Design Team from C'est Magnifique were invited to play along with the current challenge at Color Stories Inspiration. 

This layout is for Case File #21 

Here is the Case File

And here is the way I solved it:
Evidence: doilies, flowers, wavy border, layers
Testimony: Journal about a relationship (hidden journalling behind the photo)

Materials List from Handmade By Suzanne

 **My Mind's Eye - Follow Your Heart Collection

*** Martha Stewart Punch Around The Edge - Swirling Lace to create the border. 

**Kaisercraft - Wooden Flourishes Frames

**Kaisercraft - Paper Blooms Coconut

**Ribbon 1mm Jute Cord - Hot Pink Super Fine Jute cord 

Here are some close ups

** I cut out the insides of the hexagons as they just looked too dense to place them down on the page.I also wanted the large doily to stand out from underneath. 

* I then used the cut out bits to create layers by using 3D dots to place them on top of some random hexagons. 

 **Here I used lots of flowers and layered them on top of each other. One of my fave techniques these days is to dab matching ink or other mixed media product on my flowers and other embellies to blend them in with the rest of the colours. You do not need very much and there is no great technique to this. You can use your fingers, or a tissue or a sponge (yes ..I just use a clean kitchen sponge) or even just dab it on with the actual ink container. I use the small ink containers and for me, the older they are the better they are to use as they have dried up a little which gives a softer finish.

**When I first started scrapping, I remember that I placed embellishments everywhere and wanted the entire embellishment to "show" . AS time went on I realised you get a better look when your embellishment "peeks" at you, just like the Kaisercraft frame behind the photo. You can just see it, and the chipboard sticker under it and the doily. By doing this, your focus stays on the picture I think. Once upon a time, the frame would have taken center stage on my layout. Nothing wrong with that and I still do it quite often but on a busy layout like this clustering elements together helps to bring out the picture more ... I hope! LOL!

**I wrote my journalling on a left over piece of paper and tucked it behind my photo documenting the relationship between my daughters. Wishing they always stay close. On this day Maria had earned her first ever award at school earlier this year and although all that is lost on Ioanna a little bit, I want to believe that they will go on to be each others biggest fans and be happy for each other. Here's hoping anyway :)

Its been a blast creating for Debbi at CSI and I urge you to play along and get involved in the awesome community there. 

Take care everyone and have an awesome weekend. 

Cosmo Cricket + Handmade By Suzanne Part 2

Just sharing with you one more layout created with Cosmo Cricket's Evangeline collection that was in my DT kit from Handmade By Suzanne this month. 

Materials List

From Handmade By Suzanne

Cosmo Cricket Evangeline : Double sided paper Rose 

Cosmo Clicket Evangeline: Ready Set Chipboard Stickers

Kaisercraft: Paper Blooms - Buttercup

Prima Marketing: Manette Antique Flowers 

Melissa Frances : Resin Embellishments - Angels 

American Crafts: DIY Thickers - Jewelry Box

American Crafts: Pop Micro Beads - Gold

Canvas Corp: Mini Clothes Pegs - Natural

Canvas Corp: Mini Craft Bags 

Ranger: Liquid Pearls Bisque

Other

Imaginarium Designs Chipboard: Heart Top Fence

Spellbinders Nestabilities: Lacey Circles dies

***I was sent some of the new American Crafts DIY Thickers which were so easy to use and have endless possibilities. I have used them in my title here. 

** Although I used only 1 sheet of patterned paper, I was able to do a lot of fussy cutting to create layers combined with flowers and the chipboard stickers from the Evangeline collection 

* Have you checked out the Canvas Corp collection at Handmade By Suzanne? Well they have these gorgeous envelopes and pegs which are just PERFECT for hidden journalling or when you just can't fit your journaling anywhere. They are SO economical too and they come in packs of 25! 

*As you all know I love journalling but sometimes it just doesn't fit or I don't have time to print it out. So I am loving these little pockets :)

In case you didn't know this is my youngest Ioanna, when she was about 1. Always was, and always will be cute no matter how old she gets and in my journalling I have written her a little note about all the cute attributes of her personality. 

Now, don't forget about the sketch challenge at Handmade By Suzanne. You will find more inspiration in the gallery HERE  and the prize is a cool $30.00 (inc free postage) to spend at the store! I designed the sketch this month and this is what it looks like!

Hope you get a chance to play along :)

Take care everyone!

Cosmo Cricket + Handmade By Suzanne

Hi everyone. Hoping you are well. All is good here :)

This month I was sent the colorful Evangeline collection from Cosmo Cricket to work with for Handmade By Suzanne as well as some other gorgeous Prima flowers and Melissa Frances embellishments. 

Today I am sharing with you the 1st of 3 layouts I created with my DT kit. 

"The Sun Always Rises. The Storm Always Passes"

 Materials List

Cosmo Cricket Evangeline : Double sided paper - Calligraphy, Tapestry , Dendelion 

Cosmo Clicket Evangeline: Ready Set Chipboard Stickers

Kaisercraft: Paper Blooms - Buttercup

Prima Marketing: Manette Antique Flowers 

ZVA Creative: pearl flourish 

Melissa Frances : Resin Embellishments - Angels 

My Favorite Things: High Tea Doily die

Martha Stewart Crafts : Punch Around The Page punch - Cherish, Punch Around The Page punch - Vintage Flower,  Deep Edger Punch - Daisy Fan

Here's hoping all your storms pass too :)

Wishing you happiness always!

See you soon, Nadia 

Color Stories Inspiration (CSI) and C'est Magnifique Week 3

Hi everyone! Hope you are well. 

C'est Magnifique kit club is sponsoring Color Stories Inspiration (CSI) for the month of May and our Design Team was invited to play along with the challenges all month long as Guest Designers. I have said it before..I am initially a touch restricted and anxious when I have to create around specific colours but Debbi's Case Files have so much room for interpretation that by the end I am not thinking about the colour at all. It became pretty easy for me in the end and I ended up creating all 4 pages in just a couple of days! 

So Case File #20 just went live and this is what it looks like...

Here is my layout based on this case. 

This is the way I solved it..

Evidence: stitching, white space, staggered heights (the way the design staggers up from the cogs at the bottom to the top right hand side corner

Testimony: Say 4 Important things about the subject (Me! But my journalling is very personal here and it is written at the back of the layout)

* Here I used The Crafter's Workshop 6x6 Mini Chicken Wire Reversed template  and some ink to create the chicken wire pattern. 

* I also used a Prima mask on the corners together with some ink to create the flourish design. 

* I used some Imaginarium Designs cogs which I very roughly covered in brown ink and then after I stuck them down, placed some gauze on them and dabbed with gesso. I also did this for the flowers above it . 

* Once again for my title I inked the letters roughly with a couple of different shades of brown and then dabbed some gesso on it. 

Hope I have inspired you somewhat to try and give this one a go. 

I hope you are well. Have a great week coming up!

Love always, Nadia. 

(C'est Magnifique June Kit) In This World Of Loneliness ...

..I see your face. 

These are the lyrics from the song that is playing on my blog right now by Leona Lewis called "Bleeding Love" 

Before my daughters, I used to love listening to any sort of music. Even ones that did not relate to me. I still do, expect now all the songs that I listen to that have to do with love , I relate to my daughters. I look for something in every song that talks about my love for them and then I instantly attach that song with some memory. "Bleeding Love" (the lyrics are HERE ) ..well..it intertwines 2 experiences in my life. Having my children , who I am SO passionate about and ...losing the one I lost last year. Sometimes..the world can be a very lonely place which is so stranger because there over 6 billion of us sharing this planet. But some days..no one at all understands! No one is there..everyone is busy. Some days it feels like nobody cares. I am just SO lucky to have these 2 children that I have because..they are always there. Anyway...just feeling melancholy today..

So this next layout is my first one using the June kit from C'est Magnifique. Leslie has uploaded most of it at the store HERE but you must be quick because these kits go FAST. The full reveal will be on June 1st but at the store you will be able to see what it looks like and here is a sneak from one of my layouts I have created..

* I created a garden scene for my 2 girls here since the photo is taken outdoors in our garden. 

* The chipboard has been inked with white ink and the edges with brown ink. 

* I turned the yellow rose ribbon in the Flower Add On into a flower 

From The Main Kit

* Le Papiers de Pandore : Secrets, Pique-nique papers

* Maya Road canvas buttons

*Dusty Attic Grass Cluster

* Wrights two tiered lace

*Want2Scrap Jumbo brown bling

From The Flower Add On

* Petaloo forget-me-nots

* American Crafts rose ribbon

* Manor House Creations Margurite /Sugar & Spice combo

From The embellishment Add On

* American Crafts Chestnut Thickers

* Bo Bunny Country Garden Noteworthy Die Cuts

* Fabscraps Picket fence

Don't forget to check out the May Sketch challenge at C'est Magnifique HERE

 Have a wonderful day everyone. I wish you all the best in whatever you are doing :)

Handmade By Suzanne May Sketch!

Hi everyone! 

I have taken over sketch designing duties at Handmade By Suzanne as of this month and I couldn't be happier. I am addicted to designing sketches and if you like the look of my sketches or like working with a sketch then head on over to the gallery HERE where you  will find lots more inspiration on how to use this sketch. This one is actually an older sketch of mine, but future ones will be brand new :)

The sketch challenge ends May 31st and the RANDOMLY drawn winner will receive $30.00 to spend in the store, which includes FREE shipping. 

Here is the sketch..

and my take on it..

Firstly let me say I am having issues with taking shots of my layouts and I need to trim a lot of the edges. Not sure what is happening there but anyway, I had to play with this a lot and still didnt get it right. 

Secondly, I am sorry for using the same picture of my little girl. I just love it and I love HER and I have printed out many so ...sorry in advance! 

Lastly, because of the issues with my camera the angle of this shot is all wrong and the title and butterfly surely do not it on top of the photo!! Arrgggghhhh  As I said it was the best I could do!

I have used the gorgeous Sweet Nothings collection from Kaisercraft here, together with some of their pearl swirls, die cuts, title and flowers.

While I am showing you this Sweet Nothings creation I created this next layout while I had everything out on my desk. This is for the challenge over at the Kaisercraft blog, sketch challenge #1

OK so THIS shot is different LOL! She is actually looking the other way here so it doesnt classify as the same photo. 

Hope you all have a creative week! I sure am..gotta work on something big so I might disappear for a few days. 

Oh and did you know I am having a DT call over at my challenge blog Once Upon A...Sketch ? Hope you go for it :)

Bye for now. 

Berry71Bleu Guest Designer

Hello and HAPPY Mother's Day for those who celebrate it today. We had a pretty awesome and quiet day and visited both our mums all afternoon. 

Sunday night here now. A bit depressing but a nice end to the a really good weekend of relaxing! 

This month, my awesome friend Gerry Van Gent and I were invited to be Guest Designers by our other frined Marivic Clifton for her etsy shop Berry71Bleu. You can check out the blog HERE  (I dont know what she did to my pic but gee some editing can make you look awesome LOL! Thanks Marivic!!)

As you might recall, from here onward I will be a sponsored designer for Berry71Bleu and Marivic's other etsy shop Zeus and Zoe  and I had a number of wonderful one-off things sent to me by Marivic PLUS some gorgeous tags. SO to start with, I am the Guest Designer there this month and each month there is a wonderful challenge set by the Design Team..

This month, the challenge was set by Amanda and in honor of Mother’s Day I am centering the challenge around your favorite quote/poem/song about Mother’s. I created this layout but didnt exactly use a quote about  mums but rather a quote about my daughter. 

Journalling reads : I look at you and time stands still. I think of a million things at once. Mainly how much I love you and want you followed straight after by the thought you could be my last baby. This makes me cherish you. 

Everything you see here, except the chipboard window frame, is from  Zeus and Zoe . 

Here is a close up of a Berry71Bleu tag by Marivic!

 Here I used a Kaisercraft rub on quote and My Favorite Things Rounded Banner Trio die. The papers were also part of the kit and the printed paper is vellum which I sewed onto the thicker paper underneath.

I also made a card using one of the tags.. 

All the flowers and embellishments you see are actually part of the tag. All I added here was the paper, alphas and small flower. 

SO check out the challenge HERE 

Les Papiers de Pandore. Scrapbooking papers from France has provided us beautiful prize from their new collection called "The scent of Camelias" 

Visit their website HERE.

Another winner will receive this prize pack from Zeus and Zoe and Berry71bleu Etsy Shops: 

C'est Magnifique and CSI - Week 2

C'est Magnifique kit club are sponsoring Color Stories Inspiration for the month of May and due to this sponsorship the Design Team from C'est Magnifique were asked to be Guest Designers at Color Stories Inspiration. 

Here is my layout for Case File No19 .

 This photo was taken on January 1st this year, at my niece's beach party. I was extremely tired as you might recall we had New Year's Eve at my place the night before and we were leaving for Melbourne the next day. But I really wanted to be there for my niece as we are her God parents and also these are really special moments that all the cousins will cherish. I vividly remember growing up in Greece, being at the beach all day with my cousins. Life was good. Life was easy and I am afraid little kids these days are through into the harsh realities of the world way too soon. Its not fair. But it is what it is. But where I can I want to provide life lasting memories of an unbelievable childhood for my kids. I still feel all warm in my heart when I think of those days. This is what I explained in my journalling in this layout. 

And here is the Case File

The elements I have used from the Evidence are : rosettes, book papers, circles

The elements I have used from the Testimony are:  Make a little book that opens (this is the rolled up paper which includes my journalling) 

 **To make the rosette, I used My Favorite Things 1/4 Rosette Die 

* I also used My Favorite Things Rounded Banner Trio die to create the banner

** I used a mixture of Kaisercraft, Green Tara and Prima Marketing flowers

* I used Ranger Liquid Pearls - Bisque to add detail to the edges of some elements and embellishments. 

** Here is a rolled up Paper Layer from Glitz Design - Vintage Blue collection, where I wrote my journalling and secured to the paper with semi permanent glue and ribbon. 

Thank you so much Debbi for having us at CSI this month :)

I hope you get the chance to play along everyone. You will find all the information and get more inpiration from the other Design Team member's HERE 

Hope you have a great Mother's Day weekend! What am I doing? Well I told hubby if he loves me to let relax and take it easy! I am not interested in going anywhere flashy ..I am not interested in going anywhere at all. I am pretty tired lately and the most IDEAL Mother's Day celebration for me is to stay home, with my children and be happy and relaxed doing fun things. Besides..for me it is Mother's Day every single day and I sure do not get caught up on these days at all. Not into them much. Don't want presents or fancy things or a big deal made about it. I sure hope that I have taught my girls to love and  cherish me as much as I love and cherish them EVERY day of the year..not just this one. These are notions I have taken from my mum..she believes strongly that motherhood should be celebrated every day and never her self wanted gifts from us. She just wanted our love...and she has it. My mum has dedicated her entire life to us and still does so at age 65...SO to my mum..

And to my self I dedicate these quotes..

(LOL! So true!!) 

And then this...because after I read it, it changed my way of thinking..

And finally..

Hope you have a great one no matter what it is you are doing everyone :)