welcome to gossamer blue

good morning friends... for those of you in the U.S. i hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving celebration.

today i have the sweet pleasure of playing with the november kit from gossomer blue.
have you heard of that kit company before?
well they are a fabulous online scrapbook kit store and i am absolutely swooning over their kits for november.

november2013 main kit

november2013 add-on kit #2

today i want to walk you through what i did to create my layout for their blog.
this layout celebrates our 24th anniversary last month. it also reminds me of how few photos we had taken together this past year. with family and work and maintaining a home, we have found ourselves totally and terribly busy. and we sort of forgot to take care of each other. so this layout reminds me of some goals and plans i have for us this coming new year to make sure we do not only have a few photos of us together.

o.k...on to this little tutorial...

the base starts with the American Craft card stock in stone, with the edges distressed.

the Crate Paper Open Air is then trimmed to fit inside the card stock base, and is also distressed along the edges.

the photo, measuring about 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches, is matted first on a piece of the Gossamer Blue On The Dot that is slightly larger than the photo, and then on a larger piece of the Heidi Swapp Bouquet that measures about 7x5 inches.

using a scallop punch the border was created from the Crate Paper Jenna. two strips were placed under the photo and the photo mat as shown. love how this gives some depth and contrast to the page.

a Dear Lizzy Ribbon photo corner was placed on the top left of the photo as well as top left of the background paper.

stamp 'happy' from the main kit stamp set on a Dear Lizzy wood veneer heart.
layer a Flea Market Chipboard heart over the veneer piece.
place wood veneer arrow on the layout as shown. (note: since i took these photos, i moved the arrow to a different place.)
trim a tag from the Crate Paper Tag Sale, notch end, insert under heart embellishments.
add a clear file tab from the Heidi Swapp Mixed Company Ephemera to the top edge of the photo. from that mix a 'love' tag was notched and tucked under in place.

embellish upper corner with similar elements as around the photo.

as you can see i added a few more embellishments at the end, like the 'today' from the Glitz Design Giant Rhinestone found in the add-on, as well as a vellum piece of ephemera from the Heidi Swapp Mixed Company Ephemera. The arrow from Dear Lizzy Wood Veneer had to find a new home because as I was adding drips of Gold Lame Color Shine, a big o' slotch hit the paper and was not pretty. so i had to cover my mistake...

please go visit Gossamer and order this kit. it is gorgeous with some of the best products found out here right now, and you will find yourself inspired to make lots of pretty stuff.

and as a bonus, visit both Gossamer Blue AND Heidi Swapp's blog to enter and win some of these more than fabulous products.

weekend inspiration #3

o.k...here we go...
a quick fast in a hurry little #weekendinspiration...
because i know you got lots o' baking to do today...

take three different sized paper mache cones found at your local craft store.
a circle punch. (square would actually work too)
and 3 or four patterns of Believe and Color Magic paper.

for my trees i chose the gold pattern side of holly jolly
and the music pattern side of jingle all the way
plus color magic paper colored with both gold lame color shine and metallic gold paint.
using your hot glue gun, apply punched out papers in a row in a random fashion...

then apply a bit of mod podge to the finished trees...
shake on a bit of glitter...
and you have  beautifully decorated trees for your holiday display.
choose any pattern combination that will work for you.
the possiblities are limitless.
and if you have them, let your kiddos help punch out all those circles.
and have a fun time being inspired this holiday weekend.

i will be back later in the weekend to share my december daily. can't wait!!!

weekend inspiration ... delayed

we interupt this series called #weekendinspiration due to an interference...
called LIFE.

 

hello friends...

happy saturday to you all...

the weekend before thanksgiving...

i have been sharing a series called weekend inspiration...

and this was to be week 3.

but life got in the way a little.

my brother in law continues to experience hospital procedures and dr visits and therapy...

oh my...

a little too much to wrap my head around right now.

my 45 year old brother in law, whom i call a good friend in my life, has been fighting for his life over the past year.

exactly a year this coming week.

to follow along with his story i invite you to read his journal here.

in the mean time i share another gift card with you...

just because it is thanskgiving and then christmas following right behind...

does not mean people do not have birthday's this  time of year...

so another of my jumbo layered cards was in order.

this one is a new favorite of mine as it is a mix of many collections and color shine and color magic and hidden messages...

and...

sort of hard to give it away...

but i am happy to at the same time.

 

so here is the challenge...

grab your stash of scraps...

color some papers with color shine...

layer them up...

and have a card ready for the next birthday gift in your life...

i will be back this next week with an official #weekendinspiration as there are a few more ideas i want to share with you.

supplies: (in order from the last to the first)

mixed company pattern: mixed graphic. serendipity pattern lovey dovey. vellum. grey chevron bag: inspire lovely etsy. file tab label stickers. color magic 12x12 paper. enjoy tag: jmpgirl designs. shipping tag clear pop banner delights. resist striped alpha. color pop chipboard moments stickers. seam binding. color shine: blush. 6x6 polka dot stencil.

weekend inspiration #2

welcome to weekend inspiration number 2.
this is my little series this month on friday's sharing projects i am preparing for christmas now, so i can enjoy the month of december later.

tags are the project this weekend.
i for one can never have enough tags this time of year.
there is always the gift i forgot to consider, and i am rushing around trying to make it all ready and such.
having a bunch of tags ready, well, for one, is simply fun to do.
and for second, i have a stash ready for that last minute gift.
yay me...a little excited here.

the Believe Collection from Heidi Swapp is the inspiration for these posts.
this collection is so diverse and could go in different directions with color and feel.
i truly hope you come away with a little inspiration as i share these with you today.

TIP: don't recreate the wheel.
these tags are all fairly simple to do. i kept to a few products and basically did the same thing over again.
the Believe Ephemera is used on almost everyone and is usually the main focus.
above i used my Xyron Sticker Maker for the Happy Holidays vellum piece, and then attached to the star pattern from the 6x6 Believe paper pad. i added a bit of Gold Lame Color Shine to the Chipboard Stars, then attached. then some seam binding dyed with Gold Lame finished off the top. you will see this seam binding used several times this way.
the Merry Christmas tag is even easier. the vellum piece is popped up with dimensional tape. white textured card stock was circle punched and hot glued to the tag base which is also from the 6x6 paper pad. a little bit of card stock confetti sprayed with Black Velvet Color Shine was added for fun. and then two pieces from the Believe Banner Delights to finish and you can say done. see? keeping it simple.

i will share the details on these two tags below as they may or may not be a few of my favorites.

TIP: dye a supply of seam binding to start
these two tags use Chartreuse Color Shine to make them unique. now personally, i think the chartreuse is one of those forgotten colors. but it is gorgeous, gorgeous i tell you. one of the ways i was able to put these tags together fairly quickly was by having a bunch of seam binding dyed before starting. i take about 3 yards at a time, and color it one color. for this project i used the Chartreuse, Black Velvet and the Gold Lame.
the tag on the left certainly is easy to do. trim tag from the red stripe in the 6x6 paper pad. add vellum ephemera with a punched out 25 from the 6x6 paper pad. tie that with thread around the bow already attached to the tag.
the card on the right uses my favorite Color Magic 8x8 pattern paper...polka dots (to say i am a little obsessed by polka dots might be true.). lots of Chartreuse here with some added bling, 'joy' from the ephemera, and a banner delight stapled on top.

the card on the left is detailed below. so ya gotta wait a minute.
and the card on the right starts with the number pattern layered over the  music pattern. gosh...do you not love the diversity of patterns in this collection? just say yes.
then the 25 december tag was trimmed from the little journal tag paper, and the vellum 'give' was ran through the Xyron Sticker Maker then layered on top with a few banner delights peeking out the side.

i think this little tag may be my favorite. i took Metalic Gold Adirondak paint...which is a gorgous medium and covers the Color Magic resist beautifully. i could of used Gold Lame Color Shine, but i wanted a more intense pop of color.  seam binding was wrapped around the middle. a few banner delights tucked up underneath. then i punched a little hole in the clear acetate arrow and used thread to tie around the bigger bow. those lovely Paper Roses were sprayed with Gold Lame and tucked into the bow. sigh. a definition sticker was used to finish the look.

again with the polka dots...

this little tag used my all time favorite glassine bag to hold sequins and some ephemera pieces and a trimmed tiny journal card. it was attached to the layered tag with a Gold Lame bow placed right on top. two pieces of the candy stripe pattern paper were trimmed to about an inch wide, v-notched at the ends and then tucked up underneath the bow and attached with hot glue. how fun is that bag???

o.k...you may be seeing a lot of black and gold and silver this year for my personal christmas theme. i am in love with the glitz this year. and i love this tag and how simple it is yet to me shines with elegance. here are the details:
1. trim white card stock to a tag shape, spray it with Black Velvet Color Shine.
2. trim a piece of the music pattern smaller then the other piece and attach to the black card stock.
3. layer to seam binding bows in Black Velvet one on top the other.
4. color a tiny chipboard heart with gold metallic paint. punch tiny hole and string with thread to wrap around black bow.
5. punch tiny hole in a clear acetate arrow and also string around the black bow.
6. add 'enjoy' epoxy letter to the bottom.
7. done.

please link me or tag me on instagram @jamiepate if you too are inspired to make ahead tags for your gift giving this year. i would love to see what you do.

thankful thank yous

 i adore RhonnaDesigns chalk kits so very much.
her newest addition is called Chalkboard Autumn Art Bundle.
and it's a steal of a deal for gorgeous chalk art.

had a few thank you gifts that needed making...so i went quick fast in a hurry and made tags using her chalk art work.

first i created a new canvas in photoshop elements and sized it to 3x4.

then i brought in one of the black png images like you see above...'attitude of gratitude'.

it comes in black, so i recolored it to white...to look like chalk.

i dragged that image over the 3x4 canvas and resized to fit.

then i dragged several of those to an 8 1/2 x 11 document and printed them out!

then...

i took plain lunch bags...

used the heidi swapp polka dot stencil and sprayed it over with the black velvet color shine.

then i sprayed gold lame on zig zag ribbon and hot glued to the top of the folded over bag...

then i trimmed a few pieces of black pop card stock and notched on the end...

layered those over the zig zag trim, added a twist of tulle and stapled the 3x4 autumn art piece to the front.

like i said...quick fast and a hurry...

and a pretty way to wrap up my oh so yummy carmel corn.

so many opportunities to say thank you to friends and teachers and leaders this time of year...

and i already know that these little gifts brought smiles to many.

epiphany crafts blog hop

this week the Heidi Swapp Media Team is blog hopping with Epiphany Crafts and sharing off the page projects using the Epiphany Crafts Shape tools.

so today i am over at heidiswapp.com...
sharing a quick little magnet tutorial...
and gift idea...

that girl...

did you see this announcement last week at studio calico?
a brand new e-book is being made available with the purchase of the next Studio Calico kit.
you know the inspiration coming out of SC is always so on trend and inviting and simply makes ya want to get those memories down for all to see.

but what i am ReAllY excited about....
is that our girl maggie massey, from the Heidi Swapp Media Team is featured in that e-book!
yeah...did ya get that???
we are over the moon so excited for her.
she is amazingly talented and so loved in that community.
to say i am proud of her is an understatement...but i am!

and i cannot wait to get my hands on that kit AND on that look book.
(and i really think you should too.)

congratulations, my friend.

if you don't know maggie...well, ya need to.
you can follow her here.

#weekend inspiration no1

hello friday...
yes. it is friday already.
if you are like me you are saying, really?
how did that happen?

well friday's in november mean #weekendinspiration.

now i know...this looks like a Christmas project here...
and it sort of kind a is a Christmas project.
and i know...no one wants to think about Christmas and run over Thanksgiving.
trust me. i am with you.
but...that being said...I am thinking about Christmas.
i am planning Christmas now so that I can enjoy Christmas later.
making my list and checking it twice this month will allow for a month of celebration and contemplation and rest.
this is my goal.
so all this month on friday's i am going to be sharing what i am creating by way of planning for the beautiful month of december.

 

you see once upon a time (read last year this month), it all started.
that man in the photo you see became very sick and was rushed to e.r.
and that is when it began.
6 weeks in the hospital ending with stroke rehab and a year of doubt, fear, and lots of prayer as there was a hard journey to be walked wondering if the odd growth in his head would ever heal.
so my creative celebration begins with my brother in law and my sister and their family.

i took a simple ol' piece of scrap cardboard.
covered it with pattern paper from the HS Believe collection.
used stencils and paint and Color Shine to add interest around the edges.
added those rockin' elements and word from the Buzzwords Glitter Stickers.
and then said, 'pretty'.

using the Epiphany Round 25 tool and charm setting, I added a 'twenty five' from this paper,
as well as some additional bling I found at my craft store.
made a junque bow...and thought 'now what?'

so then i spray painted a mini bull clip...
attached to the canvas...
and clipped their photo right on there.
and had an instant mixed media festive celebratory holiday-esque creative piece shining at me from my work space.

hoping this inspires you.
hope you will join me and tag with #weekendinspiration and tag me @jamiepate on instagram.

join me next week for the next issue of #weekendinspiration.

supplies: Believe Collection: Countdown  Jingle All the Way ; Believe Banner Delights ; 6x6 Confetti Stencil ; Color Shine: Tinsel GoldLame ; Gold Paint Dabber ; Epiphany Round Tool; Bubble Caps; Charm; 
other from my stash: tulle, book paper, metallic string, bull clip

color fever challenge

Played along with the Color Fever Challenge from Heidi Swapp's blog this week.

I went for the Seafoam, and Coral...
mainly because I really wanted to use the large XO ephemera from the Mixed Company Ephemera.
Love the scale of those letters against the size of the photos.

And not that I need an excuse to use butterfly embellies...
but I have to comment on the visual association here...
time seems to be flying by me at an alarming rate.
For my youngest daughter to have just celebrated her tenth birthday astonishes me. Alot.

Hidden journaling was needed for me to share some words with this girl.
So I colored a Jumbo Tag with Coral Color Shine and tucked it behind the main body of this layout.
I love to hide these messages on these layouts.
Some day she will be going through her album and discover it and have a little bit of serendipity waiting for her.
at least i hope so.

hope you are inspired by these sweet colors to play along with us.
if you link up to instagram with the tags #hscolorfever or #hsheidiswapp be sure to tag me too, @jamiepate, as I would love to see what inspired you from this.

have a fabulous day.

#hscolorfever #heidiswapp

#hscolorfever #heidiswapp