Sassafras flowers!

With CHA taking place in Chicago, lots and lots of previews are around.
Check out this one from Sassafrass.
I just adore the glittered alphas and vintage rose flowers. Just perfect for the LO of my little precious DD.
Check out their link http://sassafras.typepad.com/sassafras/2010/07/introducing-the-new-sassafras-embellishments.html

All the best,
Elisabeth

Stamping Basics

I have only recently started to use stamps. Since I had a very hard time, I would like to share some very basic things about it. You probably know about it already, but if it helps one person to be a bit less frustrated, then I am happy!

• Store your ink pads up side down. This way all the ink is where it should be.
  
• Before you use a clear stamp, rub it slightly with a soft eraser. This way the ink is applied more evenly.
  
• The smoother the paper, the crispier the image.
  
• Before you color your stamp, wait until it is really dry. (This is a no brainer, but guess how many stamps I messed up until I followed this one LOL!)
• Using color pencils, which can be then worked with water give the best of both worlds: the precision of the color pencil and the great, smooth texture from water colors. ( I love using my Jumbo Grip Faber Castell)
  
• Stamps are great for 3 D! Just stamp several and cut out section and layer them.
  

Photos to follow soon!
What are YOUR best stamping tips? I would love to learn from you! Thank you for leaving me a comment !
All the best,
Elisabeth

Butterfly Garden - Sketchy Thursday

You just have to love Sketchy Thursday! Every week a new inspiration! And last week, I even won! If you are ever in need of inspiration, check out their wonderful sketch archive.

This week's sketch was quite interesting:

And here is what I did. Per request of my DD with LOTS of butterflies!

Almost everything is from the July Kit from Swirlydoos. Just the flowers are from my stash. First, I stamped the cardstock with a gorgeous Prima stamp (which was in the kit as well!), traced the burgundy cardstock with a Dusty Attic swirl (from a previous kit). Braided the little roses into a bouquet and made the little pearl swigs.

With the help of my DD, we punched over 60 butterflies for the "butterfly trail"in the middle of the page. Since I ran out of burgundy cardstock, I used the Bo Bunny Serenade paper to finish it off. It is almost the same color and the added glitter worked out just fine.

This picture was taken in Attersee, in front of the most wonderful old house. The garden itself was filled with butterflies and it felt just like an enchanted place.

Thanks for looking!!!
Elisabeth

Queen of the playground - core'dination

A few weeks ago, I was the luckiest girl in town. I won a fabulous price at the core'dination blog. Over 80 sheets of finest cardstock. I was so thrilled! I have used it ever since and love the fact that they have a smooth and a textured side. So versatile!

My most recent layout features the different techniques which are perfect for this paper. Embossing, cutting, distressing!

Here are some close-ups of the great cardstock.

How cute is that little crown for the queen?

I used my beloved slice machine (vintage cartridge) and cut the crown in yellow and pink and then combined the two. I inked the pearls with Tim Holtz alcohol ink to match the brown of the cardstock.

The photo features my lovely daughter who would prefer to live on the playground! We are so lucky to live in Vienna, we have THREE parks in walking distance - and we live downtown Vienna.

The most talented Julie Bronner provided the sketch for this LO. Thanks, Julie! You rock!!!

Thanks for looking and leaving a comment!
All the best
Elisabeth

Vienna, Vienna

Since I got so many fabulous photos from our ride in the carriage, I decided to make another layout. Again, based on a sketch by Liz Qualman.

The title is based on a Viennese song: Wien, Wien nur du allein. (Vienna, Vienna, only you)

The little black ornaments are really easy to apply. They come on one sheet like this and you can arrange them in whatever order you want. Highly recommendable.

This afternoon, I had the pleasure to scrap with my niece. She is eight years old and very interested in scrapping. So we had a "kiddy swap". My sister took my little girl to a river and I got to play with my niece. She did a GREAT job and is very proud of her layout. I used the live loud line .

All the best,
Elisabeth

A perfect day!

Pizza with Daddy, ice cream with her godfather and a ride through Vienna in a carriage. Does it get better than that? Sarah had a dream day yesterday and I enjoyed it, too! It is fun to be a tourist in your own city. It changes the perspective considerably.

I used the great July kit from Swirlydoos! Got to love the dusty attic items! I used acrylic colors on the chipboard, added some sparkly glue around the title. To get the edges stand up a bit, I used a paint brush and soaked the edges about 1 cm. Then got them into shape and dried it with an embossing heat tool. The flowers are from Prima, everything else was in the kit.
Again, this LO was based on a sketch by Liz Qualman.

All the best,
Elisabeth