England, 1921

My grandmother with her two eldest children and stepmother in 1921, 
shortly before my grandparents moved to Canada

This is another layout I began months ago and got stuck on.  I had started with a different background paper and just recently tried doing some machine stitching on it to add some interest. Well, I hated the way it looked.  Rather than using another sheet of the same paper and going back to what I had been stuck on for months already, I tried finding a different piece that would coordinate with the flowers I had already chosen, hoping to give myself a bit of a fresh start without completely going back to square one.  I liked the way this paper looked and ended up finishing the layout rather quickly after that.


The background paper is from Blue Fern Studios Serendipity collection.

The chipboard frame around the photo is also by Blue Fern Studios.  I applied various colours of paint, ink and embossing powder to it until I finally got something I liked but as I did that months ago I really can't remember exactly what I did (I just remember being frustrated about it a lot, lol).

Blue Fern Studios - Marseille frame

I did some stencilling with molding/modelling paste on the background and used watercolour paints to add some subtle colouring to those areas.

Tim Holtz - Bricked

Prima - Floral Petites

These are the dies I used:

Tattered Lace - Ornate Leaves

Memory Box - Quinn Flourish

In the center of the lace flowers, I glued some Prills (Tu Tu Pink).

I also glued random patches of Prima Art Stones around the edges of the paper and the flower clusters, adding some watercolour paint overtop to give them some subtle colour and shading.

Thank you so much for taking a look!

John, Elsie and May

My great-grandfather and two of his daughters

I haven't been feeling very creative lately. This layout was started back in February and a large chunk of it was already planned out otherwise I wouldn't have had the creative energy to complete it.  Just needed to add a few details to finish it off but those ideas were frustratingly slow in coming.

I used Blue Fern Studios paper from their Timeless collection.

Blue Fern Studios - Timeless - Calling Cards (I used the backside for the background of the layout)

Blue Fern Studios - Timeless - Song (I used the backside for the 2 rectangular die-cuts)

These are the dies and punch I used:

Spellbinders - Romantic Rose

Lifestyle Crafts - Nesting Doily Rectangles

Cheery Lynn Designs - Japanese Garden Lace Oval

My Favorite Things - Mini Delicate Doilies

EK Success - Round Binding Edge

As I usually do, I layered each die-cut over a darker version and offset them slightly to accentuate the edges.

I used pieces of plain chipboard and foam tape under the photo and rectangular die-cuts to add dimension to the layers.



These are the chipboard pieces I used:

Dusty Attic- Leafy Scroll

Dusty Attic - Botanic Accents #2

I painted the Leafy Scroll piece a peach colour and applied Ranger Crackle Accents.  I rubbed the dried crackle with dark brown ink to accentuate the cracks (wiping off the excess) and then lightly dabbed some pale yellow and cream coloured paint over top with my finger to dull the glossy finish and grunge it up a bit.

The Botanic Accents piece was painted dark brown, inked with clear ink and embossed with Dried Marigold Distress embossing powder.  I then inked the edges in brown using a craft nib and dabbed some cream paint on top with my finger.

Around the edges of the paper I randomly applied some brown floral washi tape (one piece was actually used to cover some sloppy punching while the others were added to balance it out and pretend that it was all on purpose).

Along the border of the layout I did some machine embroidery stitching with dark brown thread and some hand stitching with an ecru coloured yarn.  I used the We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy tool to punch the hand-stitched pattern in the paper (the holes never seem to punch all the way through so I go over them with a piercing tool before stitching).

We R Memory Keepers - Sew Easy tool

I also applied some "fuzzy navel" Prills among the floral clusters and at two of the photo corners.

Thank you so much for taking a look!