My Creative Affaire...

I'll Be Home For Christmas

would have to be one of my all time favorite Christmas Carols.  For many years each time I heard that carol on the radio I would be reminded how special Christmas is and eagerly looked forward to my yearly trip home to Australia.  Now that I am spending the summers in Australia I hear that Christmas Carol and I am reminded of "my other life" in Boston and the friends we have left behind over there.  Music always evokes memories and always seems to remind us of a time or people in our lives.  

Yesterday, hearing this Christmas Carol reminded me of a very dear friend I left behind in Boston, someone I miss a lot.  I  was inspired to create a card that would be one-of-a-kind, something special to let her know I was thinking of her.  Here is the result of my Christmas Carol inspiration!

Many of the items I used on this card I have been saving in my "personal stash" for quite a number of years.  The beautiful Santa Image is from Crafty Secrets and the dimensional birds, pinecones and holly are all from K & Company.

I die-cut the birdcage from patterned paper and gently "rolled" it to give a rounded look and then cut a piece of paper to fit the back and adhered the two outside edges.  I finished off the birdcage with a self adhesive pearl and a dusting of liquid snow and diamond dust glitter for extra sparkle.

I also used the liquid snow on top of the window die-cut and then gave Santa some extra sparkle with a combination of Diamond Stickles and Glamour Dust on his beard and fur trim.

Next time you hear your favorite Christmas carol or song on the radio - think about who and where it reminds you of, what does it inspire you to do?

Lynette

All That Sparkles

Christmas is my favorite time of the year, lights twinkling in windows, brightly wrapped presents under the tree and the smell of Christmas baking in the oven.

Graphic 45 and May Arts are teaming up for a super fun blog hop December 12-16th! There will be tons of inspiration, fabulous prizes, incredible crafts and so much more! Behold the magic that happens when Graphic 45 vintage-inspired papers and embellishments join forces with gorgeous May Arts ribbons! Our design teams are going all out to bring you the most enchanting crafts! You'll discover lots of fabulous new ideas to inspire your holiday season! Have fun and get inspired every day of this fantastic blog hop with Graphic 45 and May Arts! Here's some fun information about these two fantastic crafting companies!

Graphic 45 an award-winning scrapbook and paper crafting company­— owned and operated by a mother and her two daughters. Together we create vintage inspired crafting products that capture the flamboyant style of the 1920's and 30's - with vibrant color, irresistible texture and imaginative design to create products with decades-old appeal that's both fresh and familiar. Let our products inspire your next scrapbook layout, card, album, altered art project, or home decor DIY project.

May Arts is a ribbon wholesaler, based in Riverside, Connecticut, serving over 16,000 customers worldwide. We offer an exceptional selection of ribbons, including sheer, satin, grosgrain, silk and a variety of patterns and prints. We also maintain a steady stock of inventory so that orders can be fulfilled immediately. As one of the country’s leading wholesalers of decorative ribbons, May Arts has been providing superior products and the highest level of customer service for over 25 years. Below is the schedule for the blog hop. Don't forget to leave a comment on each of the blogs for your chance to win one of two amazing prize packs. Winners will be announced on Monday December 19.

 

For my project for the blog swap I decided to create a hanging snowflake ornament from the Christmas Emporium collection. To create the ornament, I purchased two wood snowflake cut-outs from the local craft store. To begin the project I painted each ornament with two coats of silver paint. While the second coat of paint was still wet I sprinkled them with silver glitter, allowing the glitter to dry into the paint rather than having to apply a layer of adhesive over the paint. Once these two wood pieces were dry I adhered them together with foam mounting tape to give them dimension. To create the green patterned paper layer, I cut two strips of paper 12 inches in length and joined them together. I then cut along one of the edges with a Martha Stewart Lace punch. I then joined the two remaining ends to form a circle and using my hot glue gun I adhered the center to form a rosette. The next step was to cut a large red snowflake using a Spellbinders die which I adhered onto the snowflake with another layer of foam mounting tape.

To finish off the snowflake I added an additional smaller wood snowflake and several layers of paper and silk poinsettia flowers. The center of my snowflake was actually a beautiful rhinestone magnet I had been saving. I tied silver ribbon through the wood snowflakes for the hanger and then finished off the ornament with a beautiful bow tied with May Arts ribbon. I love how versatile the Christmas Emporium collection is, imagine how beautiful an entire tree decorated with handmade ornaments would be.

I made a second one of these ornaments and used it as the topper on a Christmas Gift for a very special friend. Not only does it make the gift look beautiful but she can add ribbon to it next year and use it as an ornament.  

Don't forget to view all the amazing projects each day this week and please leave a comment for your chance to win a prize.

Lynette Carroll - http://www.lynettecarrolldesigns.typepad.com/
Jane Tregenza - www.janetregenza.blogspot.com
JackandCat Curio - jackandcatcurio.blogspot.com
Candy Rosenberg - http://candyscraps.typepad.com/scraps/
Latrice Murphy - http://www.latricemurphy.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, December 13th
Ellen Sosnoski - http://closeyourears.blogspot.com/
Laura Denison - www.followingthepapertrail.blogspot.com
Charlene Driggs - http://www.paperandinkplayground.com/
Melaine Forbes - www.melanie-forbes.blogspot.com
Jen Shears - http://jenshearsdesigns.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, December 14th 
Robin Shakoor - http://robinshakoor.blogspot.com
Yuka Hino - http://nsnlso.blogspot.com/
Jenifer Cowles - http://scrapbooking-n-more.com/default.aspx
Gloria Stengel - www.gloriascraps.blogspot.com
Jingle - http://www.justjingle.blogspot.com/

Thursday, December 15th
Jinky Kowalski - http://jinkyscrafts.blogspot.com/
Sherry Cheever - http://sherrycheever.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Britta Swiderski - http://brittaswiderski.com/
Hilde Janbroers - http://hildejanbroers.blogspot.com/
Karen Baker - http://thebalddragonfly.blogspot.com/

Friday, December 16th
Tara Orr - http://eachmoment-onlyonce.blogspot.com
Kimberly Jones - http://serendipityvintagestudio.blogspot.com/
Nancy Wethington - http://art-from-the-heart.typepad.com
Peggy Cain - http://www.createwithbubbe.blogspot.com/
Nicole Eccles - www.NicoleEccles.blogspot.com
Vera Yates www.lingshappyplace.blogspot.com/

Happy creating, Lynette

'Tis the Season

for creating lots of holiday inspired projects for kits and classes.  My holiday classes have begun and new kits have been added to my emporium. Thanks so much to everyone who attended my class last Saturday at Absolutely Everything as we spent a very busy and full day creating this "12 Tags of Christmas" Advent Calendar.  I am excited to be teaching this class again in Australia on December 3, 2011 at  Daisy Chain Scrapbooks in Nambour if you would like to join me for this vintage inspired holiday class.

Up next is a sweet Christmas book I have been working on which I had shipped all the way from Australia.  I have custom cut pages for the inside of this book and decorated them with bookprint papers and poinsettia embellishments from K & Company, sleigh and reindeer die-cuts and lots of other fun suprises.  I absolutely love the shiny "garlands" hanging in the windows and across the bottom of the roof - those sweet pieces came from a store bought ornament I cut apart and glued to the book cover!

For the Graphic 45 booth at summer CHA this year I created a wall art piece with their inspiring "Christmas Emporium" collection of papers and chipboard die-cuts.  I have been asked several times if I was going to have kits available for this project and I am happy to say that the kit is now up for pre-order and will be shipping within the next two weeks.

So how are your holiday projects coming along?  I hope I have inspired you to turn on your Christmas music and bring out those Christmas supplies to create your own special one-of-a-kind projects. 

Thanks for visiting, Lynette 

Fall Leaves, Pumpkins and Ghosts

It's nearly that time of year again, when the air changes from hot and steamy to cool and crisp and our creative minds turn to projects with ghosts and goblins and hues of orange, green and reds. 

For CHA summer, the Graphic 45 Team Members were all asked to create a trick or treat bag.  Each day this week on the Graphic 45 blog, you will see a sneak peek of a fantastic bag designed by the team members.  Just click on the link and you'll be transported to a magical world of craft bliss!  See the full unveil of the trick-or-treat bags on the featured design team member's blog each day and get inspired.  Graphic 45 is offering two awesome Magic of Oz gift packs as prizes this week!  Want the opportunity to win?  Just click on over the the featured design team members blog each day and leave a comment.  Graphic 45 will choose two random winners from the blogs and will announce them on Friday, September 30th!

For my trick-or-treat bag I used the new Magic of Oz collection to create a whimsical bag that is just waiting to be filled with candy...

 

To create the bag I cut a piece for the background and then built my scene onto it.  Once I had completed the design I then adhered the entire piece to the front of the kraft bag.  The papers in this collection are so perfect for cutting out and creating your own scenes.  (I love that the wicked witch is stealing the letter "A").

The second project I wanted to show you was a project I created for last week's blog hop we did with Fiskars.  I wanted to create a centerpiece for my Halloween lunch I am having this year.  The Hallowe'en in Wonderland Collection was the perfect collection to create this spooky but girly witch's hat. 

 

 

I am also happy to let you know that my website with my kits that are for sale is finally up and running as of late (very late) last night!  You can visit the storefront at www.lynettecarrolldesigns.com.  There will be a button on my blog tomorrow to make it easier to visit the site.  I will be adding new kits on a regular basis (just as quickly as I can design and cut them).  Once a kit has sold out it won't be available again, all the projects on the website will be limited edition.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.  Don't forget to check out the very talented Jane Treganza's blog for her Trick-or-treat bag today. 

Lynette

Welcome to Day 5

of the Graphic 45 and Want2Scrap™   Blog Hop.  Design Teams from both companies have joined forces to bring you an amazing week-long Blog Hop August 8th -12th. The week has been filled with fabulous designs that are sure to have inspired all!  If you have missed any of the previous days projects be sure to head on over to either the Graphic 45 blog or the Want2Scrap blog for the links to some amazing projects.  All you need to do is click on the links to be transported to one of the featured design team member's blog where you will see the full reveal of each craft project.

What would a blog hop be without prizes?  Yes, both Graphic 45 and Want2Scrap™ will be giving away a $25.00 prize on two of the blogs and on each company's Facebook page.  That's a total of four chances to win in one week! Wow! The prizes will be hidden on the Graphic 45 blog and the Want2Scrap blog so be sure to visit both blogs and leave a comment to increase your chances of winning.  For Facebook, they will be picking a winner from all of the comments made during the week-long Blog Hop. Sound fun? Lets get started with today's projects and designers.

 
For my Blog Hop project I decided to use one of the beautiful chipboard albums from Want2Scrap and one of my favorite collections from Graphic 45 - Steampunk Debutante.  Several years ago I had taken some photos of my Niece and I was waiting for the perfect papers to construct a mini album from the photo shoot.  The wait was worth it once I saw the photos with the Steampunk Debutante papers.

 
I changed most of the inside pages of the album to my own custom designs.  On the left side of my blog I have created an album "Steampunk Debutante Mini Album" where I have loaded all my step by step photos and written instructions for this complete projects.  Please feel free to print off the photos and instructions if you are interested in trying some of these techniques at home.  All the techniques I have used in this project can easily be adapted to any of the Graphic 45 paper collections.

 

I am excited to be sharing the last day of the blog hop with the following super talented designers - be sure to check out their projects and leave them a comment for your chance to win.

Want2Scrap:Karen Taylor - http://creativeyearnings.blogspot.com/
Want2Scrap:Lori Craig - http://loricraig.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Graphic 45:  Robin Shakoor - http://robinshakoor.blogspot.com

Thank you so much for stopping by today, thanks for your comments and good luck with your chance to win some great prizes.  Lynette

P.S. After months of preparation, on Monday August 15, 2011 I will have a link on my blog to my brand new online storefront (a place where you will be able to purchase many of my exclusive designs in kit-form)

Holiday Inspirations

I can't believe it's August - where did July go?  Sorry it has been so long since my last post.  The last half of June and all of July was taken up with moving back to Boston from Australia and creating, creating and more creating.  I had two fun workshops to design and teach in my local area in June and then it was time to work on all those CHA projects.  CHA is a crazy time of the year but it's also a super fun time of the year.  Oh how I love to have those brand new products in my hands, my mind goes into overtime!!  This year I had fun working with all the new Graphic 45 collections, ABC Primer, Christmas Emporium and The Magic of Oz.  Each collection is very different but they are all amazing.  Over the next few weeks I will be posting photos and some tutorials of nearly all the projects I created (a few were picked up for publication so I can't show those but I will let you know when they are out in print).

The first project I  would like to share with you is a Christmas Emporium Wall Art piece.  Those of you who have been following my blog for a while know how much I love to create wall art.  For me, wall art is a great way to showcase a paper collection and I absolutely love to display them in my home or to give to someone special as a gift (as I have already done with this piece).  A piece like this can be displayed year after year.

 
When creating a piece of wall art, I always choose the frame first and then make enough panels to fit within the frame.  For this piece, I bought the frame and then I cut my own mat and bought an additional frame on clearance to use the moulding from to fit around the edges of the mat.  I simply measured all four sides and then with a tiny saw trimmed down the moulding so it would fit.  I then glued the moulding down with a hot glue gun. 

 

Each of the layers in the wall art have a piece of chipboard between them to give the papers extra body and then each layer is adhered together with foam mounting tape for dimension.  Once I had cut all my layers using the scalloped rectangle nestabilies from Spellbinders, I then chose my decorative pieces for each panel.  Once all the panels were complete, I went back and gave them all special touches with pearls, stickles for some sparkle and extra cut pieces of holly etc.

After placing the panels into the frame, I adhered two chipboard flourishes from Imaginarium Designs which I had painted with Gold Metallic paint to the mat with foam mounting tape.  The little black tag that reads "Christmas Emporium" was cut from the Chipboard Tag packaging and was also adhered with foam mounting tape.

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.  Next week I will have another exciting project and a blog hop with Want 2 Scrap.  Details to come on Monday. 

Have a great weekend, Lynette

Old Hollywood

One of my most favorite Graphic 45 paper collections is "Curtain Call".  This elegant paper collection will take you back to the golden age of entertainment.  "Inspired by the birth of jazz, lavish stage shows, and the silent film era, this razzle-dazzle paper collection will have you swinging! Soft creams and striking black colors give this collection an authenticity of old Hollywood".

I love a paper collection that allows you to "think outside the box" and use it in projects that it was not necessarily intended for.  With it's cream and black color combination, this collection has the perfect papers for all types of photos and projects.  For my Curtain Call project, I was inspired to decorate the mat of a frame and a family garden photo.  I tried to use elements and papers from the collection that did not showcase "the obvious"  on the papers.  

To create the project, I removed the mat from the frame and covered the entire background with two different papers.  I then made dimensional flowers and covered chipboard birds with paper.  For the centers of the flowers I colored self adhesive pearls with a black Sharpie marker.  To create the hanging sign I painted a Kaisercraft wood piece with black paint then rubbed a tiny amount of metallic rub into the paint, I then sanded the piece and finally used some distressing ink on it.  I cut out a piece of newsprint paper and added it to the sign with foam mounting tape for dimension.  

I used the reverse side of one of the tags from the Curtain Call collection on the left side of the frame and finished it off with a Metal Button.  The button had a Patina color on it which didn't go with my frame so I used a Sharpie marker to color the green areas and when that was dry I polished the button with metallic rub.

I hope you enjoyed this project.  

Thanks for stopping by.

Lynette

 

 

A Grateful Heart...

To say I am overwhelmed and humbled is an understatement...  

Today I am stopping by for a short visit  to say "Thank You" to all of you who took the time to read my blog over the past week and leave such wonderful comments.  Also "Thank You" to all those people who read the Graphic 45 blog and also left so many sweet comments.  I so appreciate each and every one of them.

I am so grateful to have this new and exciting opportunity with Graphic 45.  I hope that you will stop by often as we travel through this journey together.

My "Thank You" card was made with papers from the KaiserCraft "Lush" Collection.  The colors in the collection are actually quite bright, but when you combine them with script papers, some lace, pearls, buttons and a flower, the end result is a sweet shabby combination.

My new favourite technique is to use a paper flower on my project and to lightly coat it with a layer of Frosted Lace Stickles.  To complete this technique I simply squeeze some of the stickles onto a piece of paper and using a fine paintbrush I paint the entire flower.  The great thing about this is it really dampens the paper flower and you can then gently use the end of the paintbrush to re-mould the petals of the flower.  Not only can you re-mould the shape of the flower but when it is dry you end up with a beautiful frosted piece of goodness to complete your cards or altered pieces of art.

The letters on my card were cut using the Tim Holtz Sizzix Vintage Market die.  I adhered them to the card with foam mounting tape for dimension and painted a small amount of Frosted Lace stickles onto each letter.

Thank you again, because of you I had such an amazing week.  Lynette

 

Dare to Dream

What is life without dreams?  We all need to dream to achieve.  Little did I know as a walked around CHA a number of years ago and came across a booth by a new company "Graphic 45" that one-day it would become my dream to be a designer for them.  I remember being in awe of the beauty of the projects on display - did I dare to dream that one day I could be part of such an amazing company?

Well today my dream came true!  I was so humbled to see my name on the list of the Graphic 45 2011 Design Team members.  I cannot wait for the next 12 months and the opportunity to work with such an inspiring company.

The above photo is a little glimpse of one of my projects I submitted for the final round of the Design Team call. (Hope that it's okay to give you a peek!).

I have been crafting day and night for the past couple of weeks working on new classes I will be offering over the coming months.  I have the opportunity to teach in here in Australia before heading back to Boston at the end of May.  More information on the classes in my next post.

One more tiny glimpse into a project I have been working on before I leave you.  I have just completed a this small mini Shabby Album using a Doodlebug Plain and Simple Album and one of the newest collections from Prima - Botanicals.  Totally love the beautiful floral designs of this collection.  

I can only show a tiny glimpse of this project as I have just submitted it.  When I can I will post photos of the entire project.  I am working on a website at the moment where you will be able to purchase some of my projects as kits - this will be one of them.  I will post the announcement and a link to the website here on my blog when it is all up and running.

 

If you don't have a dream, how are you going to make a dream come true?                 Oscar Hammerstein

 

Taking the Challenge

The Graphic 45 Design Team Challenge!  

I am enjoying the beautiful summer weather here on the Gold Coast Australia, it is so fun to be missing all the Boston winter weather this year!  I have decided to try out for the 2011 Graphic 45 Design Team Challenge.  I have been missing having creative deadlines for the past few months. 

I remember the first time I saw a Graphic 45 booth at CHA.  I was in love.  Imagine all those beautiful projects were created with sheets of paper, a pair of fine-tip scissors and perhaps and xacto knife.  I love that their collections consist only of paper.  All the embellishments used on those beautiful projects were hand cut and designed with love by their creator - I love that.

I have added a photo album to the side of my blog with all the projects I submitted for the first round of the Design Team Challenge.  

The above project is one from my Graphic 45 Album.  It is a mini "cake" I made with the Once Upon a Springtime Collection and a set of mini oval boxes from Melissa Frances. This would be a sweet treat for a birthday party favour or a centerpiece for a party table.

It has been a while between blog posts, for some reason when things get busy, my poor little blog suffers.  I have written many many posts in my mind but somehow they just don't always make it to my laptop keypad!

I will be back soon with peek at some other projects I have been working on.

Goodnight, Lynette