~Welcome to the North Pole~



I want to quickly share a little card with you all. I designed this for the shop, featuring some more of the beautiful Echo Park paper line and the sweet little Inkadinkado stamp.
When I found this little stamp, it made me smile, thinking of our very own "North Pole" and how it truly was so welcoming to us when we chose to make Saskatchewan our home many years ago...Before moving to Canada, I had never fathomed that a cold, winter wonderland like the Noth Pole existed anywhere but in fairy tales. Upon arriving in this northern part of the world, we soon came to realize that the North Pole (or at least its climate) is not that much of an exaggeration :)

So it may not be the most practical card, but it strikes a sentimental string in my heart and I can't help but smile when I look at it :)

I used a few of my own shape templates on this card (I make these out of chipboard with whatever shape I find interesting and then use them over and over again), and accented the card with a few of my 'signature' touches...

A pretty, frosted Prima rose with some paint and glitter, a few punched details here and there...

A triple bow (fabric, cotton ribbon, and lace) held together with a vintage pin, and some stringed pearls and lovely vintage, Distress Stickles along the bottom.

That's all for tonight's post! Thanks to everyone for stopping by and for your kind comments :) Many hugs,

*Ivana*

~December Scrap That! Reveal~


Yay! It's that time of the month! Finally, I get to show you all what I have been madly working on for the last little while (in between work and renos). I have to say, this Scrap That! kit was SO fabulous to play around with! First off, the featured line, Creative Imaginations - Night Divine, is soooo gorgeous. It's a throwback to a vintage-style Christmas with beautifully distressed papers and TONS of gorgeous embellishments. Seriously, this kit is PACKED with goodies. And it's more versatile than you'd think!
Although I love Christmas and LOVE designing with Christmas papers, I wanted to do something a little different with this line.
I think this line is fabulous, whether it is used for a Christmas design or some other scrappy project.



First up, a VERY Christmas-y project. We just splurged on a new Christmas tree (it's my lovely model in the photos), and I absolutely love the frosty needles and how it sparkles in our home. And since it is quite a bit larger than our old tree (probably by about 5 feet...yes our old tree was a Charlie Brown tree), I have found that I really need more decorations to fill it out! Since nothing is better or more sentimental than a home-made ornament, I decided to make one to always remember my design days with Scrap That!
I also added in a card on the side, using my ornament as the inspiration :)

A QUICK GUIDE ON HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN ORNAMENT

I used a plain, glass ornament, some hot glue, and a bit of distress paint to blend in all the little pieces of pretty CI paper. I cut the paper into little squares, the more irregular the better. Then I cut slits all around these squares (keeping the center intact) so that it could be more pliable and mold around the curved ornament.
Using hot glue, I adhered the little squares, not paying too much attention to covering all the little holes. I used white crackle paint to cover these holes later. The result is a shabby, vintage looking ornament with a ton of texture!
I added a floral cluster using the gorgeous Prima gold poinsettia (which I tore apart and speckled with paint), some lovely white flowers from the kit, and a GORGEOUS vintage rhinestone button!

For the card, I used a similar technique in pasting smaller strips of this beautiful paper in a collage-style. Then I blended all the strips with some white paint and added in a teeny bit of delicate lace from the kit.
I drew the ornament and cut it out from regular cardstock, and then covered it in white paint and some Ranger Glossy Accents. In the middle, I cut out a piece of gold-speckled netting and I sprinkled the top and bottom with some chunky glitter.
The lovely Prima sprigs of beads were dunked in some silver glitter and wrapped around the top of the ornament. I used a few more of the Prima poinsettia leaves finished the card off with a bow and a vintage button.

I wanted to create something wintery with this kit, something that was not necessarily Christmas-themed, so I avoided using the red/green combo for this page.
I added in a light coloured cardstock, with a hint of kraft cardstock detailing, and chose to use only the lightest parts of the patterned papers.
I disassembled the Bo Bunny lace flower and cut the lace into thinner strips (I know, shame on me!), and used it to accent the layout

I made a lovely pocket to replace plain matting (out of kraft cardstock) and a teeny weeny little envelope to add some balance to the page.

As you can see, this page is heavily 'punched -out'. Mostly, it's just straight punches,
but for the punched border around the shaped dotted mat, I actually punched long strips of pp and then cut each scallop so that I could glue down each bit into whatever shape I wanted. I also outlined some of the papers with a marker to add a bit of contrast since all the colours are so light.

Last but not least, a page that truly has nothing to do with Christmas at all! And I love how the paper works with it so perfectly. This photo is from a couple of summers ago, and it is me sitting on a pier ledge, overlooking the beautiful Italian village of Riomaggiore. The Cinque Terre region is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and I have been searching for 'just the right' paper to scrap this photo for months now!
I couldn't believe how perfectly this line worked for my photo!
The distressed papers look worn, just like the quaint watercoloured village, and the designs remind me of old Italian tapestries and art.
Perfect in every way.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the DT's creations with this beautiful kit and make sure to hurry and get your own, before they are all gone!

As always, thanks for stopping by and for your sweet comments.
And as the Italians would say, 'Ciao' to you all!


*Ivana*

~Time for a Sneak Peak~


Look at what just arrived in my mailbox today!!! A GORGEOUS preview of the the Scrap That! December kit! With a focus on holiday warmth and elegance, the kit is appropriately named "Holiday Magic", and it features the beautiful Night Divine paper collection by IOD. The full reveal is coming up in just a few days...but until then, here is a little something to tantalize those scrappy taste buds!



For more info on this gorgeous kit, hop on over to the BRAND new Scrap That! blog, and please be sure to check back on the 26th for the full reveal!

Wishing you all a happy day!


*Ivana*

~Sweet Winter Treats~




There's nothing like a cup of hot chocolate after hours of fun play on a frosty winter day. Perhaps the only thing better is to send that sweetness someone's way! So, I have created a little baggie by altering it with pretty paper and embellies and now this little combo (includes a card) is the perfect accompaniment to a gourmet hot cocoa gift :)

First up, a frosty bag full of delicious, chocolatey goodness...

Decked out with Echo Park patterned papers and soft, ruffled trim to warm the spirit...

A feathered Prima flower speckled with bits of paint and glitter....

And to top it all off, a sweet card to send warm wishes someone's way :)

I used a lovely script stamp from Bo Bunny's Midnight Frost collection, Maya Road chipboard wings (painted and glittered), and lovely ruffled lace and a vintage pin from my stash.

Thanks for stopping by! Sending you all warm winter wishes :)


*Ivana*

~A Picture is worth a Thousand Words~



I was looking through some beautiful old photos tonight...reuniting with familiar faces, reminiscing in the happy memories...wishing that some moments would last forever. Pictures have always captivated me. The thought that a moment can be frozen in a single shot, to be cherished forever, is what drew me to the art of photography and everything that revolves around it.
So amidst my nostalgic discovery, I decided to use the inspiration to make a quick card for a loved one, to hold a photo instead of a sentiment...because after all, when you have something really important to say, or more importantly a feeling to share, a picture is REALLY worth a thousand words :)

I used beautiful Pink Paislee Artisan Elements on this card...distressed them with Glimmer Mist and Crackle Paint for a look as though the these little treasures had gone through centuries of wear and tear....best of all, it only took about a minute or two!
The beautiful Tim Holtz Grungeboard butterfly got a similar treatment, with a touch of chunky glitter and a darling little Prima pearl accent.
I found this fabulous 'faux' stitching technique on the Scrap That! site, posted by the ever-so-talented DT member Janis Medina-Maghinay. Thank you so much Janis for the inspiration!!! I love this new technique...so easy and totally looks like the real thing :) Two ways you can do this, I tend to 'cheat' a little and draw my line first and then poke the holes (you get a neater look this way) or you can pierce the holes first and then connect the dots (looks more like real stitching since it is usually never perfect). Hope you all give it a try sometime! :)

Moving along...I used a lovely bit of Prima lace and misted it with some Glimmer Mist...I found that it didn't really absorb into the lace, but I really like the faded shabby look...it's soft and sweet...perfect for this card :)
As promised, I used another one of my handmade trinket pins here to anchor the little distressed star into the ribbon knot.

The stamp I used is by Bo Bunny and the stringed sequins are a throwback to my experimental sewing days...so glad my sewing phase is over :)
Most of the papers are by Basic Grey, with the exception of the frosty pink Making Memories pp.

Thank you all for stoppin by!! I sincerely appreciate all the visits and sweet comments! :)


*Ivana*

~Frosted roses, lace and bling...These are a few of my favorite things~




I use these basic ingredients any and every chance I get. Especially when I am low on creative juices :) Usually, I like to use chunky flowers, soft lace and glitter on cards and other altered items, where I can get carried away with all the dimension and all the glitzyness :)
This card is a perfect example of all my favorite toppings...all decked out with girlie touches, sweet details and lots and lots of sparkly glitter!

The stamps used are by Inkadinkado and 7 Gypsies. I distressed a lovely antique brass key by K & Co, and added in a sweet Prima rose, with a touch of white crackle paint. The lace and ribbon are from my own stash, with a teeny, weeny bit of Prima lace poking out near the bottom (probably my fave crocheted lace ever!)

I stamped the background using 7 Gypsies stamps for a perfectly sweet print. Such an easy way to dress up plain ol' cardstock :)

So if you are stuck and really struggling with a creative block, my tip for easy scrappin is to pick a few fave ingredients of your own, and work with them every chance you get. If you start out with lovely things dear to your heart, you are bound to end up with something special!

Until next time...happy scrappin!


*Ivana*

~Just Lovely~



Just lovely, so wonderful to me, sweet and dear to my heart...In the busyness of life, I sometime forget to say these things to my loved ones, so I thought this card would be the perfect way to let someone close to me know just how lovely they are!

A fabulously feminine card...with pretty sprinkles and sparkles and that oh-so-lovely vintage dress form by Webster's Pages. A combo of two fabby styles....shabby chic goodness with a touch of cozy textures. Yum!
I gave the card a splash of white crackle paint and chunky, sweet, iridescent glitter :) as if it was not girlie enough :)

I used GORGEOUS My Mind's Eye clear stamps for the image and the title...from the Lost and Found collection! I love combining and layering these stamps with different colours of ink...so many possibilities :)

The lace around the figure is by Websters as well, and the vertical crocheted lace is by Prima. The pretty blue flower and the pearl centers are by Prima also. I dug out my fabric stash and found this cozy, sweet print to add some texture to my card. A splash of paint and a vintage pin tucked on the side, and it's a perfectly sweet and feminine compliment to the vintage dress :)

I mimicked a vintage pin by stringing on various beads and trinkets on a corsage pin. After making this one, I made about 20 more! So easy to make...and totally fun if you are having a creative block and need to not think for a while :)
Can't wait to use the other pretty pins I made :)

Well, that's all for tonight, my friends.
Have a scrappy happy Friday!


*Ivana*

~Homemade - From the Heart~




Just thought I would quickly share a little something I have been working on the last couple of days...Our family has been anticipating the arrival of a new little family member in the next couple of days. My sister in-law's pre-baby shower was a couple of weekends ago, and unfortunately, I couldn't make it....
I did, however, find some time to work on preparing a meal for her, which is a really great idea to make life with a new baby (and a new schedule) a bit easier.
Here is the tag I made to go along with the pre-packaged meal (you guessed it, I made lasagna!) :)

The tag features some Pink Paislee Queen Bee pp, and some sweet Prima flowers. I love these stamps by Hot Off the Press. The stamp set features phrases and images of homemade bliss! I have been wanting to use these little darling stamps for a loooong time! I really couldn't think of a better way to break them in :)

The heart is a stamped image by Inkadinkado, and the pearl embellie and lace are by Prima.

I packaged the lasagna in two smaller (bake safe) containers so that she can have two worry-free and mess-free meals! Should really think about getting myself organized and preparing meals ahead of time...At the very least, it would give me more time to scrap!

If you have a moment, take some time to brighten someone's day today!
Thanks for stopping by!


*Ivana*