Home is Where Our Story Begins

Hi Everyone 

I have a cheerful, bright and simple layout for you today, using some of the new release feathers you will find in the shop.

Home is Where Our Story Begins

I quickly snapped this photo on a late afternoon beach walk with my daughter.  It's not a special photo per se, but it evokes the memory of us just spending time together as mother and daughter, and thats a special memory to hold on to.

YCW's Ornate Frame 11 is equally at home on a vintage layout or a project with a more modern feel. To pair it with the vibrant fresh colours in the Life is Beautiful collection by Aussie company Cocoa Vanilla Studio I've pulled the turquoise from the colour palette of the collection with two coats of Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Tumbled Glass. To add a little depth I've sanded the edges once the paint dried.

Those beautiful feathers have been treated with a heat embossed gold and really bring out that gold foil look.

The title has been daubed with pink and coral acrylic paint and then heat embossed with a clear coat for some shine.

Your Creative Wings product used:  Feathers - Basic Mixed YCW 3049,  Ornate Frame 11 YCW 6011, Quote - Home is Where Small YCW 1072.

Other Product Used:  Cocoa Vanilla Studio Life is Beautiful patterned paper, Bazzill cardstock, Crate Paper gold foil vellum, Cocoa Vanilla Studio Life is Beautiful sticker sheet, TCW stencil, Faber Castell Whipped Spackle, Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Tumbled Glass, gold embossing powder, typewriter, enamel dot, gold thread, Prima Color Bloom spray in Peony, Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Coral, acrylic paint, clear embossing powder.

I'm sad to say this will be my last post for Your Creative Wings.  I've had the most amazing time on the team team but due to a change in circumstances I need to step down.

The girls have some stunning layouts coming up, and the awesome new chippy designs just keep on coming (umm... have you SEEN the pieces in the brand new Boho range???).

Thanks for dropping by today!

Your Creative Wings July Inspiration

Hi Everyone

Thanks for joining me with some Your Creative Wings inspiration today!

The Smallest Things

The lovely Secret Garden collection from Kaisercraft and this photo of Kayci taken a few years ago at Taupo in New Zealand were the starting points for this layout.  

I loved the shabby chic and feminine vibe to the papers, and so I knew I wanted to use a white and pale blue treatment to my chippy pieces to carry that shabby chic style through the layout. 

You can see the sweet little antique key here, and for the blue treatment on it (and the lock and clock face arms which you can see in the photo below), I've just applied a quick coat of Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Tumbled Glass.  Because I was aiming for an antique look I only needed one coat to the raw chippy so that you can see some of the raw chipboard slightly showing through.  After the  paint dried I used some sandpaper to sand the edges of the chippy.

For the white treatment to the ornate clock and ornate post I base coated with gesso and then heat embossed with white embossing powder.  I really like the smoother finish that you can achieve with a  coat of gesso before embossing in white.. OCD much?!

How sweet is the little antique lock in the top left!?

The ornate post was blended into the flower cluster by first wrapping a leafy vine ribbon around it and then some hemp twine.  Then just adding a few flowers here and there really blends it in.

Your Creative Wings product used:  Keys & Locks Small YCW8013, Ornate Post YCW 19005, Wrought Iron Clock YCW 16017.

Other product used:  Kaisercraft patterned paper, Secret Garden collection,  Bazzill cardstock, French Lattice Small Frame, English Tea Party Doily & French Pastry Tiny Doily dies from Cheery Lin Designs, Martha Stewart punch around the page punch, My Minds Eye enamel dots, corrugated cardboard, doily, gesso, whit embossing powder, Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Tumbled Glass, topstitch thread, hemp twine, peg - mini, vine ribbon, various flowers, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen and Tattered Rose, Darkroom Door texture stamp, Prima Color Bloom mist in Peony.

Love

Oh my, young love.. There's something so special and heartwarming about it yes?  We were really excited to meet Sophie for the first time last weekend and thankfully she's a little more willing to have photos taken than Brent normally is.  

I've been hoarding this amazing Gramercy Road collection by Gossamer Blue for way too long, and it was so perfect for these photos!

Often chippy pieces are used on traditional scrapbook layouts with a myriad of treatments, but if you're wanting to use some pieces on a clean and simple design, try leaving them as raw chippy without any altering - they look great!  I've used the raw camera piece on this layout and then added a little acrylic paint to the separate tiny heart (that comes in the pack) and inked a little shadow in a slightly darker shade of pink.  Simply adhere the coloured heart to the top of the chippy piece.

I so love my chippy alphas, to be able to alter them any way you please is so much better than spending an obscene amount of money on a huge stash of Thickers.  I've used this one alpha set on at least four layouts and I still have plenty left.  

To treat the Polaroid Frame Set - Love, I've dabbed some Tim Holtz Distress Stain in Black Soot on the scripted love word, and then trimmed some patterned paper to the same size as the polaroid frame and adhered it to the chipboard.  

Your Creative Wings product used:  Alpha # 1 YCW5006, Cameras YCW8002, Geo Pointers - Stars & Arrows YCW4006, Hearts n Arrows YCW4019, Polaroid Frame Set - Love YCW6025

Other product used:  Gossamer Blue patterned paper, American Crafts cardstock, EK Success edge punch, Gossamer Blue ephemera pack, hemp twine, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, Tim Holtz Distress Stain in Black Soot, gesso, acrylic paint, Versa Color ink in Old Rose, Stazon Ink.

Thanks so much for dropping by today!

Mixed Media Inspiration with Your Creative Wings

Hi everyone and today I'm sharing some Your Creative Wings mixed media inspiration.

This gorgeous, doodley, almost gothic styled patterned paper from Prima Marketing Inc provided me with the inspiration this month to create a gothic yet feminine layout.  I've also featured three of the frames from Your Creative Wings Frames Collection in this one layout.

Moments

This layout has lots of layers and different mediums to it, and even some textural elements like micro and glass beads.

To create the base layers I adhered strips of patterned paper in a random pattern and added some torn up pieces of old sewing pattern tissue paper.  After dry brushing with gesso I added texture paste tinted with shavings from a pale pink Gelato through a stencil.

After working out the position of the outer frame I adhered some micro beads and then applied mists around the frame.

To treat the gorgeous Wreath - Leafy Set, I first spritzed the entire frame with water and let it sit for a couple of minutes to loosen the layers of chippy.  Then I took my scalpel (carefully so there are no scrapping injuries lol!), and scuffed up the top layer.  This doesn't have to be perfect, after all it's a random effect we're looking for.  Then apply a coat of gesso over the frame, so that you can still see some raw areas of chippy.  Give a quick dry with a heat tool and then add mists to sections of the frame.  Dry with a heat tool as you go, and add more colour as you like.

The Wreath - Willow frame has simply been given a coat of Distress Paint in Black Soot.

My title, Moments, has again been coated in Black Soot Distress Paint and then a coat of Glossy Accents.  Remember that these titles are quite flexible, so you can bend them out of their usual shape to suit your project.

I've tucked one of the little dress forms from the Mannequin Set into my flower cluster, with patterned paper adhered and some liquid pearls for added details, and of course some satin seam binding to accentuate the feminine side to a gothic layout!

I love digging into my stash of little bits and bobs that add detail to a layout.  The Butterflies - Mini set is perfect to have on hand to add details in and around a flower cluster.  I've used some Tinby Metallic Melts here for their lovely metallic sheen.

Your Creative Wings product used:  Ornate Frame 16 Tiny YCW6017, Words - Captured Moments Script YCW1057, Wreath - Leafy Set YCW2021, Wreath - Willow 11cm YCW2022, Mannequin Set YCW16017, Butterflies - Mini YCW3042

Other product used:  Prima Marketing Inc patterned paper, Bazzill cardstock, Martha Stewart edge punch, gesso, clear gesso, texture paste, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Black Soot and Antique Linen, Faber Castell Gelato in Guava, Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous stencil, fabric pattern paper, Micro Beads in Florentine Gold, Prima Marketing Inc mist in Peony, Distress Paint in Black Soot, Liquid Pearls in Platinum Pearl, Stazon Ink, Kaisercraft stamp, glass beads, Prima Marketing Inc flowers, Petaloo flowers, satin seam binding, Tinby Metallic Melts, doily.

Canvas - Its Always Ourselves We Find in the Sea

I visited the Brisbane Scrapbook and Papercraft Expo in Brisbane a couple of weekends ago and had the opportunity to take a class by the lovely and very talented Sue Smythe.  This canvas gives a nod to the techniques and artistic style that she taught in the class, but with my theming and design.

How amazing is the Dreamcatcher chippy piece!?  I love the hearts and feathers and intricate criss-cross of threads in the main piece.  The Dreamcatcher and mesh panel pieces have been given a coat of Gesso and sprayed with Dylusions mists, and then finally dry brushed with gold acrylic paint.

The quote comes from one of my all-time favourite poems, Maggie and Milly and Molly and May by E.E. Cummings.

I've painted the heart in the dreamcatcher with gold paint and given a generous coat of Distress Crackle Paint in Rock Candy.  When that dried I spritzed with a black mist to accent the crackle.  I've also collected a few shells from our beach here and treated them with gesso, mists and gold paint as well.

The frame has been heat embossed with a mixed embossing enamel by Stampendous, and the alphas treated the same as the heart in the centre of the Dreamcatcher.

And as always, a bit of bling to finish this little canvas off!

Your Creative Wings product used:  Dreamcatcher YCW8012, Ornate Frame 11 YCW6011, Mesh Panel YCW8010, Alpha # 1 YCW5006

Other product used:  Canvas, white & black gesso, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint in Rock Candy, Dylusions ink in Fresh Lime, Cut Grass, London Blue & Calypso Teal. Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Black Magic, gel medium, Stampendous Embossing Enamel in Aged Marine, acrylic paint, gauze, Wendy Vecchi Crackled Texture Paste, The Crafters Workshop stencil, metal ephemera, shells, hemp twine, typewriter, Stazon ink, diamontes, paper towel

Thanks so much for dropping by today.  Have you visited the shop lately?  I spy some special new goodies here and here that are hot off the YCW press!!

Your Creative Wings - Girly Layout Inspiration

I have to say there are the most beautiful new chippy pieces being released by Your Creative Wings at the moment, I may have gushed... a lot.... over my latest happy mail package!! 

So Sweet

I've used three of the latest releases on this layout: the Flutterby Charm 2 Mini, the Doily Bunting, and the gorgeous layered Floral Flourish.

The Mini Flutterby Charm 2 is the sweetest little mini charm.  I've used acrylic paint in a complimentary peachy shade to the patterned papers, shading to a very pale peach in the centre of the charm.   I treated the layered butterfly the same way, with the darker shade in the centre, and the lighter shade towards the edges of his wings.

Some Liquid Pearls add some extra highlights to the piece.

Now who doesn't love bunting... and lace doily bunting at that!? Each individual doily has a removable centre, and I've covered the centres in a patterned paper from the collection and shaded the edges.  I've dabbed cream acrylic paint on the lace or outer pieces using a sponge, this allows the detail in the chippy to show through.

The French Window 2 provides a perfect foreground to one of the mother and baby images from the Precious Memories collection. Its like peaking straight through the window of a house and I love how it reinforces the mother & daughter sentiment of the layout.  Again this piece has been sponged with acrylic paint and finished with some Perfect Pearls.

The layered floral flourish has an extra flower in the pack to layer.  To add extra dimension I've spritzed the flower with some water, let it sit for a couple of minutes and then separated and squished up the top layer of chipboard.  I've painted with acrylic paint, adding a little shading to the flowers and buds, and then added Glossy Accents over each bud. 

Your Creative Wings product used:  Floral Flourish YCW7019; Doily Bunting YCW9014; Flutterby Charm 2 Mini YCW304; French Window 2 YCW18003.

Other Product used: Graphic 45 Precious Memories patterned paper; Bazzill cardstock; Martha Stewart edge punch; acrylic paint; gesso; Glossy Accents; satin ribbon, Liquid Pearls in Platinum Pearl; Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen; Versa Color ink in Bamboo; My Minds Eye brads; topstitch thread

Unconditional Love

Anyone who has seen a couple of my layouts knows that if I have any opportunity whatsoever to add some gold (or silver) then it's going to end up on the page ha!  This layout has gold glitter, gold foil, gold stitching... and some gold heat embossing just for good measure.

I've left the title chippy piece raw because I love how it ties in with the burlap background, and the background of the photo.

To create the gold tipped arrows, paint the rear end of the arrows with acrylic paint, and heat emboss the arrow head with gold embossing powder.

The new Circles Charm set has layers of circles that can be left together, or removed and treated separately depending on how you want to use them.  I've separated each piece and chosen different shades of acrylic paint and gold embossing powder to create colourful circles.

A few extra little hearts are the perfect finishing touch to embellish the charms.

Your Creative Wings product used: Unconditional Love Title YCW1064; Love Candy YCW12018; Hearts & Arrows YCW 4019; Circles Charm Set YCW 16021

Other product used: Crate Paper Craft Market Burlap; Crate Paper patterned paper, American Crafts gold vellum; Crate Paper Craft Market Accent Stickers; Bazzill cardstock; American Crafts Pow Glitter Paper; gold thread; topstitch thread; acrylic paint; gesso; gold embossing powder; white embossing powder.

Thanks so much for dropping by today.  Be sure to drop by the Your Creative Wings shop regularly as beautiful new pieces are being released all the time.

Your Creative Wings - Vintage Inspiration

I've been feeling in a bit of a vintage vibe lately, and after seeing the new Antique Bazaar collection from Kaisercraft I knew it would be perfect to highlight one of my family heritage photos.

I tried to work out what year this photo was taken, but at the end of the day it's an educated guess, so I didn't want to claim it to be a particular year, hence the title Circa 1917.  What I do know about the photo is who the people in it are, and that it was taken in a studio in Gympie, also my own hometown.  The girl on the top left is my Great Grandma Enid. Her Dad Thomas (on the right) was a carpenter at the time, and it would have only been a couple of years after this photo was taken that he helped Enid to carve and assemble the most beautiful timber serving tray that I still have today, nearly 100 years later.

The new Polaroid Frame set has been cleverly put together so that you get lots and lots of polaroid frames from the one chippy piece (and that's great value for money!).  I really liked how they all interlocked together and decided to use that theme to create a background. 

To achieve the vintage brassy finish to these pieces I first dabbed some gold paint randomly on them. Then spritzed with two shades of mist (I used Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Mustard Seed & Coffee Shop).  I then ran them through my Cuttlebug using a large damask embossing folder.  I applied some charcoal Kindyglitz along the impressions made by the embossing folder, before giving a good coat of Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint in Rock Candy.  When this dried it was a bit too gold and not quite brassy enough for my liking, so I added a coat of Tim Holtz Distress Stain in Tarnished Brass, and removed the excess with a baby wipe.

The Alpha #2 set is great for when you need some smaller alphas, and includes both letters and numbers.  These have been treated with Distress Paint in Black Soot, and then a coat of Glossy Accents for that beautiful glossy finish.

The flourish from the Sprig Flourish Set has been painted with Gesso and then with Crackle Paint.  Once dry I've inked with some Frayed Burlap Distress Ink and again removed the excess with a baby wipe.  This really accentuates the crackle lines.  Finally I've painted with Mod Podge and sprinkled with Twinklets Diamond Dust.

I just love how the Diamond Dust, Crackle Paint and the Glossy Accents on the alphas sparkle and throw the light!

Your Creative Wings Product Used:  Polaroid Frame Set YCW6023, Sprig Flourish Set YCW7013, Alpha #2 YCW5001U

Other Product Used:  Bazzill cardstock, Kaisercraft Antique Bazaar Collection patterned paper, Die-namics & Spellbinders dies; Tim Holtz film strip ribbon, metal findings, Prima Junkyard Findings, My Minds Eye brad, Petaloo, Kaisercraft & Green Tara flowers, Carl punch, The Crafters Workshop stencil, Kaisercraft & Prima stamps, Versa Color, Versamark & Tim Holtz Distress Inks, thread, clear gesso, gesso, Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Black Soot, Glossy Accents, gold acrylic paint, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Mustard Seed & Coffee Shop, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint in Rock Candy.  Tim Holtz Distress Stain in Tarnished Brass, Kindyglitz, Mod Podge, Twinklets Diamond Dust, Tinby Designs Metallic Melts in Patina.

My second layout today is more feminine, and uses another of Kaisercraft's latest collections, Oh So Lovely.

So far there are 14 different frames to choose from in the Your Creative Wings frame collection.  I do love the Ornate Frame 2, because it's square based it's perfect for Instagram photos, and another smaller square frame can be layered inside it, like this one from Crate Paper.

I played around a bit with finishes for two of the chippy pieces on this layout, and initially painted them with acrylic paint but then misted over that with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Coffee Shop. Because of the acrylic paint layer the finish of the mist is a little different than if i had misted raw chipboard, but I love the finished effect!

The Chain Set comes with two sizes of chain, and they work really easily together.  Perfect for hanging my fussy cut bird cages from!

The shop now has a huge collection of Words & Quotes.  It's too hard to pick a favourite, but I love all the scripty words.  My title has just been primed with gesso and then painted with acrylic paint.

The Flutterby Charm 2 comes with additional butterflies for layering.  This piece has been treated the same as the frame, and I've layered an extra butterfly that has been painted in Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Antique Linen.

Your Creative Wings Product Used:  Ornate Frame 2 YCW6004, Flutterby Charm 2 YCW3044, Ball Chain Lengths YCW11009, Words - So Happy YCW1056.

Other Product Used:  Kaisercraft, Bo Bunny, Basic Grey & My Minds Eye patterned paper, Cheery Lin Designs die, doily, Prima Say It In Crystals, sequins, Prima stamp, Ranger Archival Ink, Tim Holtz Distress Ink, Prima & Kaisercraft flowers, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, Tim Holtz Distress Paint, acrylic paint, The Crafters Workshop stencil, Crate Paper frame.

Thanks so much for dropping by today!

Your Creative Wings Inspiration

Hi everyone, today I have some Your Creative Wings inspiration for you!

I'm really fortunate to have a bunch of really old photos of my family, and mostly because of my Grandparents I also have the background story that goes along with them.  I love that family members who have gone before me, each in their own way help to shape my own life story.  A photo of my Grandma in her youth (in quite a revealing swimsuit for the era gasp!) inspired this vintage layout.

I'm totally loving the Doilyz Nest chipboard set which comes with 6 individual pieces.  In this layout I've used three of them and layered each with ephemera pieces.

I've recently purchased a set of Tinby Metallic Melts and thought I'd give them a try on this layout.  Tinby Metallic Melts are a chunky heat embossing powder with a metallic sheen.  I was aiming for a rustic finish, and as you can see on my title it gives a lovely aged look.  To achieve this look simply heat the powder until almost melted, but not completely.  I used three different colours throughout the layout, on the Doilyz Nest pieces, the large flourish and on my title.

The tiny pendant has so much detail to it, and when embossed with white embossing powder it shows  that detail through beautifully.

It's great to keep some smaller pieces of chippy on hand to tuck in here and there to add extra details, like the Birds - Cute set and Hearts & Arrows set.  I've applied Whipped Spackle roughly with a palette knife, allowed it to dry and then dripped mist onto each.  When the mist dried I dabbed on a little more gesso for a mottled effect.

Your Creative Wings Products Used:  Curly Scroll YCW7004, Doilyz Nest YCW13005, My Words YCW1026, Small Hearts & Arrows YCW4019, Damask Charm Set - Large YCW16011, Birds - Cute YCW3002

Other Products Used:  Patterned Paper - Kaisercraft Blue Bay collection, Kaisercraft Blue Bay ephemera pack, Martha Stewart edge punch, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Cracked Pistachio and Pumice Stone, Gesso, Whipped Spackle, twine, lace, burlap trim, Tinby Metallic Melts, Flowers - Prima, Kaisercraft & Manor House Creations, Ribtex bling, white embossing powder, thread, Gelatos in Snow Cone and Aqua Dolce, Lindy's Stamp Gang Flat Fabios in Merci Beaucoup Mint & Ceste la vie Cerise, Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Navy

I've also created some cards this month.

Do you have anyone in your life that you wished lived closer so that you could see them more often? Why not send them a card to remind them how much you think of them?  The Love Candy buttons have some sweet sentiments on them and this little 'Miss You' sentiment is so darn cute.

I've used another of the Doilyz Nest pieces, heat embossed in white and layered it over a die cut doily to create an additional layer (the Doilyz Nest pieces are so versatile!).  After arranging my flower cluster around the bottom left I've dabbed Liquid Pearls around the remaining inside border of the chippy.

I've again tucked a little Birds - Cute piece in with the flowers (heat embossed in white), and the Love Candy piece has been left raw to give it some contrast to the rest of the card, and draw your eye to it as the sentiment.

Your Creative Wings Products Used:  Love Candy YCW12018, Birds - Cute YCW3002, Doilyz Nest YCW13005.

Other Products Used:  Patterned Paper - Kaisercraft XO collection, Bazzill cardstock, Martha Stewart corner punch, Cheery Lynn Designs doily die, Carl punch, Flowers - Green Tara, Petaloo & Manor House Creations, Prima Say it in Crystals, My Minds Eye enamel dots, Doodlebug Designs sequins, Liquid Pearls in Platinum Pearl, white embossing powder, thread, satin seam binding, medical gauze.

And lastly a card just to say "Love You".  Valentines Day has been and gone, but it doesn't hurt to remind our loved ones every now and then how much we appreciate them.

I was inspired by the Art Deco feel to this 3x4 card from Kaisercraft's XO collection.  With this theme in mind, flicking through my chippy pieces I was drawn to the styling of the Ornate Gate Medium chippy piece.  I painted it with Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Black Soot for maximum contrast to the 3x4 card. To continue with the Art Deco theme I've edge-punched some white cardstock and used it as a border.

The Love Candy pieces were the perfect size to replace the letter "O" in the word Love.  I've separated the very outside piece of the Love Candy and painted it as I did the gate, and the inside two pieces were then heat embossed in white.  Once reassembled they fit perfectly into a 25 (or 2.5cm) Epiphany Crafts Charm Setting.  This then nestled into a Heart Chain chippy piece that I painted with pink acrylic paint.

Your Creative Wings Products Used:  Ornate Gates Medium YCW19003, Heart Chain Small YCW12020, Love Candy YCW12018

Other Products Used:  Patterned Paper - Kaisercraft XO collection, Bazzill cardstock, Martha Stewart edge punch, Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Black Soot, white embossing powder, My Minds Eye enamel dots, acrylic paint, Ephipany Crafts Charm Settings 25, satin seam binding, machine stitching.

Thanks for dropping by today, and don't forget about our special offer at the moment - spend $25 or more in the YCW Shop and go in the draw to win $100 worth of Your Creative Wings chipboard!!