Sunday, March 23, 2014

New Products from Blue Fern Studios!

Today we would like to share with you the new releases for March! With spring upon our part of the world, you are sure to love the new seasonally appropriate designs. And as always, we have a variety of other items in the mix too. 

Take a look:

Bunny Basket Set

Cosmos Basket

Little Baskets

Mixed Chains

Pipeworks

Rose Basket

Rose Frame

Rugged Chains

Spring Trinkets

Twilight Garden Frame

Working Parts

We hope you love our latest designs!
{Which are YOUR favorites??}

Saturday, March 22, 2014

"(love these) Memories" by Lisa Griffith

Hello everyone! I hope this post find you all well. It's my turn to share my projects today. The first layout I created was an experiment just to get some interesting looks using the new line of paper from Blue Fern Studios.

"(love these) Memories"


Here I started with the Blue Fern Studios paper called "Signature", and created some texture using heavy gesso and a stencil, and then sprayed with Ranger Vintage Photo ink and water. These papers really are amazing how well they hold up to whatever mediums you want to use. (There was a little bit of warping, but a small price to pay.) I love how the paper, inks and gesso mixed to create a watercolor effect. The chip board pieces I used is one of Captured Words piece that I cut in half and pieces of the Chainlink Panel. For the chipboards I coated them with gesso and then painted them with brown ink and then a coat of clear crackle paint. I was trying to get them to look like wood to match my photo. I also used a small strip cut off from the bottom of the paper, and a piece of the blue packaging that comes with the chipboard that I punched with a lacy punch and layered under my photo. I also cut out some butterflies Blue Fern Studios paper "In Bloom".




Next up I have a layout that I created using a vintage photo of my mum.......

"Pauline"


Here I used three different pieces of chip board called Circle Motifs, Petite Windows and Iron Work Accents. For all of the pieces I painted with Silks paint in Emperor's Gold (my new all-time favorite) and then stamped over the pieces with black ink. I added some bits of a vintage magazine, some Prima flowers and pink paint.


And my last project is a mixed media card I made for St. Patrick's Day.


I created my card using a piece of the paper "Signature" as my base, lots of stamping, misting, and the gorgeous Blue Fern Studios chip board called Blooming Foliage. I covered the chipboard with a light coat of gesso, and then painted it with green mist and gold paint and then a coat of Glossy Accents.


I hope you have enjoyed my projects and feel a little inspired?
Thanks for looking,
Hugs, Lisa xo


Friday, March 21, 2014

"Girly-Girl Layouts" with Kelly Foster

Good morning! And...happy Friday!!! 
I hope you have some fun weekend plans - maybe some creating? If so, I hope to inspire you a little bit...
I have two super girly-girl pages to share today!

"Adorable"

I love this picture of my little girl...she looks to me just like a porcelain doll...ivory, smooth skin, sweet pink lips, and a frozen expression to go with it - lol!
Anyway, I wanted to go for a super feminine and soft look here. I started with the Rose Wreath, giving it a good coating of gesso, then let that dry.


Atop the gesso, I randomly dabbed Distress Ink and Distress Paint, then sprayed with water, dried, and repeat. The colors weren't quite where I wanted them, so I went in with my favorite chalk inks and added the green, and a bit more color here and there on the flowers. I think this is such a beautiful "statement piece" for any layout, and i based the entire design of my page around it!


For my title, I simply painted the word "adorable" from the Good Vibes Set white with a few coats of gesso so it would really stand out.

Blue Fern products:
Rose Wreath
Good Vibes Set

"Love"

Another ultra- feminine page..this one a bit more bright and wild! The colors I chose were based off of my photo 100%. I started with "Love Letters" from the Blue Fern Garden papers, and then cut and layered pieces from "Calling Cards", "In Bloom", and "Picnic". Much of this did end up being covered up, however, by my photo, chipboard, and media.


Next I took the Quatrefoil Panel and have used it in three ways. I cut a large rectangular piece of the panel and it is entwined in my paper layers beneath my photo. Next, I cut a few strips from the panel and added those here and there. I also popped out a few of the "inner pieces" of the panel and scattered them and added them to clusters as well. The panel pieces were all given a coating of white embossing powder, then painted with watercolor paints and Gelatos.


To ground my title, I added a section of one of the Heart Borders, and used the word "Love" from the Valentine Word Set for a simple title...once again painted white.

Blue Fern Studios products:
Blue Fern Garden - Calling Cards
Blue Fern Garden - Love Letters
Blue Fern Garden - Picnic
Blue Fern Garden - In Bloom
Quatrefoil Panel
Heart Borders
Valentine Word Set

Thank you so much for stopping in today. Until next time!

*Kelly*

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Some Blue Fern Garden Projects with Rae

Hello! It's Rae with you to share some more projects I have made using more of the Blue Fern Garden papers. They are so beautiful and I am down to scraps now, but I have had such a fun time working with this beyond gorgeous collection!

"Perfect" Layout


I'm trying to use up every part of each piece of paper, so I used this "Boudoir" piece that I cut an oval out of already for another layout, and went from there for this layout. The back has some green cardstock and the "Love Letters" paper that I fussy cut the lattice out of. 

Here's a closeup of the berry stems that I used as part of my floral cluster:

Primed with gesso, and then sprayed with some green gold mist, I then added some archival ink in black to these "berry stems", then added some Liquid Pearls in black for accents.

This is a close up of the "sweetheart dressform" that I treated with gold Ferro, then sprinkled black embossing powder over while still wet, and dried with a heat gun to get this distressed effect. 



"Follow Your Heart" Card

Another project I made using the Blue Fern Garden scraps. 

The bird is from the "little birds set." I just used black chalk ink on him. :)

The frame is from the "petite boutique frames set" that I primed with gesso, sprayed with patina mist in random spots, then used some gold embossing powder.

The scrolls under the flower are pieces I cut from the "large royal border." I painted it with dark olive paint, then added some bright green microbeads.




"Good Things Jar" Altered Project

And, lastly, here is an altered project I made using a mason jar. I've made a few of these, and I give them to friends as gifts. I saw this idea on Pinterest: keep a mason jar handy and when something good happens, write it down on a piece of paper, fold it up, and throw it in the jar. At the end of the year, take all of the pieces out and read all of the good things that have happened for that year. In the pin, the mason jar is plain, but it's much better to have an altered jar on the counter!



The jar is covered with a piece of "In Bloom" paper that I stamped and distressed. The little flag is from the bottom strip of one of the papers.


The bird cage is from the "grande cages set." I covered it with Perfect Pearls in heirloom gold, which gives it a perfect finish- not to shiny! I added pearl strips and accented the butterfly with Smooch inks.

Here's the back: 



Thanks for taking the time to look at my projects today!


Rae

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Different Ideas by Keren Tamir


Hi Blue Fern Studio Fans.

 I have a fun and diverse post for you today. 
This month, I've created three different kinds of projects all very different from each other yet original on their own.
The first one is a layout. I know its just a layout, not so original lol, but continue scrolling down I made two more projects that you might think are more unique.

"Timeless Me"


The picture above is a picture of me when I was a kid. I think I'm probably 4 years old here. I created this layout using the green toned papers from the Blue Fern Garden collection.


I used the inside part of the Helen's Doily. It was a leftover piece from a previous layout. I also used one of the Jeweled Page baubles. Both these pieces were covered in green chalk edger ink and then stamped and edged in brown ink.


 The title Me from the Valentine word set was simply coloured in brown ink,


<<<<<<>>>>>>>

"Love & Thanks Journal"

My second project today is a journal that I created for a friend. I only altered the cover and left the inside blank for her to fill in.


The background was altered using crackle paint, ink and stamping. Once dry, I added a few of the Blue Fern Studio chipboard pieces on top.
I used the Shabby Brick bits, Two of the Veranda Cages, one little bird and the "&" sign from the Valentine Word set.



<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>


"Bookmarks"

For my third and final project for March I thought of a great idea on how to use some of the new Blue Fern Studio dangles to create bookmarks. I just thought they were the perfect size to fit inside a book and still have the bottom dangle through the pages.

I believe this would be a perfect gift for a friend's birthday or a teacher's end of the year gift.

I created a step by step  tutorial on how I made these bookmarks:

Step 1: Prime both dangles with Gesso on both sides. Let each side dry before applying it on the other side.


Step 2: Cover the chipboard with crackle paint. I only covered the top side. Let it dry overnight.


Step 3: Cover one of the dangles in brown and yellow chalk ink and the other with green and yellow ink. Do this on both sides. (of course you may choose any colours you like)


Step 4: Seal both sides of the chipboard using Glossy Accents, Diamond glaze or equivalent transparent gel. Let one side dry first before applying it on the other side.


Step 5: Punch a hole through the chipboard at the top of a dangle if it doesn't have one. Then insert a tassel and a fancy brad for decoration.




well I hope you enjoyed my fun and diverse post today!!
Enjoy the rest of March!!!!
Have a wonderful day!!

Keren

Monday, March 17, 2014

Lace Organization Project, and a Shabby Chic Tag

Hello everyone, Joyce here to share an organization idea for your lacy bits.  I had several boxes of acquired lacy bits, and after some time, the boxes became overfilled, disorganized, and I quit reaching for them to use on projects.  They were just too pretty not to be used. I organized them so that I could see all the different patterns, and hopefully make them easier to reach for any put away too.  I made a template out of a 4 x 6 index card in the shape of an “H”, just like those organizational embroidery cards for DMC floss, and cut the “H” shape out of various old scrapbooking papers.  Then you simply wind all the lacy bits over each card.  Don’t they look pretty all organized in the box?  They sure make me want to use them now.  Of course, I couldn’t just leave them in a plain white photo box.  Each boxed lid is embellished with some lovely Blue Fern Studios chipboard pieces.  Even though each chipboard piece is different, the boxes look like a collection because they were designed with the same colors, and similar elements.

Here’s the lid on the first box featuring the blooming foliage chipboard treated with paints, and the fiber tissue paper technique on those little buds:



Here’s the lid featuring a Bohemian Flower and the  Leafy Page Accent chipboard treated with paint  a homemade glaze, and crackle.





Shabby Chic Tag:

 The base of the tag was created with the Boudoir Blue Fern Garden paper, and Signature paper pattern was torn in strips and applied to the base with a heavy gel medium.  Various stamps were applied to the paper before the application of gesso and creamy colored acrylic paint.  After the gesso/acrylic paint application dried, another application of various stamps were used on top of the strips and the base of the tag.  After all the products were dried, a lot of tea bag throwing went on to render an aged look. 

The apothecary jar was created with white acrylic paint, one layer of fiber paper, stamping, stencil and molding paste, and finally some application of pink mist.  It looks so pretty and feminine.

Here’s a picture of the front of the tag.  



Here's a picture of the back of the tag, see how he front flap folds over?  That's because of the jump rings attached to each of the three eyelets.

Thanks for the visit.  I hope I have inspired you to use your Blue Fern Studios chipboard pieces on an organizational idea.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Tutorial - Mixed media canvas by Marie-Josée

Hello all!

Today, I will show you how to create this mixed media canvas in 10 steps.


Supplies:

- Small canvas (I used a 5" x 7" canvas)
- Glue
- Sponge
- Paintbrush
- Heat gun (usually used for embossing)
- Paper towels
- Stamps
- Black ink
- Piece of a Blue Fern panel or any other Blue Fern chipboard (I used a piece of the Chickenwire panel)
- Blue Fern words for the title (I used the "Dream Big" phrase from The Optimist set)
- Quote of your choice written by hand or printed on a piece of paper or cardstock
- Gesso

- 2 or 3 differents colors of Silks acrylic glazes
- Acrylic paint in a color that matches your Silks paints
- Black mist (mine is made with water and Memento ink)
- 1 or 2 mists matching your Silks paints
- Inka Gold paint in Gold and Silver, or any other gold or silver medium.
- Various embellishments (I used flowers and thread)

Instructions: 

First of all, I want to apologize for the ugly background. I was working on my kitchen table and had to use some flyers to protect my table. I hope the bright colors --and the chicken-- won't be too distracting! :)

1) First, glue your piece of chipboard to the canvas.



2) Apply gesso with the sponge all over the canvas and the chipboard. Dry with the heat gun to create texture and bubbles. Wait until it is completely dry before moving on to step 3.



3) Apply acrylic paint with the sponge. As you can see, I used a very light shade of teal. You can use a darker color if you want. Dry with the heat gun if you wish to speed up the process. Wait until it is completely dry before moving on to step 4.



4) Using your paint brush, dab touches of your first Silks color all over the canvas. Don't let the color dry.



5) Do the same with the second color. Ensure the colors overlap. Then proceed with the third color if you use one. -- I'm sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the finished background with the third color. :) -- Once you are done, dry with the heat gun if you wish to speed up the process. Wait until it is completely dry before moving on to step 6.



6) Spray black mist all over your canvas.



7) Immediately after spraying the black mist, use some paper towels to wipe most of it, as if you were dabbing some paint on the canvas. However, try to leave as much black as possible in the creases to add dimension to your project. Add more mist if needed. Once you are done, dry with the heat gun if you wish to speed up the process. Wait until it is completely dry before moving on to step 8.



8) Spray the other mists all over your canvas. Dry with the heat gun if you wish to speed up the process. Wait until it is completely dry before moving on to step 9.


9) Apply both colors of Inka Gold with your finger on the chipboard. If your Inka Gold is dried out, like mine, just dip your finger in water. This will dilute the Inka Gold and you will be able to add color.



10) Use the black mist to color your title. Add a touch of Inka Gold to it. Glue the quote, the title and the embellishments on the canvas. Stamp some details with your stamps and black ink around the canvas.

Here's the end result:


And some close-up views: