Love You Layout by Mel Connell

Hello again everyone. 

This is my second creation for October for Couture Creations and I have just completely fallen in love with the new Vintage Rose Garden paper range and the Floral lace dies. They are just gorgeous. 

Are your easy to create along? Get ready this one is a bit fun!

You will need one of your favourite sheets of paper from the Vintage Rose Garden paper collection, a Coordinating glitter and sheets of sticky JAC paper and some black cardstock to get you going. 

Use your favourite Floral lace die, I used Love Abounds. Cut about 9 of these from black cardstock. 

Peel off one side of the stick JAC paper and lay your die cuts down all over the JAC paper to create your own pattern. 

Now here comes the really really super fun part. Cover the entire piece of JAC paper with glitter. The glitter will stick to all the past inside and around your die cuts. 

Tip off any excess glitter into a craft tray or onto The Couture Creations Non -stick Craft Mat to put back into your glitter jar. 

You may need to use a small paint brush to brush off any glitter that is clinging to your die cut pieces. 

Mat this onto black cardstock and then into the centre of your Vintage Rose Garden sheet of patterned paper. I did a 8.5 x 11 inch layout cut this would ale woe for 12 x 12 inches, you will just need to use two sheets of JAC and join them together. 

Cut from white cardstock two of the smaller dies from the Ornamental lace Memories set, ink these in a matching colour to your layout. Add some faux stitching with a black pen. 

I added my small photo to the centre of one of these. 

Die cut out of white cardstock 1 butterfly from The Van Roe Collection and heat emboss this with a colour that tones in with the rest of your layout. 

Layer up all your die cut pieces, your hand created background and a few embellishments to match.

Couture Creations Products Used:

CO723722 - Decorative Dies, The Van Roe - Beautiful Butterfly

CO723314 - Ornamental Lace Dies, The Treasure - Memories Set

CO724003 - Ornamental Lace Dies, Floral lace - Love Abounds

CO723838 - Non-Stick Craft Mat

CO724062 - Vintage Rose Garden Paper Collection

CO721963 - Foam Mounting Tape - 18mm

CO721984 - Double Sided Tape - 12mm

Remember

Hello everyone. 

I am so excited to say that Tomorrow's Memories recently got in the Prima/Finnabair Art Basics and Art Extravagance products in and the DT have been playing with them. 

I was so super excited to get started and wanted to do a bit of a Finnabair inspired layout. I have loved her work for ages and was so amazed by her technique and style when she came to teach at our store last year. 

So grab a paint brush, some water, a few sheets of paper and cardstock and get ready to play. 

Start by giving your self a strong background to work on so layer up two sheets of paper and cardstock, I left a little border around the edges. 

Glue them together with the Soft  Matte Gel.

Tear some strips from left over papers that coordinate and layer these up sticking them down also with the Soft Matte Gel. 

Using the gold crackle texture paste as some pattern using a stencil and allow this to dry.  You can do a little or go a bit OT and add a fair amount. 

I worked out where I wanted my photo mats to be and layers these up with a few doilies, and add this amazing truing of mason jar light chipboard from My Creative Wings. It's just beautiful chipboard. 

Next up add in all kinds of embellishment, flowers, metal pieces, gems, tickets anything really. 

I glued down all my embellishments with the 3D Gloss Gel. It is super strong and will hold just about anything in place. Let this dry really well, you don't want anything to come loose in the next few steps. 

Once all your embellishments are in place your going to give them all a layer of gesso. The Heavy White gesso is just brilliant. Start slow and build up if your not too confident. dry brush all your little bits and pieces. You can make some more heavily covered than other. Let this dry reply really well. You can speed it up with the heat tool if you'd like.  

Next come the really really fun part. I used one of the new Prima Colour Bloom sprays and some of the Primary Elements pigment powders. Put a little of all the colours you would like to use out on your non stick craft sheet and add water to get a runny pool of colour. 

With more water add the colour all around your layout, add water to make really wet puddles, then hold your pages up and let the colour run down.

Again work slowly. Add a layer and let it dry, add another layer and dry etc. 

With your paint brush flick drops of the colour around your layout too, this just looks so cute once dry. 

I hope you like this fun technique that is inspired by Finnabair. All these gorgeous new mixed media products are available in store now. 

I'd love to see what you come up with is you give this a bit of a go. 

Go create, and see you soon. 

Mel xxxx

Love and Adore Layout by Mel Connell

Welcome to October. I know I have said it before but isn't the year rolling past us quickly. Well this month at Couture Creations if pretty exciting for us all with the up coming release of our new paper range - Vintage Rose Garden. It is such a stunning and gorgeous paper collection. 

Along with the gorgeous Floral Lace Dies. Both these work together so wonderfully. It's so pretty and feminine. 

So given the soft, feminine nature of it all, I got stuck in and create a beautiful girlie layout. Firstly you want to chose three sheets of the new Vintage Rose Garden papers. Cut two sheets into 4x 4 inch squares, All these you will need to cut out circles using your Couture creations nesting circle dies.

Grab your Essential Tools Embossing Stylus and one of the Nesting Square dies that fits just inside your die cut circles.  

Run your embossing stylus around the edges of your square die to score the paper. Fold in all the sides to create these folded pieces. Do this to all your circle die cuts. 

Cut from white cardstock one of the new Floral lace Dies, I used Bold Bouquet. 

Cut a Victorian Square Nesting Die as your photo mat. 

Cut a bunch of foliage to sprinkle around your layout. I used the Lucky Tree from The Van Roe Collection. Ink and distress to your taste. 

Cut 4 Ornamental Lace Chandelier Set dies strips and distress with brown ink. 

Find some Flowers and a title that work well with the Vintage Rose Garden papers and start to layer up your layout. Glue down your folded squares in an alternating pattern from the centre of your page. 

Make a focal cluster in the bottom corner with your photo and all your die cut foliage and Floral lace die cut and flowers. 

Thanks for stopping by again to check out what I have been creating, make sure to stop by the Couture Creations Blog regularly as we have gorgeous projects going up all the the time. 

Couture Creations Product used:

CO724062 - Vintage Rose Garden Paper Collection

CO724004 - Floral lace Dies - Bold Bouquet

CO723727 - Decorative Dies, The Van Roe - Lucky Tree

CO723048 - Nesting Dies, Victorian Square

CO723247 - Ornamental Lace Dies, Momento - Chandelier Set

CO721961 - Foam Mounting Tape, High Tack - 12mm

CO721984 - Double Sided Tape - 12mm

CO721985 - Double Sided Tape - 6mm

CO721955 - Pointed Non stick Scissors

CO723060 - Sanding Block

CO723623 - Sponge Dauber

CO721986 - Hand Held Essentials

Happy Birthday Layout by Mel Connell

Hi Again Everyone. So as it happens to be my Birthday month, I have really wanted to use the Couture Creations Party Banner Die to create a little Happy Birthday Banner. This and the fact that I am really crushing on the Gold trend that is happening at the moment were the beginnings of this layout today full to over flowing nearly with Couture Creations Dies cuts. 

So lots of Die cutting to get done for this layout. Start by cutting 3 Butterflies from Gold foil cardstock. 2 Party Banner dies cuts from Kraft cardstock. Ink the edges of these with brown ink and your Sponge Dauber. Hand write or stamp Happy Birthday not the Banner dies cuts. 

From White cardstock but your favourite Couture creations Doily Die. I have used the smaller die from the Momentos - Cameo set. Cut your self 2-4 leaf/branch/vine die cuts. Just use your Favourite one. Cut this from bright green cardstock. 

Cut 2 Madeline Lacy 8 dies, one in black cardstock and one in turquoise cardstock. This die gives you two pieces, the inner circle and an outer frame. 

Last of all cut your Favourite Couture creations flourish or swirl from black cardstock. 

With all your cutting done it is time to layer it all up to create your finished page. Used Foam tape behind some of your elements to give your layout some dimension.

To finish add Couture Creations Pearls and Gemstones to the centre of Butterfly diecuts and any border embellishments  you may have used. And add one flower to the centre of your middle cluster to cover up where all your die cuts meet in the centre. 

Couture Creations Products used:

CO723241 Madeline, Ornamental Lace Dies - Lacy 8

CO723517 Secret Treasures Decorative Dies - Party Banner

CO723530 Secret Treasures, Decorative Dies - Aurora Vine

CO723246 Momento, Ornamental Lace Dies - Cameo Set

CO723722 The Van Roe, Decorative Dies - Beautiful Butterfly

CO721985 Double Sided Tape 6mm

CO721964 Foam Mounting Tape 12mm

CO723623 Sponge Dauber

CO721998 Pearls - Moonlight

CO721994 Gemstones - Pink Diva

Escape Layout by Mel Connell

Hello Everyone. I don't know about you but I have been dreaming a a holiday for a little while now, but as I really can't get away I thought I would go back through some of my trip photos and scrapbook them instead. It was wonderful looking at those memories again. 

I knew I wanted to use one of the A4 size Embossing folders for this layout so used the A4 Swiss Dots folder to emboss a large piece of kraft car stock for my background. This I matted with Patterned paper. 

Then I cut 1 Momento Tied Together die cut in black cardstock, and 3 of the smaller die from the Momento Cameo Set. 

Add some Couture Creations Seaspray Gems to the centre of the pattern in the Tied Togther die cut. 

Fill in the centre of the three doily die cuts with Glitzin Glamour Glitter Glue in Black and allow these to dry. 

Cut a swirl from the Metricon collection in black glitter paper.

Choose some paper flowers and a title pieces to match your layout theme and colour scheme. 

Layer all your elements on your page, adding the Couture Creations 3D glue dots behind your doily die cuts and your photo mat for added dimension.

Finally use your finger dauber and ink to sponge black ink around the entire edge of your layout. This will give the outside edge a crisp finished look. 

Couture Creations Products Used:

CO723742 The Metricon, Intricutz Dies - Swirl

CO723618 A4 Embossing Folders - Swiss Dots

CO723246 Momento, Ornamental Lace Dies - Cameo Set

CO723249 Momento, Ornamental Lace Dies - Tied Together

CO721985 Double sided Tape 6mm

CO723817 3D Glue Spots

CO721954 LED Presision Tweezers

CO721957 15 x 15 Self Healing Cutting Mat

CO723623 Sponge Dauber

CO721977 Glitzin Glamour Glitter Glue - Black

CO721989 Gemstones - Seaspray

Wishing You Happiness Layout by Mel Connell

Hello once again everyone. So lovely that you could stop by again to check out what I have been up to with all the gorgeous Couture Creations products. 

This time around I have put to gather a very soft feminine layout with heaps of layering, and a very special hand contracted paper flower. I'll step you through how to put the flower together for you layout. 

You will need some plain white cardstock, a hole punch like a crop-a-file or silent setter, decorative scissors, embossing stylus and foam mat, and of course a Couture Creations flower shape dies. I used the Secret Treasures Retro Flowers die for this one. 

Die cut your self half a dozen or so of each large and medium size of flower. punch a small hole into the centre of all of them, cut around the tops of the petals to give them a jagged edge, and then use your embossing stylus and matt to curl up all the petals. 

I thread these onto some flower stamen glueing each layer until they are all into place. Set this aside to let the glue dry for a few minutes, then you can give it a mist of spray colour to match your layout. It takes a little time but the result is brilliant. 

Next up sand back a piece of Coordinations cardstock with a pre-embossed patted with your Couture Creations sanding block. 

Using some more white cardstock letter press this using pigment ink and one of your favourite Couture creations embossing folders. Die cut two of the Cog borders from the Metricon Die Range. I heat embossed this in a matching colour to my layout theme. 

Also die cut a set from the Metricon Siblings die, and also heat emboss these in a coordinating colour. In plain white cardstock cut a dozen or more ( or fewer if that is more to your liking) of the Roman set from the metric on Range. 

Add a Couture Creations Pearl to the centre of every Fluer-de-lis. 

From here, choose some flowers and any other embellishments you would like to use and stick everything into to place. I love the sprinkle effect of having a bunch of the little Roman set die cuts around the page. 

Couture creations Products Used:

CO723524 - Secret Treasures, Decorative Dies - Retro Flowers

CO723620 - Cherish Me, A4 Embossing Folders - Borders, Tags and More.

CO723739 - The Metricon, Intricutz Dies - Cog Border

CO723741 - The Metricon, Intricate Dies - Roman Set

CO723743 - The Metricn, Intricutz Dies - Siblings

CO721985 - Double Sided Tape - 6mm

CO723060 - Sanding Block

CO721957 - 15" x 15" Self Healing Cutting Mat

CO721997 - Pearls - Pink Blush