Paper Made Bakery: February Kit Reveal + Blog Hop + Giveaway!

The Hop:
Welcome to Paper Made Bakery's February release blog hop! If you've just arrived from Ryann's site, then you came to the right place. If you would like to start from the beginning, please hop on over to Paper Made Bakery's blog. If you are lost, this the blog hop order:

Paper Made Bakery
Stephanie
Savannah
Ryann
Michelle (←you are here)
Lisa
Ashley

Here is my creation for the blog hop, called, "A Penny for your Thoughts."

A Penny for your Thoughts card

The Kit:
I would like to introduce you to Paper Made Bakery's Fresh Baked February kit! I had the pleasure of receiving this kit early and working with the contents. I have to say it was deliciously good!

Paper Made Bakery's February Kit

Everything is perfectly coordinated with the base set of 10 notecards and envelopes. I didn't have to spend time and energy assembling my own materials, but instead could focus on just utilizing them. It actually helped me be more creative. I can't wait to show you my four projects this month! Look for me each Wednesday as each designer has their own day of the week for a reveal.

Unopened Splendor

If you would like to order a kit before they are all snatched up, please visit here.

The Process:

I went to bed one night thinking about what to make from the kit. I woke up with numerous ideas and quickly sketched them out in my notebook. Later I digitally recreated one of them in Adobe Photoshop. 

My Card Sketch

I was inspired by the branch in the Avocado Arts stamp set and thought three hanging hearts would be cute for a Valentine's Day card. I stamped the branch on white cardstock, but thought it looked a bit stark. I stippled on some ink using a dry brush and changed up the background color.

Changing the cardstock color

But sometimes an idea takes on a life of its own. I decided to change the hearts into coins. That way, if the recipient doesn't like the card, they would at least have 16¢ in their hands.

Dangling Coins

I wanted a way to attach the coins to the branch so I handstitched lines using the twine that is included in the kit. It is much coarser than stitching with floss, but it gives a more rustic look. 

Stitching with Twine

I matched each coin with lyrics from the 1982  Tavares song, "A Penny for your Thoughts" for the sentiment. 

Matching Sentiment

The Giveaway:

There is a prize to be given by Paper Made Bakery to one lucky participant. Here are the different ways you can win:

1. Comment on each blog with an original comment.  The more you comment, the better chance of winning!  

2. Share this hop on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, or in an email.  

3. Be sure to comment on Paper Made Bakery's Facebook wall and let us know you've shared.  Deadline is Sunday, February 5, 2012.

Good luck to all! Your next stop is Lisa's blog.

Thanks for hoppin' by,

The Lady or The Tiger?

The Workout:

Salt N Pepa Workout?

Today is another exciting reveal day at ScrapFIT!  There is a new challenge posted every two weeks and you have a month to complete and then enter your own creation. Today's challenge is workout #51: "Salt & Pepper." This has nothing to do with the eighties group, "Salt N Pepa" who will be performing at the L.A. County Fair this summer along with En Vogue. Bring back any sweet 80's memories?

Salt and Pepper actually refers to using black and white as your predominant colors in your card or layout. You can also use one additional color if you so choose. Just link your layout to today's post by September 30th, and you'll have a chance to win a fun FITkit by this month's sponsor, ScrapFIT itself.

This month's prize, a FITkit 

My Layout:

I am really excited to show you my interpretation of today's layout. 

My Salt & Pepper Layout

When I was thinking about the black and white challenge, I associated it with my Thailand tiger photos. The tiger was black, white and orange (the additional color). I knew those photos of my family in a cage with a full grown 400 lb. tiger would be perfect. If you are interested, the place is called Tiger Kingdom in Maerim, Chiangmai, Thailand.



The Details:
I eliminated all the other colors in the photos,which I found distracting, by changing it into a black and white photo. I wanted the orange to be emphasized, so I reprinted the photo in color, cut out the tiger, and popped it on top of the black and white one. You can't tell in the larger photo, but the tiger looks 3-D in the actual layout. I thought it gave the layout an interesting effect. I also machine stitched around the central photo using a different stitch than the usual straight stitch, and it came out as a scalloped border.

3-D Tiger

Extra Photos

Journaling

I wanted a way to insert more photos, so I built a frame around the main photo using circles. Within the smaller photos I could place more photos, my sub-title and matching patterned papers and embellishments. I also popped up some of the circles for visual interest and to break up the rectangle a bit.

 I also wanted to incorporate some souvenirs, so I added the embossed foil bookmarks I purchased in Thailand. They were silver so I rubbed it with some black ink to make the embossings stand out more and to tie it in with the black and white theme. 

I placed a long title on top, so the main photo was completely framed in, and it balanced the circles on three sides. I hand stitched some Zs next to the title in lieu of an embellishment there.

Title & Embellishment

I used Bo Bunny's Zoology papers which is a safari themed collection. I stuck to just the parts of the papers that were within my color parameters, since they have multiple colors on one sheet.



The Sketch:
I usually like to base my layouts on a sketch. I decided it was high time I made my own sketch. Here is my first digital version if you would like to use it. My other sketches are messy doodles in my notebook, but good enough for my personal use.

Click here for a pdf version of the sketch

Have a scrappy day,