ATC Swap Sign Ups!!

Today I have a  Ballerina Fairy Artist Trading Card that I created for the Bi-Monthly ATC Swap that I host over on the Scraps Of Darkness/ Scraps Of Elegance Facebook Community Page.

If you would like to join in on the fun we have sign ups going on until February 27th for the March -April Swap, and it is as easy as hopping over to the Community Page and giving me an "I'm In!!" 

This ATC was created for my swap partner Debbie Adams, and I created it using my Scraps Of Elegance February~Lisa's Love Letters. Items from the kit include papers, the Prima Resin Frame and the small script flower.

The Ballerina Fairy Die Cut, Princess Rhinestone Button and Delicate Beauty Lace are from my Reneabouquets.com and Reneabouquets Etsy Shop.

I hope you get the chance to join us!! It is a lot of fun and we have some of the sweetest artists who participate!! Hugs ~Renea

Love Sweet Love Mini Album

With all the gorgeous elements in the February Scraps Of Elegance Kit~Lisa's Love Letters  and Add Ons, I just had to squeeze in the time to do a mini album!!

I wanted to create something romantic and bold so I pulled out the reds and blacks from the kit, did some hand stamping throughout the album and added lots of romantic details.

Lots of layering with the papers for the base of the album, including a fussy cut piece that I hand stamped with the "Love Sweet Love" Sentiment. 

The flowers are from this month's kit and Floral Add On as well as the black tulle on the D-Rings.

I tucked in a  Reneabouquets Sweet Heart Applique  and created a bobbin and ribbon tie closure system that I topped with a Reneabouquets Anastasia Brooch that I removed the pin back closure so that I could adhere it to the bobbin.

Here you can see the detail on the kit and Add on Florals.

The Precious Keepsakes Butterflies are from my Reneabouquets.com and Reneabouquets Etsy Shop.

Here you can see all the detail of all the lace and layering .

Page One~features a pocket with tag tuck ins. I hand stamped the middle tag using the chandelier stamp from the Element Add On and Tim Holtz Black Soot Ink.

Page Two~Features two spaces for small photos with a little heart accent from the kit, and a top pull out that can house journaling or small photos.

There is a hand crafted clay tag tied to the D-Ring with hand dyed seam binding for a sweet detail.

Here you can see the double sided tags and pull out in detail.

Page Three~Features a place for journaling or photos, and a hand stamped "You Are My Song" die cut piece with a rose and feather accent and Reneabouquets Trim  on the edge.

Page Four~Features a Fussy cut pocket with two small, double sided pull outs and a music note paper clip accent, and Reneabouquets Trim  on the edge.

There is a "A Love Like No Other" double sided tag hanging on the D-Rings for more journaling or small photo.

Pull Out Details.

Page Five~Features a large space for journaling or small photos, wide lace, a Petaloo flower and a wooden pocket watch piece from the kit.

Page Six~features two spots for photos accented with one of the little hearts from the kit and wide lace.

There is a "Sweet" tag on the D-Rings.

Page Seven Features space for photos or journaling.

Page Eight features a pocket with a handpainted wooden key accent from the kit that houses 1-Double sided tag, 2 double sided pull outs and a Prima clothes pin that holds a hand stamped-double sided piece for journaling or small photos.

Tag and Pull Out Details

The back features matching distressed and inked paper for a finished look.

I hope you are having a great start to the week, and that you find the time to create something beautiful for yourself!! Hugs~Renea

Items from the  Reneabouquets.com and Reneabouquets Etsy Shop:

Reneabouquets Sweet Heart Applique 

Reneabouquets Anastasia Brooch

Reneabouquets Precious Keepsakes Butterflies

Tim Holtz Black Soot Ink

Reneabouquets Trim

Catch Your Dreams With The Scraps Of Darkness January Kit~Karen's Valentine

When I got the January Scraps Of Darkness Kit~Karen's Valentine, I just loved the dream catcher print in the papers and the more Native American/Aztec themed elements, and I couldn't resist doing a Dream Catcher Themed Oversized Pocket Tag with them!!

The tag is 4 1/2 Inches Wide x 11 1/2 Inches tall and has a back pocket that houses some smaller tags.

Papers from the kit were cut, distressed, torn, inked and stipple painted, then the layering began!

The top has some woven trim and brown rustic trim from some past kit pieces topped with a Tim Holtz Button, and the metal feathers are from the kit and I just rubbed over them with some of the same paint that I used on the papers. 

I layered in some stash burlap and then fussy cut one of the larger dream catcher prints from the kit papers, and added a "Catch" sentiment piece with letters from a past kit. I then layered on some stash flowers and a feather, popped in a little TH pin with the sentiment "Your" tucked into it. 

I added more of the woven trim to the bottom and then layered on some Reneabouquets  Lace #003 and popped on a "Dreams" sentiment cut from paper from the kit,  to complete my "Catch Your Dreams" theme of the tag.

The Butterflies are my Reneabouquets Tiny Treasure Secret Garden Butterflies from my Reneabouquets.com Store and Reneabouquets Etsy Shop.

On the back, I added a layer of matching kit paper, some Reneabouquets Trim and a fussy cut "You are the definition of Beauty" piece from the papers. I formed a burlap pocket and added more flowers and feathers on.

The tags are chipboard tags that I added distressed cut outs from the kit papers to, and then added more trim, one of those kit metal feathers, and a stash brad for 2 double sided tags that can house journaling or small photos and the pocket can house some more small treasures and photos for a unique/functional piece. 

I hope your week is off to a great start!! It is super cold and rainy here and it is only supposed to get colder, so I think I will grab another cup of tea and get to work up in my scrap room!! Hugs ~Renea

Items used on this project from the Reneabouquets.com Store and Reneabouquets Etsy Shop:
Tiny Treasure Secret Garden Butterflies
Reneabouquets  Lace #003 
Reneabouquets Trim from the Vintage Ephemera Set
Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink

Seize The Day With The Scraps Of Darkness January Kit~Karen's Valentine

This month the Scraps Of Darkness Kit is named after my sweet scrappy sister Karen Zueger-Brownell!! I just love the bold, wonderful colors paired with all the Valentine themed embellishments.

I created a layout that features a photo of my son, Draven with his grandparents at one of his High School Events. I can't believe he is now off at college and out on his own~boy did time fly!!

I started with a layer of kit paper then layered another layer of paper over it, rolling the bottom layer to expose the under paper, then taking a 2nd sheet of the same paper and fussy cutting out the honeycomb pattern and adding them on randomly.

Behind the photo, I cut, then tore the edges on more of the papers, and then inked them heavily with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Ink, added my photo and then added lots of flowers from the kit and this month's Floral Add On. The time piece is from the kit and the keys are from a Reneabouquets Key Trinkets Pack.

I then created a hot air balloon by fussy cutting out one of the hot air balloons from the paper, giving it a corrugated board background that I grunged up using some gold crackle paint and Reneabouquets Gold Glass Microbeads. I topped it with some of the chipboard fromt he kit that I grunged up using the same technique as on the corrugated piece then I added one of the little time pieces and the TH gears from the kit. 

I fussy cut more hot air balloons from the papers and added more flowers from the kit and Floral Add On.

The Moths are pieces that I created by using a  Prima Stamp & Add Moth Wings stamp, and stamping onto some TH Frosted Sheets and then adding on the little stamp & add faucets.

Here you can see where the paper rolls back and I overlayed the roll with burlap string that I taped down then added some gold safety pins to.

I hope you "Seize The Day" this Saturday and that you have a Happy Valentine's Day!!  Hugs ~Renea

Items from the Reneabouquets.com Store and Reneabouquets Etsy:

Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Ink

Reneabouquets Key Trinkets Pack

Reneabouquets Gold Glass Microbeads

Prima Stamp & Add Moth Wings

Shabby Romance Pocket Journal~

Over on our Scraps Of Darkness/Scraps Of Elegance Facebook Community Page we have lots of fun stuff going on!!! One of the things we do is a monthly mood board, and I was very excited to get to design the one for this month. I have such a romantic heart and it is the month of love, so this was reflected my love of the Shabby Romantic!!

I decided to create a pocket journal that was inspired by the February Mood Board using the Scraps Of Elegance Kit~Lisa's Love Letters. 

To capture the colors in some of the photos and the wood grain in the first photo, I created my pocket from the kit paper doing some texture work with a Tim Holtz Doily Stencil and the Deco Art Texture paste from the kit. I lined the top of the pocket with some Reneabouquets  Delicate Beauty Lace, and the bottom with some Reneabouquets Sheer Romance Lace to get the lacy, soft look of the Third Photo of the dress, and then layered on some more distressed paper. I added some cheesecloth, a resin heart from a past kit, some feathers and then topped it with a little Prima Robin's Nest  creating the look you see in the bird's nest photo. 

The foliage is some stash Scrapmatt's Chipboard that I hand painted and then tore apart and layered, topping it with a Prima Fifth Avenue Flower, and flowers from the kit and Floral Add On. I tucked in a little past kit "Love" Button and a set of 2 small Reneabouquets My Romantic Heart Butterflies in Pink.

The pocket features 5 Double Sided Tags of varying sizes for journaling and small cards and there is room in the pocket to tuck in some more small photos or journal cards. I topped 2 of the cards with hand dyed seam binding and little Reneabouquets Resin Roses from the Romance Trinket Pack and the smaller card features a Reneabouquets Princess Rhinestone Button.

And there you have it, a Shabby Romantic Journal Pocket so perfect for storing treasures!! I hope you get a chance to come play along with the Mood Board, and that your month is filled with lot's of love and sweet days!! Hugs ~Renea

Items from the Reneabouquets.com and Reneabouquets Etsy Shop:

Tim Holtz Doily Stencil

Reneabouquets  Delicate Beauty Lace

Reneabouquets Sheer Romance Lace

Prima Robin's Nest 

Reneabouquets My Romantic Heart Butterflies in Pink

Prima Fifth Avenue Flower

Romance Trinket Pack (resin roses)

 Reneabouquets Princess Rhinestone Button

Getting Romantic With The Scraps Of Elegance February Kit~Lisa's Love Letters

Oh love is in the air!!! The new Scraps Of Elegance-Valentine Themed Kit~Lisa's Love Letters has arrived and I am soooooo head over heals!!! Blue Fern, Prima, Tulle and handcrafted Butterflies~all so perfect for creating those romantic projects on your list!!

First up, I have a layout that I created that features a photo of Misty Copeland- an author, entertainer, and American Ballet Dancer for the American Ballet Theatre, one of the three leading classical Ballet companies in the United States. If you don't know who Misty Copeland is, I encourage you to Google her. She is super talented and so inspiring with her "Unlikely Ballerina" story.

I started with papers from the kit, a base piece and then a piece that I cut down, distressed, fussy cut the bottom section  (which reminded me of stage curtains) and slightly lifted the fussy cut pieces for dimension. I then stenciled with the Texture Paste from the kit using a Script stencil to accent the page.

I then stenciled with the Texture Paste from the kit using a Script stencil to accent the page.

I stamped a chandelier using the one of the Stamps in this month's Elements Add On and some Tim Holtz Black Soot Ink, adding some stash pearls and the little wooden bow in the kit.

I then framed my photo of Misty in the large Prima Resin Frames from the kit

I punched a strip from some of the paper add on paper, and then built a large flower layer using flowers from the kit and this month's floral add on. I created the Lisa's Romance Butterflies especially for this month's kit and they feature little trinkets that can be added to the body. The "Dream" piece that I topped the large flower with is also from the kit. 

To add some more texture and visual interest, I set some eyelets and did some lacing with the black, sparkle tulle in the kit, creating a large bow and topping it with another flower. 

I am such a romantic, and this kit definitely has my attention!! I hope you find the time this month for a little romance and a lot of creativity in your life!! Hugs ~Renea

Scraps Of Darkness/Scraps Of Elegance Is Having An Educator Call!! For all the info, please visit 

http://scrapsofdarkness.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_1.html

Scraps Of Darkness/ Scraps Of Elegance February Mood Board!!

This month, I had the honor of designing the mood board for Scraps of Darkness and Scraps of Elegance!! I created a super romantic board for this month since it is February and surrounds Valentine's Day heart emoticon I hope you can come play along with us!!

The rules:
1. The challenge starts today and ends Feb. 28th at midnight.
2. Create a layout, canvas, art journal page, or altered item, taking inspiration from this month's Inspiration Board: You can choose inspiration from just one of the images, or several of them. This inspiration can be the quote, the colors, the overall feel of the board, something in one of the pictures on the board - your imagination is the only restriction you have on this!
3. Upload your project into this album, and tell us in the description what you used from the board as your inspiration.
4. For a double entry - post your project on your blog along with the photo of the board and a link to this challenge, and put a link to your post in the description of your photo when you upload here.
5. That's it!
The ladies on our Design Team will be providing you with their takes on the board as examples throughout the month.
A winner will be chosen on or about March 3rd, and will receive a $40.00 credit in our store (that's enough to buy a main kit of your choosing, or anything esle you like - no expiration on the credit!).
Have fun! ·