Happy NSD!!

Welcome to the NSD Prima Blog Hop! Scrapbooking is a hobby that caught my eye shortly after I got married in the 80s. (YEAH! That long ago!) I scrapped my wedding photos, cutting many of them out with decorative scissors. OUCH!) Then life swept over me with it's craziness of having six babies in a row and I had to set the hobby aside for a bit. I picked it up again a few years before I had my last baby and couldn't believe how much the product selection had grown. I was a gonner! (Is that even a word? Well, you know what I mean!) I have been immersed in it every since. Isn't it the best hobby ever?

And....I am so thrilled you made it to my blog! You most likely came from Keren Tamir's blog and will be going down the list to Patricia Fernandez's next! I am so very blessed to be working with everyone on Prima's blog hop list today. Prima has a fun-packed day planned with the wonderful Ambassadors, the talented Design Team, and their amazing Educators! I hope the projects inspire you to dig out your crafty supplies and have fun along with me.

I have a sweet, feminine project to show off today, along with a cute prize to give-away. So make sure you scroll ALL the way to the bottom to catch it all! The complete blog hop list is also included for you. Prima will also be giving prizes away on ALL of their social media outlets, along with a stunning main prize hosted on the Prima blog, so make sure you hop around and then comment on Prima's blog!

Prima is offering free classes today as well! Want to learn new techniques? Chat with other scrappers? Join in on the marathon of "Live With Prima" classes filled with gorgeous projects kicking off at 7 am PT! The first class will be taught by ME showing off a few techniques for art journaling! Click here to watch!

Now on to my project for NSD! Each of us created a 6x6 page with an inspirational quote. With Mother's Day coming up I wanted to create something to let moms know how wonderful, important, and unique they are to their children!


I lost my own mom three years ago so Mother's Day is bittersweet now. It's hard to celebrate the day knowing your own mom isn't here, but God always knows my needs. He gave me the most amazing mother-in-law! She has always been there for me. She doesn't pry, or push, or try to have her own way. And she is adventurous! My hubby really respects her, and I agree 100% with him. She's the kindest, most giving person I have ever met. I'm so glad she's a part of my life, and my children's lives. So I made her this piece, as the quote inspires me to be more like her:

"To the world you are a mother, but to your family you are the world!"

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 The project was simple to put together! I started with a 6x6 paper from the Meadow Lark Collection, added a bit of cheesecloth to it, then added a resin butterfly in the corner.

I printed out my saying (multiple times as I kept printing it slightly TOO large!) Glued it to the back of one of our new resins. And then started decorating the page with flowers and leaves.

 I think it's the perfect way to show her how much we all love her. And her favorite color is purple! (I sure hope some day my children will feel the same way about me!)

And here is my give-away! All you have to do is leave a comment right here and I will pick a winner on May 12th to receive these gorgeous products! Open to all countries! (I would love it if you found me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram as well!)




Now here is the Blog Hop Line-Up! Hop along, be inspired,  and find some give-aways!

Prima Marketing
Olga Vasilieva
Adrienne Ford
Magda Bolinska
Kasia Krzyminska
Kasia Tomaszewska
Felicity Wilson
Delaina Burns
Louise Nelson
Brit Sviggum
Jennifer Snyder

Solange Marques
Kelly Foster
Keren Tamir
Sharon Laakkonen-You are HERE!
Patricia Fernandez
Elena Olinevich
Alberto Juarez
Frank Garcia
Maiko Miwa
Trina McClune
Janine Koczwara
Misty Olsen
Sarinda Jones
Ramona Downing
Candace Hagler
Erin Reed
Sam Ho

First off-THANK YOU for being a part of the Prima/Faber-Castell Blog Hop! I loved reading your comments!!

Second: our random comment winner is:

ScrapbookdollMay 15, 2012 11:12 AM

This looks great!
It just makes me wanna create :-)
Marie-Anne

Congrats, Marie-Anne! Please email me to claim the prize! sharon@primamarketinginc.com

And "happy art journaling" to everyone.

Prima & Faber Castell!

Is there anything better than two companies combining their amazing products? Today I have a joint venture project by Prima Marketing and Faber-Castell! 

Not only do their products work perfectly together, but they provide wonderful platforms for inspiration and creativity! Both of the design teams were challenged to create projects combining products just for YOU! Hopefully this will get your creativity going too. (LOOK for prize details below!)

Faber-Castell's products are a perfect way to color many of Prima's Mixed-Media products! I used the above products to color a watercolor paper page in Prima's Mixed Media journal. (Have you tried the journals yet? They are AMAZING! They have 4 watercolor sheets, 4 canvas sheets, 4 resist canvas pages, 4 clear pages, multiple patterned paper sheets, 2 tags, and more inside!)

For those of you who have not tried art journaling YOU NEED TO TRY IT! Just jump in and swim. You will love it. (My journal is actually half scrapbook, half artsy stuff. I decided to do what I like...and I like to do both...so there you go. It's okay. No one is going to open your book and judge you for what's inside!)

First I colored my resist canvas shapes because I like everything DRY when I put it all together. Try coloring them with FC gelatos. Use like a crayon to color the canvas; then wet slightly to slide that gorgeous color all over.  Dry. Tip: You can layer canvas shapes with other items for more dimension.

Next you want to create the background. After coloring directly on the Prima stamps with gelatos (mix colors for a great effect); mist the stamp with a touch of water; then stamp directly on the water-color paper. After it is dry, brush on a thin layer of gesso over the middle section to tone it down a bit; dry, and stamp all over again with your favorite clear stamps by Prima and brown chalk inks (pick a few different shades) for a distressed effect.

To finish off the page I added glass bead gel. Once the gel dried a glitzy touch of gold gelato was rubbed over the glass bead gel. (Rub some of the gold gelato across the page with your finger for even more pizazz.) 

Embellish your page with crystal swirls, your sentiment, seam binding, canvas shapes and sculpture flowers to finish the page!

Prima Products:

• 557942 Mixed Media Journal Pages
• 554743 Resist Canvas Flowers
• 554699 Canvas Resist Butterfly
• 558253 Mid-Release Butterflies
• 544683 SIIC Swirl
• 921736 Peonies & Poppies Sculpture Flower
• 550776 Vintage Button
• 891008, 891169, 891183 Chalk Inks
• 550929, 542016, 536411 Stamps

Faber Castell Products:

• Metallic Gelatos
• Color Gelatos-blue, green
• Stamper's Big Brush Pen
• Textural Accents: Gesso

Other: Ranger Inks, Tulle, Seam Binding, Glass Bead Gel


How about prize? 
This selection of gorgeous Prima products is just for YOU from me! Open to all countries. Simply leave a comment here on my blog and I will randomly choose a winner by May 22nd. Good Luck!

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Prima/Faber- Castell Prize Details:

Prima and Faber Castell have also included a chance to win some of their products. Hop around to the other talented design team blogs and leave a comment on each of their blogs. Once you are done, go  back to the PRIMA and Faber Castell blogs and let them know your favorite technique. They will pick a random winner on the Prima blog May 30th! Faber Castell will also have a prize so make sure you go to their blog for details on how to win!
  
Ready for the fun to start?

Ready, set, GO!

Blog Links for Prima:

• Prima Marketing Blog: www.prima.typepad.com/prima
• Sharon Laakkonen:   http://sharonlaakkonen.blogspot.com/  YOU ARE HERE!!
• Heidi Kelley:  http://seesterk.blogspot.com/
• Marie-Nicolas Alliot:  http://ma-ni.creation.over-blog.com 
• Maiko Kosugi:  http://maimaipiano.blogspot.jp/
• Stacey Young: www.staceyeyoung.blogspot.com
  
• Emeline Seet: http://scrapvilla.blogspot.com
• Leslie Ashe:  www.leslieashe.blogspot.com
• Jamie Dougherty:  http://www.jaylynnscraps.com
• Anna-Marie Mondro:  http://annamarie-mondro.blogspot.com/
• Anna-Maria Wolniak:  http://annamariawolniak.wordpress.com/
• Anna Dabrowska: http://tworzysko.blogspot.com
• Cari Fennell: http://meandmymaryjanes.blogspot.com/

Blog Links for Faber-Castell:

• Faber-Castell: http://designmemorycraft.typepad.com/design-memory-craft/
• Jill Foster:  http://stampinginspiredby.blogspot.com/
• Jennifer Matott:  http://arttalk-sigmagirl.blogspot.com/
• Rita Barakat:  http://letsembellish.blogspot.com/
• Mou Saha:  http://collagecollagecollage.blogspot.com/
• Tiffany Johnson:  http://iheartartblog.com/