Stitched Background Flowers and Distressed Alphas Tutorials by Natasha our July GD

Hi everyone!  Natasha here with a few tips and techniques that I used on my layout, "Love Your Butterfly Kisses".  First I'd like to show you how I created the stitched background flowers that add dimension and texture to my layout.

Stitched Background Flowers

STEP 1: Use your favorite flower dies or punches to cut flowers from the adhesive-backed cork sheet.


STEP 2: "Distress" the cork flower cut-outs by dabbing white ink onto the top of the flowers and brown ink onto the edges. 

 

 

STEP 3: Remove the backing from the cork cut-outs and adhere onto your layout.  Poke holes around the edges of the flower.

 

STEP 4: Stitch the holes using embroidery floss to create a textured border.

Next I would like to share a quick tip on how to distress the awesome cork alphas that come in this month's kit.

Distressed Alphas

  

  

STEP 1: Stick your title letters onto a sheet of paper or a craft sheet.

STEP 2: Gently scrape the top surface of the alphas with an emery board, metal file or similar tool.

STEP 3: Dab white pigment ink onto the distressed alphas.

STEP 4: Spritz with water to allow the white ink to soak into the alphas. Dry with a heat tool and add a little brown ink to the edges.

I hope you find these tips useful!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Much love & hugs,

Natasha

Featured Kit Creations by Natasha Naranjo Aguirre our July GD

Hi everyone! Natasha here to share a few close-ups and details about my projects using this month's amazing kit! It was such a pleasure working with this kit because green is my favorite color and combined with beige, it's one of my favorite color combinations.

"Love Your Butterfly Kisses"

 I made this layout using the Main Kit and the Embellishment add-on.  The photos are of my daughter when she was a baby.  She would stick her nose up at me to give me a butterfly kiss.  :o)

 I distressed the cork alphas that came in the kit and added printed words to my title.

I love paint!  I try to always add a few splatters here and there on my work.  The pearls are included in the kit, and I have placed them so that they cascade down my layout. I altered the flocked ribbon with paint and embossing powder and tucked them under the edges of my papers. 

 I used Natural Sand medium and a stencil to add a subtle texture to my background.

 I cut flowers out of the cork and 'stitched' them to my background paper.  I have a tutorial on how to do this coming up, so be sure to stop by on the 12th to check it out.

To make these little roses, I took the Crate Paper sheet and inked it with Distress Stains to match the color palette of my layout.  Then I used Bitty Blossoms dies to cut out the flowers and rolled them into roses.  The vintage pearl roses are by Maya Road and are included in the Embellishment add-on. 

Also included in the EAO pack are these adorable butterfly clips by Pink Paislee.  Love them!  

"I {heart} U"

 I made this layout using just the Main Kit and I followed Amarylis' sketch.

I cut these ribbon banners from the journaling cards included in the kit.

The larger flowers were hand-made using Rose Creations dies.

This month's kit comes with a Prima stamp that I used to randomly stamp onto my background paper.

I used the tulle to add a laced border to my layout.  You can find the tutorial for my "Twisted Lacing" technique HERE.

How cute are these Scrabble tiles?  I hand cut a tiny heart to use for my title.  

"Accept Yourself" Canvas

For my last project, I created a canvas using all of the leftover papers and bits.


 I tore all the papers and overlapped them onto the canvas.


 I also used pieces of the flock ribbon and pliable mesh to add texture to the background.  Then I applied gesso and ink to the entire surface of the canvas.

 I printed out this inspirational quote that I found on the internet.

All of these flowers were hand-made (except for the tiny roses and pearl roses).

I added a butterfly clip to each of the floral clusters. 

The burlap butterflies are also part of the EAO pack.  They are stunning!

I had a fantastic time playing with this lovely kit!  Thank you to the ladies at ScrapThat for having me as a guest!

Have a beautiful day! Natasha

Introducing our July Guest Designer, Natasha Naranjo Aguirre

We are so delighted to introduce our July Guest Designer, 

the fabulously talented 

Natasha Naranjo Aguirre.

Natasha is an amazing mixed media and paper artist designing for Donna Salazar Designs, The Dusty Attic, Pion Design and Zva Creative.

"Hi!  My name is Natasha & I’m the mother of two wonderful children & the wife of an amazing, supportive man. I am a floral designer by day and a scrapbook designer by night. I first discovered my love for scrapbooking in 2004 but was unable to scrap because I was a single mother at the time. For years I was unable to craft, but my passion for it never faded. I married my soul mate in 2010 and my husband inspired and encouraged me to start creating. If it weren’t for him, I would have never have been able to begin doing what I love.

As for my scrapping style... well, I don’t know how to categorize my style LOL. I just create using products I love. I love to incorporate different techniques in my work and use a variety of elements. Every day I am inspired by the work and talent of others, and I hope to be able to inspire others with my work as well."

 Be sure to stop by Natasha's blog to see her gorgeous work:

  http://www.moments-of-tranquility.com/