June Kit Layouts

Here's some inspiration from our Design Team who have been using our June Kit:

"Love" by Leslie Kammerdiener (owner)

This is my friend Opal and her husband, Glenn. We met Opal last year when we were living in The Family House in Pittsburgh while Kevin was having surgery there. Her husband was in Stage 4 cancer and was sent home on Hospice at that time, but Glenn passed away this past Thursday morning - a full year after they expected him to! I created this layout to send to Opal so she has something pretty to remember him by; just something to hang in the house.

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"Heart Breaker" by Valerie Serfozo

When I want to add color to a layout, I like do it by adhering the background paper to a piece of cardstock. Just this thin border of blue helps bring out the color of her hair bows. I used distress ink to color the doilies, to further bring in the shades of blue.  

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"Nature" by Fi Kenward

 I had so much fun working with these papers.  This is just another snap captured on the Day.  I just love how tame the birds are once they get over their frenzy of feeding...lol.

June Bits & Pieces Give Away

It's that time of the month again when we give our readers a chance to win the Bits & Pieces from Leslie's kit.  Our June kit, "My Cottage Garden", features paper from Les Papiers de Pandore (a French company) and Meg's Garden (Australia).  Here is a photo of what Leslie had left-over from her kit:

We are giving all of you a chance to win everything in the photo, and we will ship it anywhere in the world, free of charge.  Please note that you will receive partial packages of embellishments, and some of the paper may be less than full size.

All you need to do is enter your full name using the Inlinkz button below.  You have until midnight June 12th to add your link.  Good luck!  We will announce the winner, by a random draw, on June 13th.

A Tutorial by Beverly Sams

Did you see the gate on Beverly's layout in the sketch challenge post?  She created a very distressed look and a tutorial so you can see how she achieved this look:

Crackled Paint Tutorial

The look of crackled paint on wood is very simple to achieve with this technique and customizable with any color you desire! In just a few quick and easy steps, you'll have an effect that looks much more difficult than it really is. 

For this project, I used a dark brown paint for the base and a creamy white for the top layer. 

You might want to practice first on a small piece of scrap chipboard or paper.

Materials needed:

Chipboard piece
two colors of craft paint, one light and one dark
plain Elmer's glue
a soft paint brush

 Start by brushing on a medium coat of the darker paint onto the chipboard

 and let dry completely. Usually one coat is sufficient.

 You can use a brush for the next step, but I simply 

smeared on a thick coat of the glue with my finger.

 

 Let the glue dry slightly, but not completely. Some areas will start to dry and look clear. 

This is when I begin to apply the next paint layer.

Using a soft brush, load a somewhat heavy amount of paint onto the brush and apply gently over the glue, not pressing hard, but sort of skimming the top and floating it on. 

Paint in the direction you would like the cracks to appear, such as length wise for vertical pieces. If you want thinner, finer cracks, use less paint.

You will start to see cracks appear almost immediately.

Let dry completely. I like to use ink on the edges just to give it a bit more of an aged look. Experiment with different amounts of glue and paint. 

A thinner layer of the top coat of paint will produce smaller cracks closer together. 

Use different colors to customize to your project. Have fun with it!

Thank you Beverly for this tutorial.  If you use this technique, we hope you will show us your finished product.  You can post it in our Gallery or post in the 

comment section of this blog post and provide a link to your blog. 

Our June Sketch Challenge

Again this month we are pleased to feature a sketch created by Nadia Cannizzo, 

a member of our design team.

You do not need to be a member of C'est Magnifique Kits to participate in our sketch challenge.  It is open to anyone!  You are welcome to use any supplies you have, but if you are the winner and it is obvious that you used any one of our kits

 - the prize will be DOUBLED!!!  

The winner of the challenge, selected by a random draw, will win a $10 gift certificate 

(or $20, as mentioned above if you use a kit) from C'est Magnifique 

which you can use to shop in our store. 

As an added bonus, from the entries for this challenge, we will select a few layouts to "feature".  One of the featured layouts will receive this beautiful 

Gates of Love Chipboard album by Want 2 Scrap.  

 Three of our design team members used this month's sketch

 and the June Kit to create these layouts:

"Finast" (Nicest) by Camilla Ekman

"Sisters" by Beverly Sams

"Sweet Thing" by Erin Blegen

Now that you have seen the sketch and a few examples, 

it's your turn to show us how you use this month's sketch.  

You have the entire month of June to submit your layout using the tool below.

Winner of our May Sketch Challenge

It's time to announce the winner of our May Sketch Challenge.  

Thanks to all of you who participated.  

The winning layout is #17 and it belongs so Asa Svedberg.  Congratulations, Asa!  Since you used our May kit to create your layout, you have won a $20 gift certificate to the C'est Magnifique Store.  Leslie will contact you with all the information.  

Here is the winning layout:

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We have also selected five layouts to feature this month.  It's never an easy thing to do.  The following layouts have been selected this month (in no particular order):

"Sweetheart"by Dana Tatar

"Imagine" by Lindy G

"You Colour My World" by Leanne Nankervis

"Just Darling" by Chantelle

"Honey" by Maria Tsimirlka

One of these five featured layouts has won a beautiful stamp from La Blanche.  

The winner of this prize is:

Chantelle, that's you!  Your layout is the fourth one listed.  Congratulations!

Leslie will be contacting you for your shipping address.

Once again, thanks to all of you who participated in this challenge.  

Check back tomorrow for all the details on our June sketch.

Our June Kit Reveal "My Cottage Garden"

The June kit is here!  This month we have paper from two different countries.  From France, the main line of paper is from Les Papiers de Pandore.  Our accent papers are from an Australian company, Meg's Garden.  They are the perfect compliment. 

If you are a member of C'est Magnifique, your kit should be arriving soon.  If not, we have some kits available for purchase in our store.   We also have some add-ons and individual items in the store. 

My Cottage Garden

 

Sneak Peek #5

Happy Memorial Day everyone.  In the forum we've had some tough discussions about what this day means to all of us (in addition to grilling and eating watermelon).   I hope you will have some time today to remember those who have given their lives for our safety and freedom.

Here's another look at how one of our design team members used the June kit (which we will reveal in just a couple more days).

"Ick" by Erin Blegen

I have a favorite place right by my house where I like to take the kids on the 4-wheeler.  It's a pond way back in the woods and on a recent beautiful spring day we ventured back there and the boys enjoyed throwing rocks in the water.  My little Aspen, however, didn't quite know what to think about her first real outing.  Since finally learning to sit, I can actually place her on the ground and she can explore her surroundings.  I took several pictures, and they all look pretty similar- my dainty sweetheart with a look of disgust on her face.  I've always been quite the tomboy, so seeing my daughter already acting like a "girly girl"...well, it was a bit disheartening! But they all find their own way in this world, don't they? 

I kept to the natural elements in this kit- the burlap buttons, grassy chipboard, brown and beige tones- with just a splash of color.