Our February Sketch Challenge

Welcome to February everyone!  First of all, thanks to all of you who participated in our January Sketch Challenge.  It looks you're off to a great year of scrapbooking!   Our sketch designer, Michele Singh, has created another awesome sketch for you to use during the month of February.

This sketch features the lovely Blue Fern Frame that is in our February Kit, Royal Tea Party.  Don't have the frame? - it is available for purchase in our Store, or show us how you interpret the sketch using something other than the frame.

Five of our designers used the sketch along with our February Kit.  Take a look at how differently each of them interpreted the sketch and the various ways they have altered the Blue Fern Frame.  Our guest designer replaced the frame with hexagon shapes.

"New Chicks"by Erin Blegen

This past summer, one of my hens who had been disappearing on and off showed up with 11 baby chicks she's hatched out in the woods! I had not hatched out my own baby chicks since I was a little girl, so this was especially exciting for me :). I thought the colors in my photo were complimented perfectly by the green & cream shades offered in the kit, and it was a joy playing with the gorgeous Blue Fern Studios frame, decorating it with seed & micro beads, and stamping & inking it to create a coordinating, rustic feel :).

"You are Loved" by Keren Tamir

I used a picture of my husband and son that I took last spring in the park. I thought the green colors in the photo, fit the green tones in the kit perfectly. I altered the Blue Fern frame to match the layout and added misted canvas resist ferns all around. For the title I used an old piece of plastic packaging. I stamped the word "Loved" using black Staz-on. Then I cut around it and attached it with glue dots. I used the plastic for a challenge we are sponsoring this month at Scrap for Help.

"Darling"by Larissa Albernaz

This is my take on this months sketch. Inspired by the gorgeous sketch, I used the Blue Fern Frame chipboard on my background as a mask to get an unique look. I have also added some extra texture to my background by overlapping multiple stamp designs in different colors. After that, I have used some embellishments that matched with my theme (life´s little details) to decorate this page.

"Blommer Pa Bordet "by Camilla Ekman

Children are beautiful and precious - like flowers on the table (hence the title). The paper with the purple flowers are one of my favourites in the kit this time and I had to use it. The large chipboard frame from Blue Fern Studios is just dabbed with gesso and inked with light brown ink. The layout is made for the February sketch provided by C'est Magnifique.

Oh the Places You Will Go"" by our Guest Designer, Trudi Harrison

This is my take on the sketch. I replaced the decorative frame element with an arrangement of larger hexagon shapes. A few of the Prima canvas resistant swirls were placed strategically to frame the hexagons. The orientation of the photo was kept similar but moved up slightly towards the middle.

 Now that our design team has inspired you, are you ready to create a layout using the sketch?  This challenge is open to everyone, and you may use any supplies that you have.  No need to go out and purchase anything!  Feel free to interpret the sketch any way you want.  Best of all, we have a wonderful prize that will be awarded to one participant, based on a random draw.  Here is the prize package Leslie has put together for February.  The winner of this prize package will also be able to shop in the Cést Magnifique Store and have your purchase shipped with your prize for no additional shipping costs.

Our second prize, a $10 gift certificate to the C'est Magnifique Store, will be randomly be awarded to one of the sketch participants who obviously creates their sketch layout using a C'est Magnifique Kit.

Lastly, we will be choosing 5 (or more) layouts to feature on our Blog when we announce the winners.

What do you have to do to enter our sketch challenge?

1.  You must be a follower of our blog.  It's easy to become follower -see the left sidebar.

2.  Create a layout using the sketch, and add it to our blog using the Inlinkz tool below.  Please link to the blog post where you have uploaded your layout  (not your general blog address). If you do not have a blog, you may link to an online gallery.

 Deadline for entering the sketch challenge is midnight, February 28 (US time).

We look forward to seeing how you use our sketch!

Welcome our February Guest Designer

It is with great pleasure that we welcome Trudi Harrison as our guest designer for February.   I'm sure many of you have seen and admired Trudi's work in the past, and I know you will be inspired by her layouts created using our February Kit.  First, we'll let Trudi tell you a little bit about herself, then we will give you a look at her layouts.  They are truly amazing! 

I sincerely thank Leslie for the opportunity of Guest Designing for C’est Magnifique Kits this month. A little about Me…..

I am Trudi Harrison from Victoria, Australia. I am pretty much a 'country' girl at heart who very much likes her modern conveniences J. I live in a small country town an hour out from the city of Melbourne with my husband and 2 girls. Presently I am a SAHM majoring in 'domesticated engineering',. When I am not crafting,  my world is kept busy with  family and the extracurricular activities that comes with raising kids.

I have done some form of ‘crafting’  my whole life and there have been many hobbies over the time which I have enjoyed.  Without a doubt though, paper crafting is the one that I am truly passionate about.   The passion has burned brightly since the birth of her first child in 2004.  I would say that I am perhaps not 'locked' into a specific scrapping style. At times it can be a touch feminine and perhaps quite structured with lots of layering, paper cutting, dimension and detail.

My work will often feature my children, so my inspiration will come from the little things that they will say and do. Inspiration will also come from the product or the photos that I am working with. I absolutely adore chipboard, floral patterns and blooms and find much enjoyment combining these with my other love of patterned paper.

My preferred genre is 12 x 12 layouts but I will also find enjoyment in creating other projects - particularly altered and home decor items and cards.

Presently I  am on the Design  Team for the Australian Manufacturer’s Twiddleybitz, Manor House Creations and Kaisercraft and for the Australian Scrapbook Ideas Magazine.  I have previously designed for Prima Marketing  and The ScrapCake.

More of my creations can be seen on my blog Here

"Celebrate Her Radiance" by Trudi Harrison 

  I took some inspiration from the chipboard dress form and rather than create something feminine and girly, I have gone for more of a 'steampunk' look for this one. The Maja Design papers work well for this style.

Lots of die cut cogs from patterned papers were combined with the stunning chipboard dress form along with a few flowers. The flowers were 'grunged' up with color spray and glimmer mist, as was the Prima Amore Heart.

Patterned Paper from the Kit:
Paper: Maja Design Ska vi ta en Fika- Karleksmums
Maja Design Ska vi ta en Fika?- Blabarssylt

From the Kit Embellishments:
Manor House Creations Glitter Roses - Gold
Prima Resist Canvas - Swirls
Heidi Swapp Color Shine - Amethyst

From the Flower Add On Kit:
Prima Flowers - Amore Heart
Prima Flowers Marri Collection - Botanical
Prima Flowers - Sherwood Rose Larkspur
Manor House Creations: Romance-Cream

From the Embellishment Add On Kit:
Leaky Shed Studio - Fancy Keyhole
Blue Fern Chipboard Dress Form
Tattered Angles - Chalkboard Fern
American Crafts DIY Thickers Rain Boot
Prima Trinkets

Other: Glimmer Mist - Coffee Shop, Spellbinders Sprightly Sprokets, Acetate

"Sweet as Sugar" by Trudi Harrison 

Something girly and sweet, just like my girl is.

Lavender and green is such a pretty combination. A splash of 'spice' was added with darker blue for contrast. A window effect was created with a decorative frame die cut. The rectangle insert removed was converted to create a little shutter attached to the side.

Another piece from the Blue Fern Chipboard Frame sits along the bottom of the window edge. This was altered with the Color Shine Amethyst.

Die Cut flourish vines and leaves were layered with some hand made and ready made flowers. Two different types of flowers were made - one with a Spellbinders Spiral Blossom One Die and the other with a Floriana Flower Punch - for this one I used 3 punched flowers to create the bloom.

Patterned Paper from the Kit 
Maja Design Ska vi ta en Fika?- Hojder
Maja Design Ska vi ta en Fika?- Blabarssylt
Maja Design Ska vi ta en Fika?- Smulpaj m Applen

From the Kit Embellishments:
White Trim
Blue Fern Chipboard Frame
Heidi Swapp Color Shine - Amethyst

From the Flower Add On:
Manor House Creations Lotus
Prima Flowers - Sherwood Rose Larkspur

From the Embellishment Add On Kit:
Leaky Shed Studio - Fancy Keyhole
Prima Shabby Resin
Tattered Angles - Chalkboard Fern
American Crafts DIY Thickers Rain Boot

Other: Cheery Lyn Fanciful Flourish Die, MS Border Punch, Spellbinders Flower Die, Quickutz Frame Die, Floriana Flower Punch, Gesso

Thanks so much for joining us, Trudi.  This isn't the last you'll see of her layouts.  We will have more in the next couple of weeks, along with the rest of the design team.

Our February Kit Reveal

It only comes once a month and today is the day for our reveal!  Our kits are so unique and elegant and we love to show you what we've put together each month.  We have named our February kit "Royal Tea Party".  Our paper manufacturer this month is Maja Designs from Sweden.  This company has become a favorite of ours.  We are also please to include the Blue Fern Frame in the kit.  It is a stunning frame that will turn your layout into a masterpiece! 

Paper:
Maja Design: Let's Have Some Coffee: BJORNBARSKAKOR
Maja Design: Let's Have Some Coffee: SMULPAJ m APPLEN
Maja Design: Let's Have Some Coffee: KARLEKSMUMS
Maja Design: Let's Have Some Coffee: INGEFARSPARON
Maja Design: Let's Have Some Coffee: SODERS HOJDER
Maja Design: Let's Have Some Coffee: TVA FROKNAR
Maja Design: Let's Have Some Coffee: BLABARSSYLT
Maja Design: Let's Have Some Coffee: CHAITE
Maja Design: Let's Have Some Coffee: BLOMMOR PA BORDET

Kit Embellishments:
Blue Fern: Blue Fern Frame
Prima: Resist Canvas: Swirls
Prima: Songbird Vine: Purple
Glitz: Teeny Alphas: Tan
Manor House: Glitter Mini Roses: Caramel
Cheep Trims: Lace
Heidi Swap: Color Shine: Amethyst

We've had great response to our January Sketch Challenge.  If you haven't had a chance to participate, you still have until the end of the month.  We would love to see your take on sketch!

One more before the reveal......

I hope your Friday is off to great start!  It's snowing like crazy where I am, so it's quite beautiful outside.  Tomorrow is our reveal day, when we'll be posting an image of our February Kit!  You are going to love it.  Today, it's my turn to show you how I used the February Kit, "Royal Tea Party".

"Pure Joy" by Valerie Serfozo

 This little sweetheart is nothing but pure joy. She's now busy walking around and starting to talk, but I still remember when she was tiny. When I took this photo her older sister thought it was rather funny that we were putting the baby in a bowl! I love the beautiful antique tones in this paper and the beautiful embellishments.

From the Flower Add-on:
Prima:Amore: Violet
Prima: Conventry: Serene
Prima: Larkspur: Sherwood Rose
Manor House: Lotus: Imperial

From the Embellishment Add-on:
Prima: Resin: Marvelle
Tattered Angels: Chalkboard: Fern
Pink Paislee: Artisan Wings (tiny white flowers)

We look forward to showing you our full kit tomorrow!

A Sneak Peek from Camilla

Happy Wednesday everyone!  You're going to love this elegant, yet fun, layout that Camilla created using our upcoming February Kit, which features paper from Maja Designs, one of our favorite manufacturers! 

"Prinsessa" by Camilla Ekman

On this layout I was a bit more playful than I usually am. My niece is acting princess and was having so much fun. The gorgeous dress form from Blue Fern Studios is painted in white. I used some of the purple mist that came with the kit and I also used a mask to create the white pattern in the background. The leaves are sprayed with the green mist from the embellishment add-on.

 From the Flower Add-on:
Prima: Larkspur: Sherwood Rose
Manor House: Lotus: Imperial

From the Embellishment Add-on:
Blue Fern Studios: Sweetheart Dressform
Tattered Angels: Chalkboard: Fern
 

Other: old book paper, mask, texture paste, gesso, pearl maker, doily, die, staples

Sneak Peek #4 by Keren

Our full reveal of the February kit will be Saturday, the 26th, but until then, we will give you a few more peeks at the kit.  Today, design team member Keren, shows you one of her layouts using the February kit.  She has used a photo that is very special to her to create this beautiful layout.

"Directions" by Keren Tamir

I'm in love with this picture of my son on the railroad tracks. I've used the picture with both my kids before on my layouts but I love this one of my son alone. I used the other half of the Blue Fern frame that I cut for the other layout. I really love this frame because you can use it in so many different ways. You can use it whole or you can cut it and use it on multiple layouts. This layout is close to my heart, it feels so special to me.

From the Flower Add-on:
Prima: Coventry: Serene
Prima: Botanical: Marri
Prima: Larkspur: Sherwood Rose
Manor House Creations: Romance

From the Embellishment Add-on:
Prima: Resin: Marvelle
Pink Paislee: Artisan Wings
Prima: Craftsman: Velvet Trinkets
 

From my stash:
Gesso
Vintage Photo distress ink
Crackle gel
Martha Stewart Punch
Ek Success Punch
Tattered Angels Chalkboard spray bronze
Tim Holtz stamp
Brown Archival ink
Acrylic paint dabber: butterscotch
Gold marker
Cricut Cartridge

Sneak Peek #3 from Brit

We love it that each of our designers has their own unique style, and today we'd like to show you how Brit used our upcoming February Kit, "Royal Tea Party".   Brit's layout gives away one thing - the beautiful Blue Fern Studios frame will be in the February kit!

"Best Friends" by Brit Sviggum

I love this picture of my mother and my son, Leif. They really ARE best friends. They have always spent lots of time together. And I think mother likes that he is named after my father that died 3 years before my son was born. The picture was taken on a trip to Disneyland Paris last summer.

From the Embellishment Add-on:
American Crafts: Thickers: Rainboots
Tattered Angels: Chalkboard: Fern

I have also used cheesecloth, green acrylic paint and Gesso