Divine Noel Swirly Doo's Layout

This is a layout I did featuring my Mother's Antique Christmas Ornament Tree.  No one in the family will help her put it up, as we're all so afraid we'll break one of the precious ornaments.  She claims she breaks some every year, but we still are about to touch it.  I wanted to have a layout of it, as I know one day it won't get put up...or at least it will never be as pretty as when she does it.  The tea pot ornaments are two of my favorites and I also love the bird, so I featured those on the ornament mats. 

Now here are some of the techniques I used on this months Swirly Doos Divine Noel Kit.  First I gold leafed the die cut circle frame.  I printed some paper for the ornament mats on my Imagine (that I still don't think I like) and then cut out the ornament shapes.  Embossed the Christmas tree and then highlighted the embossed areas with my smooch (which I am in love with) It really gave the trees an iron work feel.  Distressed the edges of my paper, made my poinsettias from some prisma flowers and stickles. The edges of my pictures have also been smooch with two colors (bronze and gold) Added a stick pin and some crystals and called it done.  Hope you enjoy and Merry Christmas Everyone.

This layout qualifies for the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp and Show : Vintage

Beary Scraps : Pearls and Gem (green pearls in flowers and the crystals)

Drunken Stampers : Christmas

For My Friend...Pavlo

This is a layout I did for a friend of the family...Pavlo.  He is such a wonderful person and moved here from the Ukraine several years ago with his wife, brother and children in tow.  Recently his mother passed away and he and his brothers flew back home to attend the funeral.  It really struck me how difficult it would be to loose your parents and be a world away.  I'm so blessed that I can drive down the road and be at my Mom's in five minutes.  So I started thinking what could I do for them...I was going to bake something, but their wives are some of the best bakers you would ever want to meet...so not such a great idea.  A card just didn't seem enough since I hold them in such high regard...and then I thought I would make a memory scrapbook page that I could frame and they could hang up in their shop...a reminder of their sweet mother who raised such strong Godly men.  So this is what I presented them with and I think they loved it. 

I used some of the Pink Paislee Parisian Anthology and Tim Holtz Distress inks as the base page.  Then I water distressed...something new I'm so LOVING...Prisma flowers were used around the picture...OH and I did use the new Photoshop Elements 9 to do a little doctoring to the picture.  Really this is just layers upon layers with paper, sewing, flowers, embellishments and more than anything LOVE.  I truly have been so blessed as of late by SwirlyDoo's, they have inspired me to really take my scrapping to a new level and I believe it shows.  Many of the products I used you can pick up at Swirlydoos and do be sure to check out their gallery also.