Graphic 45 Design Team 2012 Audition

I have always loved crafting with a passion and although I've mainly used my blog to share my card making, this year I've set myself a New Year's resolution to share more of the other crafty things I get up to - Scrapbooking and Altered Art. I follow the new releases of Graphic 45 religiously and just can't help treating myself to their lovely goodies so I thought I'd share some of my projects and audition for the their 2012 Design Team. There is definitely some stiff competition out there but I hope what you see inspires you to step out of your comfort zone and try something new... and for anyone who lives in the UK where Graphic 45 products can sometimes be a little tricky to find - I hope you like what you see and request their papers and Staples at your local craft shop so that you can have a go too!

Communique Mini
First up is a mini album I made using the Communique line. Last year I was lucky enough to have my first book launch so these 'writerly' themed papers make the perfect choice for my pictures.


























I finished off the back of the mini with the same type of collage style design as the front and added a layer of Matte medium to seal it.











Once Upon a Springtime Card
For this little card I decided to do something different and made a feature of one of the Once Upon a Springtime tags by adding it to three dominoes, filing and inking the edges before adding a gold edge and Glossy Accent domed top. I then created a frame effect with the papers to make this a pretty little card.














Shadow Box
I have always fancied having a go at creating a shadow box and when I picked up this house shaped one I thought it would be ideal to use with the Domestic Goddess line. Believe it or not I had only been able to buy three papers from this collection so my challenge was to decorate the house using only those. I think this just goes to show the versatility of these double sided papers and how well each pattern complements the others.This was a project for the 'frugal scrapper' ha! ha! and surprisingly I even have some elements left over from which I could create a couple of cards! Plus there is still plenty of room to add more household trinkets and charms as I find them.











Party Bag and Ornament
I love the vibrancy and busyness of the Le Cirque papers. Here I created a party bag decorated with flowers made from the scraps and an ornament made from cones of the papers and embellished with some of the fab imagery from the main sheet. As with the majority of Graphic 45 papers they work brilliantly with black or Kraft cardstock.





















Cherish Layout
I am just about as passionate about researching my family history as I am about crafting and love the fact that with scrapbooking I can combine the two. This layout is of my 92 year gran when she was in her late teens. I think she looks really beautiful in this shot. The papers used are from a number of Graphic 45 collections and I'm always amazed at how well they all marry together.













Tropical Birdhouse
You cannot fail to love the juicy colours of the Tropical Travelogue papers and when I was browsing in the discount shop in January I came across this wooden birdhouse decorated with snowmen, winter birds and a snowy scene. After a paint makeover I transformed it into the summer residence of tropical birds, fussy cutting from the papers and adding gems and glitter highlights.












Christmas Ornament
Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without handmade decorations and this is a simple one I created using the Christmas Emporium papers, folding a length to create a rosette, punching it with my Martha Stewart punch and adding an image and sentiment, die cut matt, punched flowers, gems and ribbon.












Christmas Past Picture
I'm addicted to fussy cutting - love it - and to be honest you need to be for the next project. Each of Graphic 45's collections has an amazing main image on one of the papers which always has lots going on and interest to draw your eye. By using six sheets of the Visions of Sugarplums paper from the Christmas Past collection I created my own decoupage frame and on each layer cutaway more and more of the image to make a deep frame picture. It is best to use silicone glue rather than foam pads to mount the layers but if you enjoy getting fiddly then this is the project for you and you can use any of the main images in this way depending on which is your favourite collection! I've tried to take photos that show the layers and once you've created something like this you can bring it out year after year.























Photo Box
This little photo box was from our local discount shop, painted white with a mirrored front and silver handbag embellishments. The lid lifts off to reveal plastic wallets for over thirty photos and you can choose which one to display in the front. I wanted to alter this for a relative who likes vintage colours but does not like too many silk/paper flower embellishments. After painting the box in antique gold, I covered each panel with distressed patterned papers mainly from the Le Romantique line. I created a frame around the apperture, added pearls, just one section of decoupaged flowers and a series of Glossy Accented butterflies. I left the lid simply papered so that it did not detract from the displayed photos.














Tag Trio
I love making tags and trying out different techniques on them. This trio was created on backgrounds embossed with my Cuttlebug folders and spritzed with Cosmic Shimmers and Glimmer Mists. I decorated them with papers from the ABC Primer, On the Broadwalk and Curtain Call collections. You can really go to town with gems, ribbons, charms, flowers and braid to embellish them.












Celebration Cards
Finally, here is a card I made as an anniversary card using the Le Romantique collection. Soft peach card embossed on my embossing board and studded with gems were ideal for celebrating these wedding milestones.














Thank you to Graphic 45 for giving us all this chance to audition for their Design Team, for the lovely collections we can buy to create with and to those who visit my blog - I hope you feel a little inspired!

Best wishes Karen x