Elina Stromberg

Hi!

This set of cards were made using a beautiful woman face stencil by Carabelle Studio. I played with different background colours; I love how the look and feel changes when choosing a different set of colours.

After playing with the gradient background colours I decided to use a simple solid colour for the background but layered two stencils for the face. On the above card I first stencilled the image with dark purple colour and then placed a pattern stencil on top and applied the pattern using a black ink.

Same technique on the above card, with using three shades of blue.

On the last card I tried something completely different: I covered the open area of the stencil with stitches. A fun technique to try out, too!

The image edges and the face details I drew with a paint marker.

I love the woman face stencil; next I'm planning to use it on an art journal project. Size of it is perfect for my Moleskine book.

Wishing you a nice day! Thanks for stopping by!

Hi!

Today I wanted to show you a scrapbook page which is one of my recent favourites.
The picture was taken on our visit to the gorgeous Helsinki Rhododendron Park early Covid summer 2020. I remember how wonderful it was to visit a local sight, to see people (!!) and to look at something colourful and beautiful after having to stay at home for months. We all loved the place, I can still recall the sweet scent of the big colourful azaleas and rhododendrons.

Quite often when working on a scrapbook page I first choose the photo and then start matching the background papers and embellishments to it. In this case I fell in love with the beautiful floral embellishments, and the warm yellow flowers reminded me of this specific photo and the blooming background  of it. I think they matched perfectly!

All materials for the page are from Hip Kit Club June 2021 Scrapbook Kit. I used to be a Hip Kit subscriber for quite a while, but when the new EU import fee legislation came into force summer 2021 the VAT fees and processing charges increased the total cost for the subscription significantly. Even if I loved the kits, at year end 2021 I had to decide to discontinue my subscription and since then I have been looking for a replacement solution inside EU. If you have any hints on where to look, please leave a comment! 

Layout title and the banners I cut with my Cameo.

Looking at a blooming colourful layout in the middle of dark and cold Finnish winter makes me smile. Such a fun memory documented!

Hugs,

Hi!

Quite often I use die-cut elements on my paper crafting projects. I've been working with Sizzix for long, but every now and then I also cut with my Silhouette Cameo. My electronic cutter is quite old, but after I managed to upgrade it to Windows 11 version it has been functioning without any issues.

Backing large cut files with patterned or solid colour papers is a great way to add colour to a scrapbook page. I haven't used Silhouette often enough to master the tool perfectly, but luckily there are great tutorial videos available for pretty much every technique I want to try out.

Paige Taylor Evans is a true cut file virtuoso and also her tutorial videos are top quality. How to back cut files with Silhouette is explained on this Youtube video.

I'm a monthly subscriber of Silhouette cut files in the Silhouette Design Store and have dozens of great cut files in my library. I should definitely use the machine more often! Should this now be my new year resolution for 2023? 

Hi!
Today I wanted to share with you a couple of cards I made during 2022. 

My crafting year 2022 was more about doing and less about sharing my work, but I have a feeling that this year might be different: Creating will of course proceed intensively, but I will also continue documenting my artful journey here in my blog. 

I know that writing blog posts is no longer that popular, but I like the thought of building an electronic project archive here. Of course I also hope that the showcased projects would inspire other fellow crafters.

I have had the great pleasure to cooperate with Carabelle Studio for two years now. Their stamps and stencils really get my creative juices flowing, and I love the fact that their designs vary in style. Mixing and matching different looks is so much fun!

In the design team I've also fallen in love with the gel plates. My first gel plate I purchased already years ago, but did not really know how to use it and what to do with the prints I pulled. The gel plate talent in the team inspired me to give the technique another try, and I was amazed. I had no idea how versatile the plate was!

Is there a technique you have left behind because you considered it to be tedious, challenging or overall non-motivating? But which you have rediscovered at a later point? 

Wishing you a wonderful winter day! Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers,

It's the darkest time of the year in Southern Finland. Christmas season lights and candles bring some sparkle into the gloomy season, but in order to scope the short and dark days I surround myself with bright and warm colours and blooming patterns.
I was happy to take the days between Christmas and New Year off from work, and managed to allocate some time for my dear scrapbooking hobby. Two new layouts finished!

For the first layout I fuzzy cut flowers from a patterned paper. Unfortunately the paper did not include enough images to decorate my page, so I had to mix them with something else. I stamped, heat embossed and fuzzy cut old Stampendous flowers and layered them with patterned paper flowers and die-cut branches (die by Craft & You). 

More was more! 💖

For the title text I used Dina W. 'Mantras' stencil and white texture paste. 3-D foam stickers raise the strip bit off the background.

The picture I took sometime during the Covid year 2022; remote working continued and I was spending my days in Teams meetings, wearing my headset more or less non-stop from morning to evening. Past 2.5 years have been quite exceptional for us all!

The second layout design is more simple. I did not want to cover the beautiful gradient background with too many elements, and ended up using only a couple of embellishments I had close by.

I love the beautiful flower stamps by Sizzix!

I hope your new year has started nicely. I hope that the new year is a new beginning for my blog, too; I do know that blogging is old-fashioned, but maybe as a non-trendsetter I'm allowed to continue archiving my work in this format 😜 

Hoping to see you here sometimes, too!

Wishing you a wonderful new week,

hugs,