Merry Christmas and a Layout Tutorial!

Hello there!

As a Christmas Eve present, I have a special layout tutorial just for you! (And in case your home isn't occupied by a certain Santa Paws this season, you can adjust the layout title as needed.)

I used Graphic 45's charming Raining Cats and Dogs paper line, along with a page from the new Time To Flourish! The pup in the photo is my cheeky Parson Russell Terrier, Archie. He's SO cheeky, he's making me hand-feed him while I upload these photos. Attention-grabber? Of course not. ;)

I used lots of glitter in this layout. I think it's a must when you're doing anything holiday-related! My chipboard snowflakes are from Gina's Designs; some leftover swag from my Graphic 45 DT days. I painted them gold and added gold glitter to touch. 

I LOVE these flowers. I dumped a bunch of Martha Steward glitter on top for a snowy feel. 

Ready? Let's go!

Supplies

Graphic 45 Raining Cats & Dogs 12" x 12" Paper Pad
Graphic 45 Raining Cats & Dogs Alphabet Stickers
Graphic 45 Time To Flourish December Flourish
Graphic 45 Ornate Metal Key
Petaloo Mulberry Flowers - Green
Gina's Designs - Chipboard Snowflakes
Gold Stickles
Martha Stewart Clear Glitter
Half a doily and a sequin!

Instructions

Step 1. Fussy cut some flowers from Cats Meow page. Add glitter to the white flowers.

Step 2. Fussy cut some poinsettias from December Flourish page. Apply gold Stickles to edges of the flowers.

Step 3. Apply gold paint to chipboard snowflakes. Add gold Stickles when dry.

Step 4. Cut out 4" x 6" woman and collie image and 4" x 3" "All You Need is Love and a Dog" image from Well Bred paper.

Step 5. Cut (2) black strips from Playful Pals.

Step 6. Take Mr. Whiskers paper and place blue plaid side face up.

Step 7. Trim Mischievous Menagerie paper to 11" x 11". Place tan side up.

Step 8. Trim Precious Pets to 7" x 9". Place red side up.

Step 9. Layer paper per photo.

Step 10. Add Playful Pals strips and Well Bred image.

Step 11. Add stickers and sequin to smaller Well Bred image. 

Step 11. Attach a 5" x 7" photo with foam dots. Then, arrange all pieces per photo and adhere using a combination of foam dots and glue.

Thank you so much for following my blog this past year! I hope you all have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year's. Be sure to follow along for more inspiration in 2015 as I create Project Life layouts using Graphic 45's Time To Flourish calendar line! It's going to be a BEAUTIFUL year.

Many hugs and love,

Maria (and Archie, too)

I'm not the only one who's excited for 2015!

TC Nine And Co. layout

Hello!

I wanted to quickly share a layout I made using Teresa Collins Nine & Co. paper and ephemera. The photo in this layout is from a class Teresa taught last month at Ben Franklin Crafts in Monroe, Washington. I was so excited to meet her!

My friend Lauren from Confessions From a Craftaholic introduced me to Teresa Collins Designs in 2012. As a vintage and Graphic 45 enthusiast, I was amazed at how much I loved Teresa's modern style. She does it in such an elegant, feminine way. 

There's so much to share about Teresa's class, so I'm going to save that for a later post. (By that time, I hope to have a few more layouts to share.) Until then, just a few little notes about some of the details on this LO. 

I chose white and gold papers because they're Teresa's favorite colors. One of my favorite pieces from the Nine & Co. Ephemera Pack is this little white flourish below. I popped it up and stuck one of Teresa's faceted gems underneath for fun. 

What is super special about the calendar from the ephemera pack is that it matches the October 2014 calendar! It was Friday, October 17th when we took Teresa's class. I'd say this goes into my file "serendipity" file.

Thanks so much for looking! 

Another last-minute Halloween tutorial

Good Morning!

I have another quick and fun little Halloween project for you. Actually, it doesn't have to be for Halloween - you can totally change out papers and embellishments to taylor it for any holiday.

This is an altered medicine bottle I made using Graphic 45's beautiful washi tape set and An Eerie Tale paper line!

If you like the little spool in the first photo, I have a tutorial for that as well. :) Thanks so much for looking!

Check out How to Make an Altered Medicine Bottle With Washi Tape by Maria Cole on Snapguide.

Upcycled Halloween ribbon spool

Hey there, crafty friends!

Long time no see! So much has happened since my last blog post. I knew back then that life would be even more unpredictable, so I had to put papercrafting aside. Lately, things have started to stabilize again, and my inner designer has been itching to play with pretty paper!

There are some fun things I'll post about soon, including a recent trip to Monroe, Washington to meet the amazing Teresa Collins, along with the most fabulous birthday gift I've ever received. ;)

But first, because this is time-sensitive, a little Halloween tutorial for all you Graphic 45 lovers!

I've been in love with Graphic 45's An Eerie Tale paper collection from the start. It's a beautiful, classic way to do Halloween and the line reminds me a lot of Happy Haunting. So naturally I had a few projects up my sleeve for it, including this easy upcycled Halloween ribbon spool! 

Here's the Snapguide tutorial I made for this ribbon spool. As with any tutorial, you're free to change up the papers you use - even the flowers and Stickles, too! I hope you enjoy. Stay tuned for more! 

Check out How to Make an Altered Halloween Ribbon Spool by Maria Cole on Snapguide.

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Tag Album

When Graphic 45 first shared the Botanical Tea sneak peeks with the design team, we were all floored! The shabby chic colors, heartfelt sentiments and timeless tea and bird designs were too much for us. I think a bulk of our creations were made with this gorgeous paper!

Botanical Tea also has a special place in my heart because the first time I saw it in person, was the first time I met Graphic 45's owner and head designer, Diane Schultz. I felt so humbled to sit across from this creative great, and to hear her thoughts and inspiration behind this new line. If you're a fan of Graphic 45, I hope you can meet this incredibly kind and imaginative woman sometime. For someone so successful and creative, she is also amazingly modest and loves everyone around her.

I am so grateful to Diane, Charee and the rest of the Graphic 45 family for taking a chance on this newbie and making my papercrafting dream come true! (And to Charee and the gang at G45 headquarters here in Portland, you bet I won't be a stranger. ;)

With that said, here is a fun little album I made with Botanical Tea and the gorgeous new ivory tag album. I really wanted the idea of a botanical garden to come through in this mini, so I cut out four rectangles on the front and back covers, then popped up the tag onto paper to resemble a birdcage. I made this project in January, just after our big CHA push.

And here is the back.

Supplies

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Flora

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Fauna

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Spring Duet

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Field of Flowers

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Robin’s Egg

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Hello Friend

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Sweet Chamomile

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Just Because

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Love Notes

Graphic 45 Regular Tag Album – Ivory

Gina’s Designs Tea Time Chipboard

Spellbinders Dies – Ovals, Lacey Ovals, Decorative Labels Eight

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Baubles

Stickles – fruit punch, platinum

Jump rings

Thanks so much for stopping by! There are a few more design team projects to share, but I'll spare your inbox for a few days. :)

Good Ol' Sport Tag Album Banner

Hi again! 

Have you ever been to CHA? I was pretty bummed that it didn't work out earlier this year. But, I have a feeling they're going to have these awesome events for years to come. I spent over a month creating projects for Graphic 45's booth in Anaheim this January, including this fun tag album I designed using Good Ol' Sport and the large tag album. 

I was so inspired by the mini pennants in this paper line, that I felt it was only right that I cut my tags into pennant shapes. It's a rather simple mini album, as I didn't want the complexities of each paper design cancel each other out. Charee just informed me that this project (along with a couple other winter CHA goodies of mine) are still on the road traveling, with their next stop in New Zealand!

My favorite part about this album is the back. Just un-do the whole thing, and you get a sporty banner you can hang for some extra team spirit! Thanks for looking ... stay tuned for one more post!

Supplies

Graphic 45 Good Ol’ Sport Teamwork

Graphic 45 Good Ol’ Sport Cheer On

Graphic 45 Good Ol’ Sport All Star

Graphic 45 Good Ol’ Sport Touchdown

Graphic 45 Good Ol’ Sport Big Score

Graphic 45 Good Ol’ Sport Good Ol’ Sport

Graphic 45 Good Ol’ Sport Champion

Graphic 45 Good Ol’ Sport Victory

Graphic 45 Good Ol’ Sport Newsworthy

Graphic 45 Good Ol’ Sport Number 1 Fan

Graphic 45 Alphabet Stickers

Graphic 45 Large Tag Album

Graphic 45 Metal Brads Staples

Tim Holtz Idea-ology ball & chain

Tim Holtz Idea-ology fragment charm

May Arts navy silk ribbon

Spellbinders Scalloped circles die