Gentle Touch - Algera Designs

These two pages were created with the beautiful kit, Gentle Touch, by Algera Designs.  The elements and papers within Algera Designs kits always recolour well, and in the layouts below I have done this on the butterflies. It makes her kits very versatile to use.

Kew Gardens

When I saw this kit I knew that it would work well with sepia coloured photos with a soft look. To create the effect on the photos I used the old photo effect in the PhotoLab part of Craft Artist. The font is Vladimir Script.

Whose Table

Gentle Touch contains a mix of soft coloured elements and papers, lovely floral based clusters, individual flowers, ribbons, bows and lots of other embellishments to play with along with a number of frames.

Check out Algera Designs in the E-scape and Scrap Boutique: Algera Designs. 

If you like Gentle Touch I can recommend also taking a look at Recollection, Romantique, Smitten and Tranquility, along with her other kits :)

All of these kits are available in png/Jpeg format as well as a pack file for use with Craft Artist.

Real Life Scrapped RSO September 28th

Lots more great layouts in yesterdays real standouts post, RSOs. All topics covered, blending, portraits, pets, nature and travel. Lots more lovely kits too, but I've been more restrained this time!!! Inspired, why not join Real Life Scrapped and upload your your layouts :)

Real Life Scrapped RSO September 26th

Today's RSO is a mix of different themes and styles, take a look at: Real Life Scrapped. I love the page by Anja and I couldn't resist buying the kit! It is called Autumnal Days and is by Paula Kesselring. There are also lots of great layouts in the gallery so if you have a spare 5 minutes check it out - RLS Gallery.
I also couldn't resist and bought the kit Woodland Autumn by Kristin Aargard, used in Christine's layout, really cute.

Real Life Scrapped RSO September 24th

Lots more great pages in today's RSO post. Having been away a week there have been lots to catch up on!

The latest RSO :)

E-Scape and Scrap "A Layout a Day" Team Reveal

The team reveal, chosen this time by Lorraine, who heads up the creative team I am in for this, was quite different. Turn a photo a day project into a layout a day. From the list given I created layouts for leaves and flowers. A great project idea.

I used the lovely kit Remember Moments by Mamrotka.

I added an oil on canvas effect to the acer photo and a texture to the photo of the rose. I felt that this softened the photos so that they blended in with the kit. Both photos were taken in October 2012. The Acer turns this beautiful red for a few days before the leaves fall and surprisingly I still had roses flowering at that time of year too!

Autumn Leaves

Autumn Rose

Real Life Scrapped RSO September 14th

My latest post for Real Life Scrapped, Real Standouts. It's a long post today, lots of fabulous layouts, and as ever there are lots of great layouts in the gallery too. RSOs

Real Life Scrapped RSO September 12th

More fabulous layouts in the gallery this week and check out today's Real Standouts for a quick look at some of the highlights. Today's post is a mix of layouts, so lots of different styles and topics.

E-Scape and Scrap September Team Reveal

This months team reveal was Natures Beauty. I have been scrapping lots on this topic recently and I included a couple of layouts from these. Follow the link to see the other great layouts from the team: Natures Beauty.

For the first layout I used the lovely kit, Beautiful Day by Mamrotka Designs. The photo was one I took a few years ago of the bluebells in spring at Cowleaze Wood.

The second layout was created with the lovely bundle Garden Notebook by Courtney’s Digiscrappin’. I took the photo in the garden earlier this year when the St. Johns Wort was in flower.

My two layouts:

Cowleaze Wood

He who plants a garden plants happiness

Some more layouts created with these kits:

Avery - Chichester

Bees at "The Brambles"

July in the Garden

Real Life Scrapped RSO September 10th

Lots more great layouts in the gallery this week, to see today's real standouts follow this link: RSOs. Following on from the last challenge Bold, I have included a couple of bold layouts and in contrast some subtle ones. Finishing with a mix of other inspiring pages.

Tattered Wings

I love this mixed media page, which I have created with my own background paper, created from a photograph, a photograph of a butterfly with tattered wings and the poem I wrote inspired by the photo. The poem can be found written separately on the Tattered Wings post at The forget-me-not blog.

Tattered Wings photo and poem © 2013 Natasha Forder

I love being able to mix my creative loves together and this layout is a mixture of three of them, photography, writing and craft. I created the page in Craft Artist.

The background paper I created for my little kit, Natures Beauty. It was created from a photo of a rose that I had processed to give a drawn effect. The paper was pink but I recoloured this brown to fit in with the photo.

I used white chain stitch short from the embroidery brushes in craft artist to edge the photo. I created a transparent square with a brown edge to add a "frame" towards the edge of the background paper.

The photo was taken in my garden, The Brambles, and if you are interested in finding out more check out The Brambles blog.

I couldn't stop thinking about this butterfly with its tattered wings and it didn't take me long to write the short poem based on it. A butterfly once young and flawless, now with its tattered wings, but no less beautiful.

Blending - Portland Bill

I created these two pages with the lovely kit, Sea Passages, by StarSongStudio.  I love the paper I used in the Portland Bill layout, a mixture of peeling paint, rust and sea. I used the colour burn blend on the photo of the boats with it and I love the effect. A few elements finished off the layout and I was very pleased with the end result.

Portland Bill

I use the colour burn blend a lot and with the right paper and photo I am never disappointed with the effect it creates.

Before deciding on this combination for the St. Michael's Mount page I tried a few different papers and blends with the photo with varying degrees of success. The final combination was to turn the photo black and white and blend using the darken mode.

As the photo is not bold like the one of the boats above, I have highlighted the main part, the castle,with the frame. Adding elements to finish off the page.

St Michael's Mount

Real Life Scrapped Challenge - Bold

It has been a while since I'd last entered a Real Life Scrapped Challenge, a few half finished layouts! So this time I was determined to make sure I had completed it in plenty of time!

The challenge is BOLD, and I used the free mini kit by Crafty Button Designs being given away on the challenge page to create my layout with, along with a couple of my own photos from a trip to Paris a few years ago.

BOLD

I don't usually create such "way out" layouts, so a good challenge for me!!!

For more information see the Get Real Challenge post.

Real Life Scrapped RSO September 3rd

Today's real standouts post is all about a story to tell... There were lots of great layouts in the gallery and to see the ones I selected visit the post. As always lots of great pages to choose from :)