Once Upon A Time for Blue Fern Studios

Hi friends!

Yes, I'm in again and you will be seeing more of me this week. It's a little like playing catch-up after being away for awhile.

Today I'm up on the Blue Fern Studios blog with a video tutorial for you. And I'm so excited about this one because it features the amazing new paper collection Sanctuary by our new designer Manuela Zimmerman. If you're a fan of shabby romantic papers like me, you must hoard this collection NOW.

So I found this beautiful winter scenery photo while searching for inspiration on Pinterest (it's December after all) and it is just perfect for the dark pensive tones of the Sanctuary papers. This collection may seem nature-themed, but I found it to be perfect for my winter layout as well. That's how versatile it is!

Here's the project:

And some close-ups:

Love those chipboards! I've used Holiday Vine (snipped into 3 pieces and tucked everywhere), Shabby Flakes and Winter Trees. 

Making my own snow here - it's so much fun :D

This layout differs from my usual style in that, I didn't have too much going on in the background - just simple masking, embossing and light touches of color here and there. The photo conveys such a feeling of magic and enchantment - like a moment suspended in time in a fairy tale (hence the title) - and I wanted to preserve that feel by building all the attention around it in the paper layers and keeping the background tame. It feels like any time now, Lucy is going to walk out of the woods and meet Mr Tumnus for the first time by the snow-covered lamp-post (nerd alert: I'm talking about The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe).

And here's the video of how I created this layout:

Don't forget, every month Blue Fern Studios has a sketch challenge going on. Here is this month's sketch by Michelle Singh:

So gorgeous isn't it? I'm so inspired I'll be using it for some of my other DT projects as well. 

That's all I have for you now. Meanwhile, happy crafting!

love,