Welcome to Swirlydoos' July Kit Reveal Blog Hop Block Party!!

HELLO!!!! If you came here from the Swirlydoos blog, then you are on the right track. If not, go back and start from there. We have some amazing projects for you to see today !!

This months kit, "The Paper Doll" is AMAZING!! It's been so much fun to work with. I love the variety of colors, and the embellishments are simply TO DIE FOR! Here are the projects I have made so far:

"Me" Layout

So this is my take on the sketch. I was stunned by the beauty of it, that I wanted to follow it very closely, instead of just using it for inspiration. I started by adding faux stitching to the blue cardstock. I poked the holes with one of those old Cutter Bee piercing bugs, but I used a pen for the "thread". Then I used distress ink on the papers. The letters are Pink Paislee wood that I painted using Lindy's Starburst with a water pen. I added Kaisercraft blue pearls also. The green foliage are die cuts from Memory Box. What I am most pleased with about this layout is the layering of pics and flowers. I wasn't sure it was going to workout because of the thickness of the flowers, but it adds so much dimension! All of the flowers are from the flower add-on.

Here is a close up:

Untitled Layout

This is a layout inspired by the mixed media goddess, Anna Dabrowska. ( I love her so much that I am going to one of her classes in California in just a few weeks!) Whenever I see her gorgeous creations, I am always in awe and wonder to myself, "How the HELL did she do THAT?" So, I tried to see if I could maybe produce something similar. I like how it came out. I distressed all layers with the Zutter Distrezz it All, and used various punches on the inner background paper, and stamped them using various Prima stamps from my stash. Then I picked out a BUNCH of embellishments to add using a gel medium. Mostly everything I piled on here is from the kit. I did use a few things from my own stash like buttons, lace, stick pin, and watch.
After I added the embellishments, I used a few different Glimmer Mists. I then added the pic, pearls, and butterflies.

"Us" Mini Album

Next month is my anniversary, and I felt like making a wedding mini album with a few of my favorite pics in sepia tone. This is just the cover that I have so far. The background is one of the Pion papers from the kit. I outlined it with Liquid Pearls in pewter and platinum, then added blue pearls to the edges in a few spots. I fussy cut the oval with roses and the "love birds". The bird bath has Picket Fence Distress Stain and Lindy's Starburst over that. All of the ribbon on the rings is from past Swirlydoos kits. I hope to finish the album in the next couple of weeks!

"Mother and Daughter" Layout

This is one of my favorite pics of me and my daughter taken a few years ago. All layers were distressed using the Zutter Distrezz it All. The green/pink leaves are dies from Cheery Lynn. I used the same technique of faux stitching that I used on the "ME" layout on the title circle. The beautiful pink flourishes and photo border are Flourish with a Bling (Bella Rhinestone Flourishes in wine).

I hope you enjoyed having a look at my projects!



You have until midnight, eastern time, on Monday, July 9th to complete the hop. Winners will be announced on the Swirlydoos Blog on July 10th. In order to qualify to win here is what you need to do:
1: Visit all of the blogs and leave a comment on each. This way we know you were there. Become a follower if you're not already. Take your time. There are REALLY beautiful things to see along the way.
2: Before you leave each blog, look for the “special” words and write it down.
Once you have visited all the blogs and collected all the special words, they will create a QUESTION.
3: Finally, go back to the Swirlydoos blog and leave a comment letting us know how much fun you had, tell us the QUESTION that was created with all of the special words you collected, and THEN ANSWER it!! Can't wait to hear from you.


My special word is : What


The party continues over at the fabulous Paulien's blog. Have fun!