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

If you came here from Angelica's blog, then you are on the right track. If not, go back to Swirlydoos' blog and start from there. We have some amazing projects for you to see today and as a bonus we have Petaloo joining in the fun and offering a prize!! There are 2 prize packs up for grabs so make sure to follow along and have fun!!

Here's some projects that I did using the beautiful Whispers of Spring kit:

"Hello Sunshine" Layout

So, this is my take on the sketch. Such a fun sketch! I used the new Prima "Teak" chalk ink that came in the embellishment add-on on the paper to create a distressed outline on the inside edges. I like the effect. The papers I used to mat the photo are actually journaling cards- perfect for layering. I used the pink satin cord to weave into the Almanac black lace, then actually pulled off tying it into a bow. (Left-handed bows don't always look pretty!) I finished of the design by adding some pretty Petaloo butterflies.The picture is of my daughter, Audra, taken a few years ago. It's one of my faves! 

Tech/Project Kit- Journal: "Field Notes"
This project was so much fun to play with, and I have only finished the covers! I can't wait to dive into creating the different pages. I titled this "Field Notes" because I plan on spending a lot of time outdoors with my kids this spring and summer, and I thought this would be a great way to document all the fun we are going to have.

Front Cover:
So I started out using my new Distress Markers using different colors to trace the resist images. I did this by laying my OTT Lite on the table and placed the cover close to it. The results were not as awesome as I had planned, but I still like what it did do- the colors that I chose were green and browns, and it gave the cover somewhat of a dingy look, considering that I used Vintage Pink, Sunkissed Peach, and Crushed Shells Glimmer Mist. I used chalk ink on the edges, then piled on the embellishments! I used the vine that came in the flower kit, but I used the flowers that came in this kit on the back of the ones with the vines.

Inside Front Cover:
I stamped on the background before adding my other embellishments to add some dimension. The burlap is from an old Swirlydoos kit.

Inside Back Cover:

Same idea as the front here. I used Sun Sister Glimmer Mist on this page, along with the colors I already mentioned. 

Back Cover:

I tried to keep this simple because I don't want anything to fall off of the back, but I did use Fabri-Tac on the ribbon, chipboard, and tile, so those babies ain't going anywhere! LOL!

                                                                                                                               

"Big Sister" Layout

This picture is of my daughter and my son the day he came home from the hospital. She's such a great big sister, I wanted to preserve this memory.
Lots of distressing on this one! I started this layout using a Prima mask with the "teak" chalk ink on the top layer of the background. The black circle is just black cardstock that I glued the black eyelash trim to the outside of. I used layers that I cut up from a piece of patterned paper, and a journaling card. Behind the vine are die cuts from the Memory Box branch die.

"I Love Special Moments with You" Layout

I snagged this pic of me and my son using my phone last year. I usually suck at self photos, but I love this one! I immediately thought of this pic when I saw these words on one of the pieces of paper in the kit. I kept this one simple (for me)- it's kind of "palate cleansing" as my friend, MandaK likes to call it! This is one of my 30 minute or less layouts. I used the Martha Stewart Cherish punch on the pink paper, and the Vintage Floral punch on black cardstock to border the long strip. The pearls on the G45 butterfly paper are Kaisercraft from my stash. The butterflies are from Angelica's Etsy shop (Oh so beautiful!) I also used a piece of chipboard from an older kit for the top corner of the pic- I used Lettuce Smooch, and Distress Markers and Stains in various browns to get a wood-like appearance on the frame. 

I hope you enjoyed having a peek at my projects! Hop on!

You have until midnight, eastern time, on April 11th to complete the hop. Winners will be announced on the Swirlydoos Blog on April 12th. 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 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 AND tell us the QUESTION that was created with all of the special words you collected AND GIVE US YOUR ANSWERS.



My special word is : at



The party continues over at Lisa G 's blog. Have fun!