Wednesday, February 29, 2012
We are at the end of the month and challenges will be closing soon. With that, I'd like to highlight some of our entries.

Swirlyhues
By: Niesia


Sketch:
By Sherri


Butterfly Challenge By Jeannie


Our subscribers are so talented!!! Hope you are inspired to play along!!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Hi Everyone,
It is Card Day again, and we are on week 5,  of our Card Adventure Schedule.
Today I created this sample tag for you
On which I used  6 different techniques.
I did a step by step tutorial  on this tag  and posted
So come on over and play along!!!!!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
I thought of you today, but that is nothing new.
I thought about you yesterday and days before that too.
I think of you in silence, I often speak your name.
All I have are memories and your picture in a frame.
Your memory is a keepsake from which I’ll never part.
God has you in His arms,
I have you in my heart.



This beautiful heartfelt layout is from one of our newest members Debbie Rybolt...In the gallery she is known as "troubles"...uh oh...wonder what that means??? Well, it certainly doesn't mean she has trouble creating beautiful LO's, because this one is Beautiful!! The poem I picked was actually taken from the journaling on her LO. The layering, the distressing, the composition is just fabulous! The bit of lace on the birdcage transforms it into a beautiful piece. Love love the flower cluster in the left hand bottom corner. They must have been handmade with love because they are sooooo pretty! The most creative part is how Debbie fussy cut the floral part of the background paper and tucked the matted photo into the corner. Gorgeous. It gives the layout so much dimension. The colors and choice of papers coupled with the precious photo, is warm and inviting, and leaves a memory imprinted on the heart. Thank you Debbie for sharing such a beautiful LO. We love it.
Saturday, February 25, 2012

Happy Saturday everyone. I hope everyone is getting some scrappy time in.

In the video i share how i created this canvas. I think of it as my therapy canvas or art. I just went with whatever felt right at the moment.... and i didn't have anything else on my mind but creating a canvas. I layer tons of different inks and mediums but the outcome is the best part. I love my canvas. You can create your own canvas in your style or mood... just break out your inks, stamps and whatever else you want on it and just go for it.

Love Canvas


If you haven't already make sure to go subscribe to the youtube channel.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask. There will be a thread in the Techniques and Project Kits section so ask away. I am also looking for tips if you are familiar with mixed media feel free to post some tips and tricks.




Here is a supply list for my canvas.

Supply list:
heat tool
E6000 glue
popsicle stick
craft mat
water mister.
6x6 meduim or heavy weight chipboard.
sticky back canvas
6x6 pink paislee butterfly garden pattern paper just 1 paper
multimedium
gesso
prima stamp (its a older one and i don't know the name)
pink paislee butterfly garden stamp
Prima mask
wheat grass glimmer mist
coffee shop GM
spun sugar spritz
vanilla spritz
log cabin spritz
lindys starburst stain in cadbury milk chocolate
lindys moon shadow in gossamer gold
canvas LOVE letters from prima
prima resin bird house
TH clock and spinner
white hydrangea flowers small and large
2 prima flowers

Remember its your canvas do what you want. Throw out all the rules and go for it. :)

Thank you so much for stopping by. I love reading comments!! ;)
Friday, February 24, 2012
TGIF! 

TONS going on at Swirlydoos!!  The forums have been hopping with activity and I for one, am having a lot of fun playing catch up.

We have a handful of challenges going on right now: SwirlyHues, Monthly Kit Sketch Challenge, Butterfly Challenge, SGC and the infamous Round Robin.  I have GOT to get caught up in the gallery.  It is sooooo pretty over there. :)

We also are still working on our Swirl-a-palooza projects.  I so enjoy seeing the finished projects getting posted.  We have some very, very talented people in our forums.

Lots of new video tutorials have been posted over the last few weeks.  Our Education Team has been very busy keeping everyone learning and trying things.  Paulien has been bitten by the video bug too and she has started posting video tutorials in her Card Adventure threads.

Members have been stalking and mugging their postal carriers for their February kit.  Invoices have begun going out for the March kit.

Stay tuned to the calendar of events posted on the right side menu for an upcoming announcement of the March reveal and blog hop!


Thursday, February 23, 2012
February- the month of love! If you are looking for trinkets to complete your "Lovely" layouts, check out these little gems, or brads, From Creative Imaginations:

Here are a couple of examples of what you can do with them:

Look at what Sherri did with hers:
Such a sweet little touch at the bottom of the pic!

And, Miss Robin Shakoor added one to the tag at the top of the photo:

They look so sweet and create the perfect sentiment!


Wednesday, February 22, 2012
We have so many challenges going on on our forums, and this past Saturday, we had our first Swirlapalooza.While all of the projects were sooooo wonderful, here some amazing projects posted by our lovely, super-talented subscribers! 

Paulien's blending foam binder tutorial was awesome, and Miss Lisa D made a fabulous binder using it:

 Vicky created a tutorial for a peony flower, and Jeannie made a a gorgeous one:

Sherri did wonders improvising with her supplies to make this flower using Lisa G's tutorial:

Manda and Connie made some rockin' mini alums using Rae's tutorial using recycled packaging, or whatever was on hand!
Miss Manda K:
(And we are so glad Manda is back to making awesome stuff!)

  Connie:



Lisa V's challenge using seed packets is awesome, but we are still waiting to see what you ladies are going to do with them. 
Here's Lisa's beautiful example:

Lynne's canvas tutorial was awesome! Look what Erica made using it:

Tiffany showed us how to turn a plain birdhouse into a piece of art with her tutorial, and we still want to see the one YOU make!

And, finally, Angelica gave us a Swirly knowledge challenge, and Connie was able to answer all of questions. (Such a SAVAGE!)

Thanks to all the ladies who participated in Saturday's events! If you didn't get a chance to participate, you can still make the projects and post them. We LOVE to see what you make!

And, a very special thanks to our lovely design team coordinator, Lisa V, who put this day together! HUGS!




Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Hi Everyone,
We are already at week 4 on our card making schedule, which means that today, it is time for:
Week 4 - (take 1)
Shapes and Fun things.
I choose Fun Things this time and got to play with an acetate sheet and stamping.
I came up with these fun Gift Tubes:

I did a video tutorial on one of the larger Gift Tubes.


So hop on over to the *All about Cards* section and play along.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
'cause if your love was all I had
In this life
Well that would be enough
Until the end of time
So rest your weary heart
And relax your mind
Cause I'm gonna love you boy
Until the end of time...




This week Erica brings us a LO about true love..."Till the end of time" is written in small letters, but means something very big. A love that will last forever.
Erica tells us that this is a pic of her dear husband. The small title on the right says "Till the end of time". Erica has been hoarding the heart chippy forever and finally thought what a perfect time to use it! She made the two large flowers using Donna Salazar's Carnation Creation Die's ( beautiful!!) and did quite a bit of punching and distressing. Erica said she took Shelly's original idea with the peek-a-boo tear at the bottom and decided to punch brads and put lacing through it. She then stamped and embossed the chain link hearts using embossing powders from Lindy's Stamp Gang. Erica thanks Shelly for the design she got to lift in the Round Robin Challenge. We think you did a gorgeous lift with touches making it your own! Pure Eye Candy!!

Saturday, February 18, 2012


Good Saturday Morning to you!!!

Lynne here ~ to bring you another fabby
Swirlydoos ~ Imagination  Lab Tutorial!!

This one is a quick one...but beautiful none the less!!!






Today, I will be showing you how to make this LOVELY butterfly!!


I saw a picture on facebook from CHA~W of a beautiful flower 
(sorry have no idea where I saw it!!) and come to find out the flower was created 
by non other than the AMAZING Wendy Vecchi!! 
so I wanted to share it with you.....
my apologies to Wendy if I mispronounced her name....!!!! gahhhh!

Products you will need.....

Clearly for Art Modeling Film......I used the WhiteOut but I'm sure any would work!!
Glue and Seal ~ Matte
Distress Crackle Paint ~ Rock Candy
Alcohol Inks
Ink Blending Solution
Paint Brush
Die of choice....I chose the Mini Butterflies by Tim Holtz

ARE YOU READY.........???

Here it is!!

My apologies Wendy if I mispronounced your name!!!!!
Friday, February 17, 2012
Today is a very special day at Swirlydoos!!  Today we celebrate and recognize two of our members.  
Without further ado.......

Everyone who comes to Swirlydoos will tell you that we have a truly unique community.  Talent aside, you will be hard pressed to find another online community of crafters who genuinely care about each other as much as we care about each other at Swirlydoos.  We really are one big, happy family. Our members are funny, caring, supportive, and believe in paying it forward to help our sisters out…..with everything.  It is hard to imagine that with all of the support available in our forums, that one person would float to the top and be recognized as the most helpful of us all.  This person has jumped in and taken over challenges when hostesses were unable to finish the job, she reaches out to everyone in a caring and compassionate manner.  She epitomizes in every way what it means to be a Swirly Savage. For all of these reasons and many, many more we felt it necessary to publically recognize her for her giving nature. Please join me in congratulating our very own:

Miss Peggy Giovanetti


As we crown her

Swirlydoos’ Hostess with the Mostest!!!!

 We recently sat down (virtually) with Peggy, and learned a little bit more about one of our very favorite Swirly-Angels. Here is what Peggy had to tell us about Peggy: “I'm a 65 year old Senior Citizen living in Central New Jersey. I'm originally from western New York and moved to New York City with a girl friend in 1967 at the age of 20. (I still love the city and visit as much as possible.) I met my husband there that summer and we were married the following year. We settled in Brooklyn until the babies started coming, when we moved to Staten Island. We moved to New Jersey in the mid 80's. I started scrapping in 2008, more as a way to get out of the depression that I was in after losing my husband to cancer the year before. I lost interest in most things, and found myself channel surfing in my free time. One of my sisters creates theme albums and I thought that I might try that. I would start with one about my husband and his childhood, then one about me, then one about our meeting and marrying, etc. Along the way, I became obsessed by some pattern paper that I had seen advertised and couldn't find locally. (I think you understand!) It finally occurred to me to try finding it online. I discovered SBC, and through the gallery I discovered a whole new way to scrap. Since then and especially since I joined Swirlydoos, I've grown from flat with a few embellies to dimensional with a growing knowledge of design. Add to that my curiosity about all of the different techniques and my pleasure at following the many wonderful tutorials and I find that this hobby has me discovering resources within myself that I never knew were there!!!! I started to host challenges as a way to encourage Swirly members to participate in the Forums and the Gallery. Along the way I realized that the creativity, generosity and encouragement shown by the Swirlydoos Design Team and other members led to our newer and/or shyer Sisters to join in and to realize how good they really are. They in turn have been encouraging the "next generation". I love seeing all of this playing out in the challenges hosted not just by me but by all of us!!! I've been trying to decide which challenge is my favorite challenge to host and have concluded that I need to declare a tie. The Round Robin is a constant source of creativity because of the nature of the challenge. It's so much fun seeing the different versions of each initial design and the individuality displayed by the participants. As far as a single monthly challenge, I think I'm going to have to pick the first that I hosted back in November 2009. I didn't ask for techniques and I don't think I asked for any particular embellie or design element. I simply asked "What do you want most for Christmas?" All of the entries were so heartfelt and some were so incredibly heart wrenching that they literally had me in tears, stating wishes for peace and quiet contentment,  and for healed relationships... Before Swirlydoos, I had never entered let alone hosted a challenge. Scrapping was still pretty new to me and a scrapping group was even newer.  I did not know that such wonderful incentives to scrap creatively existed. Since joining, I have entered one challenge "over there" at the suggestion of several of the ladies who had commented on a particular layout. It was fun, but not anywhere near as it is here with a group that has become family. I do love to enter the Swirly challenges as much as possible, starting with the SGC contests as well as Ang's Butterfly Challenge, then (time and mojo permitting) the Sketch and the new SwirlyHues challenges. I've been out of the Round Robin for a while, first because of hosting duties and then because of a time crunch on my part. I've signed up for February and can't wait to see my "assignment"!!! Needless to say, I love playing in all of the challenges. They're a great kick start to the mojo during "those" months.  More importantly, they give me the incentive to try new things and to stay fresh. When I do host a challenge, I sometimes ask for members to vote for their favorites; when the theme is something other than a layout that can be done quickly, such as a card or an ATC, I like to encourage multiple entries by choosing a winner at random. As I'm thinking up a challenge, I mull over possible prizes. This is sort of embarrassing, but some of those prizes are finally selected while the votes are being counted. I try to come up with something that is Swirly worthy yet is hopefully something that the winner does not yet own. I've been with Swirlydoos since the beginning (literally!!!!) I had been stalking a certain Robinzberdz at SBC, admiring her work and trying to do flower clusters like hers. In early February 2008, she did a series of stunning pages and explained that they were made using a kit from a brand new Kit Club. I took a peek and was instantly hooked. My order for "Decadence" (Swirlydoos’ very first kit) was placed instantly and I've been not just a member but an enthusiastic fan ever since!!!!" Here are 3 of Peggy’s most favorite scrapbooking layouts:




Thank you Peggy for ALL that you do for every single one of us!!!  As a token of our appreciation, Peggy will be receiving $100.00 to spend on anything her little heart desires in the Swirlydoos store!

*A note from Krissy- I have had both the honor and the privilege to spend time with Peggy in person at our annual retreats, and I have to say that there could not possibly be a sweeter, more patient and giving soul around. Peggy has been a saving grace to members and to me in so many ways. Peggy is always first on scene with her tender and heartfelt words of encouragement, support, and even a kick the in pants smart ass zinger that seems to fly in from Lord only KNOWS where! Peggy is patient and kind, and is so very helpful in answering questions for anyone who needs an answer. Peggy is a complete package, and I am so very lucky to be a part of her life.
Thank you Pegs <3

Our second award.........

Swirlydoos is without a doubt, home to some of THE most talented and amazing scrapbook artists there are.  The shock and awe that comes across our faces when we peruse our gallery or stalk any of our challenges, never ceases to amaze us.  Every week we recognize a layout that has given us that same reaction.  We recognize projects for so many reasons! Whether it’s because the artistry is breath taking, the technique blew our minds, or because the story behind the layout brought tears to our eyes, each one of our 52 yearly “Layout of the Week” projects holds a very special place in the heart of Swirlydoos.

We felt that we should recognize one layout out of all of our LOTW winners to be Swirlydoos’ Layout of the Year.  This is a daunting task especially given the pool of amazing work that graces our gallery.  We decided that we would pick a layout each month.  We took a look at the layouts of the week for that month and chose one to represent each month.  Then at the end of the year we had to vote.  The design team kept this secret from our members.  No one knew we were doing this....FOR A WHOLE YEAR!!!  *insert evil laugh* I don't think I have to tell you that the voting wasn't easy.  But, we did have a winner.  So without further ado, I introduce to you, our 2011 Layout of the Year designed by:

Sandi Clarkson
 


Sandi has been a "happy Swirlydoos Subscriber" (her words) for almost 2 years.  I asked Sandi to tell me a little bit about herself, and the inspiration behind her page:

“Hi, I'm Sandi. Wow, what an honor to be chosen for this award! Many thanks! I am happily married to a wonderfully supportive guy named Dan and we live in the great state of Texas. Together we have 3 grown daughters, 3 great sons-in-law and 16 wonderfully blended grandkids! Yes, sixteen! I work as an Audiologist in the medical field but scrapbook the rest of the time!  At least, that is what my family says! Although I have been a crafter of some sort all my adult life, my SIL introduced me to this hobby about 5 years ago and I fell in love! It is truly my passion and I enjoy every minute of it! Give me paper and some photos and I'm in heaven!

Info about my page:



Well, I have to say that this was actually one of my favorite layouts from 2011.  I have it framed and hanging in my scrap room.  I had this awesome new photo of my youngest granddaughter that I was dying to scrap. And these warm Bo Bunny papers at my fingertips. Fall colors are my all-time favorite for anything - scrapping, decorating, dressing, you name it! Then, it was just a matter of tearing, layering and making a big statement with my Bo Bunny Et Cetera ribbon across the bottom of the page. Not having the exact vine or flowers that I wanted for my layout, I turned to the floral department of the local craft store and found the perfect embellishment. I paired that with some vintage Prima and there you have it!

You can see more of Sandi's beautiful work in our gallery and on her blog at http://softsideofsandi.blogspot.com/

Swirlydoos would like to congratulate you and present you with a $100 gift certificate to our store!!!!!!!!

Thursday, February 16, 2012
Bo Bunny Enchanted Spotlight Kit!

This gorgeous spotlight kit made it's way into the store a couple of weeks ago, and they are going fast. Look at that picture, and you can see why! Krissy paired these beautiful papers with gorgeous Petaloo flowers, and added colorful cardstock and Smooch to really make your layouts and projects pop! There is even a mini album in there. I can't wait to play with this kit, and I can't wait to see what you talented ladies do with it, if you are fortunate enough to snag one before they are gone!!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012
OMG the voting was grueling!!  

We had some really outstanding and jaw dropping entries for January's challenge.  We want to thank every one of you for playing along.  We hope that you will play along with us again. :)

Here are our winners:

Niesia is our 1st place Scarlet Siren winner!!  

Here, in her words, is a description of her winning entry:
Here is my entry for this month’s challenge. I used 101-Gesso technique on the background. I stamped the snowflakes with gesso and I applied the glitter to it before it dried. The effect is very subtle but stunning. I don’t know if the picture can show it well.

My son Thomas (4 ½ yrs old) took this picture of his brother – Michael (3) looking out the window daydreaming. The title is attached to the tag hidden behind, describing the whole story behind this photo.

Well, we think Thomas has a future in photography!  Here is her beautiful entry:


This was the first time our next winner had entered our challenge and we were all so happy to see her beautiful entry.

Congratulations Amarylis!!!  She is our 2nd place 
Bad Ass Blue Betty winner!!!

Here is a little bit from Amarylis about her entry:
I used Robin's Water Distressing Tutorial for my background papers. I love to water distress on my layouts since it gives them a lot of depth! I also used Lisa Gregory's Puffed Rose Flower Tutorial for my two blue roses.

I had a lot of fun working on this layout and used a lot of techniques on it and I can honestly say that I love how it turned out!

It looks like you had fun!  It is gorgeous!!  Click here to go to Amarylis' blog.



Congratulations ladies!!  We looks forward to seeing more entries from you!!

One Wednesday out of every month we would like to feature a Swirly Sister's Blog. Our amazing ladies are incredibly talented and work wonders with the Swirlydoo's Kits.

This week our featured Blogger is: Tracey Gregory  A.K.A tgregory

Please visit her blog for Swirly inspiration: A Lifetime of Pages
 
Remember I Love You

Tracey used the page for the February Round Robin and the Once upon a Sketch challenge sponsored by Swirlydoos. We love how her page has a masculine charm and so very detailed/

Thank you Tracey for sharing and inspiring us!!


 
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Hey everyone, just wanted to let you all know that we had every intention of posting the top two SwirlyHues winners this past Monday.  However, the voting has been rough this month. We currently have a 3-way tie.  

We are working on getting this down to just two people and will update the blog as soon as we can.  Thanks sooooooo much for making our job voting sooooooooo difficult!  LOL 
Hi everyone,

It is already the 3rd week of our Card Adventure, and boy, do we have something in store.
Our very own, *FABULOUS sketch artist Beggahuna* has made a Card Sketch, especially for
Swirlydoos Card Adventure.
Don't you just LOVE it?!!!!

I couldn't wait to use this gorgeous sketch and made a sample card with it.
For playing along in our Card Adventure, click HERE to chat and post your card.
A step by step tutorial for the card above can be found HERE.
Hope to see you there!!


Sunday, February 12, 2012
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.



Winter is still in full swing in some parts of the country... And some parts may look as gorgeous as this LO. The photo in the LO is just breathtaking. The composition is just brilliant. The snowflake border, the wispy swirl of the pearls that reminds us of winters whispering winds, the naked Dusty Attic with a touch of snow and then the breath of fresh air in the snowy white blooms. Perfection. Love the placement of the white doily that just pulls everything together. Indeed a Winter Wonderland...Kim, what a great job in portraying warmth on a cold chilly day.
Saturday, February 11, 2012

Hope everyone has had time to recover from the fabulous blog hop!! So much gorgeousness.... hehehe!!

I am bringing you a video of how I put together my kaisercraft drawers. I hope this helps. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me!

There is so many different ways to embellish your box/drawers i wanted to just share the basics and leave the rest up to your creativity.

Here is the video.


Make sure you go subscribe to the Swirlydoos youtube channel!!!

Here is a list of products I used

Kaisercraft drawers
Kaisercraft Sweet Nothings paper
Kaisercraft wood embellishments
Distress stain
Lindy Stamp Gang Mission Bells brown
Prima distress tool
Prima flowers
Kaisercraft flowers
Mod Podge
Paint Brush
Crackle Accents
Seam binding
Tim holtz metal corners

Here is some pictures of my project.




 Hope you are inspired!!!


Now for the list of blog hop winners!!!  A heartfelt thank you once again to all of the hop participants.  You are all the reasons why we do this.  
Winners were picked via Random.org.  You have 7 days to claim to your prize.  Email Lisa@swirlydoos.com with your name and contact information so that we can get your prizes out to you!!!

Sherri!!!  You have won the Swirlydoos prize pack!!  


Maria, you have won the Kaisercraft bundle!!

Vicki, you have won the $50 Spring Collection prize pack from Petaloo!!!

Congratulations ladies!!!
Friday, February 10, 2012
Lotsa Lotsa happening around here!

We have a little get together coming up next weekend and it's called SWIRL-A-PALOOZA!!!! OK, OK....so maybe it's not sooooo little. *wink*   There will be challenges, a game, tutorials and lots of fun.  Stay tuned to the blog for more details about the theme and the schedule.  Also, we will be making two announcements next Friday.  Really, really great stuff.  Hope you come back to learn more.  Oh, and we will be voting for the winners of January's SwirlyHues and posting the winners on the 13th.  It is not gonna be easy. 

But, today is all about the release of February's SwirlyHues Storyboard and Challenge.  This month's hostess is the divinely gorgeous Angelica.  Take a look at what she has chosen for this month's story.



Here are examples from the DT

Angelica

Karola

Rae

LisaG

Paulien

Did I hear a collective gasp? GORGEOUS!!!!

Important to know:  This challenge is open to EVERYONE; members and non-members alike. 

The Rules:



1)  Must stick to the hues provided.  You may add black or white, but it can NOT be more than 5% of your total page and can NOT be a main element. 
2)  You must interpret the sketch provided.  
3)  Now for the Swirly-fying element – you MUST use one of our tutorials on your page.  Here is a LINK to our tutorials. It is really to our forum.  Just scroll down.  Our tutorials are separated by category.  You can choose anything your beautiful, creative heart desires.  
4) Create a post on your blog for your SwirlyHues entry.  
5) If you have a blog, please use our link in the right hand side bar to upload your challenge entry. (look underneath the SwirlyHues links) to your blog page with this challenge, not just your blog in general.   If you DO NOT have a blog, you can still use the link to the right and link us to your online gallery page!  OR, you can upload your gorgeous creation to the SwirlyHues album in our gallery no later than midnight eastern time on March 10th.  Click HERE to get there.  You will need to register to upload photos.  It's free! Use the following format to name your item: SH Feb 2012 (insert your project name here).  Your photos can be no larger than 600x600.  In the description please tell us what tutorial you used. If you don't have a blog, just let us know that.  
6)  2 winners will be chosen; 1st and 2nd place.  Each winner will receive one of our highly coveted blog badges (see the right-side bar).  Winners will be posted to the Swirlydoos blog on the 13th of the month (unless otherwise noted), as well as our Facebook page.  Check back here to see your name and then contact LisaV at Lisa@Swirlydoos.com  She will make sure you get your blog badge and then we'll add you to our blog for the month! Superstahhhhhh *strike a pose*  
7) The next challenge will be uploaded to our blog on March 10th!

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