Happy New Year! and a very exciting NEWS!

hello scrappy friends!

i wish you all the BEST and a lot of crafty pleasures in the coming 2015!

it is 1st of JANUARY and i've got a lovely NEWS to begin the NEW YEAR with - i've been invited to join SA CRAFTERS' amazing design team! YAY! 

to introduce ourselves, we've created a special project with out favourite SA CRAFTERS' products - you can view all the different creations on SA CRAFTERS' blog. each designer has posted a picture of their project and a short video on how it is done. so, from now on, instead of just describing my creative process to you, i'm also going to show it to you on my YOUTUBE channel.

"I LOVE YOU"

for this page i decided to work with one of the summer pictures i took of EMMA - my goddaughter - full of bright colours and smiles, just as EMMA is! so, naturally WEBSTER'S PAGES "modern romance" paper line was the perfect choice for this project!

to create the background i used pattern paper, SA CRAFTERS' 6 x 6" big honeycomb stencil and modelling paste. after the paste was dry, i spattered the background with pink GLIMMER MIST.

to decorate the edges i used WEBSTER'S PAGES washi tape.

the beautiful flowers are from WEBSTER'S PAGES - poetry pink bloomers, and from KAISERCRAFT - mini white roses. the white lace is also from WEBSTER'S - winner ruffle.

because my background paper was so rich in illustrations, i carefully separated the bird cage and some of the large flowers and tucked my embellishments and picture under.

the words for the title i also fussy cut from the pattern papers. and as you can see i used different wooden embellishments from SA CRAFTERS - wood mini heart sentiments - i choose the CUTIE of course!

then i coloured the heart of the bird house (with pink liquid pearls) and added some bird to my blossoms. i used all of the wooden embellishments in their natural colour - they just look so good!

i hope you enjoyed today's post! i surely had fun creating it!

hugs 'n smiles,

CREATIVE EMBELLISHMENTS anniversary blog hop and september challenge

hello crafty peeps!

and WELCOME to CREATIVE EMBELLISHMENTS' 1st anniversary blog hop!

i am happy you are here with us today to celebrate our 1st ANNIVERSARY! 

we are celebrating with a hop and giving away FOUR $25.00 gift vouchers to the store. all you will need to do to be entered to win one of the voucher's is leave a comment below letting us know what your favorite CE product is. leave some love on each of our design team’s blog's and follow their blogs. each member of the design team is sharing a project with their favorite CE product on it. 

if you followed the right order you landed on my blog from doris widder's blog and your next stop is karan gerber's blog.

in case you got lost, here is the complete list of the participants in this blog hop:
nicolle kramer
 doris widder
emilia van den heuvel --> ME!
 karan gerber
michelle gallant
 sandi clarkson
 tammy henderson
 shona keehn
 creative embellishments blog

for extra entries like or follow us and let us know you did in the comments below on: (NOTE: it's not necessary to do them all. we understand not everyone has an account at all of these social media sites.)
 1. CE BLOG
2. CE FACEBOOK PAGE
 3. CE PINTEREST
 4. CE TWITTER
 5. CE YOUTUBE CHANNEL
6. CE INSTAGRAM

the hop winner will be random draw. the winner will be announced on monday, september 8th.
(reminder: be sure to follow and leave some love on each of the design team members blogs.) 

4 WINNERS will receive $25 gift vouchers to the store.

now on to our SEPTEMBER'S CHALLENGE!!!

USE ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE CREATIVE EMBELLISHMENTS PIECES ON YOUR PROJECT. YOU CAN USE CHIPBOARD, WOOD VENEERS, RUBBER STAMPS OR EVEN FLAIR.

A RANDOM WINNER WILL WIN A $25.00 GIFT VOUCHER TO THE STORE. 

and here is a bit of inspiration from me -

"# HAPPY"

the challenge this month is to use your FAVOURITE CE chippie on your project. well, the thing is that i LOVE them all! but the thing i love most about them is the way they compliment each other  on any type of project no matter how many different sets you are going yo use!

for my layout i used WEBSTER'S PAGES modern romance paper line. to alter my background i used TIM HOLTZ' layered stencil "hearts" and modelling paste. then i used RANGER INK "lemon drops" paint dabber with CE paint splat trio stamp to add more colour to my background.

the amazing butterfly is from CE flourish dragonflies chipboard set. i altered it using a pink embossing powder and then i added a second layer of a glittery one.

for my title i used one of my personal favourites  - the social hash tags chipboard sets. i altered the word happy using pink embossing powder. then i added another chippie on top of it to embellish my title. i used CE flourish 4. 

here are some more close ups of my project:

i hope you enjoyed to day's post!

here are the challenge rules: 
* create a NEW project layout, mini album, tag, card, canvas, etc….as of september 1st 2014.
* please add your entry to the inlinkz box below the original challenge post to be eligible for the prize. you have until the last day of each month 11:55 pm eastern time to enter.
* it is required that you mention in your blog post that you are playing along at CREATIVE EMBELLISHMENTS together with a link back to our blog. please make sure to reference our challenge. please no back linking.
* combining with other challenges is permitted.
* PLEASE USE AT LEAST 1 OF CE products on your projects.

i can't wait to see your creations!

have fun hopping!

hugs 'n smiles,

creative embellishments august challenge

hello crafty friends! 

we are half way through the summer already and since it is the beginning of the month, it’s time for CREATIVE EMBELLISHMENTS' monthly challenge! 

this month we have an amazing inspiration picture for you

and the twist is to use a song title for the title of your project. 

when i saw this month’s challenge, i knew in an instant which pictures i’m going to use - from THEO's PROSHTAPULNIK!

this is a very old BULGARIAN tradition that is celebrated once a child starts walking confidently on his/her own. it is believed the party will ensure that the child will not stumble while walking and will have a life without roadblocks to hold him/her back. we often joke that when someone trips often while walking, his/her parents did not do this party for them.

so, how it is made? we prepare a special round bread for the party and then we set up a low table with objects that represent different professions. we choose a box with paints to represent a painter; a guitar to represent a musician; a book for a academic carrier;  a stethoscope for a doctor; a computer mouse to become like his daddy; a pair of compasses for an architect and the most important one a silver coin to be wealthy and well. it is important that the child has never seen the objects, otherwise he/she might ignore the once he/she already know. and  it is very important that the child picks up the item, not just touch it.

then the mother takes the bread and rolls it on a white cloth toward the table with objects. the white cloth symbolizes a life bright and free of evil. the child must walk, not crawl after the bread. when he/she gets to the table he can pick up one item. the first item they pick up is said to represent what their future profession will be.

when THEO got to the table he touched the stethoscope first. we were all very excited! and all the grannies and aunties started to cheer "DOCTOR! DOCTOR!". THEO got confused and didn't picked it up. everybody got quiet, but THEO was just standing there wondering. after a minute or so, he reached for the guitar and he didn't let it go anymore! so, obviously he will be a rock star!

after the item is chosen all guests eat a piece of the bread. the baby gets the first piece.next the other children at the party are served, and then the adults. the bread is served with honey, which represents the sweet moments in life. the more honey the guest eat, the sweeter life THEO will get.

it is also a custom when the guests take a piece of the bread to run a few steps around the room, but carefully not to stumble, so the child would have a life without stumbles and walking without stumbling.

{THANK YOU, chana, for the nice description!}

now back to the monthly challenge!

 to create my layout i used the color palette from the inspiration photo, but I added also red and black to match the colors of my picture. And for the title of my page I used one of my favorite Michael Jackson’s song “You Rock My World”.

"YOU ROCK MY WORLD"

for my background i used CREATIVE EMBELLISHMENTS' distressed moroccan stamp and red and brown GLIMMER MIST. after the paint has dried, i added a second layer with modelling paste and THE CRAFTER'S WORKSHOP masking template. and finally i sprayed and splashed red and brown GLIMMER MIST on it.

i used WEBSTER'S PAGES pattern paper - IN LOVE and ALL ABOUT ME collections. not the typical ROCK STAR paper lines, but i really like how it turned out.

i created my title using CREATIVE EMBELLISHMENTS' you rock frame set and DIE-VERSIONS' missy micro font die. to alter the chippie i used SPARKLE N SPRINKLE's fire cracker red embossing powder.

my sub-title is made with a word chippie from the CE social hash tags set, covered with SNS fire cracker red embossing powder.

and finally the most important one - the GUITAR! when i saw this chippie in the CE online store, i immediately fell in love with it! it is so cool! so of course i had to use it!

i altered it with STAMPENDOUS aged copper embossing enamel. then i added the mini gears 3/4" and the gears 1" to embellish it.

here is a list with all CE products, used on this layout:

Distressed Chicken Wire Stamp

Steampunk Guitar

Mini Gears 3/4" {set of 12}

Gears 1" {set of 12}

You Rock Frame Set

Social Hash Tags

challenge rules: 

* create a NEW project layout, mini album, tag, card, canvas, etc. as of AUGUST 1st 2014; 

* please add your entry to our inlinkz box below the challenge post to be eligible for the prize. you have until AUGUST 31st, 11:55 pm eastern time to enter;

*  it is required that you mention in your blog post that you are playing along at CREATIVE EMBELLISHMENTS together with a link back to our blog. please make sure to reference our challenge. please no back linking; 

* combining with other challenges is permitted; 

* you DO NOT have to use CE products on your projects.

one lucky participant will receive $20 gist voucher to CREATIVE EMBELLISHMENTS' online store!

i can't wait to see your interpretation on this fun challenge!

hugs 'n smiles,

JULY cards with DIE-VERSIONS

hello crafty friends!

i can't believe it is JULY already! and as usual in the beginning of the month we've got a new release! this month we are focusing on everything girly and naturally DIE-VERSIONS' newest release is called "LIFE as a DIVA".

today i would like to share two cards i created using these amazing dies:

for the first project  used the new WHISPERS "magic wand" die - the design is indeed magic and it is fit for every little fairy!

 i die cut the magic wand using the WHISPERS "magic wand" die and silver glittery cardstock. 

i cut the word BIRTHDAY using the SWEET WORDLETS "birthday" die. 

 and finally for the frame, around the fairy {clear stamp from MARIANNE DESIGN; coloured with COPIC CIAO markers}, i used the SWEET FRAMES "smile" die. i colored the word SMILE with a silver marker and added a glittery star above it.

*****

my second card i decided to create for a little ballerina, who is very dear to me. i mat the pink card base with white cardstock, which i had sprayed with two shades of pink GLIMMER MIST - 

i used the SWEET FRAMES "hello" die to frame the cute tutu dress and the SWEET WORDLETS "adorable" die for my sentiment. 

for the silver dress stand i used the WHISPERS "tutu dress" die and silver coloured cardstock.

 finally, i decorated the swirls with RANGER pink liquid pearls.

i hope you enjoyed this month DIE-VERSIONS projects! 

have a wonderful creative day!  

hugs 'n smiles,

cute friends {creative embellishments}

hello scrappy friends!

i prepared today's projects with the amazing chippies from CREATIVE EMBELLISHMENTS and the lovely papers from WEBSTER'S PAGES - 

"CUTE FRIENDS"

the picture i used is from EASTER 2013. we were in GREECE with my sister and the kids were really enjoying the warm weather.

to create my layout i used WEBSTER'S PAGES "modern romance" paper line. i did a lot of fussy cutting, embossing and inking to complete my design.

the lovely flowers and the soft colour palette of this collection are perfect for an EASTER layout!

to decorate my page i used different MARTHA STEWART punches and a lot of the amazing chippies from CREATIVE EMBELLISHMENTS.

i used one of the industrial hanging light bulbs to match the paper design. i altered the chippie with two different embossing powders from SPARKLE N SPRINKLE - copper dreams [EP268] and buttercup petal [EP389].

for my title i used two words from CE social hash tags set, which i covered with a layer of SNS white detail embossing powder [EP298] first and then with buttercup petal [EP389]. covering the chippie with white, allows the yellow colour to really shine.

and finally i divided one of the spring branched from CE flourish set 11 in two and i altered both parts with SNS moss star embossing powder [EP430] and  SNS carnation glitter [G1028].

 i attached the chippies using mounting tape.

here is a list with some of the products i used on my project:

Social Hash Tags

Industrial Hanging Light Bulbs

Flourish Set 11

Buttercup Petal EP [EP389]

Copper Dreams [EP268]

Moss Star [EP430]

Carnation [G1028]

i hope you enjoyed today's post!
make sure to visit CREATIVE EMBELLISHMENTS' blog for more inspirational projects from our design team!

hugs 'n smiles,