i believe in fairies

Are you following along on the authentique & maya road promo? then you're in the right place!

after you check out the inspiration here on the authentique paper blog today, be sure to head on over to the Maya Road blog to find out what the talented members of the maya road design team have created.

today's project was inspired by my fascination with "the world of arrietty" and my love of fairies. 

i believe, do you?

i started with the 3x3 canvas coaster album from maya road and a collection of glimmer mists.

the fairies were created with different papers from authentique and chipboard dress forms from maya road. each fairy is dressed from a different paper collection.

there is a tiny bit of crackle paint and ink on each dress form base and head.

and many "missing" items from my house have magically appeared here in this mini book ...  

keepsake fairy is dressed with "carefree" paper and her wings used 

chunky elements embossing powder.

we can never find our keys at our house... 

stitching fairy created a dress with a bit of my "delightful" paper.

just like a true "borrrower", little bits and pieces from my craft drawer, 

including some of my maya road "sew cute" minis have appeared here.

spring fairy has faux grass, maya road leaf trinket pins and flocked wings. 

she borrowed her dress material from a sheet of my "free bird" nest.

seaside fairy is dressed with glittering wings to go with her "splendid" dress. 

in her travels she has gathered shells and ocean treasures. 

knick knack fairy "borrowed" all of our watch gears. 

she's obsessed with time, and with my "splendid" paper.

i hope this tiny book has inspired you with big ideas. be sure to stop by the authentique and maya road pages today, and visit tomorrow for more authentique inspiration!

freckle face

hello fellow gypsies!
today marks my first official authentique post. yes i posted in september, but that wasn't a sparkly brand new project like today's!

i was asked to design either a layout or a minibook, and after some pondering i thought "hey! why not do both?"

so here we go!

i have this wonderful picture of my daughter that inspired this layout. her freckle face and impish smile were a perfect match for some of the "blissful" collection. the "prosperity" sheet is full of great rulers, which is what i used to make the hand-curled ruler border. i added scraps of other rulers and related trims, and started to get a real "school time" feel going. i added the the top border by trimming some "distinct" paper from the "uncommon" collection. the deep pink is a perfect match and a great example of mixing the authentique collections a bit.

and surprise! there's a minibook! tucked into a paper lunch bag, to go along with our school feel. this is a tiny book made from one of the "blissful" tags and paper pieces. i used some of the collection's "icons" and "noteables" to embellish it, as well as to create the tag dangles.

some random elements - paper flowers and vintage buttons, baker's twine and distress ink, finish off the layout and minibook as well.

thank you for stopping by the blog, and i hope i made your freckle face smile! - janeen shember

product list
"blissful" collection - papers, "icons", "noteables"
"uncommon" collection - "distinct" paper
"diction" word stickers
ranger ink - "frayed burlap" distress ink
random flowers and vintage buttons
assorted ruler trim
tiny piece of baker's twine

for more smiles visit my blog at www.suburbngypsy.blogspot.comf

joyous layout

hello gypsyies!
this past saturday was authentique's first official challenge. the team was presented with a layout sketch and turned loose. visit the authentique blog to see the whole team's answer to the challenge. and you can join the fun too! enter your own answer to the sketch challenge by wed. sept 14th.

but first things first - the sketch!

i couldn't take it as-is, so i turned it 90 deg. just to be different. i chose to use the "splendid" collection - a beautiful group of pinks, blues and yellows in muted and distressed textures. these wouldn't be my first "go-to" colors, but they are truly inspiring!

then i went to work. instead of creating a title, i decided to use the banner space for an all-paper element, starting with paper quilling and smooshie flowers. i'd never quilled before, but i recently was inspired by some truly fabulous work and decided to give it a twirl.

the paper really lends itself to quilling - i didn't even need an actual quilling tool. i simply curled it around the handle of my paper piercer and got beautiful results - the paper curled and spiraled, yet maintained shape when i uncurled and shaped it.

once the stems were done i turned my attention to the smooshie flowers. this is a special technique of mine and again, the heavy quality of the paper really lends itself to this technique. the flowers are made by literally balling up and then reforming the die-cut flower layers. once dried, i touched the petal edges with distress ink and gold stickle for added charm. die-cut daisies make excellent leaves by the way!

in the sketch, there was a section for journaling. i decided to use that area for a typographical element instead. using "diction" stickers, i cut and shaped an area of words, removing some and rearranging others.

i really loved the effect of random words here, and the little peek-a-boos of paper behind them.

so i really enjoyed working with the paper this time around and hope you've been inspired to try new tricks! this week i'll be doing my first "tech[nique] of the week" which involves authentique's "glowing", chipboard, and my favorite lucky number...

materials:
"splendid" paper collection, "diction" and "petite type squares"
"walnut stain" distress ink- ranger
"gold" stickles
"glue & seal" - ranger