Vicki Boutin

MIXED MEDIA RAINBOW | Nathalie DeSousa

Hi there!

Nathalie here to share with you a new page that is all about rainbows and butterflies, literally!   This crazy times we are living have us wishing for all the things that we took for granted before;  If it wasn't for the virus, i would have been on my way to spend a month with my family in Ecuador, instead, i am pulling some of their pictures to create pages.  And since, rainbows are our sign for hope, i thought  i would combine them with butterflies and lots of mixed media on this page:

 

 

I think this page really defines me, lots of mixed media layers, patterned paper play and lots of black and white.   The background of this page is in reality the one that creates the focus spot for this page, and it was build as a mixed media sampler...

 

 

I used painters tape to mask the triangular shapes in the page, then used art crayons to create the rainbow explosion on the page.

 

Once the watercolor dried, i used a series of products to add small details to each paper triangle.  I made sure to color block the layers to optimize the rainbow look of the background.

 

 

To create the butterflies that adorn the page, i used and old punch and cut two butterflies from papers that match the colors in the background.   I layered this together and formed a line at the bottom of the picture.

 

To balance the page, i trim the background and then layered a piece of Paper at the bottom to emphasize the colors and shape of the layout.  Since the page is all about shopping for new eyewear, it was easy to fussy cut  a pair of lenses and mix it with the a few embellishments from the collection.  The following video will show you how it all was created:

 

VIDEO

 

I hope this brings you a bit of inspiration and you also create your own mixed media rainbow for your butterflies.  Remember to contact me if you have questions on the page.

XO

 

 

VICKI BOUTIN MATERIALS USED:

 

   

Lots to Share and a GIVEAWAY!!!

Check one, two.  Is anyone still here?  I have had the craziest couple of months.  It feels like I have been away more than I have been home.  I miss this blog and hearing from my friends.  I thinks it's time to reconnect.  Not even sure where to start.  Grab a drink, get comfie and let's chat.

Lots has been going on since my last post way back in December.  The holidays came and went.  The Boutin's had a great time gift giving, spending time with the family and eating, of course.

 

Love these nutballs!!  Glad to get to spend lots of quality time with them!!  Before I new it CHA Winter work was upon me!!  I created samples for Simple Stories, Tim Holtz Idea-ology, Queen & Co and Basic Grey.  Busy, busy!

 

Simple Stories...

 

 

 

Tim Holtz Idea-ology

 

 

 

 

 

 

Queen & Co

 

 

Basic Grey

 

 

 

 

Then after getting my first of a number of sinus infections/cooties, I headed to California for CHA Winter!

 

 

I was excited to work in the Simple Stories booth demoing their new DIY line!!  This one was made for anyone who loves to layer (me! ME! me!)...

 

 

That's just a peek at all of the fabulous-ness they released!  Watch this coming Monday March 3rd for something exciting I want to share!!!  Stop by for more info on Monday.

 

Love these two!  Me with Paula Cheney and Tim.  So excited to get to do something with this release!

 

Look who I got to catch up with at Big Picture Scrapbooking's PLAY event!!!

 

What else happened in January?.....

 

This...

One Direction here we come!!!  I am as excited as she was!

Oh...and this...

He is so stinkin' cute in his new braces!!

 

LOTS of this...

...and it can go away now.

 

With February came the Scrapping Turtle's Cruise.  Let me tell you...this is an amazing getaway!!!  I have the best time teaching on these cruises.  Got to spend time with a great group of ladies (and some guys, too!), great weather, amazing ports, Royal Caribbean Rocks...just a great time!

 

 

This one left from New Orleans (now one of my FAVOURITE cities!!!!)

 

 

 

 

 

mmmm...beignets!

 

After a whirlwind stay in New Orleans we set sail...

 

Jamaica, mon.

 

Grand Cayman...this is Hannah in her element!!

 

Cozumel..awesome..again.

 

This is us at sea...Thanks for the photo Bertha!

 

This is one of the projects we made.

 

It was a great time!  I will share more photos and info soon.  We are working on next years dates.  Don't miss out.  This really is a great experience!!!  I would love to see lots of familiar faces on the 2015 Scrapping Turtle Cruise!!!!

Only a few days after arriving home from the cruise we were off to a hockey exchange in Philidelphia.  The Merriton Bulldogs and Wissihickon Hockey Club have been doing this hockey exchange for over 50 years!!!  Riley billeted with a great family and it was a once in a lifetime experience..

 

and...

 

they won!!!!  So proud of these boys!!!

 

Thanks to a great group of coaches!!  These guys put a ton of their time and hearts into providing our boys with an amazing team experience!

 

Once we arrived home from Philly, Ri and I packed up and left a day later for Camp Wanakita with the Grade 7 and Grade 8 kids from Power Glen school!  Four days of skiing, snow shoeing and team building!  So glad I had the chance to experience this with Ri.

 

 

Then I came home with a doozy of the flu.  The one with the sore throat, earache, bronchitis and headache.  Spent the four days in bed.  Finally felt human again before heading off to...

 

Fun filled workshops, catching up with sweet friends, fabulous food and lots of productivity!!!  It was a great event!!!  I love these Crop & Create weekends!!!  Have you attended one yet??  You still have time this year.  We will be heading to...

 

 

Crop & Create Moncton next!!!!  LOVE Moncton, too!!  Great people here!  Love this hotel!  Love the lobster dinner after the event!  HA!  Here is a peek at the classes I will be teaching...

 

 

Fundamentals of Distress

  

We are going to have a ton of fun!!!!  I hope to see lots of familiar faces on March 21st-22nd!!!  Are you planning on attending??

 

So you see...it has been a little busy around here.  On top of all that travel is day to day family life, assignments due and prep work.  I must admit that it feels really good to get this posted.  I miss keeping in touch with a lot of you and this blog is a great way to do that.  I plan on posting once a week moving forward.  Think that's doable.  Fingers and toes crossed!!!

Don't forget about this one, too....

 

 

PUERTO RICO!!!!!!  Oh man I love this event!!  The people are truly amazing in PR.  Great store.  Crazy and beautiful store owner.  Awesome team.  And heck...it's in Puerto Rico!  Are you going to come and play??  Here is a link to all of the details...Puerto Rico Scrapbook Event.  It is June 6th -8th!!!  Hope to see you there!!!

 

OK!  Now a giveaway!!!  How about a Vicki's Favourite Things goodie bag!!!  I will fill it with a bunch of the things I love!!!  Just comment on this post.  I will draw a name on Wednesday March 12th.

 

Thanks for sticking with me!  Can't wait to hear from you!!!!  See you in a few days!!!

 

 

A Little Basic Grey Today!!!

I am a die hard Basic Grey lover.  LOVE BG.  So I was more than happy to create a mini (my other love) using their 6.5" x 6.5" kraft album along with Capture and Hey + Hello for their blog today!  

 

Go check it out HERE.  Let them know I sent you!

 

I wanted to share a few photos for altering the cover.  If you could see it up close the finish has an old world feel.  Like a well loved travel journal.  Here is how I achieved it...

 

I covered the book with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  Outside and inside.

 

I used my finger to add Indian Yellow Inka Gold in a "cross-hatch" fashion.

 

Finally, I randomly stamped the outside cover with black Archival Ink and Hero Arts Old Letter Writing Stamp (MY FAV STAMP!!).

 

Love the finish!

 

Used some great product...

 

 

Take a look inside...

 

 

Stuff inside the pocket.

 

another pocket...

 

Stuff inside the pocket.

 

Stuff inside the OTHER pocket.

 

Get ready for it...

 

it's a flip out!!

 

all flipped out.

 

another pocket.

 

all the goodies inside.

 

San Juan...want to go back.  No pocket.

 

It's a ...pocket!!

 

Funny Leica...in the pocket!

 

Cozumel...my fav place in Mexico.  Are you going on the Scrapping Turtle cruise in February?  Best time.  We are going to Cozumel again.

 

Cozumel in a pocket!

 

Belize.  And a pocket.

 

...pocket stuff.

 

the end.

 

Side note...I used a star mask and Peacock Feathers Distress Ink to create the patterns on the inside pages.

 

Hope this one gets you eager to create a minibook today!!

 

 

 

 

It's a Creative Foundations Blog Hop With Book Giveaways!!!! CLOSED

Happy Monday!!!  I've got a great way to start the week.  How about another blog hop!?!?  This one highlights Creative Foundations!!!

 

 

And a bunch of the wonderful and talented ladies who contributed their artwork and all around craftiness to a section in the book called "A Little Help From My Friends"

You need to go on a little cyber journey and collect the word featured at each blog.  Put the words together to make the phrase and post it here for a chance to win one of four copies of Creative Foundations!!!!  

Make sure to leave the ladies some love...they worked hard to help make this book a success and they have some special stuff to share today, too!!!

 

Here is the list...

 Rhonna Farrer

Linda Albrecht 

Kelly Goree

Bethany Kartchner

Danielle Flanders

Wendy Vecchi

Melissa Phillips

 

And then come back here and post the phrase!!

The oh so talented Greta Hammond is a not a blogger but I still needed to share her lovely work.  She made this card....

 

 

Here is a closer look....

 

Just gorgeous!!!  And here are a few words from Greta...

 

“I made a quick little card using a few of the techniques in Vicki’s book. For my cardstock flowers, I used flowers in the paper craft kit from LYB. These turned out so fun with Vicki’s technique of misting and shaping them. I also used a strip of power tape to the top of the card and then added red glitter for a very easy border. Finally, I jazzed up my little red chipboard heart with some tissue paper. Just a fun little way to give it some texture. These techniques were all so easy to do but add just a bit of “ooph” to my project!"

 

Take a peek at what I made using techniques from my book:

 

 

I used over 5 techniques from my book to alter this monogram and some of the new Dylusian Ink Sprays from Ranger (love them)!!  It is only partially finished...more to come!!

 You can get a copy of Creative Foundations by following the link on the Amazon button up in the right corner or you can follow this link....HERE.

Have fun!!! See you back here at the end of your creative journey!!!  I will be drawing 4 names on Wednesday, March 14th!!!! Giveaway is closed.  Thanks!!!!!!!

 

PS- check out these bonus pages from the book HERE...if you still needed more convincing!!!

 

 

 

Ranger U!!

First off, Happy 4th of July to all of my American friends!!!!  I have been having problems with Typepad and adding photos to my blog but I think I have it figured out!  So, now I can post my Ranger U experience!

Ranger U!  Had a great time!  I took classes with Suze Weinburg, Clauudine Hellmuth and Tim Holtz.  I learned over 70 new techniques and I am now a Ranger Certified Instructor!  Pretty cool!

 They were all fabulous!  Suze has me hooked on my new melting pot, Claudine was an absolute delight and has some fab products coming out at CHA summer and Tim is just a wealth of distressing knowledge!  I learned a lot and now I need to sit down and play!!!  Along with some fun, new techniques, I also met a bunch of new friends!

 This Susan, Kathy, me and Teri.  We had some fun!!!

 Penny and I.  Another cool chick!

Dyan (the wonderful lady behind Blonde Moments...I love this stuff!  Check it out here) and Wendy. 

The Magenta sisters, Nathalie and Helene.

Terri and Bernie.

Kezia, my Melt Art Spokesmodel!!!!

It was a crazy 4 days and Kezia was the best roomie!  We shopped, enjoyed a few good meals and almost got arrested!  ;)  I love girls who know how to laugh and have a good time...there were lots of them at Ranger U!  Thanks to all of the Ranger peeps who made the whole event such a pleasurable experience!!!!