Working with Complements for BTF #41B

Hello and welcome back, crafty friends!  This is our second week of working with our Complements theme over at the Between The Folds Bi-Weekly Challenge Blog.  CTMH currently has 15 different complements kits to choose from, ranging from the ones that coordinate with the paper packs in our seasonal kits, ones that coordinate with the various color palettes showcased in our Annual Idea Book, to stand alone kits.  Factor in that many colors in the CTMH palette cross over among various complements and paper kits, the mix and match factor provides endless possibilities!

For this particular project, I chose to pair the Uptown Fundamental papers with the new Springtime complements, particularly the pieces with gold foil.  I had a special set of photos to work with that were taken at the annual Y-Teens father/daughter and mother/daughter banquets from each year my daughter was in high school.  We never knew what background the photographer would bring for each event so while there was a lot of burgandy, there were other contrasting colors in this grouping as well so I needed a neutral background that wouldn't clash with any of the photos.  I thought the white and gold background would add a little emphasis on fit the bill while the metallic gold can be hard to photograph, I was really happy with how this project turned out.

details:  I used a 12 x 12" base of White Daisy cardstock and cut two of this white and gold striped paper and the white and gold dotted vellum papers into 6" squares which I alternated.  I used the gold foil "grow," "bloom," and the ampersand (not to mention the white-and-gold comma carefully placed) in the white spaces as they were already covered in metallic gold, but the "smile" was white color-ready chipboard.  I knew it was going to have to be spaced over both white and gold due to its size, so I used my gold shimmer brush to go over it so it wouldn't blend in to either background stripe, and I used a gold heart to dot the "i."  I used my watercolor paints with the gold embossed white chipboard pieces to incorporate some of the colors in the backgrounds of the photos and tie into the title.  I painted another shape and used the gold letters from a retired fundamental stickers kit in the corner, but I could have used my Cricut to cut the letters from one of the wide gold strips in the leftover striped paper.  Also, here's a tip:  If you choose to paint these accents, go over the gold lines with a twisted paper towel or napkin once the paint is dry and that will remove any paint on the metallic embossing so that the gold stands out again.  How fun is that?!?!  So these lovely fundamental papers and complements helped me finally get this challenging group of photos scrapped together a mere 4 years after my daughter's graduation, lol.

We would love to see how use put the various CTMH Complements kits to work in your cards and layouts so if you find time in your busy week to create with them, you can share your project by linking it HERE.  As always, you have until 11 pm Eastern/10 pm Central on Monday evening (3/13/17 for this particular challenge) to link your project.  Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Using Ribbon for BTF Challenge #39

Hello again, crafty friends!  This week's theme at Between The Folds Bi-Weekly Challenge Blog is to use ribbon, and we have plenty of lovely options to choose from between the current Annual and Seasonal Idea Books (plus a couple of additional choices in the clearance section of our online shopping sites).  Let's take a look at what caught my fancy this week:

details:  I started with a strip of this heart patterned paper from CTMH's retired set of fundamental papers.  I paired that with this lovely gold metallic XOXO printed ribbon from the gorgeous Uptown Ribbon Pack on the top and bottom of the center panel.  I used the Hearts Thin Cuts die set and red glitter paper to make two sizes of hearts which I knotted together with a piece of white and gold ribbon.  For the sentiments, I used black Memento ink and the January 2017 Stamp of the Month set "Adore You" (with the "and" from the retired Card Word Puzzle set) on the left, and the stamp set from the retired Heartstrings WOTG on the right.  Simple to make but simply lovely in person!  The only thing I dislike about this lovely Uptown ribbon is how hard it is to get a good photo of that metallic gold, my poor photography skills just can't do it justice.

We would love to see what you like to create with the various ribbons CTMH gives you to choose from, so if you find some crafty time in your busy week you can add your link HERE and, as always, you have until 10 pm Eastern/11 pm Central on Monday, 2/13/17, to share your projects.

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette