Pretty Paper Creations: Fond Farewell to Trisha Ladouceur

Hello Crafters!

Happy Friday and welcome to another awesome day here at the Graphic 45 blog. We have some gorgeous crafts to share with you today as well as a winner to our Earth Day Scraps Challenge! Yay! We had a lot of beautiful projects posted on our Facebook page this week and we want to thank everyone who submitted their work. We hope you all had fun making your creations because we really enjoyed seeing them. Our challenge winner, chosen at random is Twyla Davis!  Twyla please email info@g45papers.com your contact information to receive your fabulous prize package.  Here is what Twlya posted on our Facebook page.  "I don't know if this is the easiest or hardest challenge. I of the things I love about your papers is that there really are no scraps. Leftover bits, sure but nothing so inconsequential to truly be a a scrap. So I used leftovers together with other scraps (my black scrap pile), a bit of ribbon I've had for 4 years, flowers (and metal rounds) made from Diet Mtn Dew cans, leftover alpa pieces."

Today we are saying a very fond farewell to Trisha Ladouceur of our 2010 Design Team. Trisha's work was always such a joy to see and we cherish each and every one of the crafts that she contributed as a member of our Design Team. We have a bunch of her new and beautiful crafts to share with you today. Her style is meticulous and fun; loaded with lots of beautiful embellishments and radiant color. She has a true talent for incorporating jovial three-dimensional elements in her crafts. It gives each creation a lively and unique quality that holds your attention and captivates your imagination. It has been a pleasure working with her this year and we will miss her amazing talents.

Have a look at this beautiful Once Upon a Springtime "Dream" card that Trisha made. This is a great example of her talent for creating lavish textures in her work. I also love the beautiful colors in this card. It really is a dream!

Supplies:

Prima: flowers
My Mind's Eye: Button

Tim Holtz: "DREAM" ticket, pin

Glue Arts: Glue Glider Pro, Raise-n's, Micro Adhesive Squares

Jilly Bean Soup: Card Base

Ranger: Forest Moss Distress Ink

GRAPHIC 45:

Once Upon a Springtime Collection:

"Spellbound"

"Woodland Fantasy"

"Once Upon a Springtime Tags"
Trim Staples

We know it's barely Spring, but any time is a good time for a Christmas layout! Here is a wonderful Deluxe Edition Christmas Past layout that also features Core'dinations/Graphic 45 sandable card stock. This LO has such wonderful textures! It's a Christmas miracle!

Here is a wholesome and lovely Domestic Goddess card by Trisha. Yet again you can see the wonderful layers and textures she's created. This card is the perfect gift for any occasion. So precious!

Domestic Goddess looks amazing on this pretty altered heart-shaped box. I love Trisha's use of all the colorful embellishments here. It's so lovely and fun!

Another pretty Domestic Goddess box! Although this one is for trinkets! We could all use a beautiful trinket box, right? Just look at all the lovely details on this box. It's so happy and colorful!

Here is an amazing Renaissance Faire mini album created by Trisha. With its rich colors, lavish lace, adorable tags, and contrasting patterns, this mini is a real gem.

Many thanks to the wonderful Trisha  Ladouceur for all of her hard work on our 2010 Design Team and for today's beautiful creations. Be sure to check out her marvelous craft blog A Moment in Time. It's a great source of craft inspiration! Thank you Trisha! 

We hope you all have a fabulous weekend! Join us Monday for more fantastic crafts!

Happy Papercrafting!

Team Graphic 45

 

Charmingly Crafty: A Heartfelt Farewell to Tammy Roberts

Hello Crafters!

Happy Thursday to you! We're so glad you decided to stop by and see us. We've got more beautiful crafts to inspire you today as we say goodbye to a member of our 2010 Design Team, the wonderful Tammy Roberts. It has been such a pleasure to feature her work on our blog this year. Her crafts are always so cheerful, vibrant, and lavishly textured.  Her style is also decadent, with a classic elegance that instantly melts your heart. We are very lucky to have had Tammy's amazing talent on our 2010 Design Team and we want to thank her for all of her hard work this year. We have some beautiful new crafts by Tammy to share with you today as we bid her a very fond farewell. We're sure you'll love these marvelous creations.

Here is a beautiful Le Romantique card that Tammy created. This is a perfect example of her talent for utilizing gorgeous layers in her work. This card is so pretty and captivating!

"Ok, this card uses the wonderful "Le' Romantique" paper collection. I had Graphic 45 in mind when I made this card... meaning this is my last month as a Design Team member and even though I will not be designing for them... I will "Forever Love" Graphic 45! All their products are just beautiful and I will continue creating with them!" -Tammy Roberts

Supplies:

Graphic 45 "Le' Romantique" paper collection (8 x 8) paper pad

Graphic 45 "Le' Romantique" Die Cut Frames & Tag Sheet

Prima - Flowers & Lace

Bo Bunny - Rub Ons

Pink Paislee - Chain

Maya Road - Stick Pin

Jenni Bowlin - Paint

Tim Holtz - Ink

Doily - Wilton

Circle Punch

Adhesives - Tombow & Beacon

Own Stash - Ribbon

This is a gorgeous Once Upon a Springtime layout by Tammy. I love the stunning pink and white colors and pretty embellishments. This LO is so sweet and has such a heart-warming sentiment.

"This is just a simple layout with another absolute favorite line "Once Upon a Springtime"."-Tammy Roberts

 

Supplies:

Graphic 45 "Once Upon a Springtime" paper collection

Graphic 45 Die Cut Alphabet Circles

Graphic 45 "Staples" - Flowers

Prima - Flowers, Butterfly, doily & Canvas Letters (She)

Martha Stewart - Border Punch & Butterfly Punch

Melissa Frances - Lace & Rub Ons

Heidi Grace - Rub Ons

Bo Bunny - Rub Ons

Fancy Pants - Rub Ons

Jenni Bowlin - Paint

Imaginarium Designs - Chipboard Word (Funny)

Tattered Angels - Glimmer Mist 

Adhesives - Tombow & Beacon

Own Stash - Rhinestone Flower and Pearl

Have a look at this stunning Curtain Call layout! Again you can see Tammy's knack for creating wonderfully sincere crafts. There's a lot of love in this LO. It's both beautiful and touching.

"This layout features the gorgeous "Curtain Call" collection. When I set out to do this layout I was going to turn my picture into a black and white photo (as I pretty much always do) and the more I kept the original color photo on the papers the more I liked it.... so I decided to go with a little pink with the black and cream." -Tammy Roberts

Supplies:

Graphic 45 "Curtain Call" paper collection

Graphic 45 "Staples"  -  Flowers

Graphic 45 "Staples"  -  Metal Flowers

Graphic 45 Alphabet Stickers

Prima - Flowers, Lace, Charm & Leaves

Scenic Route - Die Cut Circle (I Heart You)

Bo Bunny - Rub Ons

Tattered Angels - Glimmer Mist (Vintage Pink)

October Afternoon - Letter Stickers

Martha Stewart - Border Punch (Swirly Lace)

Fiskars Border Punch 

Tim Holtz - Ink

Adhesives - Tombow & Beacon

Own Stash - cream flower with pearl & rhinestones and string

Our deepest thanks to the talented Tammy Roberts. Her crafts are always amazing and we are grateful for all of her hard work. Be sure to check out her beautiful blog Paperie Sweetness for more inspiration. Thank you Tammy! You are awesome!

We hope you will all join us on tomorrow for even more craft inspiration. Thank you so much for checking out our blog today. Have a terrific day, crafters!

Your Crafty Pals,

Team Graphic 45

Crafts Illuminated: Warm Farewells to Jenny Svensson

Hello Crafters!

A very happy Wednesday to you! Thanks for stopping by and seeing us on this fabulous day. Today we have some very special crafts from Jenny Svensson of our 2010 Design Team. Jenny's spectacular talent will be deeply missed in 2011. But we're here today to share some of her gorgeous creations and to let her know how much we appreciate her contributions on our 2010 Design Team. It was always such a joy to see the new Graphic 45 crafts that Jenny would dream up. She has an amazing talent for using paper to create stunning three-dimensional objects. You will see an example of this talent in the pop-up card we're showing you today. You may remember seeing Jenny's brilliant Once Upon a Springtime Fairy House and Steampunk Debutant Mansion on our blog recently. She always finds the most innovative and creative ways to use paper. In addition, she has a wonderfully elegant style that is deeply captivating. We are so lucky to have had her talents on our team last year and we will miss her very much.

Lets have a look at these spectacular crafts that Jenny created. This first treasure is an altered clown decorated in Le Ciruqe. Pretty perfect, don't you think? I love this simple and adorable little guy. He's so fun and cheerful! Well done, Jenny!

 

Here is a beautiful layout that Jenny made using A Proper Gentleman. She always uses the most adorable photos in her layouts, and she knows just how to create beautiful works of art with them. This is a perfect example of her talent for creating heartfelt crafts with charm and elegance.

This is a spectacular pop-up card that Jenny created using Once Upon a Springtime. It's so amazingly fun and yet pretty complex! A lot of planning goes into creating something like this but it always looks phenomenal. It has such a sweet sentiment to it too. It's so warm and wonderful. Jenny's paper houses are the stuff of legends!

Jenny has really gone above and beyond with this gorgeous canvas.  She has combined our Ornate Metal Door Plate and Knob Staples,  Metal Flower Staples, Metal Tag Staples, and Metal Button Staples to create to elegant wall hanging. 

 We want to thank the amazing Jenny Svensson for her gorgeous creations today and all of wonderful work on our 2010 Design Team. It was a true joy seeing her Graphic 45 creations on a regular basis and she will be deeply missed. Be sure to check out her beautiful blog to see more of her inspiring crafts!

Thank you all for checking out our blog today. We will have more inspiration for you tomorrow. Don't forget to post your recycled Graphic 45 scrap crafts on our Facebook Page for our Earth Day challenge this week! We will announce a winner on Friday!

Warm Wishes.

Team Graphic 45

 

Warm-Hearted Wishes: A Fond Farewell to Tracey Locher

Hello Wonderful Crafters,

Warm wished to you on this marvelous Tuesday. Thanks for joining us today as we say a fond farewell to another 2010 Design Team member, the amazing Tracey Locher. She has created some stunning crafts for you to enjoy today. We are definitely going to miss Tracey's spirited crafts on our Design Team. As you will see in today's projects, she has a wonderfully imaginative and delightful talent. Her creations are always heart-warming and fun. We will miss her and we thank her for all of her amazing contributions to our 2010 Design Team. But before we say goodbye, lets have a look at Tracey's latest and greatest crafts! 

This beautiful layout is a perfect example of Tracey's wonderfully sincere style. She also has such a knack for utilizing open spaces in her work. It is a beautiful contrast against the busier sections of this LO with the gorgeous flowers and embellishments. All together it makes for a wonderful work of art, filled with lovely form and character.

"Sometimes, you just have to throw everything, including the kitchen sink, on a layout!  With as much as I love clean line layouts, “junked up” layouts are soooooo much fun to create.  As my fellow Design Team sister, Gloria Stengel, says, “When you are creating a “junked up” layout, just when you think you are finished, add 5 more embellishments.  THEN you are done!”  I couldn’t agree more, Gloria!  Here, I’ve added flowers and keys and fabric covered chipboard, OH MY!  And one of my favorite accents… an antique Stereoscope photo!" -Tracey Locher

 
Supplies:

Graphic 45:
Le Cirque: Le Cirque
Transatlantique: Paris Post
Staples Collection: Chipboard Button Staples, Sticker Staples
Tattered Angels – Bingo Boards and Calling Cards, “Travel”; Glimmer Mist
Prima Marketing flowers
Tim Holtz Distress Ink and Idea-ology key
Darice rhinestone accents
Bazzill Cardstock
Sakura Glaze Pen
Rusty Pickle Chipboard
Other:  Cream fabric, twine, antique Stereoscope photo

Next we have this amazingly fun Once Upon a Springtime Easter basket that Tracey created. I love this idea! Tracey really went all out with this amazing piece. Everything from the basket to the little gifts inside is decked out in Once Upon a Springtime. Wow!

"The first time that I saw the Once Upon A Springtime line, I just knew I had to create an Easter basket… and I mean the WHOLE Easter basket.  A decoupaged wooden basket, Faberge eggs, Kaleidoscope, clothes for a Barbie Doll, gift box, and paper suckers.  For this project, I used every paper from the “Springtime” line, with the exception of the “frames.”  I hand twisted a copper handle and decorated it with white silk flowers that were also used in Barbie’s hair and as an accent on one of the Faberge eggs.  I also trimmed out the basket with May Arts ribbon and some fun egg accents." -Tracey Locher

 

Supplies:
 
Graphic 45:  Once Upon A Springtime collection – all papers except the frames.
May Arts Ribbon and other open stock trim
Tim Holtz Distress Ink
Darice rhinestone accents
Mod Podge, Matte Finish
Other:  Wooden Basket, silk flowers, copper wire, sucker stick and plastic cover (from Michaels), Kaleidoscope, sewing cards and Beatrix Potter candy (from World Market), Barbie, Easter grass

 

Here are some of our favorite projects over the last year.

 
Cover of Transatlantique Mini

Inside of Transatlantique mini.  

Communique Layout.

Le Cirque Layout.

Our deepest thanks to the wonderful Tracey Locher for her beautiful crafts today. We have really enjoyed her contribution to our 2010 Design Team. We will miss her fun style and energy. It has been a pleasure, Tracey! Thank you so much and keep up the stupendous work!

You can see more of Tracey's crafts at her gorgeous blog. There's always something wonderful to discover and we highly recommend checking it out. We hope you will all join us tomorrow as we showcase even more craft inspiration. Thank you all for stopping by today. We wish you a terrific day!

Paper Butterflies,

Team Graphic 45

Fond Memories: A Farewell to the Amazing Jade Moore

Hello Lovely Crafters!

A very happy Monday to you and welcome to another amazing week of inspiration here at the Graphic 45 blog! This week we are saying a fond farewell to a few of our 2010 Design Team members, and have a ton of glorious projects of theirs to share with you. We also want to remind all of you clever crafters that our Earth Day Scraps Challenge is in full effect this week! Create something out of your recycled Graphic 45 scraps and post it on our new Facebook Page for your chance to win a big prize pack of amazing Graphic 45 treasures! A winner will be picked at random and announced this Friday, April 29! Don't throw away those paper scraps! Turn them into something beautiful, help the Earth, and maybe even win an awesome prize! Yay!

Today we are saying a very fond farewell to a very creative and innovative crafter, the brilliant Jade Moore. We had the extreme pleasure of having Jade on our 2010 Design Team and her work was always lavish and superb. When looking at Jade's crafts you really get the sense that she has a unique artistic eye. Whenever I see something new that Jade has created I often think, "Wow, I never would have thought of that!" She loves to combine paper collections until she finds just the right assortment of colors and patterns for her projects. Her works is always fabulously textured and filled with beautifully placed embellishments. One look at a project by Jade and you get the sense that she had a blast creating it. Her work radiates with warmth and clever style. We have deeply enjoyed spotlighting her creations this year and we just know she'll keep stunning others with her amazing talent.

We have a few new projects by Jade to share with you today. These crafts really highlight the range of Jade's talents: from her knack for altered objects, to beautiful cards, and lavish layouts. Here we have a stunning heart-shaped box that Jade created using A Proper Gentleman and Curtain Call. It's simply stunning.

"This is the gift box I altered to gift my Daddy for V-day! I am a big ole Daddy's girl so he will always get a handmade gift form me on V-day. Only instead of crayons and construction paper now a days I'm using some amazing paper from G45!!" -Jade Moore

Supplies:

Graphic 45 Papers: A Proper Gentlemen: Cultured Reserve, Dashing and Debonair, On the Boulevard, A Proper Gentleman./ Curtain Call: Let's Dance, The Cinema

Prima Say it in Pearls

Vintage Trim

Handmade Flowers

This is a wonderful Le Romantique and Botanicabella card that Jade created. You can really see Jade's talent for capturing that authentic vintage feel with her work. I love the beautiful combination of two-dimensional and three-dimensional elements in this card. It's as if the whole thing could animate to life at any second!

Supplies: 

Graphic 45: LeRomantique: Tender Missives, Enamored Embrace, Tags;
Botanicabella: Garden Suite
Graphic 45 Staples: Envelope Tag Staples
Graphic 45 Hampton Arts Stamp: Communique Stamp
Thickers
Corrugated Cardboard
Kaiser Kraft: Blossoms
Prima Flowers
Doily

This is a super fun Le Cirque card by Jade. I love the fabulous shapes and textures in this card. It's so full of life! Anyone would be super lucky to be the recipient of such a beautiful handmade gift!

"With the festive papers of LeCirque it is easy to say a FUN HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!" -Jade Moore

Supplies:

Graphic 45 Papers: Le Cirque: Circus Parade; Le Cirque; Boarders; Tags

Communique: Society Page

Hambly ScreenPrints Transparency

Maya Road Doilies

Twine

Prima Flowers

Trim

If you're familiar with Jade's work, you know that she is a wizard when it comes to altered objects. This phenomenal Le Cirqre farris wheel is a perfect example of her talent. I also love her use of out Ornate Metal Door Knob in the center of the wheel. It's so beautiful!

"I couldn't NOT make a ferris wheel with this fun loving paper! There isn't any such thing as a circus without a ferris wheel!!" -Jade Moore

 

Supplies:

Graphic 45 Papers: LeCirque: The entire Paper Line

Curtain Call: Leading Ladies

Graphic 45 Staples: Ornate DoorKnob; Flowers

Sequence

Black Fibers

Here we have one of Jade's classic layouts. This stunning piece combines Steampunk Debutant, Le Cirque,  Curtain Call, Fashionista, Once Upon a Springtime, and Botanicabella. It's a perfect example of Jade's amazing ability to seamlessly combine different paper collections to create something gorgeous!

 Supplies:

Graphic 45 Papers: Curtain Call: The Cinema, Boarders, 

SteamPunk Debutante: Fantasy Floria; Mechanical Mind

Botanicabella: Summer Sonata

Fashionista: EnVougue, Potpourri, Debutante, Hautee Couture 

Once Upon A Springtime: Woodland Fantasy

Le Cirque: Extravaganza

"Fashionista has GOT to be my favor collection of all time. I love the feel and look of it."

Supplies:

Graphic45 Papers: Fashionista: Fashionista, Hautee Couture,Perfumeries, Potpouri

Graphic45 Staples: Envelopes, Stickers

Prima Bling

7 Gypsies Grapher Tape

VIntage Trim

Kaiser Kraft Doilies

"Sometimes the simplest cards can have a big impact."

G45Papers: Curtain Call: Tour De France/ Le Romantique: Tender Missives

G45 Staples: Trim

BlueMoon Charm

Prima Flowers

"I love the shabby side of Chic!!! These Perfume bottles are a perfect addiction to my shabby chic dresser!"

G45 Papers: Le Romatique: DayDreams, Tender Misives/ Curtain Call: Tags/ Fashionista: Tres Chic

G45 Stapes: Trim

VIntage Trim

Vintage Buttons

Graphic 45 Papers: Le Romatique: Tender Missives, Sweetheart Of Mine, Tags, Enamored Embrace/ Once Upon A Springtime: Butterfly Kisses, Enchanted Forest, Fairy Folk, Woodland Fantasy/ Fashionista: Haute Couture/  Curtain Call: Lets Dance, Top Billing/ Communique: Postage/ Botanicabella: Garden Suite! 

Corragated Chipboard

Prima Flowers

Prima Trinkets

Prima Bling

Tattered Angels Chip Pieces

Trim

We want to thank the magnificent Jade Moore for an amazing year of inspiration. It has been a joy to have her on our Design Team and we will miss her very much. We also want to thank her for the wonderful crafts we featured today. Thank you Jade! You are amazing!

You can keep up with Jade's amazing creations by visiting her blog. She posts her crafts regularly and it's well worth checking out! Very inspiring!

We wish you all a very wonderful Monday.

Happy Papercrafting!

Team Graphic 45

Graphic 45 Earth Day Scraps Challenge

Hello Amazing Crafters!

A very happy Friday to you all! Today is all about prizes! We've got a winner for this week's blog prize and an awesome new craft challenge to announce! Lets start with this week's blog prize winner! Our lucky winner, chosen at random is...Robin Goens! Here is what Robin had to say: "I'm Robin Goens and I just became a fan of Graphic 45 on Facebook. I just recently found your blog site and boy have I been missing so much. Your new design team is AWESOME and AMAZING. What a talented group of men and women!"  Robin, please email info@g45papers.com with you contact information and we will ship out your prize asap.  Hooray!

We want to wish you all a very Happy Earth Day. We all know that the planet Earth is awesome. Astronauts and scientists can attest that space is a pretty inhospitable place, and we are so very lucky to have this beautiful blue planet as a home. We should all do our best to protect it and keep it safe for future generations to enjoy. So, in honor of Earth Day we are hosting a super fun craft challenge. We want you to make something wonderful using your Graphic 45 scraps. We all have bits of Graphic 45 paper lying around and it's time to put them to use! Craft up something marvelous with your G45 scraps! You could win this gorgeous set of crafting goodies: Graphic 45 Le Cirque 12x12 Paper Pad, Once Upon a Springtime 8x8 Paper Pad, Ornate Metal Door Plate and Knob Staples, Metal Tag Staples, Trim Staples, and beautiful black ribbon by May Arts. Imagine the wonders you could create with these goodies! Post your creations on our new Graphic 45 Facebook Page from now until Thursday, April 28th. A winner will be randomly chosen and announced on our blog on Friday, April 29th! Yay! We can't wait to see what you'll create!

Here is an example of a recycled Graphic 45 creation. This was made by me, Kelly Woessner.  I created this using some scraps of Le Cirque and some leftover Curtain Call tags and borders. I also used some recycled board game packaging for that cool circular texture as well as an image from a discarded history book. The Geometric Metal Door Plate and Knob was new, but for the most part this was all made with stuff I had lying around. It was fun and it was a good way to make use of items that might have otherwise ended up in the garbage.

We are excited to see your awesome creations, crafters. We hope you have a super weekend! We will be back on Monday with more craft inspiration. Hopefully you'll take a moment today to go outside and breath some fresh air on this special Earth Day.

Sunshine and Flowers,

Team Graphic 45

Passion For Paper: The Return of Gloria Stengel

Hello Crafters!

Thank you for joining us for yet another amazing day of our 2011 Design Team introductions. Today we are so pleased to welcome back the amazing Gloria Stengel to our Design Team. You may remember seeing Gloria's stunning crafts on our 2010 Design Team. Well she's back for another year of fun and inspiration! Gloria's style classic, elegant, and always beautifully accomplished. It's part of what makes her Graphic 45 crafts so dazzling. Her techniques work seamlessly with our vintage-inspired papers. She is widely known for her delicate and feminine craft designs. Her gorgeous blog Scraps of Life is a perpetual source of inspiration and craft education for her many fans. In particular, she is known for her stunning cards and mini albums. But anything Gloria creates is guaranteed to be beautiful and immensely motivating. As you will see in the marvelous work she submitted as part of our Design Team call, Gloria is a true professional in her approach to crafting. It is always a sincere pleasure to see her latest creations and we are overjoyed to have her on our team for another fabulous year. Please give a warm welcome to the brilliant Gloria Stengel!

"My biggest design team strengths are my creative risk-taking and passion for paper. Since I have dabbled in so many different crafts, it’s natural for me to explore and create with many mediums and products. I am always on the hunt for new ways to create. My motto is “seek out new crafts that you have never done before.” I seem to be the queen of mixing product lines and mediums into my projects, and I guess my style is quite eclectic. I love to create in a Vintage grunge style, using all sorts of lace, ribbons, flowers, and of course vintage pins and buttons. I enjoy the creative process, the discovery, and the “happy accidents” that sometimes arise during crafting time. Having high-quality products and papers to work with makes creating a joy. Ever since I first saw Graphic45 papers I have wanted to be part of this amazing company. I have a list of my "top five" companies whom I'd love to work for. Graphic45 is number one on my list. Last year, when I made the  2010 Team, was one of the happiest days of my life. It was a dream come true!" -Gloria Stengel

Here we have a wonderfully joyful Steampunk Debutant and Once Upon a Springtime layout designed by Gloria. This simple and elegant LO is such a terrific expression of tranquility and beauty.

This is one of Gloria's famous cards. She used A Proper Gentleman to create this sophisticated work of art. She knows exactly how to capture an authentic vintage look in all of her crafts. It's just amazing!

Feast your eyes on this dazzling Curtain Call mini album/gift card holder, filled with gorgeous layers and textures! She has such a refined sense of placement. Every detail in this gorgeous album is just perfect, as though it could exist no other way. It is wonderfully balanced and deeply captivating. It's the kind of craft that makes you want to rush out and make one of your own! But that's the magic of Gloria's style. It's always so inspiring.

That's all for today, crafters. Many thanks to Gloria Stengel for her beautiful work. We are so happy she's joining us for another year and we can't wait to see what she'll dream up next! Thank you all for stopping by and seeing us today. We hope your day is filled with cheer!

Ribbons and Wonder,

Team Graphic 45

Decadent Details: Introducing Melanie Forbes

Hello Crafters!

We are so happy that you've stopped by to see us today! We are really excited to introduce yet another member of our 2011 Design Team today, the fabulous Melanie Forbes from Australia! Her style is fun, vibrant, and complex. She's a fan of using little details to create something that's grand and intricate. In every piece she creates there are multiple treasures to behold when you take a close look. Her work draws you in and keeps you captivated with all its lavish layers and soulful colors. Her style radiates with life and energy. Take a look at her wonderful blog Mel's Place and you'll agree, she's an exuberant and beautifully eccentric artist. She loves what she does and it shows in her fabulous crafts. We are so thrilled to welcome her to our new Design Team. Please say hello to the wonderfully creative Melanie Forbes!

"I have been scrapping since the birth of my second daughter in 2005 when I discovered scrapbooking in a magazine that was given to me in hospital. Since then I have worked in the industry in both retail, wholesale and design work with numerous publications in Australian scrapbook magazines. My style would be definitely layered and detailed/busy - I want people to want to look more closely at my work - bit like those story books as a kid where you got to lift panels and find things inside!!! I use a lot of different techniques in my work and most projects take several hours if not days due to the complexity of them. In particular I LOVE off the page items - mainly home decor which I can utilise around the house or for the sole purpose of display work in numerous retail stores here in Perth. To me it is all about recording memories and is a hobby I love doing and am lucky enough to be involved in this industry at such a level. Since discovering Graphic 45 papers online a few years ago I have bought every design  and it suits my style to a T!" -Melanie Forbes

Here is a beautiful layout that Melanie created using Le Cirque, Curtain Call, and Graphic 45 Staples. This is a perfect example of Melanie's savvy when it comes to creating complex layers. All the tiny details work together to make this LO very fun and elegant.

Here is a very pretty Once Upon a Springtime card by Melanie. Again you can see her use of decadent layers and textures in this lovely card. I love her beautiful paper distressing and just a little bit of glitter to make the flowers shimmer. It's so fabulous!

Here we have a captivating piece of Le Romantique altered art by Melanie. This piece is fascinating with it's beautiful flowers, distressed paper dress, and flowing train. It's like a wonderful paper sculpture,  so dazzling and unique.

This is a perfect example of Melanie's fantastic imagination. Here we have a stunning Steampunk Debutant altered clock. When you first lay eyes on a piece like this you instantly feel compelled to get a closer look. There is a lot to discover in Melanie's work and it's always a joy to discover its hidden treasures.

We want to thank the amazing Melanie Forbes for her gorgeous creations. We hope you will all join us tomorrow for more craft inspiration. We've got one more 2011 Design Team member to introduce you to. It's going to be awesome!

Reminder:  You may have noticed that we have a new Graphic 45 Facebook business page. And we really want to get all of our fans over to the new page before the old Fan page is shut down. So here's what you need to do to be entered to win this week's blog prize. Just go to our new Facebook page and hit "Like." Then just leave us a comment here on the blog that lets us know that you became a fan of the new Facebook page. It can be as simple as saying "Hi, this is Kelly Woessner and I'm a fan of G45 on Facebook!" Only you'd put your name and not my name. Ha! Simple enough? The contest will be happening all week and a winner will be chosen at random and announced on Friday, April 22. In return you could win this terrific Graphic 45 prize pack! A Le Cirque 12x12 Paper Pad, Geometric Door Plate and Knob Staples, and Envelope Tag Staples! Wow!

We hope you all have a marvelous day!

Paper Hearts,

Team Graphic 45

A Wonderland of Inspiration: Introducing Yuka Hino

Hello Crafters,

It's a gorgeous day for crafting! Thank you so much for joining us today for another special day of introductions to our new 2011 Design Team. Today's Design Team member is the wonderful Yuka Hino from Japan. We are so happy to welcome her on our new team. Her style is so fresh and fun, we're sure you'll love it! Yuka was actually a customer of ours before she was chosen for our Design Team. She has a scrapbook kit shop called No Scrap No Life, and a beautiful blog with the same name. Crafting is her passion and you can see it in her work. It is wonderfully decadent, filled with lots of intricate details, flowers, ribbons, lace, and gorgeous patterns. One look at her work and you know immediately that she is a professional. She has knack for form. Her crafts overflow with beauty and whimsical movement. There is also a playfulness to her crafts. She creates fun, unconventional shapes with paper to create wonderfully original works of art. At the same time, her crafts are sincere and joyful. All of these elements combine to make a lavish style that's all her own. We are very pleased to introduce the marvelous Yuka Hino!

"I am Yuka. Thank you for such a great opportunity! I live in Japan with my husband and our lovely daughter. I became absorbed in scrapbooking when I first discovered it in Feb. 2008. I started a small scrapbook kit shop in May 2009. I live a happy life although I am very busy. I LOVE Graphic45 products!!!!! Of course:) I get excited very much when I work with these papers. LOL! The majority of my blog readers are Japanese. Graphic45 is very popular in Japan, but mastering them has had the opinion of difficulty. I want to propose how to make the best use of them as a Japanese." -Yuka Yino

.

This is a stupendous Hallowe'en in Wonderland layout created by Yuka. Just look at the ornate details in this LO! Yuka's style must require some amazing patience. I love all the stunning layers and complex usage of contrasting patterns. I feel like every time I look at this LO I discover something that I hadn't seen before. It's amazing!

.

.

This is a splendid Steampunk Debutant altered picture frame by Yuka. Again you can see all the ravishing complexities in this piece. There is a lot going on here and yet it looks seamless when you step back and look at it as a whole. It's almost like a paper sculpture with all its lively elements. It's as though the paper flowers are actually vining their way up the frame. It's a real testament to her mastery of movement in her work.

.

.

This is a fantastic Hallowe'en in Wonderland card designed by Yuka. This is a perfect example of her playful style. This is the beautiful hand-made envelope she created. The color combinations here are just stunning! I love the deep purple and blue against the silver embellishments. So gorgeous!

.

.

Here is the front of the card. It's shaped like a teapot. Just perfect with the Alice in Wonderland theme!

.

.

The card opens to reveal this fun message and beautiful imagery. The entire piece is so wonderfully creative and splendidly accomplished.

.

.

.

.

We are so happy to welcome Yuka to our new team and are so excited to see her next Graphic 45 creations. We want to thank her for her beautiful work. Thank you to all of you who stopped by today. We hope you'll join us tomorrow for more exiting introductions to our new Design Team! It's going to be amazing!

.

We wish you a very happy day!

.

Big Smiles,

.

Team Graphic 45

Memories and Magic: Introducing Hilde Janbroers

Hello Crafters!

A very happy Monday to you! Thank you for joining us! The craft fun continues today with more Design Team introductions and blog contests! Today we are thrilled to welcome back an amazing crafter to our Design Team. You may remember the amazing Hilde Janbroers as one of our original Design Team members a few years ago. Well, she's back for more and we are thrilled to have her! But first we want to let you know about this week's blog prize! It's another fun and easy contest this week. You may have noticed that we have a new Graphic 45 Facebook business page. And we really want to get all of our fans over to the new page before the old Fan page is shut down. So here's what you need to do to be entered to win this week's blog prize. Just go to our new Facebook page and hit "Like." Then just leave us a comment here on the blog that lets us know that you became a fan of the new Facebook page. It can be as simple as saying "Hi, this is Kelly Woessner and I'm a fan of G45 on Facebook!" Only you'd put your name and not my name. Ha! Simple enough? The contest will be happening all week and a winner will be chosen at random and announced on Friday, April 22. In return you could win this terrific Graphic 45 prize pack! A Le Cirque 12x12 Paper Pad, Geometric Door Plate and Knob Staples, and Envelope Tag Staples! Wow!

Today we are so happy to welcome back the amazing Hilde Janbroers to our Design Team. Hilde resides in the Netherlands and is a prolific and vivacious crafter. Her blog is a fantastic blend of modern and vintage styles.  She has a terrific talent for using geometric patterns to create wonderfully textured creations. She loves color and isn't afraid to be bold in her choices. The thing that stands out most about Hilde's work, aside from its obvious beauty, is her range of styles. When glancing through her blog, you'll notice a tremendous diversity of crafts. Some are bright, bold, and more contemporary. While others are soft, delicate, and more vintage-inspired. Sometimes she combines modern with vintage to create something wonderfully unique. It is this whimsical duality that makes Hilde's work so extraordinary. Her crafts are amazingly cheerful and loving, a reflection of a lady who loves what she does and wants to share it with the world. Her blog is loaded with videos and tutorials as well as wonderful photos of her work. It's no wonder we're so glad to have her back on our team! Ladies and Gentlemen, say hello to the remarkable Hilde Janbroers!

"My name is Hilde Janbroers. I am 31 years old, and a mother of 3 children. I decided to become a stay-at-home-mom after the birth of my new baby, so I have more time to scrapbook as well. Since that is my passion! I am a dedicated scrapbooker.  Why Graphic 45? It still feels a bit like my baby. I have been involved for a while and I love the vintage feeling it has all around it.I just am addicted to the romantic touch, the whimsical images....I just Love Graphic 45." -Hilde Janbroers

Have a look at this adorable layout that Hilde created with our Domestic Goddess collection. The amazing central photo along with the stunning layers, soft colors, and perfectly places embellishments makes this LO a true craft gem! It's an instant smile maker!

 

This card is amazing! It may look simple, but there's actually a lot going on here. Hilde combined Communique, Fashionista, and Domestic Goddess to create this wonderful expression of love. The gorgeous flowers and a little bit of glitter help to make this a stunning statement of affection.

Here we have a wonderfully fun Once Upon a Springtime "Magic" banner by Hilde. With its wonderful paper flowers and butterflies, and just the right amount of distressing, this banner is magnificently captivating.

We want to thank the wonderful Hilde Janbroers for her gorgeous work. Thank you to all our readers for joining us today. We wish you all a very wonderful day!

Happy Papercrafting!

Team Graphic 45