It’s my pleasure to host one of the challenges at the ScrapFest Connect event today! Challenge number 3 revolves around a mood board. Mood boards can be very inspiring and can often spark some creativity when you feel you’re in a rut. With Spring finally here and winter on it’s way out, I chose the following mood board that highlights the beautiful earth tones that come with the onset of Spring.

Your challenge is to reflect on the images in this mood board, pull the elements that speak to you, and get creating! You may choose to create a scrapbook layout, a card, an art journal page, mixed media or other creative project. You may enter more than once, but any entry in this challenge may not be entered in any of the other challenges today. Two Scrapbook Friends has kindly sponsored this challenge and just look at the amazing prize pack the winner will receive!

In addition to this amazing prize package, Two Scrapbook Friends is offering all participants of ScrapFest Connect a 20% discount to shop in their online store! To receive this discount, simply enter the coupon code SCRAPFESTROCKS21 at checkout. This offer is available now and runs until March 31st. Orders may be picked up at their new location (550 Parkside Drive, Unit B6, Waterloo, ON) or shipped. PLEASE NOTE: Due to COVID in-store shopping is not available at this time.

My interpretation of the Spring Earth Tones mood board focused on images 1 – 6.

I always start the creative process around a photo and image number 4 (Flower Girl) was the inspiration to use the photo of my granddaughter from a couple of years ago. Not only did she have beautiful white spring flowers in her hands (which fit with images 2 and 6), the colours in the rest of the photo just fit so well with the spring earth tones of the mood board. Lucky for me, even her t-shirt fit the colour scheme.

I loved the soft hues of the naturally dyed eggs in image number 1. This inspired me to pick coordinating papers from Carta Bella’s Flora No 3 collection. Three of the patterned papers from this paper collection formed the background and borders of the layout. To create the top border, I trimmed the patterned paper at 1/2″ inside all four sides. The border below followed the same process by trimming the paper at 1″ from the edge of the paper on each side. These borders were set aside until the rest of the page was put in place.

The cut file for this project is called Lilly of the Valley and it comes from COAPA (Confessions of a Paper Addict). You can find this cut file here https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/736576883/lilly-of-the-valley-cut-file-svg-png-pdf?ref=hp_opfy-1&pro=1.

I cut this beautiful cut file from American Crafts Precision White Cardstock. The lilies were back filled with white cardstock and the leaves were back filled with coordinating green leafy patterned paper from the Carta Bella Flora No 3 paper pack. I didn’t want the outline of the leaves and flower stems to remain white, so I inked them with Tim Holtz Shabby Shutters Distress Ink before adding the back fill pieces.

The bunny was inspired by image number 3. I used the “Cottontail” Whispers die from Die-Versions. (I’m not sure if it’s still available, as I’ve owned it for quite some time.) I cut the bunny from white cardstock and layered it on fun foam that was also cut with the die. Once the bunny was completed and adhered to the layout, I added a small white pom-pom to create a fun tail and to add some dimension.

As I started to put the elements of the page together, I was unhappy with the background and felt it was a bit too much of the same colour. To lighten the look and feel of the overall layout, I used a Taylored Expressions stencil (Pretty Petals) and applied Vicki Boutin Molding Paste to different sections of the background. This added in more texture and the white brightened the layout considerably.

The earth tones found in images 5 and 6 were the inspiration to add the natural hemp cord to the lower portion of the photo. I adhered fun foam to the back of the photo to raise it slightly and to provide a nice smooth foundation. To achieve a smooth uniform finish for the photo, I cut out a small channel of fun foam that allowed the hemp to fill this space without adding further bulkiness.

Before adhering anything to my base page, I placed all of the completed elements on the page to determine where I would stamp the title phrase. Once this decision was made, I removed everything but the stamp from the page and placed it in my 12″ x 12″ Misti to complete the stamping. The”Make today the best day ever” stamp has been in my collection for well over a decade and is from Daisy Bucket. Once the stamping was completed, all the elements were secured to the layout. The final touch was to add a few coordinating shape sprinkles from Doodlebug Designs from the Peppermint Twist line. These aqua elements were a perfect match for this layout.

I hope my layout inspires you to create a project or two for this challenge. Post your creations in the associated challenge on the Scrapbook Connect Facebook page to enter the competition. Include a few quick comments or points that tell others what part(s) of the mood board inspired you. The deadline for submissions is Sunday, March 28th at 9:00 pm. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Thanks for playing along with me today. Stay safe, stay well and Happy Scrapping!