Berry71bleu : Guest Designer, Sandie Edwards

Today we have a special guest designer, Sandie Edwards.

My name is Sandie, and I live in Geraldton, Western Australia with my partner who works in the mining industry (FIFO), and our two year old son, Jesse. We are older parents (44 and 51), and also have grown up children, as well as Grandchildren. I am currently a stay at home Mother, with my previous employment being law enforcement.

Creativity has been part of 'life' for as long as I can remember, and it is a journey for me personally that continually evolves. My passion is papercrafts, though I dabble in a wide range of crafting areas. My motto is to continually push boundaries and comfort zones, to share, create, be an inspiration to others, and create everlasting memories. My creative style is not set in stone, though I tend to lean heavily towards, vintage.

Please stop by and visit my blog: http://delightfullycrazytoo.blogspot.com/

For me personally, this year I have started a 'new beginning' by researching my family ancestors - and what a journey it has been so far, I am amazed at where my family origins come from and find this part of 'life' fascinating. The information, and photographs I have stumbled upon, has 'coloured my world', in ways I did not think possible, which ties in perfectly for the Berry 71Blue challenge this month.

So, today I share a layout of a photograph of my relatives from my Maternal side of the family, using the exquisite tag from the Berry 71Blue Etsy Shop, and vintage and beyond components from Zeus and Zoe.

This month we are sponsored by Deco Art were sent some amazing products to play with, including paint and stencils. I had a wonderful time playing with these fabulous products and will look forwards to using more in the future.

As I am a GD over at the Berry71Bleu for March, I used one of Marivic's gorgeous hand-made tags. The detail in this tag is amazing, and the photographs really do not do it justice.

To purchase tags - visit 'HERE'. Also, I used a variety of vintage delights from the Zeus and Zoe Etsy Shop. Marivic puts together the most amazing kits, full of vintage and beyond goodness. If you have something in mind colour wise or content wise, Marivic is also happy to create a kit especially to your own personal requirements.

I layered the many vintage elements from my DT kit - including writing paper, note paper, receipt, a post card, old doily, pattern paper, buttons, lace, and a large key charm. My kit contained an old pearl necklace, which I (reluctantly) pulled apart, and adhered along with other beads as a highlight to my layout.

To create my stencil background, I mixed Deco Art gold paint in with the texture medium forming a muted gold colour - and applied a textural background using the Deco Art Jacobean Floral stencil. When completely dry, I applied a light brush of straight gold paint onto the textured surface, highlighting some of the pattern.