Prima Education Team 2012-2013

Gorgeous Printer's Tray with Janine!

Its Janine here back again with a post for you this month!  I wanted to share with you an altered Prima embellishment box that I made some time ago. This would make such an adorable Christmas present for someone!  Sometimes the packaging of a product can be equally as fun to use as the product within it!  

I removed all the embellishements in this box and altered it like a Printers Tray, adding bits and pieces into each of the recessed compartments.  As it had a perspecs lid, I also altered on top of that as well for an even more, multi-dimensional effect.

The blue flower on this was one of the products in the embellishment box, I have altered it with some paint and iridescent medium for a lovely sparkly effect.

Rather than just embellishing the large bottom compartment, I have made a small little mini album for this section!  Again, the strip through the middle was around the embellishment box originally, part of the packaging.  Make sure you explore the options that packaging allows you rather than just throwing it all away.

Finally, I had quite a few bits and pieces left over so I used them to create this Layout.  A lot of the time I was working with off cut pieces that were already squares or rectangles, so I began to just layer them on the page in a fashion that I found pleasing.  The off cuts of the original project drove the design of this LO.  You should try it sometime, it was fun and quite a challenge to see what I could come up with, but in the end I was happy with the results.

As the flowers in the embellishment box were more purple in colour and not what I was looking for, I covered them in gesso and then sprayed them to a colour I thought would work better with the LO.  Keep in mind you will need to use quite a strong colour as the gesso acts as a partial resist on the flowers.  I recommend using Chalkboard glimmermist as it is much stronger in colour than regular glimmermist.

The alphabet letters in the title were originally a patchwork of purplish colours, so out came the gesso and this time I stamped them once dry for this fun effect on my lettering.  Don't forget when creating that you can always alter existing product to achieve the results you want.  You don't always have to have the perfect product for the page, you can make it perfect yourself!!

PRIMA PRODUCTS USED:
509903    Prima Embellishment Box
555931    Prima Nature Garden Pixie Vine
555900    Prima Natures Garden Charme Roses
556808    Prima Miss Godiva Celedon
554835    Prima Almanac Journaling Chipboard 
844191    Prima Almanac Collection Notary
844134    Prima Almanac Collection Edison
844165    Prima Almanac Collection Wordsmith
950033     Prima Natures Garden Collection  Primrose
950026    Prima Natures Garden Collection Pixie
950064    Prima Natures Garden Collection Midsummers Eve
950040    Prima Natures Garden Collection Blackthorn
545444    Prima Alecon Lace
555115    Prima Stamp
890940    Prima Distress Tool 

Other Products Used:
Gesso
Windsor Newton Iridescent Watercolour Medium
Tattered Angels Chalkboard Glimmermist - Apricot
Ranger Walnut Stain Distress Ink and Blending Tool

 

 

Janine-email

Masks, Mists, Glitter, and MORE with Janine!

It is Janine Koczwara here again with some fun tips and techniques you can try that went into the creation of this layout.  

 

I started with a sheet of Prima watercolour paper and used several masks to create a fun background using Tattered Angels glimmer mists.  

 

First I used Aquamarine and a Prima 8x8 floral pattern on the inside of my paper, but I found I was getting a lot of stark white around the outer edge.  I used water soluble crayons around the outer edges and smeared the colours to blend between the outside and the inside.  

 

I wasn't completely satisfied with the results, so I went back in with a chevron mask and some Teal High Heel Chalkboard glimmermist to create the funky border pattern on the background paper.  I also had fun with a Ranger white distress stain to create the splatter spots to soften the contrast between the outer edge and the inner masking.

I really wanted to add some sparkle!  Using one of the new Prima Donna Downey 6x6 masks, I swiped gel medium over the surface to leave a thick coating of the medium behind in the design, then sprinkled some blue glitter over this area, shaking off the excess. (Love the result of the glittery pattern on my background!)  It really gives a great lift to the design and adds that gorgeous sparkle!  

Most of the flowers I used were white Prima innocense flowers and I glimmer misted them up, for a more monochromatic look.  

This is a great way to create unity between the handcrafted background paper and the top layers of the layout as you are drawing in the same colours.

With the addition of some Prima Firefly papers and some sweet white doilies, flowers and resins you can create this fun layout on top of your mixed media background that you create.  

I thoroughly recommend playing with some masks, mists, gel medium and glitter and giving some of the techniques a try on your next page.

Prima Products Used:

• 845162   Firefly Collection - Shadows
   

• 845148   Firefly Collection - Seeker
   

• 845131   Firefly Collection - Fireflies
   

• 844516   Rosarian Collection Old Garden
   

• 922108   Donna Downey Mask 6x6 - Flowers
  

• 545970   Prima Innocence II
  

• 545994   Prima Innocence II
  

• 890858   Prima Shabby Chic Metal Treasures Birdcages
  

• 891503   Prima Resin Treasure Fairies
  

• 891480   Prima Resin Treasures Fly Away
  

• 554637   Prima 8x8 Mask

Other Products Used:

• Martha Stewart Around the Page Punch
  

• Water Soluble Crayons
  

• Glimmer Mist - Aquamarine and Teal High Heel
  

• Gel Medium
  

• Glitter
  

• Paper Napkin
  

• Magnolia Die - Vintage Mistletoe
  

• Ranger Distress Stain White 

Presenting: Prima's Asian Tour 2012

Prima is excited to announce

a fabulous Asian Tour!

 

The first stop is Paper Market in Singapore with Anna Dabrowska.

...................................................................

Then the Prima Tour picks up the super-talented Janine Koczwara and heads to two stops in Indonesia at Surabaya and Jakarta for My Scrapbook Ideas.

 

Locations: Surabaya and Jakarta

Contact Info: myscrapbookideas01@gmail.com

Telephone: 62-87822476886

 

 ....................................................................................

 

 

The last stop of this amazing tour is at Shabby Chic Brunei:

 

 

 

Location:

• Unit 3.11, The Mall
• Abdul Razak Complex
• Jalan Gadong
• Bandar Seri Begawan 

Email: info@shabbychicbrunei.com

Telephone: +673 242 4440

It's not too early for Christmas ideas with Janine!

Hi everyone, it is Janine Koczwara here again with another quick tutorial for you.  This post I want to challenge you to step outside the comfort zone when it comes to thinking about Christmas cards and needing "Christmas" themed paper to create stunning cards.  Sometimes all you need is a bit of imagination and a couple of items to turn an everyday range of papers into gorgeous Christmas Cards.  Oh, YES, it really is just around the corner and a lot of people are already preparing their Cards now for Christmas!  

This set of 5 cards was created using the new Rosarian range of papers.  I adore the colours of the range and thought it really lended itself to some Christmas themed cards.  When working with a "non" themed range of paper, you really need to make a bold statement with your embellishing to give it the unmistakable "Christmas theme".  I used this gorgeous Sizzix Reindeer die on some chipboard, to create this dramatic embellishment for my cards.  

Step 1: Cut out your chipboard with a die (or trace an image and cut out by hand) 
Step 2: Cover the entire piece of chipboard with pigment ink.  I chose a blue colour to ensure none of the chipboard colour showed through after embossing.

Step 3: Cover the pigment ink covered chipboard piece with Ranger's glitter embossing powder (I used turquoise)

Step 4: Heat set with your heat tool.  Take time doing this as it is more difficult to tell with the glitter embossing powder when it is set than with plain powder.  If you do not set it properly the glitter will fall off.

Step 5: Create wonderful layers with your Prima Rosarian papers for a fabulous card. 

As you can see this paper range looks like it was made for a Chrismas theme with the gorgeous reds and teals in this line.

Prima Products Used:

844530    Prima Rosarian Collection - Constance
844578    Prima Rosarian Collection -
844561    Prima Rosarian Collection - Felicity
844516    Prima Rosarian Collection – Old Garden
551049    Prima Cling Stamp

Other:
Sizzix Reindeer Die
Cheery Lynn French Pastry Doily die
Spellbinders, standard and petite circles, ribbon banners, morrocan motif dies
Cream Cardstock
Ranger Glitter Embossing Powder Turquoise
Turquoise Pigment Ink 

Janine shows off her Mixed-Media skills!

Hi, it is Janine Koczwara here to share with you a mixed-media canvas that I made for my daughter's room.

I had a little play with a layered mixed-media canvas a few weeks back and had so much fun I really wanted to make another one that would match the colours of her room.  I don't think I am particularly "artsy" in a paint and drawing way, but with Prima's masks and a few different mediums, you can achieve really artsy results easily!  Besides, it is so much fun to feel a bit like an artist for a while!

So, this is what I created!  You can see there are a lot of layers making up this canvas and a lot of mediums to create the different effects here.  What is even more fun is that this entire canvas was created with scraps of my Prima papers, kind of like a "green" project, saving my scraps from the bin!

I started by covering my background with small pieces of paper.  (A mix of texts, spots and prints works well with this.) I also added some torn strips of tissue tape as well, after I had finished sticking down the paper strips.

Next it is time to add layers of gesso, acrylic paint, glimmer mist and texture paste, using a selection of Primas masks to help add some wonderful textures to the background.

After I took this photo of the background I went back and rubbed in some iridescent medium for acrylic paint and it helped blend and lighten the colours of the background.  Then it was a case of paper piecing the mushroom and fairy onto the canvas.  Now I will let you in on my secret, since I am totally drawing challenged!!  I traced my image from a children's colouring book!  So you don't need to be great at drawing to do this, just have patience!!

I have created this video showing how this project was completed in my usual super speedy mode!! If only I could create this fast but 20x speed may not work in real time! LOL!  I hope you enjoy it.

 

You can see by the addition of the muslin for the fairies dress that another element of texture has been created, rather than just using paper pieces for it.

It was rather messy and fiddly to cut and ink and slightly distress all the little grass blades and lines in the mushroom, but the effort is worth it when it is finished as it is the little details that give it a lot more character.

Love using this technique of stamping onto tissue paper and then adhering to my canvas with gel medium!  It means you can get the effect of a stamped image even when the surface is really rough and textured as it is here.

PRODUCTS USED:

• 922184 Prima 12x12 Donna Downey Studio Mask
• 922139 Prima 6x6 Donna Downey Studio Mask
• 922108 Prima 6x6 Donna Downey Studio Mask
• 551476 Prima Say It In Crystals
• 505233 Prima Got Flowers
• Scraps of Prima Papers from following Ranges:
• Almanac, Rondelle, Jack & Jill, Watercolor Rainbow,
• Indeed Collections

OTHER PRODUCTS

• 12x12 Canvas
• Gel Medium
• White Gesso
• Texture Paste
• Iridescent Medium (Acrylic Paint)
• Glimmermist, Patina, Sunflower, Key Lime, Timeless
• Lilac & Cadillac Pink
• Ranger JBS Acrylic Paint Dauber, Chewing Gum &
• Speckled Egg
• Daler Rowney Pearlescent Liquid Acrylic, Moon Violet
• Tracing Paper
• Ranger Stickles, Gold & Diamond
• Pentel Artist Series Color Markers #S360-111,
• #S360-105, S360-109, S360-116
• Ranger Archival Ink - black
• Technique Tuesday Stamp - Childhood
• Muslin

I really hope you enjoyed this tutorial as much as I enjoyed making this canvas.  
You really can create wonderful arty pages or canvases when you have some 
Prima masks to help you create!

 

Creating Layouts with Janine!

Hi everyone, it is Janine Koczwara here, sharing two layouts with you and a few tips on how to create them.  

I often find the hardest part about creating a page is getting started.  Where do I start?  What do I feel like creating? What papers do I want to use?  I rarely have a photo in mind first, often it is one of the last things I decide on in my layouts, so I am not guided by that either!  That is where inspiration sites, such as sketch sites and color sites can be a great starting point.  The two layouts I am sharing with you today were both created with palettes from The Color Room.  I really love the way it makes me think about mixing and matching paper ranges to re-create the palette.  This month it was Prima Sponsorship month and these were a couple of the palettes that I used for the following layouts.

 

This layout is the perfect example of mixing and matching my Prima paper ranges!  I have taken The deep pink from the new Rosarian Collection, the light turquoise blue from the new Zephyr Collection and then 2 different papers from the older Strawberry Kisses range.  You would never realise they were not created as a matching line and I may not have thought to use these papers together without the palette prompt of the challenge.  I really love the over-all impact of these colours together.  

The V cuts under the main image/doilies do not go all the way through.  I line my LO up using the grid on my Comfort Craft Mat and then cut 2 shorter pieces and place them on the same "latitude" line on the craft mat, either side of my central peice to ensure they are straight.  It also means I can add this to my design later, as I did on this layout as well as preserving paper, or just using up smaller left over pieces of paper.

I created a cute little pinwheel effect on my doilies, by cutting out circles from my different patterned papers using a Spellbinders nesting circle die and then cutting them into "pie pieces" (I like to fold my circle in half, then quarters, then eighths to get my cutting lines), and mixing and matching them back together after distressing slightly for a fun effect. The doily under it gives a good base to stick the pieces back onto.

I also love to go back through older items in my stash and use them on layouts.  So often I just gravitate towards the new stuff, but I still have so many older items that I adore and want to use, such as these little centers and the Candy Gems in the main cluster.  Mixing new release items with older items makes everything feel fresh and new again!

PRODUCTS USED:

844455    Prima Zephyr Collection Gramercy
844530    Prima Rosarian Collection Constance
841416    Prima Strawberry Kisses Collection Cherry Blossom
841409    Prima Strawberry Kisses Collection Daydream 
539054    Prima Songbird Vine
561390    Prima Interlude Pink
536152    Monarch Centers
533175    Prima Trellis Roses Turquoise
528929    Prima Caboodles 
554255    Prima Metal Trinkets Songbird
549336    Prima Candy Gems Melon
890773    Shabby Chic Resin - Birds 

In my second layout, I used a much more masculine palette and created a fun boyish page.  Once again I mixed and matched my papers to capture the colors.  Papers were chosen from Alla Prima, and Almanac.  I also found a gorgeous paper napkin that I really wanted to use and I will share a quick tutorial on how to use these on your layouts.  The birds on this page were created using the napkin and a few fun techniques with them.

Here is a how to adhere a napkin to a piece of paper.  Brush gel medium across your paper and then add your top layer only of the printed napkin onto the gelled area.  Keep in mind most good quality paper napkins are 3 ply and you need to remove the 2 excess ply's before adhering. Then gently brush a layer of the gel medium over the top of the napkin to "seal" it in.  Allow to dry and then it is ready.  You can fussy cut around the image once dry and use it as you would a piece of patterned paper.  You can use this technique in exactly the same way on paper and transperency alike. 

As you can see below, you can also just adhere the napkin with the gel medium directly onto your layout or to an element of your layout, such as this tag I am making from Almanac Paper.  You can really see here how beautifully the text of the original paper shows through the napkin.

Below, the black and white flower from the napkin was adhered to transperency and this gives it rigidity on your layout but also means that it has a semi sheer quality so you can see the details under it as well.

I colored the top and the hole of my Shabby Chic Resin Birdhouse using one of the Chalk Inks (rusty bucket).  I gently dabbed it directly on from the inkpad and then used my finger to "smear" it slightly for a softer effect.

On this last image you can see how the text on the patterned paper has come through the napkin and then I have fussy cut it out and foam mounted as part of my design.

PRODUCT LIST:

843656    Prima A4 Paper Pad Alla Prima
844417    Prima 12x12 Paper Pad Script
844165    Prima Almanac Collection Wordsmith
890797    Prima Shabby Chic Resins Birdhouses
555962    Prima Perie Bebe En Francais
556013    Prima Charme Roses En Francais
555986    Prima Camille En Francais
556020    Prima Essentials En Francais
538620    Prima Fairytale Roses White
561413    Prima Interlude Turquoise
891091    Prima Fluid Chalk Rusty Bucket
544249    Prima Chipboard Alphabet Sticker
890940    Prima Comfort Craft Distress Tool
890933    Prima Comfort Craft Mat 

Finally for all of you who are in Melbourne, I will be teaching there on the 11th of September.  Here are the details of the class and there are only 5 places left so get in quick if you want to join in this class!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you found some inspiration in this post!

 

Shabby Chic Mixed Media with Janine!

Hi, it is Janine Koczwara bringing you this post and I decided to create a totally feminine page with hints of shabby chic mixed media for lots of fun details and a focus on Ingvild Bolme's Shabby Resin Treasures and Junkyard Findings.

I started with my background paper, a sheet from the Sparkling Spring Collection and then used the new Donna Downey 6x6 mask, swiping white gesso across it with a credit card to create the white floral elements on the background. Once dry, I then lightly spritzed the page with Tattered Angels Glimmermist - Aquamarine to enhance the color of it.  You will need to gently dab over the surface with a cloth to remove the color from the masked gesso parts, as the gesso acts as a resist to the glimmermist and the color lifts easily from the masked areas.

To create the decorative scallop circle I used a Lucky 8 punch on a page from the Prima 12x12 Ledger Paper Pad, inking and distressing the edges with the Comfort Craft Distress Tool after it was punched out. I always joke that I ink and distress everything!

The clock embellishment was created by using 3 seperate dies and layering them one on top of the other.  I also suggests to try layering a couple of doilies on top of each other for a totally gorgeous shabby chic feminine effect shown above with the Metal Treasure Zipper cluster.  I really loved the way that turned out and it came about as an accident rather than intentional as I had just cut a doily in half and tossed it aside.  It landed on the other and I could immediately see how pretty two layered together could look!!

Originally I was designing my page "horizontally" and had used a Prima 8x8 brick mask with a pigment ink pad and Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Powder to create this shabby masked brickwork. I then used one of the Prima chalks, by dabbing my finger on the pad and then running my finger across the embossed area to get this delicate taupe chalked effect on the brickwork.  It adds another element and interest to the overall design and is a fun technique to try. I changed the orientation of the LO based on the piece of packaging I used as I knew it would look better directly under the photograph!  I change my mind all the time when I begin sticking my page down!

These paper flowers were created by using a paper napkin and gel medium to adhere to the page, some were adhered directly to the page while others were adhered to cardstock or transparency before fussy cutting around.  You can layer napkins onto text or music note paper and the image will show through for another wonderful effect.  To really set off these floral clusters of Interlude and Corine flowers, I used the wonderful SIIC Mini Swirls, these mini swirls are the perfect size for enhancing your floral clusters.  Finally to set the page off I added a few Shabby Chic resin treasures to make the page come alive.  I decided to use the Prima chalk ink to color the mushroom by dabbing it against the ink pad and then used a cotton tip loaded with chalk ink to get into the crevises of the design.

As you can see I have used a lot of little touches to create this pretty feminine page.  I hope you have enjoyed this mini tutorial.

PRODUCTS USED:
842673    Prima Sparkling Spring Collection - Rosebud
842383    Prima Madeline Collection - Beautium
841461    Prima Flights of Fancy Colleciton - Firefly
841829    Prima Annalee Collection - Sonnet
843748    Prima 12x12 Ledger Paper Pad
890889    Prima Metal Treasures - Birds
890766    Prima Shabby Chic Resins - Mushrooms
890742    Prima Shabby Chic Resins - Ceiling Ornaments
891428    Prima Shabby Chic Resins - Eros
891558    Prima Junkyard Collection Metal Trinkets - Typo Zippers
891589    Prima Junkyard Collection Metal Trinkets - Clock Hands
891596    Prima Junkyard Collection Metal Trinkets - Clock Faces
560355    Prima SIIC Mini Swirls
922115    Prima Donna Downey 6x6 Mask
550011    Prima 8x8 Mask - Brickwork
561352    Prima Encore Flowers - Turquoise
561413    Prima Interlude Flowers - Turquoise
561390    Prima Interlude Flowers - Pink
561383    Prima Interlude Flowers - White
548858    Corrin Flowers
Prima packaging 

 

July BAP

Two of our educators jumped in and participated in the Build-A-Page challenge this month!

This month's sketch was designed by Educator Jennifer Mattot! How cool are her artsy touches?

First up: we have Janine Koczwara with this beauty.

 

"I was feeling totally down creatively so I decided to have some fun (before the BAP sketch went up) just playing with some “Anna” techniques for the background, just to have fun and re-charge a bit creatively.  I then have used this background as the basis for my LO based on the BAP sketch.  This is such a great way to use up left over bits and pieces and older stuff that is lying around." ~Janine

 

 

Products Used:

• 533359  Gallery Roses
• 533304  Gallery Roses
• 535094  Sultan Centres
• 535124  Sultan Centres
• 540449  Innoscence Flowers
• 540227  Innocsence Flowers
• 540364  Innocsence Flowers
• 536183  Monarch Centres
• 536985  Felt Devines
• 536350  Clear Stamps
• 843625  A4 Londonerry Paper pad
• 554316  Alphabet Stickers – Doodle Deux
• 551445  SIIC
• 811907  Felt Alphabet
• 554484  Wood Buttons
• 555306  Chipboard - Songbird

 

Nic Howard also made a BAP layout using our newest line: Zephyr.

Nic really rocked the line, the new wooden doors, AND look at her Green Concepts use of our packaging. Nic creatively added a colorful packaging banner under the photo for an extra pop on the page.

Supplies:

• 844509    Zephyr Parfait
• 844448    Zephyr Zanella
• 561031    Canvas pieces, swirls
• Flags     Packaging from the canvas pieces
• 550332    Prima Press
• 560850    Prima Press Alpha
• 559175    Zephyr Alpha
• 544317    Other Alpha
• 561413    Teal Interlude Flowers
• 562489    Timido Zephyr Flowers
• 561352    Encore Teal Flowers
• 891565    Rusty Typo Zippers
• 891602    Clock Gears
• 891442    La Coeur   Resin
• 891497    Parlor Resin
• 560676    Wooden Embellishment – teal doors
• 560577    Say it in Crystals small blue

 

other:

• Gesso
• Glimmer Mist
• String
• Paperclips

Introducing: The Tea Thyme Collection

Today we have a sweet line featuring soft, muted colors and romantic prints!

Win some of these amazing products before they are even available by checking us out on Facebook!

 

Janine Koczwara's use of Tea Thyme papers, romantic resins, and sparkly crystals is simply divine on this gorgeous page!

 

We also have a romantic page by Trina McClune!

Trina mixed greens, greys, and pinks together to create a keepsake page perfect for framing.

Of course we coordinate our whole line for you offering perfectly matching accessories. Our new metal trinkets are a necessary embellishment for ANY project!

 

Introducing: The Rosarian Collection

Today we have a gorgeous line filled with bright colors and sweet designs to introduce to you!

 

And don't forget our give-aways on Facebook each day of the Sneak Peeks!

 

First up is a beautifully-executed layout by our one and only Janine Koczwara!

 

Janine, once again, blends and layers the papers to create a work of art. A few well-chosen embellies accent the photo and design with style.

Next up is a funky, art-filled canvas by the talented Nathalie Kalbach!

Nathalie used intense colors from the Rosarian line to create a piece of art filled with passion!

 

Wood buttons, tags, and mulberry leaves add dimension and interest to the canvas, while a few crystal swirls add engaging sparkle.