Special Guest Spotlight on OLGA HELDWEIN

It is time for us to feature another fabulous Guest Designer!

Because of the STEAMPUNK element of our Main Challenge this month,

we knew that we had to find a designer who would be able to WOW you 

with her steampunk abilities, and one name came to mind right away...

Olga Heldwein is a true mixed media artist with a touch of vintage and industrial 

combined with beautiful and sometimes dark overtones. Her style, as well as 

her ever growing presence on the international scrapbooking scene, is definitely 

admirable and inspiring, and that is why we just had to have her as our June Guest.

Now let's learn a little more about Olga through her own words:

Hello all More Than Words fans!

I'm Olga, a Polish woman living in Berlin.  Ever since I discovered scrapbooking,

I've been totally addicted, and now I spend hours splashing and splattering ink.

I'm always on the lookout for something new, testing new supplies,

new tools and finding new ways of using my 'old' art stash.

My work is either steampunk-y with lots of shiny and metallic objects,

or clean and bright with lots of white space, but always with a vintage feel.

As time has gone on, I gravitated towards mixed media, and now gesso

and gel mediums are always on my work table.

You can visit Olga at the following links:

BLOG  -  FACEBOOK  -  YOUTUBE  -  INSTAGRAM

Here is a reminder of our June Main Challenge FATHER & STEAMPUNK

followed by the wonderful layout that Olga has designed for us!

Read below as Olga describes in her own words how she was inspired

by our word and how she chose to incorporate our creative challenge:

First of all, let me just say that it is such an honor to be 

in the spotlight this month here on More Than Words blog, 

and it was really a pleasure to take on this awesome challenge!

Inspired by the word, I created a layout with a very special photo of my Dad.

This is my first time scrapbooking a picture of my FATHER as his photos

have extra personal value for me.  We had an amazing connection 

and the quote that I chose for my page speaks so true to my heart.

To STEAMPUNK my layout, you can see that I added 

lots and lots of metallic accents as in clock faces, gears, cogs, 

buckles, wires, and more.  I also used a lot of my favorite mediums and techniques

and had a lot of messy fun with this page.

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope that you will all try out this challenge!

My fingers are crossed for all of you as I know that there are fabulous prizes

up for grabs and I wish you as much creative fun as I had.  

Have a nice and creative day!

We told you that we had found the perfect 'steampunk' designer, didn't we?

Olga sure didn't disappoint with her rusty mechanical composition

on this very special tribute layout to her father.  We also absolutely love

the quote that she chose to add to her page - it is so very fitting to our word!

Here are some close-ups of her work:

A big THANK YOU to Olga for joining us as our June Special Guest!

We hope that you will take inspiration from Olga's creation

and that you will play along our June Main Challenge, if not already done.

You have until June 30th to link up!

Special Guest Spotlight on TUSIA LECH

We  have a very special guest this month to introduce to you,

although she surely needs no introduction!

Tusia Lech plays a very special part in the More Than Words community 

because as owner of 7 Dots Studio, she has been one of our very generous 

sponsors from the very beginning and a tremendous support.

Through her amazing art and her keen eye for marketing fabulous products,

she is a true inspiration to so many in every sense of the word.

Let's learn a bit more about Tusia through her own words:

Scrapbooking fills my whole life!  It is all around me - in my private life and in my job career, as I am the owner of 7 Dots Studio and also an eager scrapbooker. I love the process of creation.  I have created things since early childhood; all kinds of handmade things always attracted me. I cannot imagine my life without making some art. Even if I leave for a weekend, I always take my small 'art-bag', 

filled with art-journal supplies.

I love all kinds of media. If I would have to define my style, I would say that mixed media is the only constant thing. My favorite colours are fresh, bold greens, blues and pinks, but at the same time I just love delicate, pale hues of beige, rose and white. However, there is something that can always be found in my projects - 

a positive, feminine style.

I am lucky enough to be a designer in several creative places.  I also love drinking coffee, reading books, walking through the forest, watching flowers on the meadow, basking in the Autumn sun and being deep in my inner world. I can say that I am a happy person and wouldn't change a single thing in my life.

You can visit Tusia at the following link:

BLOG  -  FACEBOOK  -  INSTAGRAM

YOUTUBE  -  PINTEREST

Here is a reminder of our May Main Challenge MOTHER & FLOWERS

followed the stunning project that it inspired Tusia to create!

Read below how Tusia describes in her own words how she was inspired

by our word and  how she incorporated our creative challenge:

The word MOTHER immediately made me think of Mother Earth!

I love FLOWERS. In my garden there are many of them - among others, tulips. For me, they are the symbol of Spring and they come in so many different shapes and colours. I think the photo I used for this layout was taken last Spring. Tulips are in a vase on my table almost every day throughout March and April. Loving Mother Earth gives us flowers and so many other things that make our days sweeter and brighter. We should all be thankful and treat our home - the Earth - 

with the utmost care and kindness.

For this particular layout, I have used the Writer's Block collection from 7 Dots Studio (it matched perfectly with the background of the board image) and a load of mixed media products, mostly from Finnabair: waxes, glass beads, mica powders, 

micro beads, gel medium, some mechanicals, etc.

Now don't you agree that Tusia has interpreted our challenge perfectly?

We love her different take on the word - the 'Mother Earth' theme is so brilliant -

and we couldn't love any more her choice of photo (bright vivid tulips) 

on the contrasting dark grey background full loaded with depth and texture. 

Truly stunning work!

Here are some close-ups:

A big THANK YOU to Tusia for joining us as our May Special Guest!

We hope that you will take inspiration from Tusia's creation

and you will play along with our May Main Challenge if not already done.

You have until May 31st to link up!

Special Guest Spotlight on JAYA RAGHUVANSHI

This month's incredibly talented Special Guest Designer will be sure 

to inspire you, and with no further ado, here she is!!

Jaya Raghuvanshi is well known in the international scrapbooking community 

for her gorgeous mixed media style and use of stunning images

and creative compositions filled with lots of beautiful embellishments.

We all have been admiring her work for a while, and we are 

absolutely thrilled that she agreed to be our April Special Guest!

Let's learn a bit more about Jaya as she introduces herself:

Hello friends! My name is Jaya Raghuvanshi from Mumbai, India. 

I am a mixed media style scrapbooker and I love playing with colours,

textures and different mediums. Mixed media gives me the freedom to go wrong, 

make mistakes, learn and create... and that is why I am so hooked on it!

I am currently designing for some wonderful papercrafting teams

including my all time favorite... Prima Marketing Inc.

Apart from papercrafts, I also love travelling and photography.

I would like to thank More Than Words for having me!

You can find my work here:

BLOG  -  FACEBOOK  -  INSTAGRAM  -  YOUTUBE

Here is a reminder of our April DREAM & BLACK/WHITE +1 challenge

followed by Jaya's wonderful layout inspired by it.

Below Jaya describes in her own words how she was inspired

by our word and how she incorporated our creative challenge:

I was really inspired by this month's challenge image.  

The zebra stripe pattern is one of my favourites and I love how well 

it goes with my cute black and white baby photo.  This was my primary

inspiration for this page.  I love the word inspiration for the month, DREAM,

and I used it as my title as it goes perfectly with the adorable sleeping baby.

I incorporated tons of Prima Marketing flowers and media. Teal is my favourite colour

so I used it as my extra to the BLACK/WHITE creative challenge palette.

I added a little teal on the background as well for some contrast.

The white flower centers have been misted with the same colour.

I love how this page turned out and I hope you like it too!

Oh, we do not only like Jaya's layout... we adore it!

She has captured the black and white contrast brilliantly

and couldn't have opted for a more beautiful colour accent.

Plus, that sleeping baby photo is just perfect for this month's word!

Here are some close-ups:

A big THANK YOU to Jaya for joining us as our April Special Guest!

We hope that you will take inspiration from Jaya's creation

and you will play along with our April Main Challenge if not already done so.

You have until April 30th to link up!

Special Guest Spotlight on TINA OLLETT

It's time to showcase another fabulous designer here

at More Than Words with a brand new Special Guest Spotlight!

Tina Ollett has no doubt already wowed you with her gorgeous elegant style!

She is a scrapbooking pro at romantic shabby chic designs and

she has the midas touch when creating fabulous flower clusters

and beautiful soft and whimsical compositions.

We thought that she would be a perfect match with our March challenge!

Learn a bit more about Tina as she introduces herself:

Hello!  My  name is Tina Ollett, but my friends and family call me Teen! 

I live in beautiful sunny Queensland, Australia with my husband,

our 3 children as well as 2 furry and 6 feathered friends. My family 

is my ultimate inspiration for everything creative that I do. 

I am for the most part a scrapbooker, but on occasion 

I have been known to do smaller off the page projects. 

I love to use patterned papers, lots of layers, dimension, chipboards 

and of course flowers... lots of flowers with small amounts of media 

in a vintage/shabby chic style. My aim when scrapping is to keep 

the focus on the photos and to celebrate the memories that they represent.

I am currently part of some wonderful design teams, and in my other 

spare time, I share my love of scrapbooking through teaching

at workshops and classes around my hometown.  

To see more of my work, you can visit me here:

FACEBOOK  -  BLOG  -  INSTAGRAM

Here is a reminder of our March BEAUTIFUL & BUTTERFLY challenge

which inspired Tina to create the exquisite layout that follows:

Here is how Tina describes in her own words how she was inspired by our word

and how she incorporated our creative challenge to her project:

The word BEAUTIFUL in my mind is a word that gives me great pleasure

to see or think about.  When I am scrapbooking, I love to create something

to represent memories of photos in a beautiful way. And for the most part

I find that using gorgeous blooms, clusters of embellishments and 

stunning patterned papers allows for this to happen! But, I also find that

to complete this, the photo must be special to me, able to evoke a wonderful

memory that I wish to recreate in a layout.

For this layout, I have used the word BEAUTIFUL in a quote which

is an old favorite. It adds to the memory of the photo of my daughter

who was catching butterflies in our backyards one day many years ago.

The creative challenge of adding a BUTTERFLY (or more!) was easy for me 

as butterflies are pretty my go to embellishment for many of 

my shabby chic layouts. I find that butterflies help with the flow 

and guide the eye to the focal point of the page.

There are no words to express how much we love Tina's layout!

The gorgeous papers, fussy cut and added in between layers of chipboard and lace,

as well as numerous delicate butterflies fluttering about the page,

are absolutely the perfect mix to showcase the beautiful photo of her daughter.

Tina has definitely created a masterpiece!

Here are some close-ups:

A big THANK YOU to Tina for joining us as our March Special Guest!

With Tina's stunning page in mind, we hope that you will be inspired

to play along in this month's Main Challenge, if not already done!

You have until March 31st to link up!

Special Guest Spotlight on Ingrid Gooyer

We are back today with yet another fabulous Guest Designer

whom we know you will absolutely love!

Ingrid Gooyer is a tremendously talented artist whose attention 

to detail is simply awe inspiring. Her romantic shabby style was 

the perfect match for this month's challenge board and 

we are so thrilled to have her join us as our February Special Guest! 

Learn a bit more about Ingrid as she introduces herself:

"Hello! My name is Ingrid Gooyer and I live in the Netherlands.

I am married to the best hubby and together we have two beautiful girls.

Thanks to my mom and dad, who were also very creative, I was always

busy throughout my life with artistic hobbies: knitting, painting, crocheting, 

calligraphy, making all of my kids' clothes and many many more.

In 2016, I discovered scrapbooking. It was a great way to showcase

all of my photos, another favorite hobby of mine! I fell in love with

lovely papers, but the last two years, I have really come to adore everything

that is mixed media.  There is nothing better for me than to be in my small

craft room, playing with all my paints!  Pure crafty heaven!"

You can visit Ingrid and see more of her art at the links below:

BLOG  -  FACEBOOK

Here is a reminder of our February TOGETHER & AMPERSAND challenge

which inspired Ingrid to create the beautiful project that immediately follows:

Here is how Ingrid describes how she was inspired by our word

and how she incorporated our creative challenge:

"I was inspired by the word TOGETHER to create this piece featuring a photo

of our walking shoes.  My hubby and I really love to take long nature walks and

any days spent together this way are so special to us... precious time together, 

enjoying each other's company and all of nature's beauty!

So I came up with this layout including all that: together, love and nature.

And of course, I added an AMPERSAND in my title!"

We absolutely adore Ingrid's photo and how it embodies 'togetherness'.

As are all of Ingrid's creations, this one contains fantastic mixed media

techniques on the background with fabulous flower clusters!

Truly gorgeous!  

Here are some close-ups:

A big THANK YOU to Ingrid for agreeing to be our February Special Guest!

We have no doubt that Ingrid's beautiful creation will inspire you

to play along with this month's Main Challenge if you haven't already done so!!

Link up your project in our sidebar by February 28th!

Special Guest Spotlight on Nadia Cannizzo

We are absolutely thrilled to present to you today

our Special Guest Designer for January!

Nadia Cannizzo is a legend in the online scrapbooking community!

She is the founder of one of the all time most popular sketch challenge blogs, 

that has since been retired, called Once Upon a Sketch.

She is also an incredibly talented artist who has designed for many fabulous

manufactures and continues creating gorgeous art pieces!

Learn a bit more about Nadia as she introduces herself:

"Hi! I am Nadia from Sydney, Australia... wife, mother, primary school teacher, 

lover of movies, cooking and paper crafting. I desire nothing more in life 

than health for myself and the people I love as well as love, peace, 

tranquility and lots and lots of alone time."

You can find Nadia and see more of her art at the links below!

BLOG  -  FACEBOOK  -  INSTAGRAM  -  YOUTUBE

Here is a reminder of our January CELEBRATE & BLING challenge

that inspired Nadia's beautiful project which immediately follows immediately:

Here is how Nadia describes how she was inspired by our word:

"Being January, the obvious reason to CELEBRATE would be having 

a New Year among us.  Although this may be true, for me celebrating love 

is something that should be done daily, and this is the inspiration behind 

my 'Celebrating Love' canvas. The word 'love' is thrown around 

very casually these days, but real love is very hard to find, 

and when you do it's worthy of celebration."

And this is how Nadia incorporated our BLING creative challenge:

"I used a lot of glass glitter and shimmery paints as well 

as sequins to add some BLING to my project."

What a wonderful mixed media canvas that shows the true extent

of this wonderful artist's talent and creativity!

There are so many details to admire from the beautifully textured base

to the framed shadow box effect containing bling galore!

Here are some close-ups:

 

A huge THANK YOU to Nadia for agreeing to be our January Special Guest!

As for all of you, we thank all who have linked up already 

(so many outstanding entries already!)

and really hope that more of you will 'celebrate' with us this month.

Link up your project in our sidebar by January 31st.

Special Guest Spotlight on Aida Domisiewicz

It is mid-month already and we hope that you are busy creating

and will link up your December project soon.

In the meantime, we are back with another Special Guest feature

 to get your creative juices flowing and inspire you all!

Our Special Guest this month is none other than...

Aida Domisiewicz is not only the owner of one of our loyal sponsors, 13 arts, 

but she is also a very well respected and talented artist who is known 

for her busy mixed media style and her constant devotion to teaching others 

her craft.  We are honoured to have her among us today as our Special Guest! 

Let's learn a little more about Aida, through her own words:

"Hello, I am Aida Domisiewicz, also known as Ayeeda in the scrapbooking world. 

I'm a Polish scrapbooker, mixed media artist, designer, teacher 

and owner of 13 arts company.  

My biggest passion is creating with mediums; I love to experiment

 and search for original effects.  I create mostly layouts, canvases and art journal 

pages, but I also love to create on bigger surfaces and alter home decorations.  

My works are recognisable as a bit messy, rich in textures 

(especially with microbeads), mediums and many layers and details.  

I don't have as much time for crafting as I would love to, but creating is my life, 

my getaway!  Over the last few years, I have been a designer in international teams 

and cooperate with stores, kit clubs and challenge sites.  Currently, I mostly teach 

mixed media techniques, design paper collections and mediums and make videos 

and live shows with online classes."

You can visit Aida by clicking on the links below!

BLOG  -  FACEBOOK

Here is a reminder of our December TRADITIONS & HANDMADE challenge

followed by Aida's gorgeous take on it:

 

Here is how Aida describes how she was inspired by our word:

"My layout is inspired by Christmas TRADITIONS, and of course the Christmas tree is one of the most important traditions of all.  The photo shows me as a little girl standing near the Christmas tree in my old house. Time flies! The next generation is growing and, by looking at this photo, I still feel like a little girl waiting for Santa!"

And this is how Aida interpreted our creative challenge:

"As for my HANDMADE element, I have created a tree and a little wreath, using different dried plants and adornments."

We absolutely adore Aida's layout!  The way she hand crafted the tree and wreath with dried plants is the perfect take on our creative challenge.  It is also very reminiscent of the Christmas tree tradition in itself.  Aida's attention to details is amazing and she has even provided a video for us 

so that we can take a better look at her creative process!

Here are some close-ups of this gorgeous layout:

Aida, thank you so much for agreeing to be our Special Guest 

and inspiring us today... and every day!

Now that your creativity has no doubt been awaken, we cannot wait to see what 

you will create for our December TRADITIONS & HANDMADE challenge!

Link up your project in our sidebar by December 31st.

Special Guest Spotlight on SHARON LAAKKONEN

Hello everyone!

We are sure that you will be extremely pleased with

and greatly inspired by our November Special Guest,

so with no further ado, here she is:

Sharon Laakkonen is a very prominent name in the scrapbooking industry.

It is synonym of outstanding ambition and incredible talent

and we are thrilled to have her join us to inspire you this month!

Let's learn a bit more about Sharon, through her own words:

"Hello! First off, I am always humbled to be asked to share my work as I am so inspired by everyone else. I LOVE papercrafting, work in the industry for Prima Marketing, and have met so many wonderful people around the world 

as a result over the last 13 years. 

Alongside working full-time, I try to squeak out as much family time as possible: watching murder mysteries with my boys, shopping with my daughters, doing crafts with my granddaughters, and worshiping together on Sunday with the whole family!  Besides being a mom to 7 children, 3 daughters and 4 sons, I am also a Nana to 3 sweet little girls, Amariah, Madelyn, and brand-new baby Elizabeth 

who give me a lot of scrapbooking material.

As social media changes, you will fine me, and my latest scrapbook and planner projects, more and more on Instagram and Facebook, but I am also linking my blog as I do dust it off here and there!  I welcome you to come visit me!"

FACEBOOK  -  INSTAGRAM  -  BLOG

Here is a reminder of our November SPECIAL & OUR QUOTE challenge

followed by the exquisite project that it inspired Sharon to create!

Here is how Sharon describes how she was inspired by our word:

"As soon as I read this month's challenge, I knew the exact photo I was going to use: a very SPECIAL shot from my son's wedding. It fits perfectly with the quote too! The wedding was a high point in our family as we celebrated this SPECIAL love and welcomed another daughter into our crazy family!"

And this is how Sharon incorporated our creative challenge unto her project:

"'Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue'... I love symbolism in my projects so I could not wait to incorporate as  many as I could on my 'Wedded Bliss' shaker canvas. I started with a canvas (something OLD) that I had discarded because I messed up the stencil work (so don't ever throw those projects away!)  A 4 inch photo was trimmed to fit the shaker dome, then I filled the dome with glass beads (something NEW and BLUE), adhering the photo to seal it all in. Clips of lace are added around the dome while flowers, metal and wood pieces embellish it. A sweet little dove was added as a symbol of their new life together, wishing them a very SPECIAL lifetime together filled with peace and love!"

What a gorgeous romantic and elegant keepsake that Sharon has created here, absolutely perfect for our November challenge!  Let's take a closer look at all the fabulous details from the pretty beads right down to that inspirational dove.

Sharon, thank you so much for having accepted our invitation

and for sharing with us this incredibly beautiful mixed media canvas!

We hope that you will all take inspiration from Sharon and play along

with our November SPECIAL & OUR QUOTE challenge!

Link up your project in our sidebar by November 30th.