Graphic 45 Summer Collections Reveal

If you are looking for the August Coloring Project, please click HERE.

Good day Graphic 45 Fans! I am sharing two of the NEWEST collections, just released this week and available for purchase in September, Life's a Journey and Dreamland. Both of these collections are AMAZING!

Life's a Journey is a wonderful travel-style collection with lovely sentiments and the most eye-catching colors of any G45 collection to date! (At least I think so!) I cannot wait to mix and match this one to make a mini album!

Dreamland is a sweet and whimsical collection perfect for baby albums, children's page layouts, and more. Where the older Mother Goose collection was filled with bright, primary colors, Dreamland has a deep blue and orange color scheme, and is simply magical.

Let's get started with the show! First up, the project I made with Life's a Journey!

When I saw the colors in the NEW Life’s a Journey paper collection, I actually squealed a very girlish squeal! That eye-popping purple with aqua blue?! So pretty!

This collection is what I think is Graphic 45’s “perfect wheelhouse,” with vintage images, travel themes, lovely dresses and hats, and interesting text selections. But, to add this bold color palette takes the paper to a whole new level! 

We only had limited sheets of paper to use for projects, which always happens with a brand new release that has not hit the stores yet! I wanted to create something to celebrate how lovely this paper is, so I created an 8” x 8” card folio. I love the large canvas, but it is not as much work as a page layout or a mini album, nor does this style project take quite as much paper! This size is perfect for special occasions and gift giving.

I used a lot of the vivid prints found in the collection, while also adding some of the black and ivory prints for contrast. (I honestly had a rough time mailing this project to the G45 office for display! I love it so much!)

Tip: Use the Graphic 45 Artist Trading Tags as embellishments on your projects!

I used three of the tags to give the card some extra layers and visual interest. Cut out your paper scraps with the ATC Tag Die so that they fit the tags exactly. You can also add some layering by smudging all the papers with ink! I used Decades Purple Royalty ink for this project.

I used my signature style of combining flowers with metal. I always love how that looks! 

Tip: You can use metal embellishments and the paper to create your own custom embellishments.

Select one of the Antique Brass Metal Door Plates and add the little brads to the four corners. Orient the door plate as shown above. Trim a word strip from the paper. 

Glue the word strip to the door plate as shown.

Attach the metal plate to the project with a strong glue. I normally use a thick and sticky white glue for this step.

Adding flowers and other metal embellishments, such as the gears I used here, gives the metal plate a unique look.

I added other metal embellishments and flowers to another area of the project to give a visual triangle. The Antique Brass Antique Metal Keys are a great addition, giving this project a slightly “steampunk-y” vibe!

The inside of this card has a place for a photo or journaling, plus a pocket for a square tag!

Various sized squares make a lovely frame for this photo matt/journaling block! (I am still over the moon in love with the purple and aqua!)

The large cut-apart images (and ephemera cards) are the perfect size to use for creating a pocket! You can tuck a tag, gift card, photo, or a message into this pocket.

My favorite G45 tag is the Square Tag! There is just something about this chubby tag that I adore! The Square Tag Die makes it super easy to cover your tags with pretty paper! One of the small cut-aparts added to the tag makes a great tuck spot. (Doesn’t that striped paper make you want to sing?!!?)

The reverse side of the tag has a great place to add a square photo!

I hope you are as excited as I am for this new collection! Now, let's have a peek at what I made with the Dreamland Collection!

I always love to see the new collections from G45, but when I got a chance for an early, sneak peek of the NEW Dreamland Collection, it was like my birthday and Christmas all in one! I only had a brief idea of what the new collections were going to be when asked to make something to be displayed at the summer shows and events. When I saw Dreamland I was bowled over by how lovely it is!

Dreamland is filled with whimsical images that remind me of the poem “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod” by Eugene Field. The colors of this collection are deep and rich...just my style!

I decided to make an 8” x 8” card with these papers so that I would have a nice canvas size to showcase the sweet images! This card size is perfect for big events such as a baby shower, christening, or a special birthday celebration. There is lots of space inside to write messages and add photos.

I wanted the cut-apart images to be the main focus for this card, but I could not resist adding some metal trinkets and flowers. I wanted to bring out the deep blue, orange, and gold of the paper by adding some die cut shapes and flowers.

Tip: The Ornate Metal Corners are the perfect embellishment for this vintage-inspired card. Use a strong glue to attach the metal to your project. I use a very thick and sticky white glue for all my heavy embellishments.

The die cut moon shape is “holding” a lovely bouquet of flowers and other embellishments. 

Tip: To add interest and contrast to the larger flowers from the Graphic 45 Rose Bouquet Collections, tuck in smaller buds and metal trinkets. The Graphic 45 Matte Pearl Gems are such a nice addition to flower clusters. They have the look of metal without the extra weight. 

I thought the Antique Brass Metal Clock Key was a wonderful addition to this “sleepy time” paper collection. One of my favorite techniques is to add flowers to metal embellishments. The juxtaposition of the hard and soft is always pleasing to me!

Tip: To add interest to your papers, try distressing them with ink. Rubbing a bit of ink around the edges of the paper gives it a more vintage look and helps tie the various colors and prints together.

I used Bon Voyage ink around all the edges of this project. Using a soft brush, I rubbed the ink in a circular motion around the edge of the papers. You can also use a sponge dauber, but I find that you get a lighter, softer layer of ink with the brush.

The inside of this card is as full of wonder as the front!

I fussy cut the main image from the Signature Sheet and added it to the inside of the card. Isn’t that image just delightful?!

The bottom of the inside has space for a photo and some journaling. Or, you could use removable adhesive to add a gift card to the smaller white rectangle and use the larger rectangle for adding messages and greetings!

Thanks for looking! I hope you are excited about these new collections, and that your creative wheels are turning! I will have more projects using these papers in the months to come! 

For those of you who also like to see older collections, and mix-mash-ups of collections, please take a peek at my newest mini album project HERE, using four G45 collections, one new and three old! 

Graphic 45 Supplies Used for the Life's a Journey Card:
Life's a Journey 12x12 Paper Collection
Clearsnap Decades Dye Pad - Purple Royalty
Artist Trading Tags - Black
Square Tags - Black
Antique Brass Metal Door Plates and Knobs
Antique Brass Ornate Metal Keys
Rose Bouquet Collection - French Lilac and Purple Royalty
Large Tag, ATC Tag, and Flower Dies
Square Tag and Clock Dies

Other Supplies Used:
Black Cardstock
Natural Cardstock
Royal Purple Cardstock
Paper flowers and buds
Metal charms
Various square dies
Various adhesives
Chipboard scraps

Graphic 45 Supplies Used for the Dreamland Card:
Dreamland 12x12 Paper Collection
Clearsnap Decades Dye Pad - Bon Voyage
Clearsnap Decades Dye Pad - Venetian Lace
Ornate Metal Corners
Antique Brass Metal Clock Keys
Antique Brass Stamped Metal Brads
Rose Bouquet Collection Precious Pink
Rose Bouquet Collection Bon Voyage and French Blue
Matte Pearl Gems

Other Supplies Used:
Flag Blue Cardstock
Natural Cardstock
Gold Ore Metallic Cardstock
Paper flowers and buds
Metal charm
Starry Wreath Die
Crescent Moon and Stars Die
Stitched Wonky Rectangle Die
Various adhesives
Chipboard scraps