Princess Panorama

My baby girl is 5 & for her Birthday, we "unbabyfied" her room. The baby quilt came down & up went a butterfly net (bought 3 years ago at a consignment sale, just waiting for her to be old enough not to tear it down first chance she got) & a "princess panorama." When I saw Stampin' Up!'s new "Build a Fairy-tale" die cuts & decor elements, I was thrilled because I knew they'd be perfect for that big empty wall!

Luckily, her Birthday came just as I got all my new goodies from the new catalog & I could at least promise her I'd make a special picture for her. So here it is--a week later! I don't think I've ever been this obessed with a project--yesterday I forgot to eat (or shower)! I grabbed chips on the way out for afternoon carpool. At least I remembered to put my youngest in the car. Today I framed it & added the decor elements around it.

We found a frame that fits essentially three 12" x 12" scrapbook layouts perfectly. I used the new Sale-a-Bration paper for the background. Then along the borders, I used the new Eyelet Border punch. Then I went to town creating a scene with the Build a Fairy Tale die cuts. I still have lots left over, believe it or not! I can use those for scrapbook albums.

For added texture, I sponged the edges of everything in ink if I could. I also added glitter here & there--I'm loving all the new colors! For some centers of the flowers, I sprinkled glitter on a mini-glue dot. If I used a die cut circle for a flower center, then I covered it with a dot of Crystal Effects for a glass look. Check out the adorable little birds on the tree branch--love them! My daughter took another one (for "safe-keeping" she said).

Figuring out how to configure the castle was a little challenging because the die cuts don't come with a sample, so you just have to play. In this middle part, my favorite details are the half-back pearl from the Pretties Kit at the princess' neck & the Sale-a-Bration Saffron grosgrain "yellow brick road" leading to the castle over hill & dale.

There was a huge space above the carriage perfect for some kind of title, so I came up with this--probably saw it on a stamp somewhere--lol! I tried to make it look like a banner waving. If you don't have something to cut curves, you could make a template & use a hobby knife. The "I" & "Y" letters were stamped with the Lovely Letters set in Versamark. Then I used Heat & Stick Powder to make the Chocolate Glitter stick to them. They are matted on a tag from the new SU! die "Lots of Tags"--kind of look like little mirrors, don't they? The pink letters are from the Naturally Serif sizzlit die.

My favorite details here are the little mice peeking up at the carriage with their tails curling around the border. I wasn't going to add them because I didn't think I had room but my daughter really wanted them. So, that caused me to be creative & tuck them into the border. I'm also digging the gold glitter on the carriage--it looks really pretty on the chocolate! (My daughter wanted me to "do something with the carriage" too--she's a muse, I tell you.)

But what I love most is while she was watching me, she was making up stories about the characters--like the Princess is on her way to get married to the Prince Knight. She always puts our family into her stories too. I get to be the pink fairy--I can live with that :-)

Princess Panorama