Coordinates Collections: Friday's Fab Find & Fun with Accents

Friday is finally here. After a long weekend, it sure did take some time to arrive! I went on a gallery hunt for this week's Friday's Fab Find and selected an "oldie but goodie" layout from LeahC. Be sure to check her gallery out because it's stunning and filled with creative ideas! Here's one that really stands out for me — maybe because we're having a tough winter here in NY and I crave hot cocoa just about every day!

First off, the photo alone is a work of art. I love the focal point in contrast to the yellows and oranges of the background. And I'm always a fan of clustering embellishments (I never seem to pull it off too well myself, so I'll be taking some cues from Leah!). And you gotta love the distressing of the paper edge and folding of the journaling spot. Nice work Leah!

So last week I spent two days at a crop. I especially love winter crops. It's a great way to get out of the house yet still feel cozy and relaxed somewhere (which makes CC's end-of-month crop even better — no need to venture out in bad weather!). I got lots done — even finished my 2008 Christmas pics! Here's a glimpse of what I accomplished.

One of the things that I had fun with at my crop was taking the time to make some custom-made accents. So let me share my ideas!

First up -- distressing circle accents. Using a distressing wheel tool (I think I got mine from CC years ago!), I went along the edges of both circles here and roughed them up (a scissors would do the trick, too). I then added a pop dot and some Ranger Stickles to create dimension.

Next up is some fun with fiber (remember that?!), Prima pearls (one of my fave CC products), and my Cricut. I made a tree with a shadow on the Cricut and then wrapped around fiber as garland and added the pearls as a finishing touch. I think this was my favorite creation from the weekend.

Finally — glimmer list. I sprayed this pretty close to my tag because I wanted the red clumps to show up. I also added more Ranger Stickles to my snowflakes.

Be sure to share your own custom-made accents over in the Coordinates Collections Tutorial forum!