Over the weekend, I had the privilege of taking a class with Vicky Alberto.  She is such a talented designer and a great instructor as well.  I had a great time and learned several little tips that will help making my layouts go a little smoother!  You can see Vicky's beautiful work on her blog Simply Paper (And Creativity).

Vicky had us lift a layout of hers, and showed us how to make lovely little roses.  (They were quick and easy.)  If you go to her blog, she has several flower tutorials, that are all so pretty.

This is Vicky's layout that we lifted.

I followed Vicky's layout pretty closely, just changed the flower embellishments slightly.  The picture is of my beautiful great niece Aveda.

I made this embellishment from a button that was in Aveda's great-great-grandmother's button jar.  I tucked a little doily from Close to my Heart, behind it.

This is the little flower Vicky showed us how to make.

One thing I changed from Vicky's layout, was the photo mat.  Instead of painting the matting white, I chose to go with a darker mat (I thought it looked better with the picture I chose) and then I sanded off bits of the paper to lighten it.

It was a great class and was hosted by our LSS Paper and Lace.  Vicky is coming back June 16th to teach another layout using Pion paper.  She will also be teaching us another flower tutorial.  If you live near Strathmore, AB, I would strongly encourage you to register with Pam Malone from Paper and Lace.  It's a chance to learn from one of the best in the industry!