Briana Johnson Inspired by Jenni Bowlin

Kudos to Doris for coming up with the best blog assignment EVER . . . to make something inspired by Jenni Bowlin! I was so excited to do this! I really took my time and enjoyed looking through Jenni's blog and all of her project kits and posts here on the inspiration blog. She's amazing! I know, we all know, right? : ) Jenni has been one of my absolute most favorite designers for as long as I can remember! When I think of "Jenni Style" I think of a strong design but never heavy looking, confidence in white space, little vintage details, and a bit of shine or sparkle whether it be German foil trim or glitter.

The above layout was inspired by her in many ways. The main way is the patchwork area on the right. It was inspired by this project of Jenni's:

From this post, from August 2010, on her blog. I used a 1" square punch and did the exact same thing but in different proportions. I've always loved the way she cuts up vintage labels and uses them as support in her design, not using the entire piece. Amazing attention to detail, perfect example.

 

So the yellow banner paper on my layout was actually an accident. I intended to do more of a cream on cream look and use the other side but I dropped the paper and it landed on the yellow side and a light went on in my mind. I really thought that brought the attention on and grounded the page well. I try to remind myself that it's okay to use a color not found in the photos at all because it allows the colors that are found in the photo to contrast and stand out against the paper. And since yellow and purple are complementary it worked out well.

Another way this page was inspired by Jenni was the color combo of red and lavender. You can see her page here. So I added just a few hints of red for my third color. The Cabbage Flower (damask) stamp is one of my all time fave stamps so I used it here to create my own patterned paper with Jenni's new Lavender Sachet Ink (thank you, Jenni, for Lavender Sachet, I am IN LOVE). I tried to embrace some white space like Jenni does, and like the picture frame above, with the thick cream border all the way around the page.

The last way I used a Jenni touch on my page was the placement of the star. I got that idea from her page posted here. See all that lovely white space? My chipboard star is covered in vintage cigar box trim.

 

I painted one of the cream doilies with a Lavender Sachet paint dabber. I've really enjoyed having the matching paint and ink (mist too if you want to make it from the re-inker). I layered the doily with a vintage rhinestone button, one of Jenni's chipboard milk cap buttons, a punched and glittered flower shape, then the star.

I had a great time with this! Can you tell? I love this page and I plan to hang it up in my house in a 12 x 12 shadow box frame.  Thanks for stopping in today!

Products used:
Chipboard Stars, Large, 4", and Mini
Mini Papers: Be Our Guest, Trendy (not available but the red pattern in Be Our Guest would work as well)
Cabbage Flower (Damask) Stamp
Ruler Border Stamp
Speckled Egg and Lavender Sachet Ink

Lavender Sachet Paint Dabber

Cream Doilies
Mercantile Exclusive Black Damask Paper
Core'dinations Cardstock: Grandma's Rocker Crosshatch (back side) and Row of Cherries 
Printed Tickets: Punctuation, Name, Baby Girl
Blue Label Stickers
German Foil Medallions Borders in Silver

Banner/Alphabet Stickers Playdate

Chipboard Buttons - Milk Caps

Mini Bingo Cards 

Other vintage items used: cigar box trim, advertising label, dictionary paper, sheet music, heart charm, and vintage buttons