Hi there crafters! 

Thanks for joining us again today at Couture Creations. 

Today I'm excited to share a layout about my son & I.   This is my current favourite photo of us. 

In just a few days, this handsome young man turns 14.  Hang on...14? 

I'm astounded how quickly the years have gone. It seems like yesterday

I became a mum and held this tiny newborn in my arms for the first time. 

He stole my heart then, and well & truly still has the key to my heart. 

So Happy Birthday my wonderful, crazy, amazing son. 

You inspire me everyday and remind me to focus on the good. 

I love you.  And I love being your Mum. 

So let's get to the making, and get crafting!

To start my layout, I've spritzed a piece of white Core'dinations cardstock with gold.

I've heat embossed my chipboard title using my Couture Creations Heat Tool, and adhered to the bottom left corner of my layout. 

To tie with the gold of my spritz and embossing, I've chosen papers from the Hearts Ease Collection that had fairly neutral patterns.  One of my favourite papers from this range is Pansy Tune .  I love the sheet music in the background.  And it's so versatile! 

I've mounted my edited photo of two Hearts Ease papers and some more white Core'dinations cardstock.  I've inked around the edges of the largest mat with gold ink and adhered to the background cardstock with 12mm Foam Mounting Tape. 

Couture has some gorgeous borders dies, and I particularly love these 2 from the Amaryllis Ornamental Lace Die Collection - Simone's Style.  They remind me of old time Art Deco 

buildings and 1920s decorative features. 

I've cut 2 of the border dies (the bottom of the two pictured) and used them as a border to frame my photo top and bottom.  I've adhered them using 3mm doubled sided tape - it's extra thin so perfect for adhering intricate and tiny cuts. 

I've also added Sparkling Champagne Gemstones along the border.

I love flourishes - and if you die cut your own, you can make them suit what ever colours your project needs!  I've cut 6 of the Tall Flourish from the Secret Garden Intricutz Die range and layered them down the left hand side of my layout.  They are so detailed and intricate & when cut with the 

Quick Release Die Paper, come out perfectly. 

Seeing as I'm adding flowers on the top,  you don't have to be too worried about where the die cuts are placed.  Just play around until you are happy with the flow of the flourishes.  

Couture Creations has brought out so many pretty new flowers this year, I couldn't decide which one to use - so 3 different ones it was!  And to give some sparkle to the flowers I've rubbed Aztec Gold Glitzin' Glamour over the top. 

Once dry, I've adhered the flowers on the left hand side of the photo, on top of the black flourishes. 

To give the flowers some height, I've used 3D Glue spots. 

And we're done! 

Here are some close-ups of the details.