'Arty' isn't something Nic Howard normally would consider her style but she took on the arty challenge like a trooper. Nic mentions she perused several blogs and galleries before finding inspiration from a Jill Geraghty-Groves layout, and it was all go from there.
Nic used a sheet of Aussie Scrap Source basic kraft cardstock as her base, spraying a random pattern with Coffee Shop Glimmer Mist.
She then used some corrugated cardboard packaging as a base for her photo, adding colour and interest with Wheatfields glimmer mist and a light layer of white acrylic paint. Grungeboard numbers, swirls and hinges were also treated with several layers of different coloured glimmer mist before being layered onto the layout. Queen & Co mini sprinkle brads were used to hold the 'hinges' in place, and the layout was finished with a title cut from white Aussie Scrap Source cardstock.
Starting with a mid-sized canvas, Nic painted a randomly textured background layer using Polished Pigments and set it aside to dry. She printed her photo onto calico which gave a soft and textured appearance and layered it over Glimmermist covered tulle and other sheer fabrics also sprayed with Glimmermist.
She applied blended colours of polished pigments mixed with acrylic medium to Grungeboard elements and letters, and also to a Jenny Bowling chipboard heart. The beauty of using the Polished Pigments on the Grungeboard is how the texture becomes glimmery and highlighted.
Depending on how you mix the pigments into the medium also determines it's finished texture - for example, Nic kept it smooth for the embossed Grungeboard, but allowed the pigment to remain lumpy for the Jenny Bowlin heart giving it a gravel like rich texture.
Nic added other letters and elements from BasicGrey's Eva and Urban Prairie ranges, felt ribbon from Queen and Co, ribbon from SEI, and embroidered fabric pre-coloured by painting with polished pigments.
Suggesting the arty challenge was perfect for Steph, because she wanted to create something whimsical, feminine and pretty for her studio wall. Steph started with a old book cover and painted it randomly with LuminArte Twinkling H2O's. She then got an hymn sheet and sprayed it with a fine water mist, which she then crumbled up. This technique gave the hymn sheet a old worn look, which Steph wanted to achieve for this project.
Next she grabbed some tissue paper that you can get from any newsagent and traced around two glasses - one medium and one small. After cutting around the circles, she crumbled them and placed the small circles on top of the large. They were sewn together with a button. Steph then used the Glimmermist to colour her roses. She used glimmer Mist on the owl Glimmer Chip and added accents with Heidi Swapp Chandelier Jewels and Hambly Transparencies.
Some more art for the self-confessed art-challenged, Suz has created this layout using plenty of techniques, but she admits she's used them sparingly. This layout combines a clean, linear style with the fun of playing and getting messy. The cardstock is a Scenic Route plain white with blue checks background paper, which Suz has altered using Patina and Gold Glimmer Mists over a beautiful flourish Glimmer Screen.
BasicGrey Chipboard MIni Monograms have been altered in several different ways - first Suz applied Pink Paislee Pixee Stix glitters in gold and green. Some letters she left just like that, on others she has sprinkled Inque Boutique's Silver Pearl embossing powder over the top. In some spots this has melted both the embossing powder and the glitter, creating gorgeous colours and textures. She has inked the edges of each letter for more definition.
