Aussie Scrap Source

mixed media techniques: paint techniques

 

Iris created this wonderful piece of art from a block of 6x6” wood!  (and some fabulous techniques and beautiful embellishments.. )  Read on to learn about her process.

 

 

Iris has been playing with paints and inks for a while now, and she believes that a good project will always start with a good base. If you want to make sure that your mediums will blend nicely on your surface then you have to make sure that you prime your surface to get it ready for all the materials you will load it up with as you build your project. For this piece, Iris used a 6 x 6 block of wood. It was very rough so she used a thick coat of white gesso to prime it. She layered the gesso using a palette knife making sure to get a good coverage but not exactly aiming for a smooth finish. She likes to leave scrape marks here and there for texture.

 

As soon as the gesso has fully dried, Iris then applied several coats of Tattered Angels glimmer mists. She sprayed the mists close to the wood to get a nice saturation of colour on specific areas. She then allowed each colour to dry before adding more. This way, you will see different layers of colours and you will avoid getting a muddy colour which sometimes happens when two or more colours of ink blend in.

 

Next comes the texture. Iris simply mixed three types of mediums to get a varied texture throughout the surface of the wood. She used a palette knife and the Crafter’s Workshop Punchinella template to apply the mediums.  Let the mediums dry completely before moving on to the next step.

 

This is a result of combing several colours of Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze over a chipboard piece that was texturized with gesso.

 

Iris used the Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam here for a touch of colour and fine glitter.

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Paint is like a magic ingredient for mixed media, with a wide variety of types, densities and colours to choose from. Whether it is a touch of watercolour paint or layers of heavy-bodied acrylic, paint can add depth and interest to a project. As for paint techniques, the sky is the limit - so to speak - but there are certainly a few methods that can give you a great starting point!

 

For this small piece, Danielle layered a variety of paint styles on an Art-C Canvas Blank. The first step was to cover the background with a variety of marks in a couple of colours. Stippling and sponge brushes, both coarse and fine, were used to add colour in layers, allowing the acrylic paint to quickly dry in between. A thin layer of tissue was also added at one point to create extra texture.

 

With the top layer of paint, the sponge brush was twisted as the paint was applied to the canvas, creating a swirly circle each time. The colours also blended together with this effect, which can be quite fun!

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Janine explored a lot of different techniques with Paint Daubers in this layout to create a fun mixed media page that pops with delicate colours from the Crate Paper Little BoPeep range of papers.

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mixed media: shapes - reader’s challenge

We thank Robyn Wood for sending us images of this wonderfully original canvas. Congrats Robyn – you win this weeks prize pack!

 

Robyn shares a lot of details about her process too which is fantastic. She writes: For this piece I used a Crafters Workshop stencil (mini pomegranates) to provide the ‘shapes’. Here is a little more detail:

· The base is a 7” x 5” flat canvas which was covered with tiny pieces of ripped dictionary paper. Once dry this was painted with a wash of pale blue/aqua/white acrylic paints.

· The stencil was placed on one side of the canvas and spritzed with marmalade glimmer mist – I towelled it off a touch to lighten the colour.

· Each of the ‘pods’ was outlined & embellished with a white Molotov marker.

· Extra dimension (and ‘shape’) was added with a Tim Holtz chicken wire stamp.

· My ‘She Art’ girl was paper pieced using Bo Bunny papers – the butterflies on her skirt tie in nicely with the stamped butterflies & tissue tape.

· A couple of Tim Holtz Papillion butterflies were stamped & coloured & bent a little so that their wings are sticking up.

 

 

Chantelle Huizenga sent us this beautiful layout this week.  She writes:  I’ve included shapes into my page by using punches and die-cuts which include: circle punch EK Success, My Minds Eye banner die-cut, MS doily punch, MS butterfly punch and also CW stencil mini harlequin with texture paste.

 

 

We thank Faygie Fellig for this eye catching layout with super creative layering and textures.

 

 

Finally, Rebecca Cameron sent us this wonderfully soft page. She writes:  As you can see Louise Nelson has inspired the ink circle around the photo. The line of torn squares was inspired by a Sabrina Ward Harrison artwork.

Such wonderful work ladies – thank you.

scrapbooking the highs and the lows: janine koczwara

 

Janine had this family photo taken the day of her Father-in-laws funeral and she wanted to scrap it in memory of her family on that sad occasion. She tried to use embellishments as a form of symbolism on this page, the clock to represent time, the bird to represent spirit, set off by the subtle palette of the Prima Tea Thyme collection to reflect the mood of the day, but still adding lots of beautiful floral details to celebrate the life of a man that loved to garden and share that love of nature and the outdoors with his grandchildren. 

 

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When scrapping the "good" moment of her year, Janine felt it was more a combination of smaller moments that she wanted to take time to be grateful for.  She recorded the many smaller things on her journalling card, to remind her of those events.  Janine really let the Websters Pages "Girl-land" paper lead her in the design of this LO with many hand cut pieces from the paper layered together to create this design.

 

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weekend inspiration: jillibean soup

 

Jillibean Soup is a definite favourite brand of Kim's.  She was on the DT during 2010/2011 and continues to love the bright colours and funky embellishments that are always part of Jillibean Soup releases.  Kim has used the masculine range of Macho Nacho Soup to make this wonderful layout about how proud she is of her husband's recent achievements.

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Leeann adores Jillibean Soup products and always looks forward to creating with them. Leeann has mixed up a few of the paper collections and has made great use of all the fabulous embellishments they continue to bring out. Which also add pops of colour.

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Leeann didn’t stop there and decided to whip up a card from the jillibean soup leftovers. Once again the embellishments like buttons and label stickers add the final details to any project!

 

 

We have a few projects created by the ever so talented Mel Blackburn who also happens to be a design team member for Jillibean soup. We adore all the details and layers Mel adds to her pages and cards. As you can see Mel has created with the Macho Nacho collection. She has added a few girly touches to a more boyish paper collection. Just goes to show how versatile a paper collection can be. Thank you so much for letting us share some of your totally fabulous work!

mixed media techniques: shapes

This week we’re looking at ways of incorporating shapes into your mixed media projects and scrapbook layouts – from diecuts and punched shapes to epoxy and Art Parts. 

Check out the inspiration provided by our fabulous design team below and then, send us images of your own projects inspired by repetitive or scene-building shapes.   Please try and use Aussie Scrap Source brands where you can – we’ve got amazing Sizzix and Memory Box dies, EK Success and Martha Stewart punches and lots more. 

In return we've got a prize pack to give away - if you want to give it a try we’d love to showcase them in a blog post next week.

Email pics of your textural techniques to [email protected] by next Tuesday 28th August for a chance to win one of our fabulous prize packs!

 

 

 

For the shapes mixed media challenge brief Louise got to create with the versatile Epiphany range of products; and it is these she has taken her direct inspiration from. Louise chose to use one of the range of self adhesive buttons. The round buttons coordinated perfectly with one of her favourite Crafters Workshop templates.

 

Louise took direct inspiration from the shape of these Epiphany buttons and used the circle design to inspire through the whole creative process of her layout.

 

Using gesso in a mist bottle Louise first sprayed a combination of funky circle patterns on to her background.

 

Then using The Crafters Workshop circle explosion template and Tattered Angels chalk Chalkboard glimmer mist, Louise created an 'explosion' of circles over the top of the funky gesso circle pattern.

 

This is how the background looked after drying. It is just the perfect complement to the Epiphany button embellishments.

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For the Shape challenge Chris has used Studio 490 Art Parts.  Art Parts are thick, durable paper board surfaces designed exclusively for altering.  They are sturdier than other thinner chipboard and will not bend or warp.  Chris embossed some of the Art Parts with American Crafts Zing Gold embossing powder with a glitter finish.  She also used Strano Ribbon Stiff to adhere some scrunched up 7Gypsies tissue paper to the house shapes.  Chris created the background by stamping different shaped background stamps with black Stazon and then blended Ranger distress inks over the patterns.

 

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Kim has used a simple circle punch to create the textured background on this 8x8 inch mixed media canvass.  After punching the circles Kim has inked the edges and then randomly glued them to the background.  Once all of the circles were attached, Kim has placed some stars punched from offcuts of cardstock onto the background and then misted the entire background with a copper mist, creating a subtle star design in the background.

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According to wikipedia, mixed media, in visual art, refers to an artwork in the making of which, more than one medium has been employed.  Most commonly, art using a combination of paint, ink and collage techniques, are referred to as mixed media.  Sue Tonga does not consider herself a mixed media artist but she does like to include different mediums in her scrapbooking layouts.  Sue has created this stunning layered page, true to her signature style, incorporating patterned papers, hessian, tulle, stitching, sequins and beads. 

To create the main part of the layout, Sue cut a piece of paper 6 inches x 12 inches and used a die-cutting machine and a heart die to cut negative space in an even pattern, across the length of the paper.  Next, Sue adhered a piece of hessian to a piece of cardstock (the same size as the patterned paper) and then adhered the die-cut paper over the top.  Sue then added lots of stitching, sequins and beads to create a visually stunning feature.  To fit with the mixed media theme, Sue chose scrapbooking embellishments that were made from a variety of mediums.  For example, Sue used Hambly transparency to create a photo mat, a metal Prima trinket and a stunning beaded and sequined bird vine from Prima. 

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mixed media: texture - reader’s challenge

We thank our readers who have sent in a heap of wonderful projects to inspire us all this week. Congratulations to Belinda Spencer who will receive a prize pack for this stunningly textured mini album..

 

Belinda Spencer shares this stunning mini album.  She writes: 

Here's my entry for your Creating Texture challenge.

1. I applied torn pieces of book paper with PVA glue to the cover. I sanded all around the edges and inked with Antique Linen Distress Ink.
2. Next I applied acrylic paint in a few places and then stamped into it with a damask rubber stamp.
3. Once that was dry, I applied gesso randomly across the surface varying the thickness. I blasted it with a heat gun to get a lovely bubbling effect.
4. Next I sprayed on some Suede Glimmer Mist and dried with the heat gun.
5. I swiped a Walnut Stain Distress Ink inkpad across the surface to accentuate the texture.
6. Lastly, I added all embellishments.

 

 

‘Inchies’ are a great way to add texture and detail.   Dale Tiernan writes of this colourful card: The textural elements are the squares that the letter stickers are on.

 

 

Jenni Kylmakoski sent in this amazing triptych.  She writes:  This time I tried to get rid of old chipboard letters. I used them to make a background. I painted with gesso all over the canvas and then sprayed with Dylusions. With gesso, the effect of the colour is smoother, otherwise (lower right ) it is darker and you get nicer effect. I utilised back ink to get contrast to lower left canvas.

 

 

We loved Peg Hewitt’s layout as well. She writes:  I love adding texture and a bit of mixed media to my pages. Your post on this inspired me to go and play :-)  For this page I stitched fabric to the backing card then painted gesso over a stencil. Once dry I added some spray mists to highlight the pattern and blend in the photos.

 

 

Rebecca Cameron gives us lots to look at in this clever page.  She writes:  Currently I have been experimenting a lot with creating backgrounds so I have plenty of bits of paper lying around. On this layout I have ripped up sheets of paper that I had applied texture paste to through masks. I also pressed the excess texture paste onto paper so I had a negative image of the mask. Texture was also added using snowflakes cut out of paper, paint that was layered and lots of mists including white ink spritz from a mister.

 

 

We thank Sharmaine Kruijver for this super texture-filled tag.  She wrote:  I’ve used a few layers of book paper on top of the tag. I’ve then misted and painted the paper.
I’ve also added some texture to the chipboard using texture paste and layers of paint.
Finally I’ve added texture to the tag with a painted paper doily, which I stapled on to the tag.

 

 

And finally this really pretty canvas from Wendy Antenucci who writes:  Here is a canvas I created using something new for me - wire!  I used molding paste, inks, stamps, and sprays to create my background.  Here is a blog post I created with more pictures and instructions.

scrapbooking the highs and the lows: suzanne tonga

 

 

 

Life is full of happy moments but some of the happiest memories Sue has are from when her nieces and nephews were born (and of course Sue’s own children).  Sue says that being an Aunty is such a privilege and it is a role that brings her much joy.  So with that in mind, Sue created a page using the Crate Paper Little Boy Blue collection, to celebrate the birth of her nephew Iziah.  Just looking at this picture, Sue feels happy!  Her title ‘bliss’, says it all!  Sue created a little vellum envelope, into which she has journalled about how she felt when Iziah was born.  Although She doesn’t journal on all her pages, she does feel that it important at times to record those memories and feelings before they are forgotten.

 

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2012 has been a challenging year for Sue Tonga and her family.  To be honest, Sue says, at times they have really struggled to see the light.  Sue has used some of the gorgeous MME Indie Chic collection to document some of the things that have happened, including her husband’s recent spinal surgery.

Although times have been difficult, Sue has felt overwhelmed by the love and support of her family and friends and has chosen to title her layout, ‘grateful’.  Sue’s journaling is fairly private so she has typed it onto a manila tag and tucked it into a pocket on her page.  Although Sue isn’t one to usually scrap the hard times, sometimes it can be therapeutic to put these things on record.

 

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weekend inspiration: jenni bowlin studio

 

Lou Nelson has backed cardstock with a generic dress pattern tissue for this layout, and then used a heap of the new Jenni Bowlin products to turn out this stunning layout.  She loves the new colours in the Daubers and ink pads and being able to alter the Alphas to work perfectly with her colour scheme.

 

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Chris used the Home Sweet Home paper in the Be Our Guest range to decorate the fabulous chalkboard easels by Jenni Bowlin.  This range of papers has given the chalkboard a real country kitchen feel and Chris thinks it will be perfect to keep in her kitchen for keep track of grocery items that are running low.  Chris used 2 pieces of the Home Sweet Home paper so that she could cut out some smaller pieces of the house and glue them down with 3D tape to give the house some depth.  She covered the chipboard flags in pattern paper and used them as a sun-ray effect behind the house image.

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Chris created a square of 9 1" circles for the background of this card and then layered the gorgeous Jenni Bowlin flower and butterfly embellishments onto the circles.

 

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We thank Helen Tilbury for this beautiful layout.  We love the layering of the Magpie patterned papers and the photos and the interest that the die-cut Bank Statement cardstock provides. 

 

 

The above wonderful JBS creations come from one of the fabulous JBS design team members; Corrie Jones. Corrie has created these using the latest releases from Jenni Bowlin Studios, including the Wren patterned paper range and new Kraft Tags.

 

 

 

These super-arty creations come from one of the JBS design team members; Dina Wakley.  Dina has used the Silhouette rubons and Jenni Bowlin stamps in these pieces as well as the new art mediums including the Dye Ink Pads and the Paint Dabbers.  They are just fabulous!

 

 

We thank JBS design team members Leah Farquharson for the above projects. Leah has created these using the latest releases from Jenni Bowlin Studios including Wren patterned papers and the new paper feathers.

weekend inspiration: echo park papers

 

 

Iris always turns to Echo Park papers when she wants to do a project that is on the whimsical side. The sticker elements are perfect for adding bits and pieces of details. To create this page, she used a card stock with a resist pattern on it and sprayed light green and pink colors of glimmer mist. She then used pan pastels to shade and add more color to certain areas. The layering of papers, stickers, and buttons come in easy and quickly sets off the page.

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Janine loved playing with this bright and colourful Echo Park line, Hello Summer.  She loved the large floral sheet that gave some wonderful flowers for hand cutting and the matching papers in the line were so bold it really gave her page punch.  She mixed this with some dashes of masking with Glimmer Mist for a fun and slightly arty page.

 

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Sharon Thomson has created this stunning page using Echo Park Sweet Day Collection of papers.  She has combined masking and misting on this layout for a fabulous arty effect. Thanks so much for sharing this LO with us Sharryn.

 

 

Thank you so much for sharing this gorgeous layout with us Luz Maria Bruna.  Luzma (as she is known online) created this stunning page using the Echo Park Hello Summer Collection.  She has perfectly captured this fun summertime photo on this layout.

 

 

Pia Lopez is part of a dynamic husband and wife team. Her husband Jeff is a hobbyist turned pro photographer who takes amazing pictures of their children, and Pia turns these into gorgeous scrapbook pages. In this layout for her daughter Erin, Pia created  different pinwheels and arranged them in a chipboard flourish to make it look like flowers in a stem/branch. According to Pia, Pinwheels are easy to make embellishments to add depth to your layouts.

mixed media series: creating texture

At its most basic level, any time you layer products on a project, you are creating texture.  But real textural backgrounds or projects are the ones you want to run your hands over as well as your eyes, where the feel of the project is as much a part of the experience as the visual one.

We invite you to be inspired by our design team and their projects below and try some new textural techniques for yourself – on cards, layouts, canvas or whever!  In return we've got a prize pack to give away - if you want to give it a try we’d love to showcase them in a blog post next week. 

Email pics of your textural techniques to [email protected] by next Tuesday 21st August for a chance to win one of our fabulous prize packs!

 

 

Jill van Iperen creates breathtaking canvases using wonderful layers of mixed media.  See the process below she uses to create the above beauty. 

 

Creating texture is simply a matter of creating many layers.  Experiment with your stash of products: trying tearing your papers, adding some journaling blocks, some flowers and perhaps try adding some fabric and ribbon.

Jill works through multiple layers and then covers them all with a selection of paints, inks and gesso.

 

Once the background paint is dry, Jill adds colour to her artwork.  Colour helps to highlight the many layers on your creation.  By adding some microbeads, glitter or even sand, subtle textures can be created highlighting the subject of your creation. 

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Jane says that creates this fun textured background is very a quick and easy to do, it’s also a great way to use your Washi tapes. Any embossing folder will do but the more intricate the design the more difficult it will be to see when the texture paste is applied, so the larger designs works best.  As always, the best advice is to just experiment and have fun!

 

Cover the front of a card with a collection of Washi tapes in random patterns, lengths and directions.

 

Trim away the Washi tape from around the edges and emboss the piece with an embossing folder.

 

Swipe texture paste over the piece using a small spatula and let it dry. If any tapes start to roll up or move just push them back down with your finger.

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Finally, Suz Doyle has created an array of texture in this mixed media canvas, from the chipboard ‘window’ she has covered in texture paste and ink, to the gorgeous Memory Box dies that form part of the background.  She has used Carta Bella “Beautiful Moments” 6x6 papers to create the base and built upon these with layers of gesso, ink, masks, stamps, glitter and more to create the finished look.  The beauty of this kind of technique is that you really don’t have be scared of going ‘wrong’ – if you don’t like something, just paint over it!

 

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mixed media resist techniques - readers challenge

Thanks to everyone who sent in amazing projects for this mixed media resist challenge.  Congratulations this week to Chantelle Huizenga who shared with us this delicate but perfectly defined resist images on her layout!

 

We loved Chantelle Huizenga’s layout which showcases the wet embossed resist technique perfectly. She wrote: I’ve created this LO and used the emboss resist technique – I’ve used white embossing powder. Once the image was heat set, I’ve misted over it with October Afternoon mist and then also stamped a script stamp with ink.

 

 

Belinda Spencer sent us images of these two breathtaking projects.  She writes:  Please find attached my two projects using the crayon resist technique. This is a favourite technique of mine as it is so cheap and easy and gives a fantastic result.

 

 

Jodie King sent us these beautiful tags.  She writes:  These are a couple of tags I made recently.  First  I stamped using a background stamp with off-white paint as the base layer, then applied some Distress Inks (the paint resists the ink) before stamping with Stazon and adding a few other elements to finish

 

Sharmaine Kruijver writes:  Attached is a tag I made using the clear embossing technique.  Love that you are doing the mixed media blog posts and encouraging people to try new things.

scrapbooking the highs and the lows: danielle quarmby

 

 

Light, sunshine and clouds are themes Danielle loves to use and here she has combined them in a layout about her daughter. To create the background, strips of My Mind's Eye paper have been scattered across another paper - also from their Nostalgia range - and painted over to create an interesting background. Glimmer glaze was used to add a leaf design, and Prima embellishments give a vibrant finishing touch.

 

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When it comes to hard times or challenges in life, Danielle usually just gets through them and moves on, constantly focusing on something else. That said, she does feel that there can be value in exploring such lows and the emotions that arise, as it can be helpful to understanding ourselves, which is generally a good thing!

It surprised Danielle how easily this layout poured out, and she loved using the Heidi Swapp FotoStack Openable Staggered Paper Album for ample journaling space - most of it hidden from sight.

 

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weekend inspiration: studio calico

 

Studio Calico's Take Note collection just felt to Danielle like a fresh Spring rain, and she loved following the theme on her layout of her children's grandparents. Raindrop shapes have been cut of patterned paper, Huey's Colour Mists used to add layers of colour and elements from the journaling spots layered around the page.

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The Studio Calico Take Note range is just one of those lines which works perfectly for almost any themed page you can imagine, with a colour palette that works for masculine and feminine pages and designs that allow your photos and journalling to be the heroes.  Here Suz created a page celebrating lots of the little things she wants to remember about her son, right now.

 

 

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We loved the gorgeous tiny details within the simplicty of this layout using the Heyday range by Studio Calico design team member April Foster.

 

 

Amy Tsuruta has kindly shared these two gorgeous cards that she created using the Studio Calico Take Note and Heyday ranges.

 

Finally, Monika from Cracow in Poland has shared this fantastic mini album that she created using Studio Calico's Heyday line.

weekend inspiration: the crafter’s workshop

 

ris Uy utilized stencils from The Crafters Workshop to create an artsy textured background for this page. She loves using white cardstocks with The Crafter's Workshop stencils because it really allows her to play and experiment with her art mediums.

 

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Here is another example of how Iris uses The Crafter's Workshop stencils to create highly textured details and effects on her projects. She layered over a mixture of gesso and glass bead gels over the stencil. After it dried, she then colored it with pigment powders and pan pastels.

 

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Louise N is a big fan of creating her own layout backgrounds, and as such just loves The Crafters Workshop templates! Especially those designed by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. This poppy design by Julie is just wonderful and quirky enough to suit Louise's creative style. Louise has used gesso to create a resist image on her background and then has highlighted it with the use of Tattered Angels Chalkboard glimmer mists.

 

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A big thank you to Gina Rodgers for allowing us to share her wonderful creativity using The Crafters Workshop templates!  We love how she has distressed the look of the stencils rather than use them as solid shapes – in the top layout Gina has used the Wonky Circles template, and the page directly above showcases the gorgeous Herringbone.

 

 

Nenette Samson Madero is a very talented crafter who turned to TCW stencils to create this stunning trio canvas frame dedicated to her three children. She layered layers upon layers of colours, textures, collage materials, patterned papers. Each layer blends together beautifully through her clever use of colour. Thank you Nette for this wonderful inspirational piece of art!

mixed media series: resist techniques

We’ve had such a positive response to this new mixed media series, we thought we’d turn it into a readers challenge!    Our design team has included some stunning projects below using several different resist techniques – there's heaps of different ways you can use resist techniques in your projects from wax crayons to clear embossing areas of your page, and even tie dying as Leeann shows below.

We've got prize packs to give away - if you want to give it a try we’d love to showcase them in a blog post next week.  Email pics of your resist technique project to [email protected] by next Tuesday 14th August for a chance to win one of our fabulous prize packs!

 

 

For Leeann mixed media is made up of so many amazing layers using so many techniques at the same time. One technique that Leeann shares with you from this piece is Resist! Which when you think about it, there are so many ways in which you can use this technique. Leeann shares an old favourite tie dying using coloured dye sprays on fabric.

As you can see the first part of this artsy piece is all about making up that first layer. From there we continue to build each of the layers up using an assortment of paint, printed tissue paper, decoupage mediums. To help create texture an assortment of sponges, stippling brushes, bubble wrap and masks are used also in a layering type fashion. The finishing details are using black and white pens to highlight images and words along with using rub-ons very randomly.

 

Leeann want to show you how she created her first layer. Using this tie dying technique. Immediately  you can see how the resist works. Simply by scrunching and tiring the fabric  with hair ties it has restricted  areas of the fabric from the dye thus acting as a resist.

Using SEI orange tumble dye on a damp piece of calico.

Leeann added a small amount of SEI green tumble dye by simply twisting areas of the fabric and then sprayed.

 

The end result and the base for Leeann's artsy piece of she art!

 

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Janine had so much fun with this Mixed Media page. You can see her process below.

 

First she layered lots of scrap paper and then a layer of gesso.  Once that had dried she then used the negative from a butterfly die she had cut out and pressed on tinted embossing pad.

 

Then she covered it with white embossing powder and heat set. This gives a beautiful glossy embossed image on the page.

 

This acted as a resist for the layers of paint and Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist she applied afterwards. Here you can see the pink paint already down as well as the wet Aquamarine glimmer Mist, it looks like it is bleeding into the embossed area at this point.

 

You just had to press a damp cloth over the embossed area after each colour application to ensure that the resist effect came through. As you can see here the mist is still wet, but once dry you still have the embossed butterfly showing through very clearly.  Try and only wipe off over the embossed area as you will take off a bit of the mist off the rest of the design if you wipe too vigorously past the edges as the gesso underneath is also a partial resist to Glimmer Mist.

 

Janine then went on to add some texture paste through a Crafter Workshop template and add more colour over the top.  Finally she added another layer of embossed masking right on top using a Prima brick mask.

 

 

 

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Can you remember this technique from school? It was fun then and it can be just as much fun now :)
For this layout Louise has drawn simple heart shapes with a white wax crayon on a white background. To highlight this resist pattern she has sprayed Tattered Angels Chalkboard Glimmer Mist over the hearts, due to the waxy surface the mist is resisted.

Louise has also been using this technique in a recent Tattered Angels Design Team blog post here.

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Finally, a heads up for the mixed media challenge next week – it’s all about Texture.  Get your stash together – techniques we’re looking at include dry embossing, texture paste, modelling clay, molds, beads, glitter.. the possibilities are endless!

scrapbooking the highs and the lows: lou nelson

 

Louise doesn’t use a lot of title work and journaling on her layouts. More often than not she will use an incomplete title and allow the photo and/or embellishments to complete it for her. For this particular layout Louise has hidden the remainder of her title, and journaling, on a hidden journal tag, that can be seen in the close up photo.

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Louise often uses elements of her layout design to help portray the memory/moment or the emotion.
She usually creates in a grungy and sometimes darker style, however for this brief she wanted to challenge herself to go a little more mainstream with her product selection, and to keep it a little lighter in tone.

Whilst Louise still hasn't journalled on the layout she has used design elements to portray her 'message'. She has cut out the roses from the patterned paper to fit in with her title. The paper choice and colours whilst light and colourful, are contrasted with a black ink circle/halo on layout background, that has been allowed to dribble down. Having this in the background is how Louise is conveying that despite the cheerful colours there is  a darker emotion being felt; this has been coordinated with having a black and white photo, that depicts Louise 'taking time out'.

Whilst journaling of a particular low or down time is helpful to many, and or confiding in others, it isn't something Louise feels compelled to do. Louise uses the process of creating as a means to help get past it so to speak.  Louise appreciates she may well regret not journaling these moments, memories of the tuff times, she readily admits that it is something she finds hard to do!

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weekend inspiration: prima

 

Kim is a big fan of words and phrases on her scrapbooking layouts and so the Doodle Deux range by Prima was just perfect as it papers and embellishments include a selection of phrases just perfect for scrapbooking "relationship" pages. The phrases on the background paper in this layout provided all the journaling Kim needed for this gorgeous family photo by Janine Kaye.

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Prima’s beautiful products makes it ridiculously easy to make a beautiful page in no time.  Here Suz used the Fairy Belle range, including the lush trims and gorgeous art tiles to create this soft and pretty page.

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Steph Devlin has kindly shared a number of beautiful layouts that she has made using Prima products. Steph is a member of the Prima Design Team. 

 

 

Janine Koczwara created this LO using the Prima MeadowLark collection and the Felt Flowers.  She concentrated on the purple to complement the photo of her daughter, showing how you can select a colour from a paper range and use only papers or portions of the papers containing that colour to create a dynamic LO.

weekend inspiration: tim holtz

 

 

Jill loved the Tim Holtz Ideaology - Kraft Resist Paper Stash - Christmas papers so much that she want wanted them to feature in a painting.  She loved how the resist showed subtly through the paint.  Jill also incorporated the Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Destinations Salvage Stickers into the painting.

 

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Sue loved the Tim Holtz District Market Butterfly Burlap Panel.  It took her a while to work out what she wanted to do with it.  Eventually she decided to add layers directly onto the canvas, thereby creating a piece of wall art.  Sue has used distress markers to add a little colour to the butterflies and has also stitched sequins and beads to the images. Sue also used the Hanging Sign and Tattered Florals Tim Holtz Sizzix dies to create some of her embellishments.

 

 

 

 

Sue loved the Tim Holtz District Market Butterfly Burlap Panel.  It took her a while to work out what she wanted to do with it.  Eventually she decided to add layers directly onto the canvas, thereby creating a piece of wall art.  Sue has used distress markers to add a little colour to the butterflies and has also stitched sequins and beads to the images. Sue also used the Hanging Sign and Tattered Florals Tim Holtz Sizzix dies to create some of her embellishments.

 

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Joy Taylor has used the Tim Holtz Papillon stamps, along with a combination of distress inks and crackle paint to create this beautiful tag.  Thank you Joy for sharing your tag with us. 

mixed media series: finishes/patinas

Welcome to a new series our design team is preparing based on many of the marvellous mixed media products and techniques that are so much fun to play around with.  Each week we’ll bring you a new technique and lots of different examples from our design team to get your creative mixed media juices flowing!

This week we’re focusing on background textures and patinas.

 

 

In her wanderings around the internet, Suz came upon a brilliant and simple crackle glaze technique that doesn’t require any fancy materials.  Start by either painting a base layer on your surface with acrylic paint.  (Alternatively you can skip this step and use coloured cardstock, a strongly patterned paper– or as Suz has used here, one of the American Crafts glitter paper sheets for some extra sparkle!)

 

Cover with a thickish layer of white craft glue, and brush all over your page.

                

Straight away, before the glue dries, paint over the glue with a different coloured acrylic paint. With some crackle processes you have to be careful to not work the paint too much, paint in the wrong direction or other fussy things – the only thing you have to watch here is just to paint with a light brush so that you don’t disturb or blend the paint in with the glue layer as you apply the paint.

 

Leave to dry or speed up the with a heat gun or hairdryer, and watch as the cracks appear and the base colour pops through!

 

Suz then distressed the paint finish a little further and added subtle smudges of colour with Distress Inks.  She punched a mixture of lilac and pink-toned hydrangeas and added to the depth of tones with Glimmer Mist. 

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Louise Nelson used one of her favourite techniques with gesso to create this layout background. Louise applied the watered down gesso with a mist bottle and allowed it to dribble down the layout. Louise then over sprayed with Tattered Angels Chalkboard glimmer mist.

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Louise also enjoyed creating this 'embossed' like effect with the gesso and masks. She first applied gesso over the Studio Calico mask to create a bubble pattern. She then used a foam roller to apply another layer of gesso over this masked pattern. The application of Tattered Angels chalkboard glimmer mist adds subtle highlight and colour to this pattern.

 

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Danielle used a variety of woodgrain patterned papers to create a warm patina tinted with pink. Basic pva craft glue was swiped down the background paper to add a slight gloss finish in some areas, and October Afternoon Sprinkles spray inks add tints to the woodgrain. Glimmer Glam contributes glittery highlights, and woodgrain alphabets have also been used to follow the theme through.

 

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