Too Glam - art journal page | Colour Blast

Hi everyone!

Today I am here to share my latest Colour Blast design team project with you. This fun, colourful art journal spread that I created in my altered book journal was inspired by summer; and features Colour Artist Inks, Colour Pastes and a Colour Shimmer Brush Marker.

Here's a look at the entire spread...

And now for my process...

I began by priming my page using White Heavy Gesso. I used an old gift card to spread it to ensure a thin, even coat. I didn't want it too thick, as I still wanted some of the text to be visible.

Next, I began adding colour to my pages using Colour Artist Inks. I chose Berry, Bordeaux, and Slipper as my colour palette - all shades of pink / purple. I used a small, round brush to apply the ink, starting with Berry around the outer edge, then moving to the lighter Bordeaux inside it.

I then dried the two colours off with a heat gun before going in with the Slipper ink to add some extra colour along the very outer edge and in a few spots over the top of the Berry ink. 

Once all the inks were dry, it was time to add some features and dimension to my page. I used the 'Dream of Palms' stencil from StencilGirl; which I paired with Deep Water Colour Paste. I applied a thin layer of paste through the stencil in the top right corner of my page, before flipping the stencil over and applying more paste on the left side. 

I then moved onto adding the focal point for my page. I cut out a flamingo from a printed paper napkin and adhered it onto the page using a gel matte medium. I also tore up some other pieces featuring flowers and leaves and collaged them onto the page as well. The quote was cut from an Everyday Etc card from Flutterby Designs, and I thought it was a perfect sentiment to use for a flamingo! 

To add a little extra texture and colour I then swiped some Lovely Lilac Colour Paste over a few random areas of my page with a narrow palette knife.

Next, I wanted to add some contrast and a little extra sparkle, so I used a Gold Colour Shimmer Brush Marker to add some highlights through the branches of the palm trees and on top of some of the collaged pieces. Sometimes it's hard to capture just how gorgeous the sparkle is in photos (especially when you are taking shots and the sun won't come out to help you!)

I decided my focal image needed a little something extra to help it pop and stand out from the page, so I used my Stabilo All pencil to add some shadowing to the outline. Once I had drawn it in, I blended it out with a water brush.

To finish off my page I decided to add some splatter using Cider Colour Artist Ink. I simply dipped a small, stiff bristle brush into the bottle and then tapped the ink off around the page.

You can see how the Cider ink brought extra warmth to the page and helped to tie in the gold from the Colour Shimmer Brush Brush Marker...

Here's a closer look at the finished page, so you can better see the colours and texture...

I love all the layers at play here...

That's all from me today. I hope I have inspired you to pull out some supplies and do some post-Christmas crafting.

Until next time, happy creating!

Stamped Bookmarks and Notebook | Viva Las VegaStamps

Hi everyone!

Popping in today share a Viva Las VegaStamps design team project with you. As we head into Christmas, I thought it would be a good time to share a couple of simple appreciation gift ideas with you. There are always people in our lives that deserve a small token of our thanks - whether that be teachers, neighbours, friends, the mailman, or even the staff at the local store. So I decided to whip up some simple bookmarks and notebooks featuring some of my fave Banksy stamps to give out.

For the notebook, I started with a plain, kraft cover notebook (purchased from Kmart). I used Dina Wakley acrylic paints, applied with a brayer and layered randomly to add some colour. I then took the recently released Victorian Flower Background and used it to stamp a border around 3 sides of the cover.

Next, I chose the fabulous Banksy Wall Singer for my feature image on the cover, before I also stamped the Banksy Life is Beautiful as the accompanying text. I love how it turned out! I paired it with a pen before wrapping it up.

After I created the notebook, I decided to re-visit a project I have created previously and shared here - bookmarks. (You can find my original watercolour bookmark post HERE) This time however, I wanted to use a more minimalist style to showcase some cool Banksy stamps. 

I started by cutting some smooth white cardstock into strips measuring 2x8.5". I then stamped a focal Banksy image onto each one, and an accompanying quote as well. 

Here is a list of all the stamps I used on the bookmarks (as shown from left to right above):

- Banksy Man on Bicycle and You Only Live Once

- Banksy Frida Kahlo and Banksy Just Because

- Banksy Spray Can Cop and The Unicorns Made Me

- Banksy Einstein Protestor and Banksy Love is the Answer

- Banksy Girl Floating with Balloons and She Was a Dreamer

- Banksy Ladder Painter and Banksy Life is Beautiful

- Banksy Gas Mask Flower Girl and Where is My Mind?

- Banksy Child Sitting and I Hope You Know

- Banksy Swing Girl and She Spread Her Wings

I also stamped the back of each bookmark with the Banksy stamp.

Once they were all stamped, I used Faber-Castell gelatos to add a splash of colour to each one. I wanted to keep them minimal, so I only used a single colour on each one and left the focal images uncoloured.

I then took all the bookmarks and laminated them, trimming off the excess laminate with a trimmer.

I then punched a hole into each bookmark and added a variety of twine, tassels and a metal charm to decorate them.

  

I am so happy with how these turned out and cannot wait to gift them to their new owners! Thanks so much for stopping by so I could share this with you. I hope I have inspired you to create some special handmade appreciation gifts for the people in your lives too.
Until next time, happy scrapping! X

VLVS stamps used:

- Victorian Flower Background

- Banksy Wall Singer 

- Banksy Life is Beautiful

- Banksy Man on Bicycle 

- You Only Live Once

- Banksy Frida Kahlo 

- Banksy Just Because

- Banksy Spray Can Cop 

- The Unicorns Made Me

- Banksy Einstein Protestor 

- Banksy Love is the Answer

- Banksy Girl Floating with Balloons 

- She Was a Dreamer

- Banksy Ladder Painter

- Banksy Gas Mask Flower Girl 

- Where is My Mind?

- Banksy Child Sitting 

- I Hope You Know

- Banksy Swing Girl 

- She Spread Her Wings

- Banksy

Story of Us | Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi everyone!

Time again share another design team project with you. Today I am sharing a layout I created for Cocoa Vanilla Studio using the beautiful 'Midnight' collection; and just as its name suggests, I chose to work with the gorgeous deep midnight blue as my primary colour for this page.

I started my page with a sheet of 'Bloom & Grow' paper, which I cut down to measure approximately 9x12" and then added a strip of the 'Inky Depths' paper down the left side. I love the contrast of the block colour against the stripes, and the dark shades of these papers so much!

Next, I created a layered mat for my photo using pieces of the 'Inky Depths'; 'Inspired'; and 'Mixed Blessing' papers, which I layered with a paper doily as well. 

I then built a large floral cluster to the right of my photo using pieces from the die cut ephemera pack. I used foam tape to pop some of the flowers up and bent up the edges of them, and the leaves, from the page.

To the left of my photo I added a few more die cut flowers, again using foam tape to create dimension; before adding the every moment matters flair button on top.

Along the bottom edge of my photo I added the here + now quote that was cut from the 'All the Things' paper. For my page title, I used words from the die cut title pack. I used a double layer of foam tape to pop them up to the same height of the photo so they didn't get lost on the background.

To give the page a little more dimension I added few hearts from the chipboard accents pack, and I also added the sweet little tab with hearts which I tucked in behind the top edge of my photo.

To finish off my page I added a couple of small stickers from the accessory sticker sheet where my papers joined at the top of my page. I used a small banner and layered a small tab over the top of it.

That's all from me today, thanks for stopping by. 

The 'Midnight' collection is now available in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio store, along with some recently released page kits and some super specials from the Black Friday Sale. (But hurry, before they are all gone!)
Until next time, happy scrapping! X

Together | Colour Blast

Hi everyone!

Popping in with a recent Colour Blast design team project to share. Today I have a 12x12" mixed media scrapbook layout that features Colour Spray, Colour Artist Inks and Colour Paste. It also features a photo of one of my most special scrappy friends, Anthea, and I that was taken at a scrap retreat earlier this year.

To start my page, I applied 'Indigo' Colour Spray to my cardstock using a wide brush. (I chose indigo as my base colour because it matched the highlights in my hair.) 

I then mixed some white acrylic paint with a few drops of both 'Lime' and 'Grass' Colour Artist Inks, using an old ice cream container lid as my palette.

Once the paint was tinted, I used a brayer to apply it to my page over the top of the Colour Spray I had brushed on.

Next, I added some more colour, by dripping some 'Lime' Colour Artist Ink directly onto my page using the dropper from the bottle, before tilting my page around to help the ink run. 

Once I had dried the paint and ink, I added some stamping over the top using the 'Lilies' stamp from Viva Las VegaStamps and some StazOn ink.

Then it was time to add some texture and a bit more colour. I used 'Just Blue' Colour Paste, which I applied with a palette knife through a floral stencil before drying it off with a heat gun.

 With my background layers in place, I then added my papery layers using patterned papers from the 'Bohemian Dream' and 'You Rock' collections by Cocoa Vanilla Studio; and also some frayed gauze before adding my photo on top.

I also added some gorgeous floral cut files from Cut to You (which I had Gwen cut for me as it was far easier than dragging out my own Silhouette! haha) I chose not to back them, and left them white to contrast against all the colour I had already used in the background. I also bent them up from the page in places, which only added to the dimension of my layout. 

I complimented the floral theme I already had going on in my background by adding some paper flowers and leaves (all from D-lish Scraps). It's been a long time since I used flowers on a page, so it was nice to use up some supplies that had been sitting around gathering dust.

I also used up some old wood veneer pieces and phrase strips from Cocoa Vanilla Studio, as well as my cardstock title that I added directly onto the bottom edge of my photo.

I then reached for my 'Soot' Colour Artist Ink and a fine brush to add some splatters to my page.

The final step was to use my 'Clear' Colour Shimmer Brush Marker to add some subtle sparkle to the paper flowers and leaves and also to the tips of some of the cut files. 

It was hard to capture the delicious sparkle, but I did my best!

If you would like to see exactly how this layout all came together, I have a process video available on my YouTube channel here:

(If you do pop over to watch and you like what you see, please give me a thumbs up and subscribe!)

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Until next time, happy scrapping! X

Us Together | Flutterby Designs

Hi everyone!

Today I have a mixed media scrapbook layout to share that was created for Flutterby Designs featuring the new 'We Are' collection and Flutter Colour paints. It also features a fun (part) family snap I took a few months ago...we are so not normal! haha

I started my page with white cardstock and Flutter Colour paints in Cotton Candy Pink, Tangerine Orange, and Yellow Zest. I thinned these down slightly and used a brush to create a rough painted background, blending the colours as I went. I then used Arctic White and applied it with a brayer to the focal area of my page to strip the colour back a bit. 

After I had the paint down, I used the 'Happily Ever After' stencil with some acrylic modelling paste, then dried it off with a heat gun. 

I then cut some pieces from some of the 'We Are' Everyday Etc filler cards and layered them together to form a mat for my photo, along with some small torn pieces of washi tape from my stash.

Once I had the paper pieces in place, I used the 'XO' stencil (unfortunately, no longer available);grey StazOn ink and a dauber to apply some XOs to several areas of my page. (You could use any small pattern stencil for this, it was simply to bring a little darkness into the page.)

I then added a paper doily and some frayed gauze to my paper layers before adding my photo on top.

Tucked in around the top right corner of my photo I added a manila luggage tag tied with twine; the this is us page tab; and the large heart I had fussy cut from one of the 'We Are' Everyday Etc cards. The die cut word together that I added onto my photo came from the 'We Are' Die Cut Bits & Bobs pack.

Below my photo I added the normal family quote I had also fussy cut from another of the Everyday Etc cards; along with the yellow heart sticker from the 'We Are' Sticky Quotes sheet; and the small LOL sticker from the white Tiny Sticky Quotes sheet.

To the left of my photo I created another cluster using a Charms Creations DIY heart, topped off with the family fun flair button from the 'We Are' flair buttons set #1 and another Tiny Sticky Quote.

I finished off my page with a splattering of Colour Blast 'Soot' Colour Artist Ink and some stamped phrases using a Typo roller stamp.

Thanks for stopping by today so I could share this with you. Don't forget to stop by the Flutterby store to see what's new, including some awesome ideas for Christmas gifts! Check them out HERE

Until next time, happy scrapping! X

Merry Christmas | Scrap the Girls December Challenge

Hi everyone!

Can you believe that Christmas is right around the corner? Where did this year go?? I am here today to share my take on the December challenge for Scrap the Girls, which just happens to be about Christmas. This months mood board is called 'The Christmas Dress' and your challenge is to be inspired by one of the "spectacular" dresses on the board. hehe

I chose the dress featuring gingerbread men and candy canes and used it document some photos of my daughter and her first ever gingerbread house. As I am not a fan of the "traditional" Christmas colour scheme of red and green, I pulled the yellow from the dress for my primary colour, and then threw in some red and lime to give it a bit of a festive feel.

To create my background I started with some Dina Wakley acrylic paints - beginning with Lemon applied with a wide brush (with a little water added to make it more fluid); then some Lime added over the top.

I then took an orange gelato and added some extra colour to the top and bottom corners, as well as adding a scribbled border around my page which I then blended out with a baby wipe to soften it a little. 

Next, I added a little Colour Blast Lime Colour Artist Ink which I added with a small brush then tipped the page up to allow it to run down.

Finally, I added a little white paint with a brayer where my photos were going to go, just to bring back the colour a bit.

Then it was time to start building my layers over the top. I began with some strips of red chevron and heart washi tapes, which were there to represent the candy canes on the dress and the lollies in the photos. I also added a couple of small pieces cut from a Jane Davenport printed napkin that featured a paint palette design on it. 

I then added a piece of spotted tissue paper in my focal area. I love the way tissue paper "melts" into the background, allowing the colours underneath to show through. Next, I added a paint sample card and a paper doily, before using a Prima star stencil and some texture paste to add some subtle dimension. For extra depth, I used the Sky of Stars stamp from Viva Las VegaStamps with some Ranger Archival ink in a few places around the page.

As this month's challenge is being sponsored by our very own Gwen Wruck from Cut to You, Gwen generously supplied our team with some Christmas themed cuts to use on our page. I couldn't go past the cute gingerbread man, tucking him in behind my photos to peek out, just like my daughter was from behind the gingerbread house in the photo. As there was already so much colour on the page, I chose to leave him white to bring some freshness to the page.

I also used some Cut to You stars, also leaving them white; which I adhered with a dab of glue in the centre then bent the points up slightly from the page. 

For my title, I used the merry Christmas words from Cut to You, and painted them with Cider Colour Artist Ink, before sticking them onto the page. (I love the way these look with the ink added and the fact I was able to custom colour them to suit.)

I also added some yellow acrylic pieces from Corbett Creations - a heart, tiny arrow and a couple of chevrons. I think they worked perfectly!

To finish off my page I added a little doodling around the border using a coloured pencil, and the date and my journalling using a felt pen. I felt like the page needed a little bit of sparkle (it was a Christmas page after all); so I added some coloured sequins scattered around.

That's all from me today. I hope you will join in with our challenge this month so you can be in the running to win a prize from Cut to You. Gwen has some amazing designs in her store which you can purchase as digital files (for those with cutting machines), or you can have them cut for you and posted to your door! How awesome is that?!

Check out her shop on her website here: https://createdbygwen.com.au/

Until next time, happy scrapping! X