Brave Heart | Colour Blast

Hi everyone!

Sue Plumb here to share my latest Colour Blast design team project with you. Today I have a mixed media scrapbook layout to share, but I decided to mix it up a bit by creating an A4 sized page. I don't often create in this size, but as the photo I chose to work with was only 3x4", I thought it would work better on a smaller scale page. (And I must say, I liked the change!)

This page was actually inspired by the quote I used. It was one I found in a magazine quite a while ago, and I had cut it out and filed it away; but this week it really spoke to me so I wanted to create a piece using it.

I began my page by creating my background. I had an A4 sized sheet of cardstock, which I primed with White Heavy Gesso (I used an old gift card to get thin, even coverage); then once it had dried I started adding some colour. I used Steel Colour Shimmer Spray, which I applied simply by adding a couple of sprays very close to the surface (so it would pool rather than fan out). I then spread the colour using a wide brush.

Once the spray had dried, I then added some further colour to define my focal areas using Colour Artist Inks. The colours I chose were Barley; Rust and Soot as they worked perfectly with the small amount of colour shown in my photo.

To apply the inks, I sprayed a small amount of water first to wet the surface, before adding a few drops of Barley with a brush. I then added a little more water with my brush, which allowed me to move the colour around my page. I then used a heat gun to dry it before repeating the process with the Rust ink, which I also dried with a heat gun.

The next step was to add some depth and interest to my background by stamping with some of my favourite mark making stamps from Plate #1495 from Viva Las VegaStamps and Staz On ink.

Then, to add further depth and some texture to my page, I grabbed my Bling Colour Paste and a thin palette knife and spread small amounts randomly around my page.

I then used Soot Colour Artist Ink and a small, stiff brush to add some black splatters. (This ink makes the perfect splatters!)

Now it was time to add some focal images. In keeping with the steampunk style colour scheme I had used, and also because of the key word strength in my quote; I chose some images of the Viva Las VegaStamps Water Pipe Shutoff stamp that I had previously stamped onto tissue paper. (I used a small amount of matte medium to apply them, but you could even use a simple glue stick.)

I also added a couple of layers behind where my photo was going to go. I used a piece that I cut from white cardstock using a heart wreath die from Uniquely Creative; along with some frayed gauze for texture before mounting my photo on top.

After my photo was in place, I added a cute wood veneer frame from D-lish Scraps over the top.

I then added my quote, along with a wood veneer arrow from Cocoa Vanilla Studio.

Next, I added my Brave Heart title down in the bottom right corner of my page. This was also a Viva Las VegaStamps image that I had already stamped onto tissue paper using the Brave Heart stamp.

Finally, to tie in the heart theme and also to add some more dimension to my page; I added a handmade Charms Creations DIY heart embellishment with another wood veneer arrow mounted on top of it.

I am really happy how this one came together, and so pleased I was able to use the quote I had saved. (I knew one day it would speak to me!)

Here's a final look at some of the colours and textures on my page (look at that Bling Colour Paste shine!)

I will be back in a couple of weeks with another project to share. Until then, happy scrapping! X