Enchanted Garden painting | StencilGirl

 

Hi everyone!

Popping in today to share my latest project for the StencilGirl® Creative Team. For today's project I was tasked with the theme "Pastiche". If you haven't been following the team projects that have come before me, then you may not be familiar with the term? Simply put, a pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, or music that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche celebrates, rather than mocks, the work it imitates.

I began by choosing the work of an artist whose work I find not only beautiful, but also incredibly inspiring. Being Australian, I couldn't go past picking a fellow Aussie, so the artist I chose was Clair Bremner. Clair creates paintings that are inspired by nature, and she uses an amazing combination of both colour and form to translate the things she sees into stunning works of art. I had long wanted to try working in Clair's style, so this provided me the perfect opportunity.

Here's a sample of Clair's work from her online gallery so you can see her style...

I chose this example of Clair's work, as I decided to use a similar colour palette and materials. I chose watercolour paper for my substrate (A3 size), and like Clair, I worked with acrylics.

Here's my piece, I entitled "Enchanted Garden"...

 I used a combination of brayer, silicone spatula, and brush to apply my base colours to the page. I worked in a random fashion, but unlike Clair's piece, I left some white space as I like the balance between busy and clean. 

With the base colours down on the page, it was then time to begin building the layers. The fist stencil I chose was Bouquet Greenery by Wendy Brightbill. This 9x12" stencil features large leafy branches, which I thought would work for trees in the scale I was working in. I used Naples Yellow paint from Monte Marte to provide a contrast to the background colours, and applied the paint using a stippling technique with a brush.

Next, I moved onto some Dusky Pink paint and the Playful Petals stencil designed by Jennifer Evans. I masked off a small section of the stencil and used the same stippling technique to add some groups of petals that I thought would make great bushes. 

At this point I felt my painting needed a little more "light", so I chose white paint for my next layer. The stencil I used was June Pfaff Daly's Inspired by Frida stencil. Once again, I masked off a small section of the stencil, this time a leafy branch, and used it to add some branches into my layers, making sure to overlap them with other portions of my design to help add depth to the piece. 

While I was using the white paint, I also added some sweet little fern branches in the foreground using the Maidenhair Fern stencil by Rae Missigman. I adore the whimsical style of the fern branches on this stencil, and thought it was perfect as part of my tribute to Clair's work. 

The final stencil I used was the super cute Daisies 6 by Terri Stegmiller. In order to be able to be very controlled with my placement, I masked off a single daisy and used Marine (a very dark blue) to add a few flowers around the page. (Because this stencil design was a little more delicate, I simply painted through the stencil with a small flat brush rather than stippled with the larger brush.)

Once all the painted layers were in place, I used a black Sharpie, white Sharpie and a Stabilo All pencil to add the finishing touches to my page. This was simply a case of adding a combination of small mark and lines over the top of the paint. (Make sure the paint is totally dry before doing this, or you will completely ruin the tip of your pens!)

I am so happy with how this piece turned out, and I really hope I did justice to Clair's amazing style. You can view more of Clair's work on her website: http://www.clairbremnerart.com/

If you would like to watch me create this painting, I have a video of my process available:

Thanks so much for stopping by today so I could share this with you. Until next time, happy creating! X

Buzz Off | Kitaholic Kits February 2021

 

Hi friends, today I am sharing the second of my February projects created for Kitaholic Kits. For this layout, I was drawn to use the beautiful floral print paper from Crate Paper and decided to combine it with some of the subscriber exclusive floral printables and paints from the January kit. I love being able to mix items across kits, and it certainly helps you to get the most out of them. 

As you can see, I decided to make my cat Genghis the star of the show for this page. (I knew this photo of him would make it onto a page one day when I took it! haha) I was inspired to choose this photo by one of the items from the Jen Hadfield ephemera pack  - the bee hive! When I saw the bee hive and the little bees, the phrase 'buzz off" came to mind and I thought of this picture instantly.

I began my page with a couple of the Kaisercraft acrylic paints from the January mixed media add-on kit. I wanted to try and match one of the tones of the flowers from the floral paper, so I mixed the Mango and Dusky Pink together until I had the shade I was after. I then used my wide #4 brush to dry brush some paint across my cardstock, which was cut down to 11x11" and mounted onto the floral paper. (I had already cut the centre from the patterned paper so that I could use some of it on the rest of the page.)

Once the paint was dry, I added some paper layers using a mix of papers from the kit and a paper doily from my stash. I cut a long banner shape from the floral print paper and ran it horizontally across the page where I was planning to place the photo. This would help draw the viewer's eye to the photo. I added texture to the page by distressing the paper edges using my distress tool and by using frayed gauze under my photo.

For my embellishments, I began with the bee hive from the Jen Hadfield ephemera pack as it was going to be my "hero" embellishment. I placed it down in the bottom right corner of my photo and began building my cluster from there. I added a mix of fussy cut flowers from the December subscriber exclusive printables. I used foam tape between some of my floral layers for dimension and added one of the sweet little die cut bees as well. 

I created a second embellishment cluster along the left edge of my photo, using the same elements as I had for the first. Then balanced my page my creating a smaller third cluster above my photo. This gave me the "visual triangle" I was looking for. Then it was simply a matter of my final finishing touches.

I used some of the American Crafts Thickers for the kit to create my title. (I was very excited to use up two Z's and two F's in the one title!) From the Heidi Swapp sticker book I included the this is my happy place sticker, and also a circular label that I used for my journalling. A few stamped phrases and the date,a few black splatters and I was done! 

If you would like to see exactly how this all came together (and listen to me waffling on), you can watch me create this page in my process video here: 

Thanks so much for stopping by so I could share this with you. Until next time, happy scrapping! X

3 Guest Designer Layouts | Uniquely Creative Kit Club

Hi everyone!

I was thrilled to be asked to join Uniquely Creative Kit Club as a guest designer again this month using the fabulous 'Pen and Ink' Creative Kit.

I created 3 layouts with the kit, which are all featured in the Creative Kit magazine; but I also wanted to share them all here so everyone can see what I created with this awesome kit. (If you would like to see a video of all the kit contents and some of the amazing creations from the team you can view it HERE)

Here is my first layout, which used the large laser cut butterfly from the kit as a feature...

I also used Kaisercraft patterned papers, stickers, stencil and background stamp; inks; gold pearl bling; gold metallic thread; and a gorgeous gold ampersand paper clip.

Here are some close ups...

For my second layout I was inclined to create something feminine that featured some of the gorgeous floral elements from the kit...

I included some subtle mixed media on my background using some of the watercolour pans that were included in the kit, and I also added some watercolour to the butterflies. The remaining elements were all from the Kaisercraft papers, die cut collectibles pack, and sticker sheet.

Here's a closer look...

For my final layout, I wanted to create a page that provided a good contrast to the previous two (to demonstrate the versatility of the kit); so I opted for a masculine layout with a more structured design.

I used a sheet of Kraft cardstock as my base, then some of the Kaisercraft papers, die cut collectables and stickers; along with wooden scrabble letters and mini hinges. I also used one of the watercolour pans to add some subtle splatters to my background.

Here's a closer look...

If you haven't checked out the Uniquely Creative Kits before, I highly recommend you do. They are so thoughtfully put together and full of products, and of course, great value! (Subscribers get kits even cheaper!) Head over to the Uniquely Creative website HERE and have a look around. 

Until next time, happy scrapping! X

'Summer Splash' layouts & cards | Uniquely Creative Kit Club

Hi everyone!

I was lucky enough to be asked to be a guest designer this month for Uniquely Creative Kit Club. 

For anyone who hasn't heard of Uniquely Creative - they are an Australian company who release very popular Scrapbooking; Cardmaking; and Stamp & Colour kits. They also stock their own label dies and stamp sets. New kits are released monthly and are available on a subscription service (which not only saves $'s, but also ensures you never miss out!); or kits can be purchased individually from the Uniquely Creative store. 

I worked with the November 'Summer Splash' Creative Kit as well as the two add-on dies. When I first opened the kit, I really didn't know where to start. It was so jam-packed with product including cardstock; papers; stickers; a stencil; inks; a word die; washi tapes; and plenty of extra embellishments and textural elements.

I couldn't resist all the gorgeous textures or the inks and stencil in the box; so I started by creating a mixed media page. I had a pile of photos of my kids taken at the local pool that were yet to be documented, so this kit was perfect for those.

"Soak up the Sunshine" 

Here's a closer look at some of the awesome textures I had to work with...

For the second of my pages, I decided to go with something more paper-based, so I could make good use of some of the fun patterned papers, as well as the collectables and stickers.

"Surf's Up"

Here's a closer look at some of the fun details on my page...

In addition to the layouts I created, I also made a couple of cards. Again, I decided to split the style of these cards. Opting to complete one in a mixed media style, whilst the other was a more simple paper-based one.

"You Always Brighten My Day" card

Here's a closer look at some of the layered textures on the card...

"Wish You Were Here" card

Here's a closer look at the dimension on the card...

Thanks for stopping by today so I could share these projects with you. 

If you haven't been over and visited the Uniquely Creative shop yet, click HERE and see the range of kits and products available. (There is currently a 20% off Christmas kit sale, but you will have to be quick before stock runs out.)

Until next time, happy scrapping! X