Saturday 6 August 2011

Colour Combos Galore 201 - Shining Star Layout {Bo Bunny Gabrielle} & a Tutorial on how to tackle a Colour Challenge!





***Lots of information here for people not knowing how to go about tackling a colour challenge & how to get their page "pulled together" so feel free to skip all the text if you know it all already & just enjoy the pictures!***

As you know I have my dream job now, designing for Colour Combos Galore!
The first week I was on the Design Team I had already planned a trip to Cape Town to visit my sister so I missed that reveal & since then my posting of my CCG layouts has gone to maggots...I think I have about 4 still outstanding...but fear not...I'm on a catch up!


From July we have Inspiration Board 201 with absolutely beautiful colours.  I personally am not a fan of recipe challenges but the Designer's Challenge is optional in that you can always draw some totally different inspiration from the provided photograph anyway, so, no need to be put off at all if the Designer's challenge doesn't immediately "grab" you.  I have learnt though that actually seeing through on a challenge does make you grow artistically in a way that nothing else can so I stuck with the challenge & you can find all the necessary elements incorporated within my layout.




I was in a flat panic to get this layout in & it's one of my all time faves!  Weird huh?!  I've noticed that some of my favourite layouts are created when time is not on my side. 
 I think it's the spontaneity of it all that does it & gives it an artistic flourish.  

I never work on 2 projects at once, I never leave a layout sitting, I always complete a layout in one "hit" & I never spend longer than 4 hours on it. 

 Too much time & fiddling doesn't necessarily guarantee a fantastic result, hence I don't panic about my Design Team commitments, I just grab some photos & papers & get cracking, and the less I fuss about it the better it turns out :)  



For Colour Combos Galore I try to match my photos to my layout.  
Some may say that that's taking things too far but the results are worth it in my opinion.  
I have an absolute plethora of photographs to choose from & as I print them all myself anyway it's really no big inconvenience or major feat for me to do this.  

When I was young & foolish LOL I used to head for my plain cardstock, choose the correct shades & get going but let's face it that's not that exciting, so now I head straight to my current bin that holds all my products purchased within the last year.  

I keep each manufacturer's paper & flat embellishments in a separate 12" plastic bag, standing upright in a sturdy fabric basket.  If you want to compete in a lot of challenges this is definitely the best working method.  

For the rest of my papers I have 2 custom-built paper racks - one for prints & one for plains - but I still file all according to manufacturer these days & it's the best method for the way I work.  

For older prints (over about 2 years old) I integrate the prints into my PLAIN CARDSTOCK according to the main colour, as I'm not likely to use such old product for a manufacturer challenge anway & this way I get to use up those older prints on challenges such as Colour Combos Galore.

Yup I just showed you 2 photos of the same layout there as I prefer the top one but because it's lightened up you can't see the Bazzill Swiss Dot background that clearly, nor the gauze so it's just for comparison.



I found the newish Gabrielle Line by Bo Bunny had some very "matchy" elements to the combo so {after choosing my backing paper to be the Bazzill Swiss Dot to take care of the POLKA DOT part of the recipe} I cut out the large butterfly & placed it on the background.

I never stick anything down until I have almost everything I am going to add placed on the page in roughly the position I want for my design.

Next I turned my attention to the 3 circles & cut out 2 circles from a Bo Bunny Gabrielle print, and 2 slightly bigger ones from some "Hot Fudge" cardstock.  For the 3rd circle I used an old Urban Lily "I Love You" disc.  I added a couple of pieces of gauze on top of the circles & shifted everything around until I was happy with the placement.



I like my layouts to be "grounded" so I used my giant starburst flower punch to punch out a 12" length running across the whole width of my layout.  As it was very pale I punched a 2nd piece in "Hot Fudge" cardstock & offset that underneath it, being careful to ensure that I started half an inch further along on the punch so as to create a kinda "shadow" effect.  

I layered up some Prima crochet lace on top of the 2 rows of punching, for some added texture & an additional FABRIC element (aswell as the velvet flowers, tulle flower & gauze), as well as some fine aqua lace beneath the punchwork (another FABRIC element).

Then I grabbed some pink Prima & Maya Road flowers, a Bo Bunny butterfly & cameo, a string of pale aqua pearls & a handmade flower & arranged these elements artfully beneath the photos.



I made sure to tuck in a few LEAVES too as that was part of the recipe challenge.



I found the perfect pre-printed vellum title that would work perfectly for my layout so I cut around it & adhered it to the photo & off the edge of it, over the fabric, which is why I needed to place the flowers underneath my title on the right-hand side of it - to keep it all level (as the photo is raised).



For the METAL ingredient on my layout I used a Bo Bunny Gabrielle metal butterfly above my giant one, the Cameo with metal edging, a giant jewel with a metal surround, metal on the butterfly nestled in the flowers and 5 metal-rimmed fancy brads.

Before I begin I open up all my drawers & dig through my stash to find any elements suitable for the "feel" I'm after on my page (here it was pretty/ethereal/romantic) & dump them in a pile at the far side of my desk.  Often I don't use them all so afterwards they go straight back in the container I got them from & clean-up is very quick.  I do it immediately then clean my 2 giant cutting mats with Benzine & I'm good to go again.  

Even if it's the middle of the night & I'm exhausted I never leave my desk in a mess.  My room is just too small & there's nothing more off-putting than opening the door on a mess & nothing more inviting than a sparkly clean counter top just calling out to you to begin a new project LOL!


Before I finally adhered everything I noticed that the "Hot Fudge" colour was not very prevalent in my layout so I stamped some bubble-wrap dots in that colour just beyond where I was planning to place my giant butterfly.  

My final touch was the journaling around the circle & the name & date on the right-hand side.
I hand-journaled directly onto the page without taking a single breathe...seriously...I'm always terrified I'll ruin my page at the last minute, when my layout is 99% done otherwise!

SUPPLIES LIST:-

White cardstock - Bazzill Swiss Dot
Burgandy cardstock - Colourmates
Printed paper - Bo Bunny Gabrielle {Cameo}
Transparency - My Mind's Eye - Tres Jolie "Mademoiselle 'Mother' Frame"
Bubble-wrap stamp - Kaisercraft
Ink - Colorbox - Nightfall line
Metal butterfly, cameo & brad flower centre - Bo Bunny "Gabrielle"
Gauze - Healthease "Plasterman" 100mm x 100mm - 8 ply x 2
Journaling pen - Creative Memories
Vellum title "Shining Star" - stash
Punch - Giant Starbust Flower - Martha Stewart
Crochet lace - Prima
Aqua lace - haberdashery store
Pearl strand - Jessy's RAK
Giant jewel - old necklace
Tulle flower - handmade
Velvet flowers & pink resin flower - Maya Road
Leaves incl. skeleton leaf - LSS
Pink butterfly - LSS
Flowers - Prima & LSS
"I love you" embellishment disc - Urban Lily





21 comments:

Lea said...

Oh wow, this should be a fave of yours!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOOOOOVE it!!!! ...the colors, the butterfly, the embellies, the texture, the detail! It's gorgeous!!!!

Unknown said...

Hi I have just returned from holiday my friend and what amazing things you have made

and WOW what a stunning inspiration
xx carla

Kiki Aposeki said...

every time you leave speechless! Wow your page is so pretty !I admire the way you combine colors! I love flowers and butterfly too! It's all so beautiful! Have a nice Weekend my friend!

Bellaidea said...

GREAT story and lovely layout!
I always enjoy readng your posts!

Alanna said...

Oh wow!! I absolutely love this LO and thanks for all your tips about how you put together the LO. Colour challenges always scare me!

Shayne said...

Stunning. I absolutely love it.

Well done x

Missy Whidden said...

This is GORGEOUS! The giant butterfly...the bubble wrap stamping...the pretty mix of different flowers...it's all stunning! Your posts are always so good & detailed! Thanks for sharing your process :)

Julie Tucker-Wolek said...

You simply AMAZE me! I loveeeeeeee those photos, the title work, the BUTTERFLY and loveeeeeeee all the flowers!! I soooooooo wish I had your talent! :):):):):):):):):):):):)

Diana said...

This is absolutely gorgeous. Your LOs get more and more awesome. The DT thing is really working for you, even if it's stressing you out ;-)
I enjoyed the explanation of your process.
I wish I was disciplined enough to clean and tidy up each time; if I did I'm sure I would scrap more. My mess always puts me off.

Christin aka Umenorskan said...

Lovely layout ! Thanks for your post at WW1, silly me forgot to notice that I was exluded from winning any prizes (not that I thought that I would win when I entered....

Blossom inch said...

this is totally amazing page Helen...love every details on this page.

Rachael Funnell said...

YEP! Another Gorgeous Layout Helen!!!!
I've notice in a couple of your LO's that you have doubled up your Flower Punch which really gives it the WOW Factor, I must try this..... hehehehe
& with all your other Amazing details this LO is SUPER F.I.N.E!
xx

Heather Jacob said...

well Miss Helen you are one of the most amazing people I know .... this LO is one of my fave too ... there is something magical about it ... your daughter looks almost like a mermaid ... I secretly love the idea of mermaids ???? !!!!!! ... love a bit of fantasty !!!!! ??????? great tutorial gorgeous girl ... hugz x

hey have you thought about framing this and having it out on show ..????? Tara loves my last LO of Ella for OUAS and she is going to frame that one and I am doing one of Dakota for her to frame ... xo

Mitralee said...

Saved your post for a good cup of coffee so I could enjoy it completely! Very lovely page! I agree with Heather, it needs framed somewhere...Amazon sells 12 by 12 scrap frames so you can keep your dimension! Thanks for going into all the detail, I keep my scrap stuff together based on theme, but I can see how using it by manufactorer would work like a charm! Although I don't clean up after directly after a page, I clean up between pages...

tania said...

ok, now this is eye candy**** love it helen!! well done on a super layout:)

scrapbookertink said...

Amazing layout, love how you used the Bo Bunny elements, loving the use of that border punch, double looks so more effective, love it.

sandi said...

Awesome reading Helen! This was one of my all time favorite lo's of yours...everything on this one was simply PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sabrina Scrapbook said...

Ooohhh I just love that giant butterfly and the close-ups of this beautiful page, Helen!! I think you have a unique style. And I agree with you on spending too much time for a project is not necessary for a fabulous outcome =)

Kerryn said...

I adore this page Helen!! I think this might be my favourite of yours to date :).

yyam said...

Oh wow! Excuse me while I go pick my jaw up...Stunning work Helen....I love everything about it. Love that you upcycle too! :)

Eila Sandberg said...

Eating my lunch at my desk to get some time to visit you my fair friend, just get so much pleasure out of looking at your pages and reading about how you went about creating them. Your truly are such an energy booster Helen! Absolutely stunning page, just stunning! Mwah!