Wednesday 24 April 2013

'My Lovely Life' Layout {Once Upon a Sketch April Challenge} Crate Paper/ Purple Pumpkin






Sneaking in here at the very last minute with my Once Upon a Sketch entry for this month,  the theme being the Best Day of your Life.  I contemplated this challenge long & hard & realised that  my life is not one of highs and lows any more.  

I work very hard at keeping everything as stable as possible for the sake of my children, yet my happy memories are not built on grand occasions but rather on the everyday rewards I reap as a mother to them & wife to their dad.  

We're the type of family that doesn't own fancy china & cut glass & what we have we use & enjoy. I try each day to do something fun with the kids, either separately or together, be it buying them an ice-cream or enjoying a bubble bath with my daughter.

That's why I chose to celebrate the every day.  Simple.


I used various Purple Pumpkin embellishments - the pleated ribbon flower, a crochet flower, fabric buttons of various sizes, a resin flower, part of a craft tag & some twine.


My papers are new Crate Paper DIY shop & Maggie Holmes Collection (Wonderful - both sides), as are some of the embellishments like the chevron tag (I cut it into 4 pieces & used it in various places on my layout), the die-cut flower (cut into 2 pieces), the yoyo flower & the 'Lovely' die-cut. (DIY Shop Collection).


I really loved creating this page.  It's a style I really love - lots of layers,mixed media & artistic freedom.


I have NO problem hand-journaling.  The more you do it the easier it becomes & I'm not worried about everything being perfect.  I love the quirky look of imperfect things anyway :)


I slathered on the gesso with an old credit card, drying it off with a heat gun to create the bubble effects which add even more texture.  This is where buying a really good gesso is important. 

 This one is Studio by Claudine Helmuth.  In real life it shows up the different thicknesses that can be created with a credit card, because it is the perfect consistency & not too thin, and also dries very quickly!


Before starting to layer up I spent an hour preparing my base paper, but I think it was time well spent.  As well as gessoing I flicked on various colours of mist as well as spraying 'Goosebumps' by Tsukeniko, which creates a clear, shiny texture.  
I also stamped with black, red & gold ink using a grid stamp, a heart stamp & a chevron stamp (all very subtle) as well as using some inners from tape rolls together with dark brown ink & also a tea & coffee mixture - love!!


I sprayed my flower with Pink Lemonade by Maya Road - I wanted it to look just like that - not an all over colour - and I used some of the gorgeous bling dots that came in my Guest Designer package from Zva Creative - they were very generous & I have loads of lovely bling to use up!


Misting on top of the gesso meant the mist sat on top & pooled which was a great effect I thought. Steers is a big part of our 'every day'.  It's a South African fast food franchise & is the bomb.com.  Better than Burger King & McDonalds any day!  (in my humble opinion of course...)


The semi circular shape above comes from the cappucino coasters I save from Mugg & Bean, our local coffee franchise (dare I say better than Starbucks?!?)  Another ode to my every day.  

Thank you for your visit.  I am VERY snowed under right now & have not been visiting many blogs at all.  Nothing I can do about that as I have deadlines to meet but I will come up for air once the end of the month arrives.  From the 20th onwards I am galloping down the home stretch :)




29 comments:

yyam said...

Wow. What an explosion of colours. Yummy. Beautiful layering and textures.

Unknown said...

Oh my, Helen this is amazing. What a gorgeous project - LOVE!

Sabrina Scrapbook said...

Gorgeous gorgeous design, Helen!! Yes, everyday could be the best in its own way :)

topkatnz said...

I love the back story and the wording on this layout. Very cool:):)

Lizzy Hill said...

This is also the style I like seeing you do the most- it's got so much going on, but it never looks like it! It all fits together like a glove here...especially love how you misted the flower & the coaster group of embellies top R...fab, Helen, just fab:):)

Mitralee said...

ohhhhH! My favorite Helen type of page too! Funk-a-delicious! I think it's a great take on the challenge. I saw a page on that the other day and it kinda stumped me too.

As for the fast food joints like BK and Micky D's, those are usually brutal! I would LOVE to have an alternative myself! And Starbucks makes me NUTS! ;-) We actually have Tim Horton's closer, which is the Canadian Version and better I think!

Anonymous said...

Fabulous layout! Love everything that's going on! And being a fellow South African, I have to agree on Steers ice cream, my British husband says they are the best (and he likes to think himself as an ice cream connoisseur)!

Vicky Varvadouka said...

I love your creative freedom!!!! That's raelly gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!

Cindy Fortin said...

You're so right Helen: we really should appreciate all these everyday moments with those we love. You made a truly beautiful page with it, happy and fun! Makes me want to have an ice cone with you!

Julie Tucker-Wolek said...

Wow wow wowwwwwwwwwwwww! This is gorgeous!! LOVING the colors, the layers, the flowers... just LOVE it ALL!!!!

tania said...

oh my!!!this is super beautiful! love it helen!

sandi said...

Wow! What a super upbeat and fun lo! Love the mix, the colors, the design.......just fabulous!

Leonie said...

Oh this one is so much fun Helen. fabulous layering and embellishments. I love the way you went about this challenge and documented the everyday. Beautifully done!

Marjie Kemper said...

So much to look at! Loved spying the chevron spread out and tucked in here and there. My favorite part of this one is the heart felt journaling on the right. Lovely.

Lynnda said...

YOu have such great eyes on putting beautiful elements together on your page!!! THe colors vividly gorgeous...and you have beautiful handwriting too... that's awesome... This layout is beautiful Helen.... hugs...x

Denise Price said...

Love this colorful page. It's like tutti frutti--so appropriate for the ice cream photo. :)

I also love your message that every day is special.

Tracey said...

WOW! Gorgeous Helen! I love how you take such a simple sketch and add so much life to it!!

Naddy said...

Beautiful LO Helen. Love the layerings and the beautiful colours.

Keren Tamir said...

This is truly sensational. One of my favorite of yours!! I had to analyze the background for a long time. So many interesting details. I love the misting and layering on this one. I also love that cute photo

Unknown said...

Helen, there is soooo much to look at on this LO. It is absolutely stunning. Each time I look at it, I find something I missed the last time !! Have a great day

Denise van Deventer said...

Aaaah so super! Love this page and the sentiment is gorgeous! There's so many gorgeous details to look at...really cool page! Fabulous!;-)

Val-Belle said...

Oh Helen what a wonderful layout and I couldn't agree with you more on the highs and lows of live. I had the same relationship with my kids and now they have both long left home and we are still close. It pays off in the long run. :) love this layout and all that it represents...

Cathy said...

LOVE your page Helen... your layering is amazing and I love all the vibrant colours!! Thanks so much for sharing with us at OUAS!

phamil said...

OMG Helen, all those colors and all those details! This is wonderful! So much goodness to look at on this page!!! Thanks so much for finding time to join us again!!!!

Kay F said...

Beautiful work as always! Love your choice of colors, take on the sketch & the challenge. Celebrate every day--sounds good to me! Thanks for joining us at OUAS!

Eila Sandberg said...

Yay! lovely having you play with us again Helen! this is an explosion of happiness, just love it! Lots of wonderful details to explore. I second you on the every day happiness, it's the little things that mean the most. Thank you so much for sharing this with us at OUAS!

Elena Stefanidou said...

So colorful and happy!I love the choice of colors.Thank you very much for playing with us at OUAS

EFI said...

Absolutely stunning!!! Thank you so much Helen for sharing your gorgeous work with us at OUAS!

Camila Borssoi said...

I like all the layers you used on it!