Sunday 27 April 2014

"Remember This Moment" Layout - Prima Build-a-Page Challenge - April 2014



Hi there!  I am back to share my next layout with you today - for Prima's BAP
 {Build-a-Page} Challenge which is their monthly sketch challenge.  I have various
 photos of my daughter on her Graduation day at university so some of them were
 perfect for this multi-photo sketch.  I have no problem with 2 or 3 photos on a layout. 
 More than that makes it tricky for me to keep my style unless they are credit card sized!

BAP april 2014 mani

The Stationer's Desk Collection is great for formal & academic layouts, in serious black
 & deep red tones.  It creates a classy page!  I used some wonderful Prima stitched
 circle stamps in keeping with the sketch inspiration & substituted the stamping
 on the top for my hand-journaling instead.



The flowers I used are from the Cartographer Collection.  Yes they were actually
 a great match!  I also used some LOVELY metals from the latest Ingvild Bolme
 Collections, that are always IRRESISTIBLE! 


I used gesso & paper towels to add texture, as well as some dry-wall tape & gauze.
As the colour palette here is pretty neutral {greys, beiges, golds, blacks & deep reds}
I made sure to keep my layout full of textural interest to keep it from becoming
too formal as that would not be in keeping with my signature style.


I love how the journaling turned out & loving the Stationer's Desk words!


Brads & paper-clips from both collections & some white liquid spray acrylic
 I made myself!  It is thick & delicious!!  {well not too eat but looks good!!!}


Stacking photos in groups is a great way to hide distracting elements.  
The central photo had quite a crowd in the background, some of
which I managed to cover up with the photo to the right here.
I printed out my photos with a fine black border for this page
as it added to the formal, academic look of it.

Thanks for stopping by today.  
I hope your weekend was wonderful!


Saturday 26 April 2014

"Together" Layout - Prima Product Pick - April 2014 {Something Blue/Anna Marie/Ingvild Bolme}







Hello everyone!  Yes I went quiet this week but was VERY productive!! 
 I was off-grid most evenings as I had FIVE layouts that I wanted &
 needed to get done & I finished up the last one last night!!  Happy!!!

April 2014 ppp


This is my entry into this month's Prima Product Pick, which is 
their monthly Colour/Product Challenge.   I have tried to play
along with EVERY Prima challenge in the last year {2 per month}
& for the most part I have managed.  I LOVE them, especially 
the Product Picks as I am not so much of a sketch girl!


I used some very pretty base paper from the "Something Blue" collection 
{Announcement} which is a Wedding Collection but I bought quite a bit
of it as it is very pretty & can be used for quite a bit I think.  


I don't think I'll ever computer journal again.  I am so much happier
hand-writing on my layouts & I think it's so much more artistic &
authentic.  I wanted to keep this layout really light in keeping with
the pretty, pale "mood board"so I used a Prima small Damask
mask on my background, with white modelling paste then went
over it with a couple of mists with water & a paint-brush.


I couldn't resist grunging it up a bit but kept it very minimal
so that everything would stay pretty & feminine.  I snapped
the oval Ingvild Bolme resin in half {which was a bit scary to
do but it worked!!} so that I could add it to the layers under
my photo.  {gold doilies, gold mesh & crochet doilies} & I
inked the resins up a bit too & stamped on them so they
were no longer quite so stark.  I added some slightly
older "Anna Marie"brads as they were nice clear colours.


I also used some older Ingvild Bolme resins that I've had for
what feels like YEARS!  The bird-house ones.  I bought 2
sets because I thought they were SO pretty but somehow
 they've never made it onto a page yet, so I used a full set 
here & they were absolutely perfect for this layout!

Thanks for the visit!  I hope you are all having a LOVELY 
weekend!!  I am SO happy that Monday is a holiday here
{Freedom Day} as I have a LOT to finish off before the
 end of this month comes about on Wednesday!  TTFN♥



Monday 21 April 2014

'City of Gold' Layout - Scrap 365 Magazine Feb/Mar 2014 Issue - Prima/Lindy's Stamp Gang





Hi again.  Just sharing another layout published in 
Scrap 365 Magazine Feb/March issue this year.


It was published in the Holiday/Travel Gallery. 
 I used the Prima "I love Paris" collection from a couple of years back.
  I ordered it especially to match my Paris photographs!


I used a plastic vintage doily for my misting, along with bright red mist from
 Lindy's Stamp Gang.  Paris is full of red & so much of the exquisite French 
architecture is gilded so the gold seemed an appropriate contrast.


As well as patterned papers I used co-ordinating journaling cards
 & different types of mesh for texture.  I also fussy cut some
 elements & inked them up for a vintage feel.


I used a stamp from Inkido, directly on my photo.  Love!!


I also used elements from Prima's Delight Collection by Jodie Lee. 
 The great thing about favouring products from a small selection
 of manufacturers means that often their collections work well 
with each other, even if they are a couple of years apart! 

 THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT & VISITS!!



Sunday 20 April 2014

'A Special Bond' Layout - Scrap 365 Feb/Mar 2014 Issue - Prima/Lindy's Stamp Gang

Hello again!  Today I am sharing another layout featured earlier this year in Scrap 365 Magazine, which you can subscribe to HERE.  It is an English based magazine but anyone, anywhere can subscribe at a reasonable rate.  It is bi-monthly so produces 6 issues per year, each packed with ideas & eye candy.  It covers EVERYTHING from easy to advanced, with many different styles included & one of the regular galleries is the PDQ - which stands for "Pretty Darn Quick!" - pages that can easily be recreated in an hour or less...


My layouts usually take me about 3 times that long so I always 
play along with the PDQ if given the opportunity as it is a fun challenge.  


Using a patterned background paper is always a good 
starting point as it immediately adds more detail!


Being a mixed media gal I can't resist adding just a touch 
& splattering is quick & easy & can be dried off quickly.


I used a selection of Prima flowers & embellishments, each with a different colour, texture
 or pattern.  Selection is key when working speedily.  I keep my stash well organised so I
 can find things easily.  I use open topped baskets & containers so I can fish about in them 
or tip them out & pour them back in.  Definitely a quick way to stay tidy but still be efficient.


I misted up the doilies then dried them off quickly.
  If you keep your heat gun plugged in and have craft tweezers 
at the ready this need not take more than a few minutes.


If I'm pushed for time I use my glue gun to
 adhere everything as the bond is so instant.
It is a lethal weapon though so be careful!


Thanks for looking!  Remember to check out the Scrap 365 blog 
HERE, it is full of interesting posts on a regular basis!!


Saturday 19 April 2014

'You are my Happy' Layout - Scrap 365 Feb/Mar 2014 Issue - Prima





I have SO much to share that has been published in Scrap 365 magazine this year
 & I haven't yet shared!  We are required to wait one month until after publication 
so now I have got organised & set up & pre-scheduled my posts in advance, 
but that will only come to pass for posts from September onwards...


I created this layout for an article I wrote about the Mixed 
Media Craze & how to achieve a real mixed media layout.


I used lots of Prima products of course. 
 Their patterned paper & printed chipboard pieces,
 as well as their alphabet packaging for my layout base.


I also used lots of Ranger products too, as they are so great for Mixed Media 
projects.  Their paint dabbers are so nice to work with - to create mess
 without actually making it!  And their alcohol inks beat any mists for vibrancy!!


I also used Prima wooden alphas & Prima stamps on my background too.  
Gesso too of course.  I am really fussy when it comes to gesso & prefer 
Claudine Helmuth for Ranger, which has now been discontinued!!  
Apparently it is just repackaged but I will have to test & see!  It has the
 best luminance & variation depending on the amounts of coats one applies.


For texture I used different tapes, Prima ribbon & string dipped in paint!
  It was fun & pretty messy!!  It was also my first long article in a magazine
 & I was pretty stoked seeing it in print {it even got a little spot on the cover -
 one of the smaller pics!}  Remember to support print magazines & subscribe
 to Scrap 365 HERE.  Good value & they ship worldwide!!




Friday 18 April 2014

Graduation Weekend Photo Post! {Photography/Picasa Tips}





As you may have noticed my blog went quiet for a week & that's because we were away on a road-trip which was necessary in order to spend the weekend with 2 sets of grandparents 
{of the kids of course!} & all of our children, to celebrate our eldest daughter graduating from university.  She is still actually AT university as she is now studying for her Honours degree.


Here is the glamazon above!  She decided that black shoes would be far too boring so she chose burgundy ones instead - then of course needed an accessory to tie in with the shoes which meant hunting one down by visiting every costume jewellery store in our neighbourhood!!


She gave us a tour of her Chemistry lab so I took an "in situ" photo
 of her in front of one of the cabinets full of vintage apothecary bottles.


We ate out each night so I took the photo above & gave it a polaroid frame 
{seeing as the quality wasn't great, based on it being a night time shot} 
for a more casual look.  The advantage of this is that it gives you the space to
 add some text.  I like to add some text at times to help me remember dates & places!


I changed some of the photos to black & white as I had a LOT of photos!  
The kids kept grabbing my camera too so by the end of the weekend I had 
275 photos, which I cut down to the best 75.  The kids have no idea how to 
focus so a lot of the shots were spoiled with in focus trees & out of focus faces!!


I got rid of all my wrinkles using the retouch tool!  Cheaper than botox!!
There were a lot of people in the background of most of the photos as it
was a busy occasion, so I changed some of the photos to circle shapes
to eradicate the busy backgrounds.  Circles are nice to scrap occasionally to!


Sometimes it's nice to use the text option
 rather than adding a bulky title to a layout.


As the focus should be on my daughter here I used a soft focus around
 her as the focal point.  {Her Dad & I look a lot better that way hahaha!!}


Someone else took this photo & it was BAD so I did my best to rescue it 
by changing it to black & white.  That generally helps to hide a multitude
 of sins.   At least we have a photo of the whole family together!


This is my hubby's mother - who is 75!  She is a university professor & still
 working fulltime!!  {Not at the same university}.  To dramatise this portrait,
 taken at night, I increased the highlights & the shadows. Blowing out the light 
helps to decrease wrinkles too & saves time spent using the retouch tool.


I thought the photo above was quite an interesting 
capture.  Always fun to have something different...


Whenever family are together it's always good to get a good mix of photos
 of different relatives together.  Here we have father, son & grand father.


I created a couple of collages in Picasa, with photos 
relevant to each set of grandparents, as a gift for them.


I use Picasa for all my photo editing.  It's a free software product from Google. 
 I own Photoshop Elements but never have the time to spend teaching myself
 how to use it.  From my experience with it it's not intuitive & everything seems
 to take a LOT longer!  Of course it is still on my bucket list though!!




Thursday 17 April 2014

"70's Rhodesia" Layout - Inkido - Close-ups!






Hi Everyone!  Back today to share the close-ups of my layout for Inkido, from yesterday.


I worked with the latest INKIDO mood board for April.
Read about the latest challenge HERE.


I didn't stick to the colours (as you can see!) but rather
 used the concept, which is "Your Roots" to create a layout
 around a photo I've had printed out for years!


Please refer to my Inkido post, linked
 above, for the Inkido products used.


I used lots of mists on this one, as well as dry-wall
 tape, cheese-cloth, staples & a metallic silver doily.


I used lots of gesso to tone down the shades of purple.  
{Taking time to get used to the "Pantone Colour of the Year!"}


For my cluster I used a mixture of texture & elements,
 starting with misted cheesecloth, Prima crystal swirls
 & metals, Inkido flowers & Martha Stewart doily flowers.


I also used some old jewellery which I cut up to create a 
tassle for my flower cluster & the centre of one of my butterflies.


To create my butterflies I stamped my Inkido
 butterfly stamp onto Inkido paper then fussy-cut 
around them, adding some mist & gesso after that.


I stamped some butterflies around the edge
 of my page, so that they were only partially visible.


Definitely not my usual colours here & not too sure about the result
but happy to have this important photograph & sentiment documented.


Thanks so much for your visit today!