Thursday 28 May 2015

Set Sail Layout - 7 Dots Studio - Destination Unknown
CollectionUmWow Product Swap!






Hi everyone!  It's my turn over on the 7 Dots Studio blog again today HERE.  
This month we are having a product swap with the ladies at Um Wow Studios
so I have used their lovely chipboard stars on my page as well as the
Destination Unknown collection designed by Um Wow owner DeeDee.


I love the strong blues of this collection, they are really popping!
I began by splashing some of my 13arts Splash! inks onto my
background for a bit of WOW factor before I began!!


As this is a unisex page I steered clear of flowers & used my favourite metallic
thread instead, together with the UmWow chippie & flair, & tucked in some 
gauze to keep the textural interest up!


I like that I could use the maritime elements & sentiment stickers in a more allegoric way.


Aaaaah that closie is lush!!  Look at that thick ink.
Olga Heldwein is my super hero!!!


For easy colouration of chipboard elements I often
just swipe them over an archival inkpad.


The Splash! inks are so thick & opaque that they actually have
 a textural quality, like braille writing.  I am a BIG fan!!


Hope you enjoyed my project today.
Remember to invest in your own roll of dry-wall tape for an awesome
textural, self-sticking element.  My first roll has only just run out, years later!!



Saturday 23 May 2015

Succeed Believe Layout - Prima Product Pick
PLUS a Mini Background Tutorial






Hi ladies!  How are you doing this weekend?!  
Unusual for me to have a post up on Saturday but sometimes that's how it goes. 
 I actually don't have a lot of control over when things go live around here but
 hopefully some of you will have some weekend time to take a peek!!


 Now before I proceed let's take a minute to appreciate this mood board shall we?!?

Aaaaaah...awesomeness...  This is the latest PRIMA PRODUCT PICK contest
image board & if you don't play along & have some Prima product lying around
then this is certainly the contest for you!!  You use the board & colours as your
inspiration then you link up HERE & you could get featured on the Prima blog!


I used Life Time Collection papers for the craft & Tea Thyme for my photo backing
 & the Optimist collection from last year for the colour pops, plus glorious Prima
 flowers from my stash of course!!  I also added some large gold sequins
 for some flashes of GORGEOUS GOLD!!!


Really simple, easy-peasy, fun to put together page focusing on a lovely photo.

Simple really is the best way to go!  I focused strongly on the COLOURS
& used ALL OF THEM!  Everything except the sequins, staples
 & metallic thread comes from Prima including the color bloom 
sprays, the stencil & the modeling paste!


I have a photo tutorial to share with you further down that may give you an idea
for your backgrounds.  I came up with this method about a year ago & have
been using it as my "GO TO" start-up routine since then!  Makes the
eco-warrior in me feel ever-so-righteous & resourceful!!


The stickers come from Stationer's Desk Collection.
Hope my mini-tutorial may be a revelation to someone out there!
If so do give me a thrill & let me know!!  Thanks for visiting!!


Stickers come from the Prima DIVINE collection.


This L shape is another good way to get started on a simple composition.  
I forgot to mention laying them down first to get your axis so don't forget!!



Friday 22 May 2015

Coffee Solves Everything Layout
Studio 75 plus the Lessology Cupcake Challenge!







Hello one & all!!  I have a new layout up on the Studio 75 blog HERE today.
My dedicated post is HERE.

Take a look there if you are interested in the products I used as they are all
 available from their online store HERE.  Any South Africans wanting
 anything I can order together with my Design Team order next time
 & postage will work out cheaper for you that way :)


The papers & circular elements all come from Studio 75, from 3 different collections!

Just like Prima, everything from Studio 75 works well with everything else so buying
their papers is always a great investment due to their versatility.  I NEVER buy
themed papers & avoid them as much as possible, favouring the more subtler
"wallpaper prints" as I call them, that can usually be found on the B sides
of brighter papers.  As I like to embellish a lot I prefer a calmer base!!


See the LESSOLOGY CHALLENGE HEREThe challenge is to use a cupcake
 in some form, plus one upcycled item.  The paper coaster that says "Coffee 
Solves Everything" comes from my favourite chain of coffee shops here, 
Mugg & Bean, & comes under every cup of coffee ordered. 

 Needless to say I have a stack of them by now!!   


I've used 3 images of cupcakes - 1) the photo  2) The circular element & 
3) The cupcake (case only) underneath the photo strip - ( shiny & pink!)
I am loving these photo strips I get printed these days by a new local
 company - very hipster I think!!  They work really well for mobile
phone photos as mine are not of a very good quality :)


Thanks for looking today!  Don't forget our current challenge going on at 
Studio 75 right now HERE - MIXED MEDIA TAG - easy peasy so enter 
right?! Great first prize & merit winners voted on by the DT :)

And there is also time to play along with LESSOLOGY too!!





Wednesday 20 May 2015

Boys with Big Ideas Layout - 2 Craft Chipboard -
Guest Designing for Off the Rails Challenge Blog






Hi everyone!  This month the Design Team at 2 Crafty Chipboard
 are guesting at Off the Rails - an Australian Challenge blog HERE.


This is the lovely mood board we got to work with.  I did my best 
to use the colours as well as be inspired by the quote.



I used some Crate Paper Sticker strips that I've had in my stash for YEARS
along with some Webster's Pages sentiment resins that I've been dying to use.


I used the DREAM title & the Chicken Barbed Wire from 2 Crafty as well
 as the stars & the large circle {from the concentric circle set}.


The script stamp comes from 7 Dots Studio{Cold Country}, the black alphas are from
American Crafts {Thickers} & the canvas ones are Prima ones I recoloured using ink pads.


I splattered the base paper with Prima Color Bloom Sprays
 & 13arts black Splash! ink before I begun.


The small alphas come from Webster's Pages. 
 This layout used up quite a bit of my older stash...


If you have the chance pop on over to "Off the Rails" & join in!



Sunday 17 May 2015

The Journey Awakens The Soul Canvas
Prima Build-a-Page Sketch






Hello Everyone!!!  Blowing kisses to you all!!
I hope you've had an AWESOME SUNDAY!!!
Right now I am rushing off to watch "Pitch Perfect 2" with my 2 daughters!
We are dying to see what Fat Amy has been up to since we left off LOL!!


Just popping in to share my take on the Prima Build-a-Page sketch contest this month,
using the sketch above {believe it or not LOL}.  I really did start with it in mind!!


I actually created this on an old metal/tin lid from a chocolate box. 
 I use the box to store card blanks in in one of my drawers & quite frankly
 the lid was annoying, so rather than throw it out I thought I would
 re-purpose it & save some money instead of buying another canvas :)


To create a grip on the smooth & shiny metal surface I began by priming with
 gesso & a thick brush then once that had dried I applied modelling paste then 
stuck dry-wall tape into that whilst it was still wet.  I dried that of before
 applying Ranger crackle paints, dried those off then used my
 Prima Color Bloom Sprays for the drips, etc.
LOVE THE VIBRANT COLOURS!!


Because my background is so textural, with so many subtle colour variations,
I embellished simply, using Prima flowers, tags & wooden butterflies
then added some metals to the bottom for the title & to balance out
the top are of my "canvas".


Instead of the torn strips at the top I added the darker green spray for that area instead
& instead of all the stencilled words in the background I concentrated on background
detail with many variations in place of the words.  I flipped my photo to the other
side of where it appears in the sketch, because I always like to have my photo
subjects facing into the composition rather than out of it, it just looks better.


This was actually a really straight-forward project to create and took me a couple
of hours which were very relaxing & enjoyable.  I am preferring a less complex
look these days & easy-to-create little projects.  I hope you like it!!




Friday 15 May 2015

Just Do It Layout - 7 Dots Studio
- Guest Designing at Sketchabilities






Hi!  So 7 Dots Studio were invited this month to Guest Design over at 
Sketchabilities HERE.  As you all know the sketches there are awesome.

I used papers, die-cuts, stickers & tags from the Thoughts Keeper Collection
HERE for this layout, together with the BEAUTIFUL Soulmates stencil HERE.  


I love the neutral tones of this collection & at the moment I'm loving bronze
 inking. I also added some bronze metallic thread behind my elements.


I used gesso to mute out some of the background together with some 13arts Splash!
 ink in black & white.  These inks are thick & opaque which I REALLY like. 


For the stenciling I used some black granite paste from Liquitex that is
 really fine & gritty, along with my bronze inkpad again.


The Scrabble alphas are part of the Thoughts Keeper Collection & come as a sheet 
of paper that needs to be hand-cut.  I love the look of the letters juxtaposed
 against one another with a few shiny black staples thrown into the mix!




Thursday 7 May 2015

Love Canvas for 2 Crafty Chipboard
Plus an Easy Peasy Textured Background Tutorial!






Hello again!  Geez you must be sick of ME!!  Finally everything I've made lately needs sharing LOL! If only that could happen ALL the time eh?!?  As I said yesterday, I am
up on the 2 Crafty Chipboard blog HERE sharing a few projects for April.  


I love this scripture!  If only I could live up to it!!  So inspirational!!! 
 This piece is going by our front door as a reminder to us all on our way out & our way in!!!!
It's actually NOT strictly a canvas.  It's a piece of very thick board.  Canvases have become
a bit expensive here this year so where possible I am using lids, etc, as substitutes!


As you will see in my tutorial further down I started by creating texture with stickers & sticker negative sheets.  They were old & I was worried they may not stick firmly so I spread a layer
of white acrylic paint all over my base before adhering the stickers directly to the wet paint.  


I used 3 sets of circles from the mini-sampler set, 1.5 packs of skeleton leaves
 & 3/4 of a pack of mini-flourish bits.  My post on the 2 Crafty blog shows
 the images of the exact pieces of chipboard I used & you
 can also find them in the 2 Crafty store HERE.  


I raised my photo up on some foamcore board *QUICK TIP - always cut the board 
underneath your photo half an inch smaller, all around the edge.  This makes it 
SO EASY to tuck all the chippie pieces & flowers, etc underneath. This
 always looks nicer than placing things on top.  Use your awl {spiky tool}
 to push your embellishments a little underneath the photo.  


To get those awesome lines you need to *QUICK TIP - buy a hair-dying brush!  
These are available at supermarkets/grocery stores/pharmacies/drug stores
 & they are usually about 2 inches across. They are 
quite hard so they show the lines more visibly.  


I snapped some photos as I was creating {in the evening so the lighting
 isn't spot on but thought it would be better than nothing!}


I hope you enjoyed taking a peek at my canvas & easy peasy tutorial!
Remember if you are anywhere in AFRICA you can order your
 2 Crafty Chipboard from ME!  Just click into the store link above 
& save the IMAGE, NAME & PAGE NUMBER {PLUS CATEGORY}
Email the info & I will quote you.  Parcels take about
a month to arrive but are worth the wait :)