Thursday 26 November 2009

Happy Colourful Life!



Here is a layout I did this weekend in response to Aida's Flower Power challenge over at the Cocoa Daisy Fall Crop. I also sent it in the next night to The Scrappiest, as I based it on their sketch 39, due in a couple of days ago. As you can see I rotated it to the right so that the horizontal strip became vertical.

I used an old sheet of KI Memories paper {the reverse of a VERY bright print} as the backing paper as it matched perfectly with Jody's minty shirt. Have you noticed how much printed paper is being used lately as "backing" paper? Definitely the trend is shifting back from plain bazzill to prints...very interesting...

I mixed up my prints/manufacturers as it's one of my favourite things to do. Used stripey Websters (Your Life - Beautiful) & 2 Basic Grey Lemonade papers. The scallop strip is a Sassafras sticker. Instead of the large ring I decided to use 2 smaller circles using acrylic CD's {they come on either side of a stack of CDs when you buy them blank for burning}. I inked these with a multicolour stamp I have had in my stash for years. I was trying to replicate the "alcohol inks" look I have been seeing a lot of lately, as I haven't been able to find any locally & probably wouldn't want to invest in them anyway as they would no doubt be expensive & my use of them would be fairly limited.

They gave me the inspiration for my title "Happy Colourful Life" {aswell as the October Afternoon die-cut "Happy"}. I love the fresh crisp lemon yellow colour. I cut the flowers & fronds out of another sheet of Websters. The little flowers are Prima & the bling brads came with them. The flatter flowers underneath are Making Memories - the sparkly ones that come in that little tin box with the open section on the lid.

See the close-up of the multi-coloured ink on the acrylic circle...pretty funky touch me thinks...

I inked the papers using lime green (on the stripe) & dark brown on the dot (& pink on the floral). To me inks are essential for adding dimension - I could never live without them. I use the 1" square inkpads or the cat's eye shaped ones as most of my inking is just edging. Often they come away from the base before the ink is spent so I have a largish pair of plastic tweezers {from an old kids' toy doctor's set!} that I use to grab them Calzone style (folded in half) & this way I can still use them until they are completely dry. I have heard that a blob of dimensional glaze actually sticks them back to the base but I keep forgetting to try!

I painted my mesh for Iris' class just before doing this layout & painted the mesh over a split open plastic bag as obviously the paint was going to go throught the holes of the mesh. As I was about to scrunch up the bag & throw it into the bin I decided to press it onto the right hand side of this layout - you will notice some random white markings - plastic bag transfer technique shall we call it LOL???!!! ;-D

Some of these little flowers were gauzy...too pretty...pity there was only one pack left at the sale on Saturday!

The corner sticker is Sassafras & the bee is October Afternoon, raised on foamcore {a better alternative to pop-dots that never keep stable}. Foam core is a plastic-based 3D board that comes in 12" sheets & you can cut down to whatever size & shape you need. I bought it wholesale so have dozens of sheets of the stuff but it cost next to nothing compared to the ridiculous retail price at "Expensive That!"

I'm trying my hand at some dimensional close-ups & starting to feel more passionate about photography than scrapbooking at times...

Still following this blog for the best photography I've yet to find on the web.

Red alphas are Pink Paislee {are they coming up with some rockin' stuff or what?!} & lime green Doodlebug. These li'l numeral stickers are good old Making Memories - always the leaders in everything cool...




7 comments:

topkatnz said...

That is a great sketch and love your take on it! The detail you go in to in your descriptions makes me feel slightly guilty - but hey, only for a minute!!heehee

Shayne said...

Beautiful Helen, with such attention to detail as always!

How cute is that bee?

tania said...

soooo pretty,as always, also like the bee:)

Diana said...

I love this layout. So detailed, and so carefully done. You rocked the sketch.

Thanks for your suggestions about future workshop activities. I would consider doing a mini kit if they really want it. That is, I'm not going to stick my neck out, but I do want to do whatever I can to get them going. I'm actually in the middle of purging a ton of patterned paper that I'm just not using and I'm tired of it occupying scarce space in my scrapnook. I could offer that up (but then if I don't like it, who's to say they will?) Anyway it's all a work in progress.

Chris said...

Helen your layout is stunning. So much beautiful detail and so colourful. Wow!!

Thank you for visiting my blog and for your recent words of support... it really means a lot to me.

Have a wonderful weekend
hugs
Chris xx

Lynette Jacobs said...

I love this one Helen...your choise of colours and detail is amazing.

Desire Fourie said...

Absolutely stunning Helen. And isn't that baby girl too gorgeous.
Hugs
Desire