Scraps of Darkness - July 2013 Design Team Reveal - Gypsy Summer Kit

Today, the Scraps of Darkness Design Team is revealing the July Kit Gypsy Summer!  This kit is full of gorgeous Graphic 45 Bohemian Bazaar and My Mind's Eye Collectables papers, as well as coordinating embellishments in fun summer colours - and it was SO much fun to work with. The Add-ons are outstanding and must-have for this kit - Mandy's signature stick pin is STUNNING (see it on my layout below)! Melinda chose an amazing quote to go along with the reveal this month; it is so inspiring and wonderful:

“We are all wanderers on this earth. Our hearts are full of wonder,
and our souls are deep with dreams.” ~Gypsy Saying

I've already shared my sketch layout for this kit with you - see it here. And today, I have a second layout and an altered birdhouse to share with you!

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Live. Love. Laugh.

First up is my second layout with this kit, entitled "Live. Love. Laugh." I had lots of fun creating the background for this layout and fussy-cutting the gorgeous Graphic 45 papers for some of the embellishments. The photo is of my husband and me on our honeymoon in Punta Cana.

For the background of this page, I started with a sheet of the MME paper and used the Prima 12x12 Turkish Grunge stencil with Heavy Gel Medium. Once the gel medium had set, I mod-podged squares of fuchsia tissue paper over the entire base page, doubling up the tissue layer in a few random spots. Finally, I dry brushed Luminarte Silks Acrylic Glaze in Solar Gold over the stenciled areas to highlight the stenciling. Turned out pretty cool, don't you think?! Let me know if you'd like a more detailed tutorial on this . . . .I could be convinced to put one together!!

I (obviously) didn't want to hide too much of the background that I painstakingly created, so I focused my photo cluster in one corner of the layout, with a small embellishment cluster in the opposite corner. As the 'mat' for my photo element, I used part of an Imaginarium Designs 12x12 Moroccan Chipboard Shape, plus some of the cut-outs from the shape, which I painted Solar Gold. I cut the floral flourishes from the Graphic 45  Bohemian Bazaar papers and highlighted the dots on the flourishes with Stickles in Patina. The 'mesh' elements are actually the backing off some leftover bathroom tiles. I also added some tangles of white cotton thread. The title "Live. Love. Laugh." is the Kaisercraft Wood Flourish from the Embellishment Add-on, which I painted with Luminarte Silks in Bolivian Blue. Finally, on the right side of the photo, you see Mandy's gorgeous stick-pin, which so perfectly coordinates with the colours in this kit!

And, here is a quick close-up of the small embellishment cluster in the bottom left of the layout (you can really see the Stickles here).

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Bohemian Birdhouse

For my second project today, I created an altered "Bohemian Birdhouse". I started off with a plain wooden birdhouse that I picked up on clearance at Michael's. I knew I wouldn't be able to cover the front with paper, so I started out by painting the front, edges and top finial with Luminarte Silks in Pink Anthurium. Once the paint dried, I embellished the front of the birdhouse with the Queen & Co. rhinestones from the Main Kit and the Bohemian Bazaar title sticker from the Graphic 45 Sticker Sheet (Main Kit).

I used the Bohemian Bazaar papers with mod podge to cover the sides, top, back and bottom. The beaded ribbon around the top of the birdhouse is from the Embellishment Add-On and the floral border and photo corners around the bottom edge are from the Graphic 45 Sticker sheet. 

I used a section of Imaginarium Designs chipboard Spade Top Picket Fence along the front of the birdhouse, which I painted with Acrylic Paint in Antique White and Luminarte Silks in Ice; finally, I rubbed some of the fence areas with the Gold Gelato included in the Main Kit to give it a worn look. I used an Imaginarium Designs chipboard Vine on the right side as the base for my flower cluster. The flowers are a combination of the flowers from the Flower Add-on and few extras from my stash. The birds (by Prima) are also from my stash.

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That is it for me today! I have LOTS of stuff left from this kit and will share some more projects with you as I get them done! I just LOVE this kit to bits - just working with it brightens your day!