This Moment Card & Watercolor Flower Tutorial ~ Scraps of Darkness

I have a quick post to share with you tonight of a card I made using the Scraps of Darkness November Kit. I am not a card maker at heart - but I wanted something simple to showcase the watercolored flowers I made, so I used a Prima paintable card (also painted with watercolors), the dragonflies and some ribbon from the SOD kit and some gold embellishments (actually a piece of a Christmas garland) and gold embossing powder from my stash to create this simple card.

Here is a close-up of the watercolored flowers - I used white Prima flowers and LuminArte Twinkling H2O watercolors to alter them.

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Watercolor Flower Tutorial

I find when I want to alter the color of flowers, spray mists are usually my go-to medium; however, I always find that it takes a lot of spray to get into all the layers of the flowers, so I wanted a better way to alter flowers than over-using my mists! Here is my solution - altered flowers using Twinkling H2Os by LuminArte - you still get the lovely shimmer that is possible with mists, but it uses so much less product and it is much easier to paint between the layers with a paintbrush than trying to spray them!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. I'll have some new projects to share using the Scraps of Darkness December Kit "Winter Wonderland" in the New Year!

Your Angry Face ~ Scraps of Darkness

I have a layout created with the Scraps of Darkness November Water Lilies Kit to share with you today. I used the 7 Dots Studio 9th Wave papers from, as well as some of the Canvas Corp White Tissuestock (scrunched) to create the torn, grungy layering for this layout. I also had some fun with mediums on this layout and have included masking with molding paste, stamping and misting (with the awesome Lindy's Stamp Gang Mists included in the Kit and Colour Add-on)!  I caught a picture of my son's "angry face" the other day and thought it was too cute not to scrap!

(Sorry it looks like the photo is crooked on the layout - the page warped due to the media and it was impossible to get it flat enough in time for the picture!)

I used the Glitz Design Stickers for my title and trimmed one of the Pink Paislee Color Wash tags for under the photo - I misted the tag and then, once it was in place, outlined inside the word with a black Aquarellable pencil (by Stabilo).

Here, you can see a close-up of the misting, stamping and masking. I used a checkered mask and stamp by Finnabair for Prima. The mists are Lindy's Stamp Gang Flat Fabio in Curioser Chartreuse and Starbursts in Tea Pot Purple and Down the Rabbit Hole. I also used some diluted Black Soot Distress Re-inker for the black misting.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today! I still have one more project to share with the Scraps of Darkness November Kit and it will include a short tutorial - so be sure to watch my blog in the next couple of days for that!

A Nutcracker Sweet Christmas ~ Imaginarium Designs

Today, I am sharing two Christmas projects with you - both using Imaginarium Designs Chipboard with Graphic 45's Nutcracker Sweet collection.

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Nutcracker Sweet Bell Jar

First up is a Bell Jar I put together using the Imaginarium Designs Bill Board Train as the base. I knew as soon as I saw this 3D Train that I wanted to use it with the Graphic 45 Nutcracker Sweet collection and create a Nutcracker Christmas scene!

I mod-podged some of the the Nutcracker Sweet paper to the vertical portion of the Bill Board Train piece and did lots of fussy-cutting for the characters/embellishing.

 For the Train Side, I've included images of the Grandfather Clock, the Mouse King and the Nutcracker and added a "Happy Christmas" Title Chipboard.

I painted the train with acrylic paints and then dry-brushed gold paint over the entire thing; for the smoke, I used a Snow Marker that creates a puffy snow effect when heated with a heat gun. I painted the train track with black acrylic paint and then heat embossed it with holographic embossing powder. For the title, I painted it gold and then heat-embossed it with gold embossing powder. In the background, behind the train and the Mouse King, you can see one of the small Imaginarium Designs Chipboard presents.

 For the other side of the 3D piece, I again mod podged the paper to the vertical piece and fussy cut the title and an image of Clara from the Graphic 45 papers. I added a large bottle-brush Christmas Tree to this side as well.

I painted the Imaginarium Designs presents with acrylic paint and then used Sparkle Mod-Podge over that to give the pretty sparkly finish. You can also see the base of the Billboard Train, painted with gold acrylic paint and a better view of some of the train track in this photo.

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Nutcracker Sweet ATC/Ornament

My second project today is an Artist Trading Card, which can also be used as a Christmas Tree Ornament.

Once again, lots of fussy cutting of the Graphic 45 Nutcracker Sweet papers. I also did some masking with a Crafter's Workshop 6 x 6 template and some Sparkle Texture Effect mixed with Heavy Gel Medium to create a "snow" effect.

I used the Imaginarium Designs Music Symbols with Holly on the ATC - I heat embossed them with Gold Embossing Powder and then used Stickles in Christmas Red and Holly to add the Holly details.

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Imaginarium Designs Chipboard Used

4 Presents on Board - IDT0008

Bill Board Train - IDAA0006

Happy Christmas - IDP0073 

Music Symbols with Holly - IDFL0006

Other Materials Used:

Patterned Paper - Graphic 45 Nutcracker Sweet collection; Acrylic Paint; Mod Podge - Matte and Sparkle; Distress Embossing Ink; Ranger Embossing Powder - Holographic; Stampendous Embossing Powder - Detail Gold; Ranger Stickles - Christmas Red and Holly; Martha Stewart Sparkle Texture Effect; Heavy Gel Medium; The Crafter's Workshop 6 x 6 Halftone Circles Template; Marvy Uchida Snow Marker; Recollections Holiday Ribbon; Sparkle Resin Heart; Mini Bells; Aleene's Tacky Glue; 3D Foam Adhesive; Beacon 3-in-1 Glue.

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That's it for me today - I hope you enjoyed my Christmas projects and I would like to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season! Don't forget to leave a comment on my blog post on the Imaginarium Designs Blog for a chance to win some amazing Imaginarium Designs Chipboard!

{Free} Layout and Wish Layout ~ Scraps of Darkness Design Team Reveal ~ November "Water Lilies" Kit

Ack! I am SO late posting this!!! December has been ultra-busy and I am behind in my blogging! But I'm here now to show you two more layouts created with the incredible Scraps of Darkness November "Water Lilies" Kit.

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{Free}

*Scraplift of Louise Nelson Layout for 7 Dots Studio

I was inspired by the SOD/SOE Lift a Designer Challenge - this layout is a Scraplift of Louise Nelson's {Heart Heart} Layout for 7 Dots Studio. I adore Louise's artsy style and have always wanted to try to emulate it - so here is my attempt at a Loolabelle-inspired layout! Although there is no title on the layout, I am calling it free - because my son is so happy and free flying down his favourite slide at the park.

 

I started off the LO by misting the 7 Dots Studio paper with Lindy's Stamp Gang Flat Fabios in Tweedle-Dee Denim and Curioser Chartreuse. Then I whitewashed over the misted background with watered-down gesso.

 I stamped and heat-embossed the birds using a Tim Holtz stamp and Distress Embossing Ink + Distress Embossing powder in Black Soot. I added some black thread, sequins and rhinestones from the kit, as well as two of the Glitz Design Giant Rhinestones.

The feathers are chipboard by Imaginarium Designs - I painted the feathers with Viva Maya Gold in Turquoise and then rubbed the centre of the feather with Viva Inca Gold in Cobalt Blue; finally, I heat-embossed the ends of the feathers with Stampendous Embossing Powder (Detail Gold).

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Wish

My second layout today is called "Wish" and features a picture of my son telling Santa his Christmas Wishlist (oddly enough, he asked for slippers...). I am so glad my son wasn't afraid of Santa this year - he was for the past two years! 

I have used the Pink Paislee Color Wash star die-cut paper, along with some Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst mist in Cheshire Cat Cherry and a hint of Glitz Spritz in Steel Shimmer.  I also added a sheet of white cardstock from my stash, which I stamped and heat-embossed with shimmery snowflakes around the edge; you can also see some the embossed snowflakes on the main page and on the tag. The Inkido challenge this month is Stars and Snowflakes, so I am entering this layout in their challenge (wish me luck)! I also did some masking on the background to create a "snowfall" effect using the Crafter's Workshop 12 x 12 template included in the Colour Add-On and some Martha Stewart Sparkle Texture Effect mixed with heavy gel medium (I find the sparkle texture effect very thick/heavy - it is much smoother and spreads better over the mask if you mix it with some gel medium). 

I used the Prima flowers from the Main Kit and added some of the Sparkle Texture Effect/Gel Medium mixture to them to add some sparkle. For the frame, I used a paint brush to paint it with the Lindy's Stamp Gang mist and, once it had dried, very carefully inked it with embossing ink and heat-embossed it with the silver/white embossing powder - this really helped bring out the pattern on the frame. I used one of the Pink Paislee tags for my title and simply embossed it with stamped snowflakes. I added in some bling from my stash, some Tresors de Luxe lace, torn/crinkled strips of the tissuestock paper from the Kit and some leftover beaded ribbon from the SOD July Kit. 

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That's it for me today - I hoped you liked these two layouts with the fantastic Scraps of Darkness November Kit - it is so versatile - I just love it!