Art Journal Cover - Tresors De Luxe Challenge

Hi There Scrappy Friends! Today I am sharing an Art Journal Cover I created to play along with the Tresors de Luxe Challenge this month. Tresors de Luxe is an awesome Etsy shop that sells gorgeous vintage laces and embellishments. This is originally an old Textbook I picked up for free at the University where I work - I had so much fun recycling it for use as an Art Journal!  I've designed this Art Journal cover based on the colours from the gorgeous January Mood Board and using some laces from the Tresors de Luxe Shop and lots of Prima Finnabair Mediums and Embellishments and Lindy's Stamp Gang Starbursts! I'll be using this journal for pages inspired by music - so I included a Dusty Attic music scale chipboard as a design element on the cover too!

Tresors de Luxe Challenge Mood Board - January 2015

Here  are a few more shots of the Journal Cover! 

Thanks for stopping by my blog for a peek at my project!

Products Used: Lindy's Stamp Gang Starbursts in Wild Honeysuckle Coral, Magnolia Magenta Gold, Bougainvillea Fuschia, Cheshire Cat Cherry and Opal Sea Oats; Luminarte Silks Acrylic Glaze in Solar Gold and Nutmeg; Prima Finnabair - Art Basics - Soft Gloss Gel, Art Ingredients - Glass Glitter in Gold Rush, Glass Beads in Crystal, Mechanicals Vintage Trinkets; Prima Resin Frame, Prima Flowers, Prima Ingvild Bolme Junkyard Findings Keyhole; Prima 6x6 Stencil; Dusty Attic Chipboard - Music Scale; Tresors de Luxe Etsy shop Lace; Golden Light Molding Paste; White Gesso; Washi Tape (stash); Resin Bird (stash).

Vintage Steampunk Dress - Mixed Media Canvas ~ Scraps of Darkness

I have a mixed media canvas to share with you today that I had so much fun making with papers, embellishments and media from the June Perfectly Stunning Kit from Scraps of Darkness. One of my favourite 'paper artists' is Gabrielle Pollacco - and my canvas was inspired by this tutorial on her youtube channel. So, here is my 'darker' interpretation of her tutorial - a Vintage Steampunk Dress Mixed Media Canvas.

I started off by adding some bits of drywall tape to the canvas and then priming it with the Art Anthology Gesso included in the Creativity Add-on. Then I misted the canvas with three Lindy's Stamp Gang Mists (from my stash) - Midnight Rendezvous Raven and Cocoa Bean Copper Starbursts and Steel Shimmer Glitz Spritz. I added torn bits of the "Chrononaut" paper from the Bo Bunny Somewhere in Time collection which I distressed and inked with Distress Ink in Vintage Photo. I added the torn papers to the canvas with matte Mod Podge - I love how they look like old leather! I then did some masking with a mask from my stash and a mix of two of the Art Anthology paints from the Colour Add-on - the Stone Effects Dimensional Medium in Sandstone mixed with the Velvet Dimensional Paint in Kona. Here are some different angles of the full canvas.

Now we come to the dress! I fussy-cut the corset from the "Elegance" Bo Bunny paper and inked it with the Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I added some dimension to the bodice by flipping it over and rubbing 'appropriate' areas with a ball tool. I created the skirt using a section of a sewing pattern and some black lace from a previous SOD Kit (Oct. '13) and splattered it with the black and copper mists. I added the chain from the Creativity Add-on to the watch fob from the Embellishment Add-on and used it as a belt for the dress. To embellish the canvas, I added the small black wings (Embellishment Add-on) and Prima flowers (Main Kit & Flower Add-on). The letters for the title (inked with distress ink and painted with black/copper mist mixture) are from my stash and the bling is from a previous SOD Kit. I also added in parts of a Dusty Attic Chickenwire panel that are embossed with Distress Embossing Powder in Black Soot. Here are some close-ups of the dress and embellishments on the canvas.

I hope you liked my Vintage Steampunk Dress Mixed Media Canvas - I had such a blast creating it! I definitely want to create more canvases like this!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! Happy Scrapping!

You Are Every Lovely Word I Could Ever Think Of ~ Scraps of Darkness

I have been creating with the utterly FANTASTIC Scraps of Darkness February Touch of Grey Kit, which features (among many other things) Kaisercraft's gorgeous "Art of Life" collection. I created this layout, featuring my handsome little boy, based on Kaisercraft's Saturday Sketch for March 1st. Here is my layout, entitled "You Are Every Lovely Word I Could Ever Think Of" (from one of the pieces from the "Art of Life" collectibles).

And here is the Kaisercraft Sketch:

I had lots of fun creating this layout - I took my inspiration from the Always paper and wanted the layout to look like a cluttered desktop - complete with spilled tea and tea rings! (My son saw me doing the tea staining and said "Mommy, what are you doing? You're supposed to drink tea!.")

I used pieces from the "Art of Life" Collectibles (Embellishments Add-On) and from the Loved paper to create the distressed layering under the photos, as well as some Dusty Attic Chipboard from my stash - which I painted with black gesso and then embossed with a light dusting of Lindy's Stamp Gang Embossing Powder in Golden Angel Wings (Colour Add-On). Once I had completed the layering, but before adding the photos, I splattered the layout with Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst in Opal Sea Oats (CAO). I used photoshop to create the "polaroid" photos - using a polaroid frame template I found online and photos of my son, which I converted to black and white.

To embellish the layout, I wanted to make it look like someone had emptied their pockets onto the "desk", so I added a wooden domino that I distressed with sandpaper, tiny coins taken off an old necklace, a 7 Gypsies vintage safety pin, a metal key and keyhole and some wooden buttons (EAO), which I had soaked in tea to alter the colour. Finally, I added a Prima Flair button and two Prima mini-clothespins, rubbed with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink, to the photos.

Just a note - we are currently having a Gallery Upload Challenge for SOD/SOE Kit subscribers - check out the details here - you could win your Main Kit free!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today! Come back soon for some more inspiration with the Scraps of Darkness Touch of Grey Kit!

You're My Treasure Layout and Mixed Media Recipe Book ~ Scraps of Darkness Rustic Kit ~

Today, I am sharing two more projects created with the Scraps of Darkness August 2013 Rustic Kit. This kit is so fantastic to work with and I especially loved this month's creativity add-on!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

First up is the second layout I have created with this kit, entitled "You're My Treasure". I just love this sweet picture of my son - and the Kaisercraft "Basecoat" papers were perfect foundation to create a masculine, mixed media layout to showcase the picture. 

I started off by doing some masking with a stencil from my stash and some modeling paste. Then I misted the layout with the Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst mist included in the Main Kit and some blue mist I made using Luminarte Primary Elements Artist Pigments. I then did some stamping with two of the new Prima Clear Stamps from Finnabair's Elementals collection and some Memento Dye Ink in Rich Cocoa.

Once I had finished creating the background, I layered some strips of paper and added the photo, which I wrapped with twine and added two mini-paper clips to (from the Creativity Add-On). I had a few 'bare spots' so I went back and did a little bit more stamping before adding the final embellishments.

For the embellishment cluster, I used Petaloo flowers (Flower Add-on), burlap butterflies and Mandy's Signature Stick-Pin (Embellishment Add-On) and some Prima Metal pieces ('Special Screws' from the Main Kit and the key from my stash). I spritzed the butterflies with the Lindy's Starburst Mist and then stamped them with one of the Prima stamps I had used to create the background. The title was created with Authentique 'Natural Elements' stickers (Main Kit). 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next, I have a Recipe Book created using this month's Creativity Add-On and using techniques I learned in one of the classes I was lucky enough to take with Finnabair in July. I used Luminarte Silks Acrylic Glaze for the paint colours on this layout and a combination of embellishments from the Creativity Add-On and from my stash to create the collage. The chain on the 'spine' of the book is saved from a purse I had that I used until it fell apart - but I saved this gorgeous chain as I knew I'd find a use for it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's it for me today - I'll have a few more projects made with this kit to share over the next couple of weeks. It is such fun to create with! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today - I appreciate your visits and comments so much!

Dreamer - Details and Close-ups (ScrapThat! June Kit)

Today, I'm sharing the second layout that I created with the ScrapThat! June Kit "From Sunrise to Sunset". This layout is based on the Prima BAP for May and, I have to say, it may be one of my favourite layouts ever.

I started this layout by masking the corners with The Crafter's Workshop mini-Cubist template and with Martha Stewart White Texture Effect. I used three colours of Gelatos (Mango, Lemon and Metallic Melon) to add a tiny bit of colour to the masked areas (as well as to the drywall tape in the centre cluster). I then splattered black acrylic paint on the layout, focusing mostly on the bottom left and top right corners (per the corner decorations on the BAP sketch).

I cut apart the Sunrise Sunset White Hot page and used the elements for the layering. I also added in some drywall tape to the layering - I love how this ads dimension and mimics the background page pattern. To create the holes in the paper, I used my Crop-A-Dile Big Bite - I then randomly tore off sections so they would look like torn notebook paper. I distressed the edges of all the papers and created random layers as the mat for my photo. I printed the photo twice and fussy cut both images, layering the two pictures to create extra dimension for the photo (should have taken an angled picture of this so you could see the layering better!).

For the embellishing, I added some pieces of the crystal sheet included in the Main Kit, as well as a few mini-tiles (leftover from our bathroom renovation!).  I also added a bit of doodling at the bottom right and along the left side of the layers and a few random staples around the layers.

In the bottom left, I coloured the canvas flower included in the Main Kit with black acrylic paint. I took off the button and added a bottle cap and added a stamped circle (Prima Sunrise Sunset stamp) to the centre of the bottle cap. I cut the black plastic mesh from the main kit into leaf shapes and added it around the flowers on the layout.

In the top right, I painted the small doily with black acrylic paint and used the white Sunrise Sunset zipper flower and some more of the mesh leaves. I also added a Prima Industrial Lamp from my stash. The title and mini barbed wire Chipboard elements are simply coloured with black marker.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today. Be sure to come back tomorrow to see my third project created with this gorgeous kit!

Love - CSI #36 and Once Upon a Sketch

I'm back with a new layout! This week I am playing along with CSI again - and it is an extra-special month at CSI because they have teamed up with Once Upon a . . .Sketch! I just love playing along with both these challenges - so this was a super-fun layout to do! I've used a picture of myself with my son when he was 3-months old. I don't have a lot of pics of me with him, since I am usually the one wielding the camera, but this is one picture that I just love. So, here is my layout and the CSI Case File that it is based on:

 Here is how I "solved the case":

• Colour Scheme: I focused on the lighter tones in the scheme, with the darker orange and tan colours as my accents. I have also used black and kraft (i.e. cardboard) on the layout.
• Evidence: Mesh (cheesecloth); Fibres (cheesecloth, ribbon, twine); tone-on-tone; curved, organic shapes (Dusty Attic chipboard floral element)
• Journalling: I scattered my journalling words across the banner elements of the layout
• Sketch: I followed it fairly closely - just tilting the picture and playing with the embellishments

For this layout, I have used Graphic 45's Olde Curiosity Shoppe Collection. The papers were perfect for the colour scheme for this challenge - and I adore everything Graphic 45 and have been dying to use these papers. Since I decided to use the tone-on-tone element of the challenge- I layered two similarly coloured papers with different patterns for the background to my page -- lots of distressing of the papers, with paper tears/rolls on the top page. I used a Martha Stewart deep-edge punch to create the horizontal border from the sketch using black cardstock - which ended up being mostly hidden by my embellishments, but I repeated the border-punch as peek-a-boos in the paper tears.

For the circle element of the sketch, I layered a circle cardboard that I ripped the top-layer off of to reveal the cardboard ripple texture with some cheesecloth and second circle of patterned paper. I then ripped a page out of an old dictionary (and had serious guilt about destroying a book) to use in the layering for my photo mat. I used simple black cardstock for the photo mat because I love how the black and white photo stands out on it. I used a Dusty Attic floral frame element, treated with Perfect Pearls Pigments in Copper and Gold, as well as a Dusty Attic mini word for the title, which I simply coloured with a black artist's marker. 

I made the banner using twine and cardboard and then added word elements from 7-Dots Studio Alpha Stickers for my scattered journalling. I added in some mulberry flowers, fussy-cut butterflies, tag elements from the Graphic 45 collection, and ribbon as my embellishments.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today! Don't forget - I have a giveaway going on right now - check the right sidebar of my blog for a link!!

Materials Used:

Patterned Papers - Graphic 45 "Olde Curiosity Shoppe" Collection - Optical Oddities, Mercurial Masterpiece, Bazaar of Wonders, Parlor Wall, Tags #1; 7 Dots Studio "Domestic Goddess" Collection - Alpa Stickers - Salt and Pepper; Dusty Attic - Mini Word ("Love") and Floral Frame Set (Smaller Piece); Perfect Pearls Pigments - Perfect Copper, Perfect Gold; Perfect Pearls Perfect Medium; Recollections Boutique Fleur Mulberry Paper Flowers; Marvy Brush Marker - Black; Martha Stewart Deep Edge Punch - Garden Trellis; Black Cardstock, Cardboard, Twine, Cheesecloth, Dictionary Page; Michael's Special Value Ribbon; Aleene's Tacky Glue; 3D Foam Adhesive; Memory Tape Runner XL; Glue Dots - Craft and Mini.

Memories - ScrapThat! September Sketch

A quick post tonight of a layout I created for the September Sketch at ScrapThat! I actually used the April ScrapThat! kit plus some extras from my stash for the layout. I loved the romantic sketch and thought it was perfect for a wedding photo. Here is my layout:

And here is the sketch that inspired this layout:

I followed the sketch fairly closely - just altering the position of the title and flowers. I added in a few "extras" too - like the lacing and the gorgeous Dusty Attic clock! I used Kaisercraft papers from their "Sweet Nothings" collection - lots of layering, distressing of the papers. I fussy cut the cream-coloured scalloped border from one sheet of the paper and distressed the edges, then layered it on top of a punched border strip. The pink scalloped border piece is from the Kaisercraft Charlotte's Dream collectables. The flowers are a combination of Prima and Kaisercraft. Once I finished the layout, it felt like it was lacking a little oomph - so I swiped on the gesso over the papers and flowers to "whitewash" the layout- I kinda like how that turned out. (FYI - using your fingers to swipe the gesso on the paper works a lot better than a brush!)

I just love this Dusty Attic clock - I painted it with gesso and then ran a soft-bristle toothbrush over it to clean the gesso out of the details. Then, I swiped some Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder in Green Patina onto the clock to make the numbers stand out. The lacing was inspired by my wedding dress, which had a corset-laced back.

Just one more close-up - the flower cluster and second lacing element on this page!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today. 

Materials Used:

Patterened Papers - Kaisercraft Sweet Nothings Collection - Sincerely, Devoted, Love Letters, You & Me and Dozen Roses; Kaisercraft Collectables - Charlotte's Dream Collection (Pink Scallop Border); Bazzill Cardstock - Sand; Paper Flowers - Prima and Kaisercraft; Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gesso; Dusty Attic Vintage Clock #2; Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder - Green Patina; Basic Grey Opaline Half Pearl; DMC White Embroidery Floss; Martha Stewart Punch around the Page; Glue Dots - Mini and Craft; Memory Tape Runner XL.

I Love You More - Updated

I finally got a new layout done! It has been weeks since I have scrapped or even felt like scrapping - I totally lost my scrappy mojo for a while dealing with the flu that went through our house! I decided to take advantage of our long weekend and play along with a few challenges - the Once Upon a Sketch May Sketch, the Scrap for Help May Challenge, The Color Room Scrap That! May Special Edition Palette, and the Scrap it with a Song May 17 Challenge! I also used my Scrap That! May Kit for this layout - I just love the gorgeous Prima "Nature Garden" papers!

I flipped the sketch 180 degrees for my layout. I did lots of layering for this layout using Prima's "Nature Garden" collection papers - I also added in a doily and two old envelopes. The envelopes are for the Scrap for Help challenge - but I love how they fit in with the postcard motif in the papers. I used a Martha Stewart deep edge punch for the punched strip along the right side of the layering. All the papers are tool distressed and I used Distress Ink in Antique Linen on the edges of the papers. *I had originally left off the banner and then decided that the Layout needed that extra element and added it in -- I'm glad I did too! Here is a close-up of the banner.*

I used a Dusty Attic Skeleton Clock, which I embellished with Prima flowers and Prima wooden ticket. I painted the clock with gesso, let it dry and then inked it with Distress Ink in Vintage Photo. I wasn't happy with the clock so I then inked it with Distress Embossing Ink and used Distress Embossing Powder in Old Paper on it.

The journalling theme at OUAS was "Mom" - so I decided to focus on my feelings about motherhood. The lyrics from "In My Life" perfectly describe how it feels when you become a mother - the feelings you had about every other relationship/thing in your life pale in comparison to what you feel for your child. I printed the journalling on my printer and cut it into strips and inked it with Distress Ink in Antique Linen. I used Prima Alphabet stickers for the title. Here is a close-up of my journalling/title:

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today!

Materials Used:

Patterned Papers: Prima "Nature Garden" collection - Pixie, Meeting a Fairy, Primrose, Fairy Godmother; Bazzill - green cardstock; Recollections - white cardstock; Wilton - Doily; Prima - Flowers, Wooden Ticket, Alphabet Stickers; Twine; Distress Ink - Antique Linen, Embossing Ink, Vintage Photo; Gesso; Distress Embossing Powder - Old Paper; Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page - Double Arches Craft Punch; Fiskars Ultra Thin Glue Dots; Zots - Small; Memory Tape Runner XL.

If Happy Little Bluebirds Fly. . .

I finally got a layout done this month. My whole family has been sick off and on all month (including me) . . . so I was busy taking care of them and myself and hadn't found the time to scrap for weeks! *sigh* There just isn't enough time in a day, is there? Anyhow, here is a layout I did to play along with a Round Robin at The Flying Unicorn. The picture is of my son and was taken in March on the first really beautiful, warm Spring day we had. He loved going to the park and the swing and I happened to get this picture in which I think he looks so sweet and thoughtful. I used a line from the song "Over the Rainbow" as the title to go along with his thoughtful expression.

I used some of the contents from my April Scrap That! kit for this layout, which includes papers from the gorgeous "Sweet Nothings" collection by Kaisercraft. I used a page of GCD music-sheet patterened paper from my stash as the background page to tie in my song lyrics title. I edge-distressed the GCD paper and added a few random punches along the edges with a Martha Stewart edge punch and added lace peek-a-boos behind the punched sections. I edge and water-distressed the With Love page from the Kaisercraft papers and layered it on top of the base page. I added a square of distressed corrugated cardboard and matted the photo on some more Kaisercraft paper.

I used a small bluebird and tag from the "Sweet Nothings" Collectables as embellishments. I added the small bluebird to the top right of the cardboard square and added a twine swirl leading to the left side of the page.

I used the tag from the collectables and added a layer of vellum on which I had printed my title. I also added a twine bow to the tag. I used some Bazzil Basics brown cardstock and the Martha Stewart Garden Gate deep edge punch to create the double-punched border strip on the layout. I measured the depth of the punch and cut a strip of paper to allow me to punch both edges with a narrow strip down the middle....I love this look.

I fussy-cut the birdcage from the Dozen Roses Kaisercraft paper and added it to the right side of my layout with some 3-D foam adhesive. I cut a bunch of little blue flowers on my Silhouette to coordinate with the blue flowers on the birdcage and used Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink in Mocha to create the flower centres. I added the flowers to a Dusty Attic Sweet Pea border, which I cut into two sections and treated with two colours of Distress Stain (Stormy Sky and Forest Moss). Here is a close-up of some of the vine/flowers and one of the lace peek-a-boos.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today!

Materials Used:

Patterned Papers: GCD Studios - Tina Higgins "Paris Nights" collection - music sheet; Kaisercraft - "Sweet Nothings" Collection - Dozen Roses, With Love, Collectables; Bazzill Basics Brown Cardstock; Corrugated Cardboard; Recollections Light Blue Cardstock; Vellum; Dusty Attic Sweet Pea Border; Distress Stain in Stormy Sky and Forest Moss; Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink in Mocha; Twine, Lace; Martha Stewart Punches - Garden Gate Deep Edge Punch and Arch Lattice Edge Punch; Aleene's Tacky Glue; Glue Dots - Memory Book and Mini; Memory Tape Runner XL.