Happy Valentine's Day ~ Mon Amour ATC

A quick share for today - a Valentine's Day themed ATC I made for the January/February ATC swap at Scraps of Darkness/Scraps of Elegance!

 I've used the gorgeous Graphic 45 Mon Amour collection papers to make this ATC and decorated it with some white and pink paint splatters, fussy-cut flowers and cut-outs from the papers, along with some roses, clear mica flakes and fuschia glitter! Hope my ATC swap partner likes this one! Here are a couple of different angles of the ATC so you can see the layers!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! Wishing you a Valentine's Day filled with Love and Happiness!

Vintage Santa ATCs

I created this set of ATCs for the November/December ATC exchange at Scraps of Darkness/Scraps of Elegance! I found out today that my exchange partner, Jenny, got them - so now I can share some photos/details about them!

My craft room is currently dis-assembled for redecorating, so I had to use some papers that I had handy - so I used the American Crafts Jack Frost 6x6 papers and some Vintage Santa images from Meg's Garden for the ATCs. I went with a wintery theme and stenciled on some Liquitex Opaque Flakes texture paste and poured Finnabair glitter over the wet paste for some extra shimmer. I made a wreath with some berry vine from my stash and punched out greenery from three different shades of green paper. I added some flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and some winter berries from my stash and then finished the ATCs off with the 'snow' made from heavy gesso sprinkled with glitter. Here is a photo of the set and some close-ups of each ATC.

I really hope Jenny liked her ATC set! Happy Christmas!

Dans un jardin français ~ Pocket Letter (SOD/SOE Swap Aug. '15)

Hello Scrappy Friends! A quick share tonight of a pocket letter I made for a swap with Scraps of Darkness/Scraps of Elegance! I hope my swap partner, Cindy, likes this pocket letter I made for her! I've called this pocket letter Dans un jardin français (In a French Garden) because the paper I used has some beautiful french translations of Shakespeare Sonnets. I had lots of fun fussy cutting, making  pockets and little tag inserts and embellishing the front side of the pocket letter!

I decided to keep the back of the pocket letter flat since the front side was so dimensional (and I had to fit it in the pocket sleeves)! So I echoed the yellow, red, gold and sepia tones from the front and used my gelli plate and some mists to create a background for a stamped/mixed media pocket page featuring stamps by Finnabair. I added some gold glitter paint to the page to tie into the gold glitter on the front as well.

Here's a peek at the back of the tag inserts from the front page - I also used Finnabair stamps on these.

And, finally, some photos of the pocket letter in plastic page - I made a fun ribbon tassel to add to the edge of the page as a final embellishment!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! Happy Scrapping!

Holiday Magic is Found at Home

I took a little break from scrapping for the last month or so but I'm back with a new layout created to play along with a couple of challenges! I had lots of fun playing with different media on this one - definitely a good start to the New Year to get my mojo back!  I scrapped a sweet picture of my son wearing a Santa hat that I took this past December ...he's such a cutie! I definitely prefer to stay "home for the holidays" - so the title of the layout is Holiday Magic is Found at Home.

The Scraps of Darkness/Scraps of Elegance January 2015 Inspiration Board provided the inspiration for this layout - the gorgeous colours in the Aurora Borealis and the snowy branches were perfect inspiration to create a frosty layout.

I've used 7 Dots Studio "Cold Country" papers for this layout (actually from a past SOD Kit -Nov. 2013) and a holiday theme to play along with the December challenge at the 7 Dots Studio blog.

I've used a variety of Lindy's Stamp Gang Starbursts on the background and flowers -- together with some glamour dust added to the molding paste in masked areas and sprinkled on the gesso-painted cardboard, this layout has a lot of sparkle. I wish the photos showed the sparkle better!

That's my first layout of the New Year! I'll be back later this week with some exciting news to share - until then, Happy New Year and all the best to you in 2015!

Materials Used: Patterned Paper - 7 Dots Studio "Cold Country" - Forgotten and Lonely Evenings; Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Mists - Afternoon Delight Denim; Wild Honeysuckle Coral; Tea Pot Purple; Time Travel Teal; Golden Light Molding Paste; DecoArt Glamour Dust; The Crafter's Workshop 12x12 Template Half Tone Borders; Cosmo Cricket Tiny Text; Farmhouse Paper Company Metal Key; Prima Marketing Inc. Flowers and Bling; Corrugated Cardboard; Acrylic Gesso; Aleene's Tacky Glue.

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!

Everyday Moments Make the Best Memories ~ Scraps of Darkness

This is the second layout I've created using the Scraps of Darkness June Perfectly Stunning Kit. The style of this layout is inspired by the work of Georgia Heald. I've used the Kaisercraft Heirloom collection papers and collectables, burlap ribbon and Prima flowers from the kit/add-ons, along with the gesso and two colours of gelatos (Iced Coffee and Iced Chai) from the Creativity Add-on. I also used some Distress Ink (Walnut Stain), Prima stamps, white ink, black ink, drywall tape, metal fence, and chipboard tickets and birds from my stash. Here is the layout, featuring my adorable son, and some close-ups!

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today - I appreciate your visits and comments so much.

Happy Scrapping!

Collector of Memories - Camera ATC ~ Scraps of Darkness

I have a really quick share for you - an ATC created with the Marion Smith Designs Nirvana papers, which are included in the Scraps of Darkness June Perfectly Stunning Kit. This ATC was created for the June ATC swap - so my partner is getting it a bit late - hope she likes it!

I fussy cut the paper pieces from the Nirvana papers. The embellishments include some handmade flowers,  a metal flower, a wooden film strip piece, Tim Holtz film strip ribbon and a Tim Holtz rub-on from a previous SOD Kit.

That's it for now! Happy Scrapping!

Remember ~ Scraps of Darkness

This is my first layout with the gorgeous Scraps of Darkness Perfectly Stunning Kit for June 2014. This will also be my last kit designing for Scraps of Darkness - I have had an amazing year with SOD and can't say enough about how wonderful Melinda (the owner) and the SOD/SOE Design Teams are - they have made my DT experience truly fantastic!

Now, to share my first layout - based on Suepup's Sketch for the June Kit. Here is my layout, using the kit's fantastic Marion Smith Designs Nirvana papers, Prima flowers and embellishments (Main Kit, Flower Add-on and stash) and the Art Anthology media included in the Colour Add-on.

And here is the June Sketch:

Rather than using paper for the large circle element in the background, I started out by masking a large clock face using a The Crafter's Workshop 12 x 12 Time Travel  template with the Art Anthology Velvet Dimensional Paint in Kona. I used the Tim Holtz Clockwork layering stencil (previous SOD kit) with the same paint on the right side of the layout. Once that had dried, I used the Prima Stain 12 x 12 Mask and misted the background page with the Art Anthology Mocha Colorations Spray. Then I started layering my torn and distressed papers along the bottom, adding in some drywall tape and pieces of Tim Holtz Tissue Tape (Sketchbook pack). Once that was in done, I did some more masking in a few places using The Crafter's Workshop 12 x 12 Well Rounded template with the Art Anthology Stone Effects Dimensional Medium  in Sandstone and then some stamping with black ink and a mesh stamp. The last bit of layering was the distressed matting for the photo and the fussy-cut clocks. As a final touch I did some splattering using Liquitex Ink in Carbon Black. To complete the layout, I added the photo, the Prima Flowers and Embellishments and included a chipboard heart from my stash that I painted with the Kona paint. Here are some close-ups!

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today - I appreciate your visits and comments so much.

Happy Scrapping!

Mixed Media Tag ~ Scraps of Darkness

I am sharing a mixed media tag created with the Scraps of Darkness Twisted & Tangled Kit (May 2014). I used the 7 Dots Studio paper, cheesecloth, Petaloo flowers, Dylusions Mists and Shimmerz Paint from the kit, along with a few items from my stash, to create this tag.

I started out by gluing the 7 dots studio paper to a plain tag base. I added cheesecloth, flowers, pearls, chipboard and butterflies to the tag and then misted everything with Dylusions Ink Spray in Posioned Jade. I added some white gesso tot he chipboard, butterflies and pearls and blended it on the tag. Then I misted again with the Jade Dylusions. Once that was dry, I added the sentiment and some of the Shimmerz Paint in Green Olive to the Chipboard and on top of the sentiment to help it blend. I did some masking on the right side of the tag with a Prima mask and some Heavy Gel Medium - to which I added clear microbeads. I then added some Prima Pebbles and clear half beads from a previous SOD kit. Finally I misted the left side of the tag and splattered the whole tag with Dylusions Ink Sprays in Slate Grey and Black Marble. Here are some close-ups.

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Happy Scrapping!