Halloween/Autumn Tag Trade ~Scraps of Darkness~

I have a really quick share for you tonight - I realized that I forgot to post the tag I created for my friend Lee (aka Violent Kittie) for the Scraps of Darkness Halloween/Autumn Tag Trade! I chose to go all-out-Halloween for my tag and created this Spooky oversized tag for Lee! The base is a Prima Doll tag and there is a second Size 5 tag on the top (the spiderweb). I used a section of Imaginarium Designs chipboard Spade-Top fence, and lots of fun Halloween embellishments to create this fun tag!

It looks so much cooler in real life.....I hope Lee loved it!

In return, I got an A-mazing tag with gorgeous Autumn Colours - I LOVE IT! Check it out on Lee's blog here!

Love This ~ Scraps of Darkness November Kit Sketch ~

The Scraps of Darkness November Kit - "Water Lilies" - was inspired by the famous painting by Claude Monet and is full of spectacularly gorgeous papers and embellishments! My first layout with this kit, entitled "Love This" is based on this month's exclusive sketch by SuePup! My layout features pictures of my son playing outside at a local harvest festival this Autumn - I love watching him play and have so much fun! I converted the photos to black and white since the background of this layout fetatures so much colour! Here is my layout:

And here is the sketch this layout is based on:

For this layout, I used the Kits 7 Dots Studio paper, the Crafter's Workshop Template, Petaloo Flowers, Leaky Shed Studio Chipboard, 3D Stamp Paint, Inka Gold colour, Lindy's Stamp Gang Mists and Pink Paislee tag from the SOD kit and add-ons, along with some mixed media elements, Lindy's Stamp Gang Mists, drywall tape and cardstock from my stash. Here are a few close-ups of the different elements of the layout.

In this close-up, you can see the masking done with the TCW template - I used Fibre Paste from my stash, mixed with some of the Cobalt Blue Inka Gold colour from the Main Kit. The circles are the 3D stamp paint from the Creativity Add-on - I simply painted the edge of the paint lid and stamped that on the page.

I used four different Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Mists on this layout - Tea Pot Purple, Time Travel Teal, Shabby Turbine Teal and Edelweiss Moss Green. You can really see the drywall tape and layering in this close-up - I also used some staples to hold down some of the layers and the tag.

I painted the Leaky Shed Studio Chipboard with Luminarte Silks Acrylic Glazes (Olive Vine, Pomegranate and  Solar Gold). I twisted the Petaloo vine around the chipboard and also added a cluster of Petaloo flowers to the opposite corner of the main photo. (It is too bad the photo of my son isn't sharper - that's what happens when I let my husband be the photographer ;).

I can't wait to get back to creating with this kit - there are so many possibilities!!!!! Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

You Colour My World ~ Imaginarium Designs & Scrap Around the World ~

This month, Imaginarium Designs is one of the sponsors at the Scrap Around the World challenge blog and the Imaginarium Designs DT was asked to create a project inspired by the mood board and/or optional sketch. I chose to create a project inspired by the rainbow of colours on the mood board and made this mixed media canvas featuring an adorable picture of my son from this Autumn - he truly does "colour my world".

I started off the project using a Crafter's Workshop 12 x 12 Bricks template with Golden Coarse Pumice Gel. Once that had dried I coated the masked bricks and canvas with a coat of gesso. Then I added the Imaginarium Designs compass, clock and border and painted them with gesso as well. I created my own rainbow of mists for the colours using watered-down acrylic paint + pearlizing medium. Once the coloured paint dried, I added the picture and flowers and then dry-brushed everything (including the flowers) with white gesso and then Luminarte Silks Acrylic glaze in gold. The last step was to add the title - first I primed the chipboards with gesso, then painted them with Distress Crackle Paint in Picket Fence; finally, I dry brushed the letters with the gold acrylic glaze and attached them to the layout.

Here is the Scrap Around the World mood board that inspired this project:

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today - be sure to play along with the Scrap Around the World Challenge this month for a chance to win an amazing prize pack of chipboard from Imaginarium Designs!

Scraps of Darkness - November 2013 "Water Lilies" Kit

The Scraps of Darkness November Kit was revealed today and it is utterly gorgeous! Melinda's inspiration for this Kit was Claude Monet  - and so the Kit has been named Water Lilies in honour of one of his most famous paintings. Here is a picture of the Kit - be sure to check the Scraps of Darkness website for a full list of the kit contents and the amazing add-ons available!

I'll be back very soon with some projects created with this breathtaking kit - I can't wait to create with it!

Magic Dragon ~Scraps of Darkness~

The Scraps of Darkness October Kit had an amazing Colour Add-On that included the Lindy's Stamp Gang Industrial Chic Mists set, designed by Limor Webber. I decided to use the mists to create my own background for a page featuring my son dressed up as a dragon (Halloween 2012). The colours in the Industrial Chic set were ideal for this - the greens/teals with sepia and silver accents really complement the picture and make this one of my favourite layouts this year!

 

I started out with a large piece of cardboard and tore off the top layer to reveal the corrugated layer underneath - this made a great, heavy base for the mixed media layout and looks great too. Then, I masked "Scales" onto a piece of white cardstock using a Prima Finnabair 12 x 12 stencil and some light molding paste mixed with Luminarte Primary Elements pigments (Forest Green, Lucky Apple, Mediterranean Blue) to tint it a light greenish-blue colour. Once that had dried, I started misting with the Industrial Chic mists - mainly the green and teal colours (Rusty Lantern Lime, Shabby Turbine Teal, Time Travel Teal) along with hints of the Sepia and Silver (Steampunk Sepia, Steel Shimmer). Here is a close-up of some the masking/misting.

The green and teal in this layout are perfect for the Lindy's Stamp Gang November Colour Challenge - so I am submitting this layout!

Once the background was complete, it was finally time to get to the picture and embellishments! I fussy cut the picture so it would look like my son was sitting on the layered ribbons (from the Creativity Add-On and Main Kit) and then added some "graveyard moss" for texture (and to hide the fact that my husband cut-off my son's legs in this photo). I added a combination of Prima, Kaisercraft and Petaloo flowers from the Main Kit and Flower Add-on and the Signature Stick Pin from the Embellishment Add-on. Finally, after carefully covering the picture, I did some more misting of the flowers/moss to finish off the layout!

As always, thank you so much for stopping by my blog today - I appreciate your visits and comments so much!

Imaginarium Designs - There's No Place Like Home

I have a "challenging" layout to share with you today. I love playing along with challenges and haven't been doing it as much as I used to - so this month I have created a layout to play along with the November Sketch at Once Upon a . . . Sketch and CSI - Color, Stories Inspiration Challenge #96. These two challenges actually intersected quite nicely for me as my "happy" place is my home - I'm a total homebody and love just cozying up at home with my family and my pets. My home is also a century home - so I've documented a bit of its history through photos and talk about the struggles/joys of owning such an old home in my journalling. I had fun searching through our County's Archives for some vintage photos and have to credit Google Earth for the most recent photo - I hope you enjoy a little peek into the history of my home!

Here is the OUAS sketch, which I rotated 90 degrees clockwise for my layout design!

I used Bo Bunny's "The Avenues" collection for this layout - the colours were perfect for the CSI colour palette and the door motif was so appropriate for documenting a layout about my home. I distressed the papers quite heavily as I thought it suited the theme of the layout. I used the Imaginarium Designs 8x8 Honeycombe as a layering element and the There's No Place Like Home phrase for my title. Both of these chipboard pieces were primed with black gesso and then painted with Luminarte Silks Acrylic Glaze in Carmen to give them a deep black/red colour.

 

I fussy cut the windows from the door and added a piece of velum so that it looked like frosted glass. I used a variety of Prima and Kaisercraft flowers to create the flower cluster and added in some Imaginarium Designs chipboard 'greenery' to complete the cluster. I simply sponged the greenery with acrylic paint in a colour to match the leaves on my flowers.

Finally, in case you're wondering what the journalling says, here is a little close-up of the tag tucked into the velum envelope behind the door. I wrote the journalling on my computer using a typeset font to fulfill one of the 'testimony' requirements for the CSI Challenge and then printed it on a nice, textured tag.

Here is a quick summary of how I solved the CSI Case File:

The Scheme: I incorporated all the colours.

Evidence: I have used clocks, flowers, a vintage photo, velum (something transparent) and paint (white gesso). 

Testimony: I have used a typewriter font, tucked my journalling behind a door and used the inspirational words message and remember for my journalling.

Imaginarium Designs Chipboard Used

8x8 Honeycombe - IDS0053

 There's No Place Like Home - Phrase - IDP0061

Kerri Flourish Tiny - IDT0026

Other Materials Used:  

Patterned Paper - Bo Bunny "The Avenues" - Treasures, Clocks, Doors, The Avenues; Pro Art Gesso - White; Bazzill Basics Cardstock - Red; White Cardstock; QuicKutz Die - Paint Chip; Black Soot Reinker; Velum, DecoArt Acrylic Paint - Leaf Green;  Prima Mini Roses - Red, Grey;  Aleene's Tacky Glue; 3D Foam Adhesive

Bits & Pieces from Scraps of Darkness Kits - Mini Clothespins - Red; Velum Envelope; Quilled Creations Textured Gift Tag; Red Gingham Ribbon; Prima Flower - Clara; Kaisercraft Paper Blooms - Black.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today - don't forget to leave a comment on my post on the Imaginarium Designs Blog for a chance to win some fantastic Imaginarium Designs Chipboard! 

Frightfully Delightful ~Scraps of Darkness~

Today, I'm sharing another layout created with the amazing Scraps of Darkness October "Gothic" Kit. This layout also happens to be my entry for the October Round Robin at Scraps of Darkness - stop by our forum and check out our challenges - you don't have to be a kit subscriber to play along! I've scrapped another photo of my son from his first Halloween - I can't help it - he is just so cute in his little skeleton jammies!

There is a bit of masking with a Prima Finnabair Stencil and some Heavy Gel Medium mixed with Distress Glitter; but, the main focus of this layout is lots and lots of distressed layers. Here are a couple of close-ups!

 

This Kit is a dream to work with - the My Mind's Eye Happy Haunting papers distress so beautifully! I had fun adding in some dictionary pages and some of the "invitations" from the Teresa Collins Masquerade Party papers and the title/journalling spot from the Anna Griffin Spooktacular "Titles, Tags & Quotes".

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!

Pick Your Pumpkin Layout & Steampunk Spells Apothecary Cabinet ~ Scraps of Darkness October "Gothic" Kit

Today, I am sharing two more projects created with the Scraps of Darkness October "Gothic" Kit! First up is a minimalist/monochromatic layout and second is an Apothecary Cabinet created with this month's amazing Creativity Add-On.

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Pick Your Pumpkin

I love experimenting with different styles and I decided to try a very minimalist "scene" layout with a monochromatic colour scheme. For this layout, I have used a picture from my son's trip to the pumpkin patch with his daycare. 

I started this layout by using the Crafter's Workshop 12 x 12 Branches template along with some Distress Ink - Black Soot. I just used a sponge and smudged the ink around the edges of the template to create the tree silhouettes. I fussy-cut a corner off the Anna Griffin Bat Die-Cut paper for the top corner.

I have done some selective colouring on the black and white photo so that only the colour of the pumpkin is revealed - so much fun to use photo-editing as an artistic element in your layouts! If you're interested in a tutorial on selective colouring using Photoshop Elements - I have one here. I added some Spanish Moss along the bottom of the layout to make it look like my son is standing in the pumpkin vines picking his pumpkin.....see how the pumpkin vines in the picture run into the moss!? I added in some chipboard Barley Sheaves by Imaginarium Designs. I coloured the chipboard with Distress Stain in Old Paper and Frayed Burlap and then added some Shimmerz Blingz in Gold Glimmer. Finally, I tied the two chipboard pieces together with some twine.

The title letters are also chipboard by Imaginarium Designs - I used the same technique for the title as I did for the Barley sheaves. Then I did some scribbly outlining around the title letters with a fine-tip black Sharpie to help the title stand out.

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Steampunk Spells Apothecary Cabinet

My next project was created using this month's Creativity Add-On, which included an amazing Kaisercraft Shadowbox Unit and papers for Graphic 45's Steampunk Spells collection. 

I had so much fun creating this "Apothecary Cabinet" - I love how it turned out and will definitely be keeping it on display in my craft room! I focused on the papers with Clocks and Gears for the Cabinet - I loved them and they really lent themselves well to the design. 

I puzzled for a bit as to how to put the drawers together, since they came flat and didn't have tabs or anything to attach the sides together. Finally, I decided to use some drywall tape around the outside of the boxes - I love the texture this gave them and it was functional too! I painted and mod-podged the boxes after taping them to help hold everything together and then added  "knobs" made from some of the G45 Chipboard elements!

I wanted the sides to look like peeling billboards - so I cut out two of the labels from the G45 papers and distressed/curled the edges to make them look like posters peeling off a wall.

For the top, I used some mini craft bottles, which I painted orange, green and black withMartha Stewart Glass paint. I tied the necks of the bottles with black twine and added tags from the G45 Chipboard elements. I then dripped black wax over the corked bottles - how cool did that turn out?!?! I added black glitter to a plastic skull and used the larger feather from this month's Main Kit because I thought it looked like a writing quill. Finally, I added a G45 Potions and Charms sign to a chipboard sign post (treated with Distress Embossing Powder in Black Soot to make it look like wrought iron). 

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That's it for me today! I'll have a couple more projects with this kit to share over the next two weeks - only two days until Halloween and my camera is primed and ready to take some awesome shots!

As always, thanks for stopping by my blog!

1st Halloween ~ Scraps of Darkness October "Gothic" Kit

It is that time of the year -- time for the Scraps Of Darkness Halloween Kit Reveal! This October's Kit ~ Gothic ~ is utterly spooktacular! 

And here is this month's Spellbinding Sketch - created exclusively for SOD by the talented Sue Pup:

And here is my take on the sketch:

I started off this layout by using a Prima 12 x 12 mask and some Heavy Gel Medium mixed with the Distress Stickles included in the kit - it was an experiment, but I LOVE how it turned out! Then I did some misting with Lindy's Stamp Gang Glitz Spriz in Royal Amber Fire for a bit more shimmer and some drippy effects. Here is a close-up of the masking/misting.

I fussy cut the 31 from the My Mind's Eye (MME) Happy Haunting Cards paper. I also cut the Chevron paper along the zig-zags for the horizontal border. The Halloween Rhinestone title and glitter letters are from my stash.

I decided to play up the Harlequin pattern from my masking and used two diamonds instead of rectangular strips for my photo mat. I chose a picture of my son from his first Halloween for this layout - I just love the funny face he is making in this photo - and used one of the awesome Pebbles Photo Overlays (Embellishment Add-on) on top of the photo! For the photo cluster, I used some of the MME stickers, the ticket from the Anna Griffin Titles, Tags & Quotes and the Kaisercraft Paper Blooms included in the Main Kit and threw in some small resin roses and rose leaves from my stash. You also see a bit of the gorgeous black lace included in the Embellishment Add-On layered underneath the Chevron paper.

I can't wait to get back to creating with this kit - it is spectacularly fun! As always, thank you so much for stopping by my blog today - I appreciate your visits and comments so much!

Simple Things Matter Most - Mixed Media Art Journal Page - Imaginarium Designs & "Cracked Glass" Frame Tutorial

Hi There! Today, I am sharing a mixed media Art Journal page created for Imaginarium Designs! I used lots of different media on this one - mists, paint, gelatos and some coloured molding paste too! I made this page to remind myself that it isn't the big gestures that matter - it is the little things you do with your children that make a big impact - such as my weekly trip to the library with my son (which he loves) or taking the time to be a parent volunteer on a school field trip! 

I started out this page using Finnabair's 6x6 Doily Mask with some Light Molding Paste mixed with Luminarte Primary Elements Pigment in Mandarin Blush. After that dried, I used Finnabair's 12x12 Fishnet Mask with four colours of Lindy's Stamp Gang mists (Starbursts - Cocoa Bean Copper (SS-18), Edelweiss Moss Green (SS-21); Wild Honeysuckle Coral (SS-22); Lindy's Stamp Gang Moonshadow Mist - Van Dyke Sepia (MSM-24)). I am entering this Art Journal page in the Lindy's Stamp Gang October Color Challenge - I tried to get as close to the colours on the mood board as possible (orange, purple, green and black) - with some brown neutrals and coral tones thrown into the mix! The silver 'mesh' you see on the page (mostly on the left side) is actually some leftover plastic fencing from our garden.

For the title, I first cut the Simple Things Matter Most title into two separate pieces, then I painted each secition in a colour a gradient (purple>coral>orange) with three colours of Luminarte Silks Acrylic glaze (Pomegranate, Coral Berry and Spiced Pumpkin). The frames were coloured with two different tones of green gelatos and then coated with Ranger Crackle Accents - I have a simple tutorial on this technique below! Here is a close-up of the chipboard elements of this Art Journal page.

Imaginarium Designs Chipboard Used

Simple Things Matter Most - IDP0031

Oval Frames - IDT0002

Other Materials Used
Drawing Paper; Masking Tape; Plastic Mesh Fencing; Light Molding Paste; Luminarte Primary Elements Pigment - Mandarin Blush; Prima - Finnabiar - 6x6 Stencil - Doily; Prima - Finnabair - 12x12 Stencil - Fishnet; Lindy's Stamp Gang Starbursts - Cocoa Bean Copper (SS-18), Edelweiss Moss Green (SS-21); Wild Honeysuckle Coral (SS-22); Lindy's Stamp Gang Moonshadow Mist - Van Dyke Sepia (MSM-24); Jolee's Boutique Lace Border (French General); Luminarte Silks Acrylic Glaze - Pomegranate, Coral Berry, Spiced Pumpkin; Prima - Finnabair - Clear Stamps - Harlequin and Book Page; Memento Dye Ink - Tuxedo Black; Prima Sunrise Sunset Paper - Corona; Faber-Castell Gelatos - Pistachio and Lime; Ranger Crackle Accents.
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"Cracked Glass" Frame Tutorial

I thought I would also share a really simple photo tutorial as to how I created the frames on my Simple Things Matter Most Art Journal page.

Supplies:

Imaginarium Designs Chipboard 

Two Colours of Faber-Castell Gelatos (I have used Pistachio and Lime)

Water

Ranger Crackle Accents

1. Start out with your Chipboard and Gelatos.

 

2. Randomly colour the chipboard with the two colours of gelatos.
    (Looks pretty horrific right now, right? Don't worry - it gets a lot better!)

3. Lightly blend the gelatos together with a damp finger (not too wet - or you'll smudge all the colour together and you won't get the two-toned effect we're going for). You may want to add a little more of each colour here and there until you get a good two-toned appearance. It is pretty subtle right now - but wait for the next step!

4. Coat the coloured chipboard with a generous coat of Ranger Crackle Accents. And then wait for it to dry (and wait and wait and wait.....You can use a hair dryer to help speed this along but I don't recommend using a heat gun - the intense heat tends to make the wet chipboard smoke.....I speak from experience.)

5. Finally, the finished "Cracked Glass" frame on the Art Journal Page - isn't it pretty?!

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Well, thanks for sticking with me to the end of this long post - I hoped you like my Art Journal page and tutorial! Don't forget to leave a comment on my post on the Imaginarium Designs Blog for a chance to win some fabulous Imaginarium Designs chipboard!