April is here.....new Scrap the Girls Challenge

Hello there my scrappies.

Welcome to April and a new challenge over at Scrap the Girls.

This month we have a theme board.....and I love this one cause it's all about ME - and you! 
We often forget to be on the other side of the lens. But it's so important.  We are documenters, storytellers, memory keepers but often leave our personal story out of the equation. So this one is all about documenting "Who are You?"

I'm really looking forward to seeing your entries as it will give me an insight into who you are and what makes you tick.

Here's a look at the themeboard.

 

Here's my layout titled "This is Me"

 

 

Yep I've used the lyrics from the song 'This is Me' from 'The Greatest Showman'.  I just loved that movie!! I have the songs playing every time I create.  The lyrics in this song just speak to me so much - I swear I could have written it.

"When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out.
I am brave. I am bruised.
I am who I'm meant to be
This is Me.
Look out cause here I come
And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
I'm not scared to be seen
I make no apologies.
This is ME."

Yep love it - bet you are singing right now!

The chipboard title "This is Me" from 2 Crafty Chipboard is just perfect!! I also used "Gigi Flowers" and "Mini Branches".

I created those cool black circles/swirls with a Metal Die from Uniquely Creative.

They are so bold against the colourful background.  I had a blast creating that background with Dylusions Ink Sprays........love their vibrancy.  I don't think I'll ever tire of using them - my hands say otherwise though! Yep I have rainbow hands as I type this.

This month we have two sponsors. Scrapping Fun Kits and Rainbow Splendour.

How lucky are we? And how lucky will you be if you are a winner!!

So head on over to the BLOG and link up your entry.

 

 

 

 

 

I can't wait to pop in and check out your entries and learn a little more about YOU whilst I'm there.

 

Much love

xxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tam's first Texture Share for Scrap Matrix

Hi everyone, today I'm here to share my latest creation for Scrap Matrix.

 

This month the theme is TEXTURES

 

Right up my alley!!

I'm a mixed media addict so textures and pastes, paints and stamps appear on just about everything I create.

 

Recently my daughter attended a prom.  She's just so gorgeous, and I normally prefer 'everyday' pictures but she was wearing the most stunning dress, so I got plenty of shots!

 

 

Yep, lady in red!

Red is not a colour I use a lot of and if I do, it's usually in small amounts, but this dress just called for me to go with the red.

 

I teamed it with neutrals and just let the red shine.

 

 

So I began by selecting my background sheet of paper and began by

adding black gesso with a cool stencil from AALL & CREATE.

 

I knew I wanted my photos to be towards the top of the page so I focused on this area.

 

I then grabbed some white cardstock.  I use 'Marshmallow' as it's perfect with water and various mediums -  no need to gesso first.

I then used the 'packaging technique'.  Apply some Dylusions Spray Ink to some plastic (left over packaging is perfect).  Add a spritz of water to get the colour flowing, and then splodge it directly onto your cardstock.

 

 

Using a black waterproof ink, stamp your images onto the cardstock.

 

I then cut out these stamped images.

You could choose to add more colour, but I like them just like this - some quite red, some more white - I love the arty look.

 

 

Now that my black gesso had dried, I stamped a few stamps onto my background.

 

I then cut out some pieces from this sheet (designed by the fabulous Fiona Paltridge).

 

I ended up not using the heart. Lol.

 

I then began to add it all together.

I adhered the photos using a few layers of foam tape, as I wanted to be able to tuck various tags, diecuts, gauze etc behind the photos.

 

 

This also allowed me to tuck the photos underneath.

I bent the petals upwards to give them more dimension.

I then tucked in a few of my favourite metal flowers.

 

 

Finally I added my title and a few word stickers plus the all important journaling!

 

And that is that.

A layout documenting my 'Lady in Red'.

 

 

Don't forget to head on over to the Scrap Matrix Shares group on Facebook and add in your creations using different textures/paints/stamping from Scrap Matrix.

There's so much to choose from, Vicki has the latest and greatest on the market!!

 

Just add it to the Album titled "Textures" and let us know what Scrap Matrix products you used in the comments section.

It's that easy - no need for a blog, plus you could win an awesome Scrap Matrix prize!  Vicki is very generous and we LOVE seeing what you come up with.

 

I'll see you again soon!!

 

 

Scrap Matrix Products used:

 

Black Gesso

AALL & CREATE stencil No 7

AALL & CREATE stamp set 10

Prima Bloom Floral Stamp

Dylusions Ink Spray - Postbox Red

Ranger Archival Ink Pad

7 Dots Stamp - Hazy Days

7 Dots Paper - Homegrown Snicker

7 Dots Tags - Writers Block

7 Dots Tags - Paint Chips

7 Dots Word Stickers - Writer's block

Brass Metal Flower - Large #1

Mambi Chips - Sweet Memories

American Crafts Plus One Paper - Assistant

13 Arts Strength in Numbers - Foundation

 

My second 2Crafty Chipboard Creation for March

Hi Scrappy Ones

 

I'm back today to share my second March creation for 2Crafty Chipboard.

 

It's titled:

"Embrace Today"

 

This layout celebrates my gorgeous daughter and two of our very special family friends who now live a long way away, however we were lucky enough to have some time with them recently.

 

Definitely a day to scrap and remember forever.

 

I used the following 2 Crafty Chipboard:

 

"Embrace Today Title"

"Mini Branches"

"Handrawn flowers"

"6" Circle Revolution Frames"

"Word Circles - Christmas"

 

 

 

 

 

 

I began by painting all of the Chipboard in a couple of coats of white gesso.

 

I then added some watercolours to the "Mini Branches".

I used a few different colours.

 

I also used a black pen to outline a few of the leaves and to add a few dots.

 

I added white paint to the "6" Revolution Frames" and the two circles from the "Christmas Word

Circles Set".

This gave them a crisp finish.

 

 

I did the same to the "Embrace Today title", and then I added yellow paint to the today part.

 

I really love doing this to the 2Crafty titles when they have two different fonts.

 

I then outlined a few of the letters in today, and added some dots with a Sharpie.

I like the whimsical look this creates.

 

 

 

Finally I painted some of the leaves from the "Handrawn Flowers" in black paint. 

 

I really like the contrast this gives against the other leaves.

 

That's it for today, I'll be back in a few days with some more inspiration.

 

Until then, happy creating!

 

 

 

 

 

My first March 2 Crafty Chipboard Share

 

Hi all!

I'm here to share my first March 2Crafty Chipboard creation with you.

 

My first creation is titled:

 

"#Funtimes"

 

 

A layout that documents our last night at our annual holiday at a beach in Port Elliott, South Australia. 

This place is really special to us and on the last night we all have a lot of fun hanging out together as the sun goes down.  Definitely something I wan to capture and remember.

 

I used the following "2 Crafty Chipboard:

"Today is Perfect Title

"Element Set 1"

"Crazy Stitched Panel"

"ATC Tiny Hearts & Stars"

 

 

 

I painted the "Crazy Stitched Panel" in black and trimmed this down.

 

I love using this to give my background some texture.

 

 

I painted the "Today is Perfect title" in yellow paint and then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder to give it a sheen/resin like finish.

 

 

 I did the same to the "Element Set 1".

 

 

I love the effect of this. That yellow is just gorgeous.

I applied some jade green paint to a few of the stars from the "ATC Tiny Hearts & Stars" and again heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

 

 

I love the pops of colour that the chipboard gives this layout.

 

I absolutely adore the background paper - it's a 7Dot's Paper from their Northern Lights Collection, available from my favourite scrappy store Scrap Matrix. 

 

I also used some 7Dots tags from their gorgeous Paint Chips range, plus there's some background stamping - for these I used Aall & Create and 7 Dots, again available from Scrap Matrix.

 

Well that's it for today, I'll be back with my next creation later in the week.

 

 

 

Playing with Scribble Sticks

Hi there everybody, thought I'd pop in today with an extra share for Scrap Matrix.

I adore the Dina Scribble Sticks, but I have to admit that when I ordered them I was terrified.  The thought of just scribbling without a plan.....what!! I really haven't done a lot of Art Journaling, I'm much more of a layout kind of girl. So I was both looking forward to them arriving and dreading it at the same time. When they did arrive, they sat on my scrap desk for a while.....and tormented me.

Anyway, eventually I had no more excuses and decided it was time.

Something I have always wanted to do is draw a face, but I never have - where does one start?   So I decided to just do it! Stop listening to that inner critic and just play!!

First up, I decided to use the journal that I experiment in.  It's nothing special, the paper's not great quality but I use it to stamp off after using a stencil.  So it contains all these pages with different splodges of colour.  It was perfect for this experimental play. 
The hardest part about starting a face is just that.....starting! Having colour already randomly splodged on the page made it feel safe.  It wasn't too clean and stark.

Something I did after my first one, was google Dina Wakley faces and I watched a 5 minute video which gave me a few tips and tricks.  I would recommend this.  It helped me with proportions.

But then that was it!! I stopped watching.
I started playing.
This can be a real trap for myself, watching you tube video after you tube video. There's so many inspirational people out there HOWEVER I find this robs me of my creative time, and I end up feeling too overwhelmed and too much pressure.

So my advice would be just watch 1 or 2 max and then go PLAY. 
You might just surprise yourself. 
I did.

 So once I got to this point I was busting to do more! 

So time to get the Dylusions Journal out. 
Eeeeek!!
I haven't ventured into the world of art journaling yet......I'm such a layout girl. But it's all about being BRAVE remember!

 I used Scribble Sticks for the background and the face.

I added a few stamps from AALL & CREATE and a touch of journaling.

A few word stickers from 7Dots and I was finished!

There you have it.

I hope this inspires you to step out of your comfort zone and give something new a go. Perhaps something you've always wanted to do........ ignore that inner critic......enjoy the process.

Scrap Matrix Products used:

White Gesso

Ranger Dylusions Art Journal

Ranger Dina Wakley Scribble Sticks

Aall & Create Stamp No 25

7Dots Studio Paint Chips Word stickers