Be Happy. Be You.

 

This layout, with the blend of teals and oranges and rustic settings, was inspired by Tres Jolie’s February Mood Board, along with the Scrapbook Kit, and features a photo of my granddaughter taken back in the spring of 2018.

The 49 and Market Alena collection makes a perfect setting for my image. I chose the Happy Dancers sheet as the foundation because I wanted a not-too-busy background for what was going to be a very busy focal piece.

I cut the Peek-A-Boo sheet into 4”x6” sections, selected four of these to serve as background layers, and backed each of them with cardboard to add plenty of dimension. I glued them together and added my photo.

Now for the embellishments! I took out my Finn Waxes and selected the two that best matched the color scheme to treat the chipboard pieces. Before attaching them to either side of the photo, I gave them a blast with a heat tool to melt then set the wax.

I added a few flowers from the kit and finished it all with some of the laser cut elements, using one of the word strips to provide the title of my piece.

A few closeups:

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*****Supplies*****

***Paper***

49 and Market – Art Options – Alena Collection – 12 x 12 Double Sided Paper – Happy Dancers #AA-37315

49 and Market – Art Options – Alena Collection – 12 x 12 Double Sided Paper – Peek-A-Boo #AA-37285

***Embellishments***

Tres Jolie – Laser Cut Chipboard – Split Flower

49 and Market – Art Options – Alena Collection – Laser Cut Elements #AA-37360

Little Birdie – Handmade Flowers – Vincy Vivid Palette - #CR76710 – 9 Pcs

***Mediums***

Ranger – Tim Holtz – Distress Ink – Mini Ink Pad – Brushed Corduroy

Prima – Finnabair – Art Alchemy – Metallic Wax – Firebird #966720

Prima – Finnabair – Art Alchemy – Metallic Wax – Peacock #966775

***Other***

Beacon – FabriTac

ScorTape – 1/2”

Scrapbook.com – Double-Sided 3D Foam Circles – Small #sbc-bcadh-3122

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As always, I want to thank you for peeking into my blog; your visits mean a lot to me.

 

Boho Twist

 

The title of this piece – Boho Twist – is partly taken from the theme of Tres Jolie’s January Mood Board challenge and partly from all of the twists and turns that my project took to completion.

I was immediately inspired by the colors and images that Kim supplied: the blues and browns and peaches make a beautiful combination and I just love the bottom images of lights and flowers and hangings. But the idea in my head was mostly a canvas with a damask type texture and a mixture of colors created by applying layers of acrylic paint.

I started by digging out several items from my stash: a round canvas, a very loved Prima stencil and a Finn Mould that I’ve used before.

I used Paper Texture Paste through the stencil to duplicate the pattern of one of the papers that were included in the January Kit.

While that was setting, I poured resin into a few of the Mould images and put it aside.

Next, I fussy cut the section that I had chosen from that patterned paper and inked the edges.

I selected a few Finn Acrylic Paints, poured a few drops of each into a palette tray and thinned them with water. As I applied these to the canvas, I used a spray bottle to water them down, using my heat tool to dry them as I went along. Next, I covered the entire canvas with watered-down white gesso to tone down the colors, again drying as I went along. One more layer of varied acrylics, one more layer of gesso and I was done.

The Mould pieces were now set. I coated them with gesso to give them “teeth” and then with watered-down Burnt Sienna acrylic paint.

I selected a chipboard piece that came in the kit and covered it with Distress Oxide ink. The resulting color wasn’t what I had in mind, so I tried applying some of the acrylic left from treating the Mould pieces. This came out much darker than I had intended, so I covered it all with gesso and dried it with the heat tool, causing it to bubble up in spots. I decided that “I meant to do that!” as it did add a little texture here and there.

I was ready to begin assembling my composition.

I glued the chipboard piece to the top of the canvas and then started to add the fussy cut piece. This was going to result in too much canvas, so I selected a few bits of ephemera, inked the edges, and glued them as a cluster to a piece of packaging. Somehow, I wasn’t satisfied, so I created one more ephemera cluster to dangle from the bottom.

I selected more ephemera pieces to layer under the flowers on the sides, inked the edges and added packaging to the bottoms to create dimension. I took one look at the chipboard piece and realized that the color was too bright. I dabbed it with more of the Oxide Ink and finally achieved the soft brown that I wanted all along.

I had planned all along to add seam binding streamers to reflect the flow of the pattern of the paper. I cut them to about 18 inches, doubled and knotted them before gluing them down. I created my last flower cluster over the knots.

I finished my project by gluing my light bulb pieces here and there and declared it “finished”.

A few closeups:

 

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 *****Supplies*****

 ***Paper***

Prima – Bohemian Heart Paper Pad #664121

***Embellishments***

Prima Marketing – Bohemian Heart Collection – Ephemera #664169

Prima Marketing – Bohemian Heart Collection – Flower Embellishments – Blue Lagoon #668297

Prima Marketing – Bohemian Heart Collection – Flower Embellishments – Wild at Heart #668327

Tres Jolie – Laser Cut Chipboard – Split Mandala

My Scrap Cabin – Hand Crinkled Seam Binding – Arctic

My Scrap Cabin – Hand Crinkled Seam Binding – Mink

My Scrap Cabin – Hand Crinkled Seam Binding – Parasol

***Mediums***

Prima – Finnabair – Art Extravagance – Paper Texture Paste #965259

Prima – Finnabair – Art Basics – Heavy Gesso – White #961442

Prima – Finnabair – Art Alchemy – Liquid Acrylic Paint – Burnt Sienna #967222

Prima – Finnabair – Art Alchemy – Liquid Acrylic Paint – Carmine #967253

Prima – Finnabair – Art Alchemy – Liquid Acrylic Paint – Ultramarine #967291

Prima – Finnabair – Art Alchemy – Liquid Acrylic Paint – Deep Turquoise #967307

Prima – Finnabair – Art Alchemy – Liquid Acrylic Paint – Prussian Blue #968250

Prima – Finnabair – Art Alchemy – Liquid Acrylic Paint – Coral #968274

Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Distress Oxide Ink Pad – Gathered Twigs #TDO56003

***Tools***

Prima – Finnabair – Imaginarium – Moulds – Vintage Light Bulbs #969578

Prima – Stencil – Flourish #564278

***Other***

IVON – Round Canvas 8”

Alumilite – Amazing Resin

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As always, I want to thank you for peeking into my blog; your visits mean a lot to me.

 

(Feels Like) Armageddon

 

The wildfires in Canada have been unusually severe this year; the smoke has been traveling hundreds of miles south into the United States and east into Europe. A few weeks ago, the air in large parts of the Northeast turned orange and the atmosphere was deemed extremely hazardous. This is a view of New York City the afternoon of June 6.

In the meantime, I had received my June kit from Tres Jolie, containing a lot of ingredients for masculine projects and a Mood Board Challenge with a Steampunk theme. I decided that this would be a perfect chance to scrap this event.

This was an easy page to put together. The patterns of the 3 Quarters Designs Vintage Men collection are so filled with images and textures that little needs to be done as far as embellishments go.

After selecting my base, I cut up another sheet to form layers. I tore some of the edges using a tear guide, then inked them all around. The photo and the layers were each backed with USPS packaging to give them some depth, then glued down.

My basic embellishment was the pair of chipboard gears from Tres Jolie that came in the kit; I also used one of the gears and two of the wings from the Finnabair packages. I finished it off with a few clay pieces from my stash that were coated with black gesso and then with metallic wax.

A few closeups:

***The wildfires are still ongoing, especially in the Quebec province. I’ve been keeping our Canadian neighbors and all of those who are working to control and put them out in my prayers. ***  

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 *****Supplies*****

 ***Paper***

    3 Quarters Design – Vintage Men Collection

***Embellishments***

    Prima Marketing – Finnabair – Mechanicals – Metal Embellishments – Winged #962432

Prima Marketing – Finnabair – Mechanicals – Metal Embellishments – Steampunk Gears #963453

        Tres Jolie Kits – Chipboard – Steampunk Border – Black

***Mediums***

Prima – Finnabair – Art Basics – Heavy Gesso – Black #961459

Prima - Finnabair – Art Alchemy – Metallique Wax – Aged Brass #963965

Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Distress Archival Ink #AMPK77947

***Tools***

Prima – Finnabair Collection – Moulds – Rusty Pipeline #968601

Prima - Finnabair Collection - Moulds – Vintage Light Bulbs #969578

We R Makers – Basic Tools – Tear Guide #660082

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As always, I want to thank you for peeking into my blog; your visits mean a lot to me.