MORE SHARES!!

Hey, hey!! Another rainy Friday here in Perth. I'm so over the weather here. Its the middle of spring and we've barely had a day above 22. We would normally be having temperatures in the high 20's low 30's by now, but this year I'm beginning to wonder if we will see summer at all. First up today I'd like to share with you this really fun layout I created using bright happy spring/summer colors.

'My Little Guy'

The background was done on a piece of patterned Prima paper. I changed its color using a thin layer of gesso and a light wash of watercolor so that the original pattern in the background is still visible. I then used my favorite Prima mask and stamp to add texture to the background and finished with splatters of ink and mists. I created the background before I chose my photo, which I then used as my inspiration for choosing the rest of the elements for this page.

Here is what the background looked like once it was painted:

Some close-ups:

 

There are quite a few different brands on here again including Prima, MME, AC and Studio Calico. The striped frame and the round sticker with the blue button were just some layered stickers I found in a 2 dollar store. I've had them in my draw for ages and never thought to use them until now. The MME chipboard kites were originally one piece which I cut, not only to separate, but for cleaner lines as well.

The title is from My Little Yellow Bicycle. I've added some foam squares behind it and some gesso around the edge to blend it with the background a little. I've also used watercolor in aquamarine blue to add some shadowing behind the title.

I love the cork arrows and chevrons from Studio Calico. My stash is almost gone though :-( I love the pegs from AC too. You can see here how I've added more shading using my watercolors. Such a cool effect.

 

Love this Fiskars punch at the moment. I've had it forever but only really started using it these last few months. and of course my pages are not complete without some calico and twine.

Next up I have a Christmas layout to share with you. Now I've never actually done a Christmas layout before as I've never been able to make the colors work for me, Although I haven't really used conventional colors on this either. I'm happy with the way it turned out though.

'Merry'

I was originally going to do something else on this background but going through my photos I found this adorable picture of my son in a little Santa outfit. It was his first Christmas. He was only 8 months old and sitting in a sea of presents. I instantly knew I had to do something with it, but it was really hard trying to make it work. Red and I are not friends, but if I hadn't somehow incorporated it into the layout then the photo would have just looked wrong. I've actually been working on this for about 6 days. Doing a piece here and a piece there because it just didn't feel right the whole time I was working on it. I'm glad I spaced it out though because I really love the final result, and I'm not sure if it would have turned out like this if I had rushed it. 

Some close-ups:

Another huge mix of brands on here. I like to mix it up and my stash isn't really big enough to only use one brand :-( Got some Studio Calico, AC, Bo Bunny, Tim Holtz, Prima Junkyard Findings, Kaisercraft and more.

Lots of layers.

You can see some of the background texture here I used my brick mask with watercolors (of course) and I added a bit of embossing on top of my Prima script stamp. I love the efeect it created.

This big brown flower I actually made myself using some cheap tear away fabric, fabric stiffener, glimmer glaze, gesso and gold embossing dust. The flower stammens were white and gold originally but they didn't look right, so I coated with gesso and painted with watercolors.

You can really see the dimension of the layers here. I also decided to use these cute little alphas I've had for ages to add a Christmas Wish to my boy.

Last but not least I have a journal page to share with you. The last from my art journal 'Remember' as it is full and barely closes. When creating the background for this page I decided to just let go and create whatever came out. I hadn't decided on photo's or anything else at that point. When I had completed the background I knew that something was missing and I had been wanting to create a page using a silhouette of myself for a while, I just wasn't sure on how to make it look right. I decided to search the internet for idea's, where I found a great youtube video tutorial by Finnabair on altered photo's and I took my inspiration from this. Here is what it turned out like.

'Fly Away' 

I used my new Kaisercraft mask on the background, heat drying it to get that nice round, bubbly effect. There is also a huge mix of watercolors, ink pads and mists, distress stains, and gesso.

A few details for you:

 I'm really loving my Kaisercraft butterfly stamps at the moment, they are getting a lot of use. I've gone over some sections of the images with a black pen to tidy it up a bit, then drawn the little circles and filled them with glossy accents to create a flight trail.

 I didn't really do too much with the photo, just added an eyeshadow effect and used black pen to draw lashes. I did cut out the ears however and accidentally caused my shoulder to bubble up when I was drying it, so I squished it back down and filled the little hole with black pen. I actually like the effect it caused though it was entirely unintentional. I finished by using my pen to outline and doodle a little, then added a touch of my Prima script stamp.

You can really see some of the colors and textures in the background here from the inks, stains and stamping. I especially love the texture of this Webster's Pages rose ribbon which I drowned in gesso. It has an awesome feel when you touch it!! it.

So that's all from me today. I hope you enjoyed and have found something on here to inspire you. I know I enjoy creating it all and then sharing it with you. I hope everyone has a great weekend. I'll be back with more to share early next week. Thanx for stopping by! Xoxoxo!!