PINK OR BLUE?

Hey lovely blog reader's.... Hope you are all having a great weekend!! As promised, I am back again with another post, though I have decided to share with you 2 layouts today instead of just 1. While I have created some girl layouts recently, it has been a very long time since I created one that was so feminine, and so pink. I have used a photo of my cousin Simone's two eldest girls for this creation. It is one of the sweetest photo's I have of them.

'XOXO'

As you can see I have used lots and lots of pink combined with some soft neutrals. I have distressed the edges of the background and added some tears. When I folded back the edges, I knew instantly that the pattern on the back of the sheet would not go with what I was trying to create. Using scraps of some patterned paper that I thought would match the look I was trying to create I attached them beneath, tearing and distressing them to match those that were already in place on the background, before folding over so the pattern was visible and securing. I wanted it to look as though it was the pattern on the other side, and not a separate sheet of paper. This helps tie the entire page in with the dark background in the photo. The background was created using my usual process, though this time I also added some flicks and splatters using very watered down gesso. This gives the background a more shabby feel and a little extra texture.

Some detailed shots:

I have torn a sheet of patterned paper and attached it across my page slightly up from the middle. My photo mat was built up on this strip to the right of the page. As always my layers consist of distressed edges, calico and twine. This time, not only have I added the white twine on top of the photo, but I have also placed some red twine beneath it. The little chipboard hearts are by Collections Elements, painted white with gesso. I have also added the excess frame from the hearts underneath my layers, also painted white.

As you can see my title doesn't really need explaining. I was trying to think of what to add for the title, and what kept coming to mind was the Prima, xoxo, wood-icons, but sadly I have been unable to get a hold of these. It gave me the idea though to do the same thing using some old AC thickers.

Lots and lots of yummy Prima flowers here..... I love the Le Mia roses, and have been using them on just about everything lately. In fact I love all my prima flowers. Usually, because they are so hard to find here in Perth not to mention super expensive, I always try to make them last as long as possible. 

As you can see I have added in a Prima Mechanicals bottle cap under the petunia and a Tim Holtz bookplate under the pink rose, to add some darker contrast to my cluster and help it stand out a little. Once again, this also helped tie everything together with the photo.

For balance and added interest I have added a heart gear and a bolt from Ingvild bolme's Junkyard Findings Collection, a Prima art tile from the Romantique Collection, and a couple of cork arrows from Studio Calico.

I finished off the page with some sequins, some Kaisercraft pearls and a few more chipboard hearts.

 Secondly, I have a layout to share which I created a couple of weeks ago. As I have mentioned on previous posts I have been trying out new things, and using techniques that i haven't used for years. I wanted to create a layout using a photo where I have cut out the subject, a silhouette. I have used this technique once in an art journal page, but never before on a layout. I wanted to see if it was possible to use a silhouette photo and still create lots of paper layers and dimension with embellishments, staying true to my style. I was worried it wouldn't turn out the way I hoped, or that it would be very difficult to work with. In the end I discovered it was not really much different to using a normal photo, and the final result was far more than I ever expected. 

For the first time ever I have decided not to add a title to the page. It does have a title, just not one that is written on there. I plan to frame this layout, and one of the things I love about it is the story it seems to tell all by itself, with no help from a title or journaling. 

'Imagine'

I see so many things when I look at this page. A winter garden, an ice palace, a little snow bear..... and so much more. The photo was taken on our living room lounge. Jet was just 2 months old here, and it was one of the coolest days in winter that year. Obviously where i live we don't get snow, or even freezing temperatures, but when it's the only weather you have ever know, and compared to our summers, it was cold enough. My mom had bought him the little bear onesie when he was born, and even at 2 months it was far to big for him, but i didn't want it to go to waste and he wasn't likely to grow into it that winter, so I put it on. He looked so cute in it.... He was my baby bear. Now when I look at this photo on this page, I think of him as my little snow bear. 

Details:

I was concerned I wouldn't be able to create my usual dimension because of how I cut out the photo, somehow it ended up one of the most dimensional pages I have ever created.

The background was created on a sheet of paper from Lily Bee Designs, using my Prima netting stencil, Perfect Pearls mist in pewter, gesso, texture paste, water-color paints and some stamping. The paper in my layers is all Kaisercraft.

The chipboard is from Dusty Attic, painted white with gesso, and then layered on top of paper and flowers to give it lots of dimension. I have also added a piece of chipboard below the Le Mia rose by Prima. I have broken the back of an MME brad and layered it up on my papers.

I love Prima flowers..... I think i have told you that a hundred times by now but I can't help it. I don't just love their flowers though..... I love everything they create. Even items that I normally wouldn't use seem to spark creative ideas in my mind and I sit there thinking, 'I so must have that'.

The resin piece is from Melissa Frances. I have had it for a couple of years now, but I always seemed to have difficulty fitting it into the design of a page. As i was making this layout, I had been wishing for some of Prima's gorgeous resin pieces, but I have never been able to find them in any local stores, so sadly that wasn't going to happen. I did spark my memory about this piece though, and after some digging around I managed to find it. I couldn't be happier either. It was perfect for my page.

Once again, this chipboard piece was popped up on top of paper layers and flowers, really lifting it up off the page. However it needed something on top of it, to tie in with all the elements below. I placed the light grey rose on top, close to the photo, and then placed the small blue flower farther out. Almost as if it was a vine. I folded one of the petals on the green serenity flower up to cover one of the tips and bent some of the crystal palace vine upward as well. I didn't want it to look like a flourish placed between layers, I wanted it to look like a vine growing upward through a garden.

These faucet wheels and heart gears by Ingvild Bolme are some of the coolest embellishments i have been fortunate enough to use. They are so versatile and add a real touch of magic to any creation. The flourish at the top is the antique mirror embellishment from an old Prima Collection. I have broken it in half, placing the second piece to the left hand side of the photo. The mini rose I have placed inside one of Finn's mechanicals bottlecaps. I love how awesome this looks.

I thought I would share this image with you, just so you could get a rough idea of just how bulky this page is. It is so heavy that I thought the paper wouldn't hold the weight at one point. I finished off the page by tucking pieces of loose thread around the embellishments and adding some blue pearls.

I couldn't be happier with the way this page turned out. It is one of my favorites. The photo is just so adorable.... he was so tiny! I love how all the different embellishments came together so well. The majority of them are Prima, and they are all bits and pieces from different collections and designers, some are even a few years old, yet looking at this you would never guess. It's like they were made for each other.

That's it from me today. I hope you enjoy what I have created and that it has inspired you in some way. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave me your sweet comments!! I hope you all have a wonderful week!!