Another Grungy Layout.....

Hi Scrappy Friends,

Just thought I'd pop up a blog post while I am watching the Grand Final.  The Mighty Hawks aren't a show this year, so I am really pretty neutral about the outcome - kinda leaning toward the Crows, but would like to see the Tigers win a flag after so long too.

Anyway, back to scrapping.  Today I am sharing another layout I did a while ago:

I used the gorgeous "Believe" kit from Scrappy Chat Designs.  This paper is from Bo Bunny - and the range is full of grungy deliciousness.  

I started by using a bit of texture paste and the "Subway" stencil from TCW.  Next I used some Lindy's Stamp Gang Mist in Cattail Copper Brown. This colour can be found in a set at Scrap Matrix here.  I then added some blue colour to blend in with the blue denim in my photo.  I did this by  using the fabulous Distress Oxide Ink in Broken China.  I applied the ink pad to my craft sheet, sprayed it with water then sponged on the colour.  For extra layers, I stamped my Carabelle Studios "Grunge Metre" stamp randomly on the background until I was satisfied with the result.

Once I was happy with the background, I prepared my embellishments.  I embossed the chipboard chain and chicken wire with Lindy's  Queen of Sheba Silver Embossing Powder.  With the chipboard cogs, I painted them in Dusty Attic Chocolate Brown, then added some Dusty Attic Rusting Powder.

I LOVE the rusting effect this powder has on chipboard - it makes it look so real!!

Then I put the whole thing together, layering my chipboard cogs with metal cogs and clocks, and some metal numbers as.  Finished it off with some Finnebair microbeads.  Here are some closeups:

I found a metal cog that fit perfectly over the top of this Finnebair Fob metal.  

The paint/Rust Powder effect makes the chipboard cogs look so realistic.

That's it from me for now.  I hope you enjoy Grand Final weekend, and also fit some scrapping in!

Have fun,

Monique xx

There is No Place Like Home

Hi Folks,

Today I am sharing something that I went a fair bit out of my comfort zone with.  

This photo is taken straight from our back balcony - it's of a sunrise.  Don't be too jealous, but this is what I wake up to every morning.
 Moving close to the water is the best thing I have ever done.  It totally rejuvenates my soul.  Every afternoon after work I look out at the water and the stress just evaporates.

I wanted to document the love I have for this place and the good it does for me, mentally and emotionally.

I order to emulate the sunrise on my background, I created the colours of the sunrise on my background using Lindy Stamp Gang Sprays in Tea Pot Purple, Pineapple Paradise and Hibiscus Rose. I kept spraying with water and adding layers until I was happy with the "sunset" look.   Lindy's Sprays can be found here at Scrap Matrix.
I then used the Bloom Stamp "Poppy" to stamp the sun, which I coloured in with a Gelato in Lemon.
I finished off the background with some stamping. I drew the palm tree freehand and painted the 2 Crafty chipboard leaves black.  Finally, I finished off the layout with some pretty flowers.

Here are some close ups:

That's all the shares from me for the evening.  Hope you got some inspiration.

Happy scrapping folks.

xx

Good morning folks,

It is my turn on the fabulous Scrap Matrix Blog today - sharing what I did for this month's Moodboard Challenge.  If you haven't checked out the challenge yet, it can be found here.

Wow - when I first saw this I fell in love with the colours, and the hearts.  This is what I came up with:

I don't really have a scrap room anymore (one of the negatives of Apartment living.)  I usually create on our dining room table.  To be able to do that efficiently, I find it easy to have all my go-to bits and pieces easily accessible.  My two Raskog Trollies are the absolute bomb.  It is so easy to store all my mixed media and scrapbooking essentials on them, and then have kits of other necessities made up to grab as soon as the mood to create takes hold!

As you can see I was really inspired by the teals and the pinks in the mood board, so those colours formed a basis of my layout with the gorgeous 13 Arts Strength in Numbers Paper range, available at Scrap Matrix here.  I also loved the circular theme to one of the pictures, so I added some of those awesome Blue Fern Studio Broken Rings chipboard pieces - which I coloured yellow with a Faber Castell Gelato in Lemon.

Of course, I had to add lots of layers on my base paper with ink sprays and stamps.  I absolutely adore using 7 Dots Studio stamps on my background.  On this layout I have used the Homegrown Clear Stamp  and the Cotton Candy Dreams Clear Stamp, both available at Scrap Matrix.

Finally, I added some Feathers and Hearts from the 13 Arts Strength In Numbers Chipboard, some 13 Arts Marta Stickers Small Messages A5 which I backed with some coordinating paper, and finished the whole thing off with some well - loved paint brushes and some flowers.

Here are some close ups:

I highly recommend having a go at this challenge - the colours are yummy, the images are lovely, and who doesn't love have a sticky beak into someone else's magical creative place?

Bonus - up for grabs is a Scrap Matrix Voucher.  It is a fabulous shop, with so many wonderful brands and products - Blue Fern, 7 Dots Studio - Vicki is the only stockist of 13 Arts in Australia!!

Also, don't forget to visit the blog to get some creative inspiration from the other DT members.

Don't forget to get your layout uploaded into the relevant album on the Scrap Matrix Shares Facebook page, with your name and country.  For example, Monique Crisp (Australia)

Here are the links to all the gorgeous products I used that can be found in the Scrap Matrix store.

13 Arts Strength In Numbers "Synthesis"

13 Arts Strength in Numbers "Full Potential"

13 Arts Marta Stickers Small Messages A5

13 Arts Strength In Numbers Chipboard

7 Dots Studio "Homegrown" Clear Stamp

7 Dots Studio "Cotton Candy Dreams" Clear Stamp

Blue Fern Studios "Broken Rings" Chipboard

Fabre Castell Double Scoop Gelato - Lemon

Scrap Matrix Curly Rose Cream Large

Scrap Matrix Swan Rose - White

Thats it from me today - hope to see all your wonderful creations in the Scrap Matrix Folder on the Shares page soon!

Monique

xx

Perfection

Happy Monday everyone!!

Well school holidays are finally here, and I have to say I am enjoying a few days of unwinding and getting creative.  I did this layout a few weeks ago, but haven't shared it yet as I have been very very busy.....

Anyway, here it is.  I used 49 and Market Papers, Distress Oxide Inks and chipboard to created lots of layers and texture.

I love the way the Blue Fern Studio Treasured Floral Frame really draws the eye to the photo of my cheeky monkey.  All I had to do was emboss it with Blue Fern Studio Embossing Powder and it was perfect.
You can find it here in the Scrap Matrix Store.

I did some fussy cutting to get the bollard and bird embellishments, and just added some random flowers in coordinating colours.  To add some extra texture, I used some of this gorgeous 13 Arts Ecru in White.

You can find it in the Scrap Matrix store, here - you can get it in a variety of colours too!

Here are some close ups.

Thank you so much for popping by my blog - I hope you have a lovely week.
xx

Hazy Days Love

Happy Sunday Everyone!

How has your Father's Day been treating you?  My day has been pretty quiet, my boy went to spend the day with his Dad, and my gorgeous man went to work this morning, and then spent the afternoon chillaxing.

I do have another layout to share with you.  Once again, I have been playing with the gorgeously grungy 7 Dots Studio Hazy Days collection.

This is what I did:

First of all, I gave my background a quick coat of clear gesso.  I then used some texture paste and the ever so cool 13 Arts Stencil "His Time" - adding it across the page and in the bottom right hand corner.  I used some Lindy's Stamp Gang Cattail Copper Brown to add some colour to the texture paste, spraying it with water and drying it to add some depth to the colour. Finally, I used the Hazy Days Stamp set to stamp some blue splats onto my background.

I then decided to use some of this Finnabair Art Alchemy Antique Brilliance Wax in Red Amber so I gently rubbed it over the raised bits of the texture paste.  I love how it turned out.  You can see it here peaking out from under these layers.

I painted some Dusty Attic Pipework Chipboard silver, and some Dusty Attic Corner Cogs brown, then I used some Rusting powder on the cogs to add texture and a Rust colour to my chipboard.  You can see the smaller cog on the left in this picture to see how it turned out.

I backed my photo with a lot of tags, and stickers and elements from the Hazy Days collection, then adhered my photo over the top of the cog corners.

Finally, I added a few Prima Mechanicals - Steampunk Gears, Washers and Hearts to finish everything off.

That's it from me for this evening.  Hope you all have a fabulous week.

xxxx

All of the following products I have used are available at Scrap Matrix:

7 Dots Studio "Hazy Days" Collection. 12x12 Tags and Zip

Hazy Days Word Stickers

Hazy Days Elements

Hazy Days Element Stickers

Hazy Days Clear Stamp Set

13 Arts "His Time" Stencil

Lindy Stamp Gang Cattail Copper Brown

Finnabair Art Alchemy Antique Brilliance Wax

Prima Mechanical Steam Punk Gears