Friday, November 16, 2018

More Metals and Petals!


Hi everyone, welcome to my little blog today!

I am popping by to share my latest layout - created for the Scrap Matrix "Metals and Petals"challenge.

I had loads of fun with this layout - using some beautiful Stamperia Paper and colouring flowers with some Prima Paints.....

This is what I created:



This is how I created my background:

First, I mixed some Paper Artsy Fresco Finish Paints in Green Patina with some texture paste, and applied it to my layout using one of my favourite 13 Arts Stencils. 



Next, I mixed some more Paper Artsy Fresco Finish Paint, this time in Mudsplat, with some more texture paste, and applied it using my Carabelle Studio A4 Stencil called Calligraphic Composition.

Can I just say I loved the way the Paper Artsy Fresco Finish Paint mixed with my texture paste?  Wow - such solid colour!

Next, I broke out one of my new Paper Artsy stamps and stamped on some more yummy texture using a dark brown archival ink.


There we have the background!

Next, I simply cut out some tags, and a photo mat from the gorgeous Stamperia "Clockworks" paper, and layered them under my photo.  I added some string to some tags for extra texture, and also cut out some clock images from another piece of paper in the range to add to the paper layers.  Stamperia paper is so good for this - it has such beautiful images and is so beautifully layered with images that you can have so much fun fussy cutting out divine embellishments.


I wanted to add a few flowers - no, I really don't have much of a problem adding flowers to my boy layouts, especially ones with a steampunk feel!  Anyway, I got out some Petaloo Mini Paintables  and my Prima Metallic Accents Watercolour set and painted them in a lovely teal colour to pick up the colours in my background.


I then started to put everything together.  I picked out some chipboard cogs from the Blue Fern Studios Cogs and Gears set, and painted them in Paper Artsy Fresco Finish Paint in Mudsplat and gathered together my metals - including some Prima Mechanicals Rustic Washers and Steam Punk Gears.  

When I was putting everything together, I was having trouble deciding where to place my flowers, so I took photos of what I was trying to make my mind up about, and compered them side by side.


I quickly decided I preferred the bottom photo.  The main reason for this is the pop of teal/mint forms a visual triangle around the photo, which then draws the eye to the photo - the main focus of my page.  In the top photo, the visual triangle draws the eye down into white space, and the eye is left floundering, wondering what to look at.  This is a very useful technique when you are deciding on your placement of embellishments.

Again, here is my layout once I was satisfied with the placement of all my embellishments:


Here is a full list of the products available in the Scrap Matrix Shop


Well that's all from me today, I hope I have given you some inspiration.  You still have plenty of time to enter the "Petals and Metals" challenge.  When you are finished, simply upload a picture of your creation to the "Petals and Metals" folder on our Scrap Matrix Shares page.  

Thank you so much for popping by today - and I hope you get up to something scrappy this weekend - I probably won't be hitting my scrap table until Sunday - but when I do I am going to make sure I have some fun!







Sunday, November 11, 2018

"Be Yourself" with Metals and Petals

Good evening Scrappy friends.  I am popping by the blog tonight to share the first layout I have created for this month's "Metals and Petals" challenge which is running with Scrap Matrix this month.

This is what I created:

 I decided to use this photo of my gorgeous niece, which I decided would be beautifully offset by the gorgeous 7 Dots Studio Garden Party collection.  The deep purple of the "Annual" paper suited the grungy effect I wanted to create.

I actually used two pieces of the Annual paper.  I tore off about one third of the first paper, and distressed the purple side, running some archival ink along the distressed edge.  I then adhered that to the second Annual paper.  Using the 7 Dots "Garden Party" 6x6 Floral Knot Stencil, I added some Black Modelling Paste to the background.



Next, I added some German Scrap Fleur de Lis #2 Black down the join where the two papers meet., and splashed on some white gesso.


To make my photo mat, I got some  tags from the 12x12 tag sheet, and some black paper for the photo mat from the 7 Dots Studio "Garden Party - Garden Gnomes" and stapled it all together.  Once done, I matted it to my photo with some cardboard to give it some dimension.


I added my photo just over the top of the Floral Knot Stencil, allowing some of the swirls to come out from underneath. I also tucked some muslin in under my photo for extra definition.


Finally, I added some embellishments - Cut our butterflies from the 7 Dots Studio "Garden Party - Born" paper, some Brass Round Medium #1 Flowers, some Brass Square Large #4 flowers and some stickers from the Garden Party 6x12 Word Stickers Sheet.  Voila!!  All done!!


Here is a close up:


Here is a list of products available in the Scrap Matrix Shop:

7 Dots Studio "Garden Party" Papers - Annual, Garden Gnomes and Born.

Thanks so much for popping by the Scrap Matrix blog today.  I hope I have inspired you to enter our "Metals and Petals" challenge this month. Go on - have a go, and once you have finished your creation all you have to do is upload it into the "Metals and Petals" folder on the Scrap Matrix Shares Facebook Page.