Gather Your Dreams ~ Mixed Media Collage Canvas for Meg's Garden

Today, I am so excited to share my first Meg's Garden Design Team project with you! The Butterfly Collection is just so beautiful to work with and one of my favourite pages in the collection is the "cut & create" page, which is just full of beautiful little bits of ephemera that can be layered and collaged; so I decided to use the cut & create elements to create a collage canvas.

I started off by cutting an 8x10 piece out of the "Another Delicate Garden for Butterflies" paper to fit the top of my canvas - this paper has a very subtle pattern which peeks through the Shimmerz Inklinz watercolours in places. I used a butterfly stencil and modelling paste on the background paper before painting it. I then cut out all the little ephemera from the "cut & create" paper and created my collage, working from the bottom right to the top left corner. I tucked pieces of lace from the Meg's Garden store in with the collaged papers for added texture. I fussy cut the butterflies and title from The Butterfly Collection papers and added them on top of the collage with a collection of flowers from the Meg's Garden store and from my stash. I used the Shimmerz Inklinz on the flowers and to splatter the canvas. I also tucked in a few metal elements from Meg's Garden. Finally, I added a few different sized half-pearls from my stash. Here are some close-ups and different angles of the finished canvas! I wish you could see it in real life to get the full effect of the gorgeous shimmery paints!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I hope you liked my "Gather Your Dreams" canvas!

Meg's Garden Products Used:
The Butterfly Collection papers - cut & create; Another Delicate Garden for Butterflies and The Butterfly Mini Pack.
Vintage Trinkets - Filigree Flower, Extra Long Filigree and Butterfly.
Cotton Lace (Cream)
Small Roses (White 1cm)

Other Products Used:  8x10 canvas; Golden Light Molding Paste; Shimmerz Inklingz - Good as Gold and Blue My Mind; Flowers by Prima and Recollections; Recollections adhesive half pearls; Bo Bunny Brad

Dreams & Wishes ~ Scraps of Darkness

Today, I am sharing one more layout made with the Scraps of Darkness May Kit "Twisted & Tangled". I used the Fabscraps papers, chipboard title and layering pieces from the kit, along with some flowers, mists, washi tape, and mixed media supplies from my stash.

 

 I based this layout on the July Sketch at Scrap 365.

Here are some close-ups!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Moments ~ Scraps of Darkness

June has been an incredibly busy month for me and I am late in sharing another layout created with the fabulous Scraps of Darkness May "Twisted and Tangled" Kit! I just love the 7 Dots Studio Cold Country papers in this kit and I had so much fun playing with different media on this layout - including two of the gorgeous colours of Shimmerz included in the kit (Sugar Plum - Main Kit and Ultra Marine - Colour Add-on).

I started with some gesso on the base page and then layered strips of the Cold Country papers with some strips cut from the cheesecloth in the kit. I added a light coat of gesso to the layers and then used the Shimmer paints to paint along the edges of the strips. I did some masking with light molding paste and some stamping with the butterfly stamp and sentiment included in the Embellishment Add-on. I wanted to add some more texture to the layout, so I added some lines of heavy gel medium and sprinkled clear microbeads on them - LOVE how this added texture and shine to the layout. Finally, I added in some flowers from the Main Kit and Flower Add-on and one of the Prima Ingvild Bolme Junkyard Findings Jeans plates as embellishments. Here are some close-ups!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! Be sure and stop by the Scraps of Darkness Facebook Community for more inspiration with this kit!

Wish Upon A Star ~ The Color Room - HeART & Soul and Scraps of Darkness

I am so excited to be designing for The Color Room - and this month is my first reveal as part of the Design Team for the newly revamped site. The Color Room has gone through some changes, with a change of name, reflecting the direction it is heading, an amazing new team, and loads of inspiration. In addition, The Color Room - HeART & Soul will be offering classes (for a small fee), all created by its very talented Creative Education Team, which will be launched very soon, so keep your eyes out for that.

TCR has merged with Scrap for Help (which was the brainchild of Cynthia Llorens) and we will incorporate a household item to use with the Palette, making the challenge even more fun, creative and 'green', using some of the throw away items in our crafting.

Welcome to the April 2014 release color palette release! You have an entire month to load your creations to the InLinkz tool in the sidebar of the TCR - HeART & Soul blog, to be in the running for the Monthly RAK. Just load BEFORE the 1st of each month!

The household item this month is clothing tags. These are so much fun to alter. You already have the base. just add paper, paint and embellishments and you have ready made accents for tour projects and they are great for cards! The colours this month are so fresh in our inspiration picture - there is a pale grey, a bright yellow, a beige colour and a dark charcoal/black. See what you can do with these colours this month!

Here is my layout inspired by this month's palette!

I used the Scraps of Darkness March "Radioactive" Kit for this project. The black cardstock is from my stash and the amazing yellow stars were created using using a Crafter's Workshop template with the Shimmerz Dazzlerz in Lemon Drop that was included in the SOD Colour Add-On. Also from the SOD Kit, I used two of the mini-washi tapes from the Embellishment Add-on (the yellow stars and black/white dot), the wooden shapes (as the neutral/tan colour) and the black/gold calendar circle. I thought the white foam letters from the SOD Embellishment looked a lot like Walt Disney style font - so I've used a Walt Disney quote as my title and a picture of my little boy asleep, snuggling his Disney "Thumper" toy. As the light grey element, I added some 'platinum' pearls from my stash. Here are some close-ups!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today! Happy Scrapping!

Art Journal Cover: Live, Love, Inspire, Create ~ Scraps of Darkness

The Scraps of Darkness Creativity Add-On for March Radioactive Kit includes a 5.5 in. x 8 in. Strathmore Visual Journal. I was so excited to see the journal, as I have wanted to try some more "experimental" art journalling, so I decided that I would use this journal for that purpose. But, before I could get to creating inside the journal, I had to alter the cover! The covers on the Strathmore Visual Journals look like this:

They serve their purpose - but are kind of boring for an Art Journal...so I used the March Kit and created a bright, fun altered cover!

First, I took the cover pieces off the binding and then I used a sheet of the Amy Tangerine Plus One paper and glued it to the cover pieces using Claudine Hellmuth Studio multi-medium. Then, I used a prima floral stencil with three of the colours of Shimmerz Dazzlerz included in the March Colour Add-on (Dreamscicle, Grapetastic and Lemon Drop. I love these bright, dimensional flowers - so fun! I coloured the frame using several different colours of watercolour pencils and then rubbed it with a baby wipe to blend the colours. I used some of the Prima Bloom Collection chipboard elements from the kit to complete the cover. I just love the teacup with the paintbrushes in it - so perfect for an Art Journal Cover and funny because I have a coffee cup on my craft table that I use for by brushes. The final addition to the cover was two coats of glossy mod-podge brushed over everything to protect it.

Now, I can't wait to get creating inside the journal!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Scraps of Darkness March 'Radioactive' Kit Reveal and 'This is a Happy Life' Layout

Welcome to the Scraps of Darkness March Kit Reveal - this month's kit is Radioactive - and it is  incredible!

Main Kit

Add-Ons

Patterned Paper

Coordinating Paper

Cardstock

Embellishments

Floral

Colour

Creativity

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a Happy Life

I completed my first layout with this kit - and I had SO much fun playing with the bright colours. Winter seems to be hanging on forever this year - so I decided to create a happy, summery layout to bring me out of my winter doldrums! 

This sweet picture of my son playing with his pool floaty perfectly coordinated with the colours in the Amy Tangerine Plus One papers - and I had to throw in some of the awesome Sour Apple Shimmerz Dazzelerz from the Colour Add-on.  I love the Prima stamps included in the March Kit/Add-ons - I used the chevron stamp (Main Kit) and chevron flower stamp (Embellishment Add-On) as the pops of black on this layout. I also used a Imaginarium Designs Cross-Hatch chipboard piece behind the photo - I had painted it an olive green - but then I added some of the Lemon Drop Shimmerz Dazzelerz on top. Here are some close-ups!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today - be sure to check back over the next few weeks for my other projects created with this awesome Radioactive Kit!

Scraps of Darkness September Reveal ~ The Black Album Kit ~

Hello Scrappy Friends! Today, I am sharing a layout created with the utterly fantastic Scraps of Darkness September Kit ~The Black Album~. This kit includes beautiful paper lines this month from Teresa Collins "Memorbilia" paper collection and My Mind's Eye "Chalk Studio" collection, along with some beautiful black and white papers from Imaginisce's "Black Ice" collection.

For my first project, I did a layout using this month's sketch, designed by Suepup.  Stop by the Scraps of Darkness forums and play along with this month's sketch - you do not have to be a kit subscriber to play along and you could win a great prize!

The photo is of my son and was taken last Spring on a trip to the library (one of his favourite weekly excursions). It is such a cute photo and deserves to be the centre of attention on this layout - which is why the photos are the only colour on the layout! I did some masking with a Prima stencil and Shimmerz Texturez in Gritty Graphite and some misting with the Heidi Swapp mist (Tinsel) included in the Colour Add-on. Then some fun embellishing with some of the kit embellishments (how perfect is the frog on a bicycle flair button?!?!) and some items from my stash.

The September SOD kit is perfect for this month's bold, monochromatic mood board at the Scrap Around the World challenge blog - where I've been itching to play along, so I am submitting this layout for their challenge. 

Scrap Around the World - September 2013 Mood Board

I am also submitting it for this month's Scrap Africa challenge - Washi Tape and Twine!

I can't wait to get back to creating with this kit - it has SO many possibilities! Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Steampunk Bride Tag - Scraps of Darkness Tag Exchange

Well, this post is a little late, but . . . .well, it is summer and I haven't stayed on top of my blog posting! In July, I played along with a Tag Exchange at Scraps of Darkness and was paired up with the amazingly talented Karen Zueger-Brownell (aka LostCoastScrapper). Now, I knew Karen was getting married in July, so I wanted to create a wedding-themed tag for her, but I wanted it to suit her 'style' (check out her fabulous blog to see her gorgeous work) - so I created this "Steampunk Bride" Tag using Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutante!

I painted the top with Shimmerz black paint and then did some masking of the gears with molding paste, followed by some Perfect Pearls in Charcoal and Gold. I used fussy cut elements from the Steampunk Debutante papers around the tag, along with some rub-ons (e.g. the bride's wings). I added black lace at the bottom and top and embellished with metal Prima/Tim Holtz embellishments and a Prima mini light bulb.

That's it for today - short and sweet! Hope you liked the tag Karen!