Steampunk and Fathers

The challenge for this months More Than Words challenge was  a 'challenging' one for a floral shabby chic girl like me!

The theme and word this month is Steampunk and Father.

The 'Father' part was easy. I chose this photo of me with my father on the Scotland / England border at Carter Bar.

The colours in the photo were then my inspiration for the steampunk mixed media masculine background.

You can view the More Than Words challenge here http://morethanwordschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/june-2017-main-challenge-father.html

With these pictures I will just show you some close ups of the items used in the layout.

These blue and grey cogs are a die set from a Joy! Crafts. I inked the edges with Black soot Distress Ink and finished of with a Tim Holtz Loop Pin.The anchor is from Blue Fern Studios and was firstly covered with Viva Inka Gold.

The Dusty Attic barbed wire was altered with Ten Seconds Verday Patina solution with the Verday Iron. This gives a great rusty look about the chipboard. I love these Tim Holtz trinket pins, this one has reacted to the mists I have used to create the colour reaction on it.  

Tucked behind the top of my photo and its layers is my journaling card.

The Dusty Attic chipboard cogs and gears cluster was covered with 2 products, some of the cogs had black soot ink rubbed over them and some had the Viva Inka Gold 'Old Gold'. The later gave the pieces a gorgeous golden metal look about them but was just to clean and new looking, they needed 'weathering'! This will be down to the mists again but I will tell you about those in a minute.

I used some chain from my stash to wrap around the top of the chippie chain. The Game spinner is again  from Tim Holtz.

The Blue Fern Studio chains were also altered with the Verday products.

The Tando Creative key was covered with the Viva Inka Gold.

I used a shaped torn piece of corrugated card in my background behind the photo , a great product for masculine layouts, it adds a great texture. I inked the edges again with the black soot ink.

I left the use of the mists till now......  the background paper is from 7 dots studio and I gave it a coat of clear gesso before the start to prepare it for all the misting.  I spritzed the design area with several different mists using colours taken from the photo, from the blues/green from the mountains behind to the rust colour in my coat. I let these mists run by tilting the paper and then dried with a heat gun after each colour application. I have listed them all in the products list but the main ones to mention here are the Cosmic shimmer mists, 'rich gold', which gave the orange rusty effect and then the 'Blue Lime', this is a fabulous product, it is essentially green but when sprayed onto certain surfaces reacts and turns to an electric blue colour! This mist reacted on the Verday and the Viva Inka Gold and on some of the other mists giving the whole piece a very natural weathered look that I couldn't have planned! I splattered these 2 mists over the completed layout again at the end.

I then finished off the by rubbing some French sage Artisan Powder over the edges of the photo layers, chipboard pieces and the paper die cuts.

The alpha tiles were cut out from a 7 Dots Studio paper, edges distressed and then stuck on with foam pads. You can also see the small bits of stamping done with black soot ink and the Finnabair Crackle effect stamp underneath the title. This was done over the design area before the misting.

Products used on this layout:

7 Dots Studio; Destination Unknown: under the stars

7 Dots Studio: destination Unknown: night sky

7 Dots Studio; Thoughts Keeper: No.3

Cosmic Shimmer Mist; rich Gold

Cosmic Shimmer Mist: Blue Lime

Prima Color Bloom: Tea Stain

Prima Color Bloom: Antique Gold

Perfect Pearls Mist: Blue Smoke

Prima Memory Hardware: Artisan Powder: French Sage

Tim Holtz: Idea-ology: Loop Pins

Tim Holtz: Idea-ology: Trinket Pins

Tim Holtz: Idea-ology: Game Spinners

Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Black Soot

Maya Road: Vintage Findings: Time Flies metal Charms

Chain

Joy! Crafts: Die: gears

Joy! Crafts: Corrugated card

Dusty Attic: chipboard: Birds on Barb Wire

Dusty Attic: chipboard: Cog Cluster

Blue fern Studio: chipboard: Anchors Away

Tando Creative: chipboard: Decorative Keys

Prima Finnabair: Small Clear stamp: Crackle

Ten Seconds: Verday Patina Solution

Ten Seconds: Verday Iron

Viva: Inka Gold; Old Gold

Clear gesso.

Thank you for stopping by today

Ginny  :)

Mixed Media Place and Stuck! Sketches!

Hello all!

I have created couple of layouts to be entered into a couple of challenges again this month.

I created this page earlier in the month and then forgot to post it in the challenges I was entering! Have you ever done that?! The date for Mixed Media Place challenge completely escaped me but I have scraped in just, with this being the last day! And it was a lovely mood board too and inspired this layout!

On to the layout......

So here we are with a mixed media layout created for the following challenges.

Click on the coloured titles to go to their blogs!

Stuck! Sketches

June 1st Sketch Challenge

AND

Mixed Media Place

May/June Mood Board Challenge

My inspiration from the mood board came mainly from the bottom right picture, the colours and florals popped out at me along with the blue from the sea picture. I wanted a whimsical, magical feel to the layout to go with my images, which were from DD and myself mucking around with Snapchat filters!

So lets waffle about mixed media with these photos. I have tried to use a lot of products to get the colours, different textures and effects. Firstly, those butterflies - yes I'm jumping straight to the embellishments! - these are soooo pretty, simply painted with a little gesso and then whilst it was still dry sprinkling the Art Sugar Light Pink over it and left to dry. It works, it stays stuck on!

The tiny star like flowers are heat embossed with Blue Fern Studio Embossing powder Magenta, this powder gives a lovely mottled effect when it is got really hot!

This photo shows the only blue embossed flower poking out from the bottom. Heat embossed with Stampendous Frantage Embossing Enamel Shabby Blue. If you like shabby chic colours then this range of embossing powders are for you! Gorgeous colours mixed with chunky white and old gold pieces, beautiful.

The word title was heat embossed with WOW! Embossing powder Princess Pink.

In the embellishment cluster you can see two other wood flowers, one is heat embossed with the WOW! Princess Pink embossing powder again and the other is eat embossed with Lindys Gang Embossing Powder Coral Blush. I like textures on my layouts so I have used a texture dot cardstock for my tag and some photo mat layers. The tag edges were inked with Chalk Ink Pad Dry Sand.

 And now for the background....... I used a Double Dot BoBunny cardstock paper and painted it all over with a coat of clear gesso to prime it ready for the mists and mixed media. This basically makes the paper stronger and more resistant to all the liquids we are about to throw at it!

I used 4 different mists to get a marbled effect background, names in product list below. These were sprayed, splattered and allowed to run.

I then used a Prima stencil with the Grit Paste, splattered watered down gesso over the background and did a little stencilling with Shimmerz Textures and Dazzlers. The turquoise colour is the 'Textures' and the pale pink is the 'Dazzlers'.

This photo shows you the difference in texture and finish of the 3 products used through stencils really well.

The photos are popped up on cardboard (or foam pads) and arranged to match the sketch, with the tag behind the first photo.  The flowers are a mixture, the apple blossoms are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the paper roses are from my stash.

I think this sketch worked really well for a mixed media layout :)

Product List For this Layout

BoBunny: Double Dot Cardstock: Dusty Rose

Coredinations cardstock: Pastel Pink

Bazzil: Texture Dot: Salt

Prima Marketing: ColorBloom: Soft Teal

Prima Marketing: Color Bloom: Peony

Tattered Angels: Glimmer Mist: Crème De Rouge

Blue Fern Studios: Imagine Ink: Mist Cotton Candy

Shimmerz: Dazzlers: Spun Sugar

Shimmerz: Textures: Patina

Blue Fern Studios: Embossing Powder: Magenta

Wow! Embossing Powder: Princess Pink

Lindys Gang: Embossing Powder: Coral Blush

Stmpendous Frantage: Embossing Enamel: Shabby Blue

Prima Marketing: Art Ingredients: Art Sugar: Light Pink

Tim Holtz: Distress Grit Paste

Emboss It: Dabber Clear - for heat embossing

Prima Marketing: Chalk Ink Pad: Dry Sand

Freckled Fawn: Wood Chip Words

Art Anthology: Embedibles: Butterflies

Straw- Live and Love Crafts

Wild Orchid Crafts: Apple Blossoms flowers - mixed pastels

That Special Touch: Stencil: Poppies

Imagination Crafts: Stencil: Flourishes

Prima Marketing: Stencil:

Thank you for stopping by my blog today, your comments are gratefully received, I love reading them! :)

Ginny   :)

***Let's Get Sketchy Challenge June 15th***

It's sketch challenge time again!

Hope you have your papers and embellishments ready for a little creative time!

I am here with the mid month challenge for Let's Get Sketchy.

Can you believe we are half way through June already! I don't know where the year is going to!

I think the kids have about 6 weeks left of school before we start our summer holidays here in the UK and then we are on the downhill slope to Christmas - NO I hear you cry, we cant start talking about that yet!

So firstly let me start with my layout

A fun layout with lovely bright papers from Simple Stories, with lots of layers and elevation.

Here is the June 15th Sketch

The first thing you notice is that I have swopped the hexagons for squares as these were the shapes in the designs on my chosen papers.

 Apart from that I have used every layer and shape on the sketch and then added more with the embellishment layers.

Unusually for me there are no actual flowers on this layout just the flower cluster sticker in the centre. I have popped some of the elements up on foam pads to add interest and depth.

Everything on the layout is from the So Fancy collection from Simple Stories. I have used the coordinating background papers, the patterned papers and the journal card papers, finished off by using the sticker sheet for the extra embellishments.

The final feature was the faux stitching around some of the squares.

Here are some close ups

Products used on this layout:

* Simple Stories: So Fancy: Marquee

* Simple Stories: So Fancy: Bits 'n' Pieces

* Simple Stories: So Fancy: Besties

* Simple Stories: So Fancy: Fancy

* Simple Stories: So Fancy: 3x4 journal cards elements page

* Simple Stories: So Fancy: 2x2 6x8 elements page

* Simple Stories: So Fancy: Mint Watercolour / Triangles Background paper

* Simple Stories: So Fancy: Enamel Dots

* Simple Stories: So Fancy: Sticker Sheet

* Pigma Micron Archival Ink pen Black

Thanks for stopping by today, I do hope you come and join in with this challenge and the June 1st challenge too!

Look forward to seeing your creations linked in the Linky Tool on the Lets Get Sketchy Blog page.

Creative Embellishments is offering this $30 gift certificate to the winner of this month's challenges!  Remember, you can't win if you don't play!

Ginny :)

***CSI - colour stories inspiration #232***

Hello CSI-iers!

It's time for another case file at CSI - color stories inspiration!

So get out your forensics kit and lets get investigating! :)

So here is the case file for June 15th

Here is how I solved the case!

Here's how.....

All colours of the scheme used

Evidence used;

* Woodgrain background

* Wood accents

* Mesh

* animals

* Trees  foliage

* Stitching

*Label

Testimony used;

* Document something about the outdoors

Now for the low down!

So the stars of the photo are my DS when he was a toddler with his Grandad down on the beach in Broad Haven, Pembrokeshire, out of season. Who says beaches are only for summer with bikinis! The beach was nearly empty and untouched, perfect for a little boy to muck up with his spade!

My journaling is done with tiny alpha stickers, a little fiddly but I like the look.

I used some masculine elements for my embellishment cluster with the cogs, some fencing and the shutters to frame the photo. The beaches and coastal areas in Pembrokeshire are always busy with bird life and this is a passion for my father so I included the bird. And ....well I had to add a flower or two, these are masculine coloured flowers!

My leaf/ foliage element is a flourish die from Cherry Lynn, I did this in white, as there was a lot of colour going on anyway and I wanted them to just be a subtle effect not in your face! The eyelet tag is my wood accent along with the background paper, which is obviously my wood background as well. I love this paper, its like a stable door!

My paper layers, which hold all the colours from the Scheme, are all strips and oblongs of various sizes all layered up on top of each other. These have been left in inked and not even distressed! But I thought there was enough going on with all the patterns!

I do love getting my sewing machine out on my layouts, I wanted to keep to the shabby chic, mixed media feel to the layout so I did random whizzing with my machine rather then a neat line or border. I liked the effect it gave. The brads added a little final touch in the needed 'green'. 

I really like adding straws at the moment, they add a very different look and look quite striking and again great for a masculine page. Mt background stencilling was done with a Mesh stencil in Distress Grit Paste. I also added some splatting with a red acrylic paint to finish the background off.

Products used on this layout:

* 7 Dots Studio: Destination Unknown: Walk the Plank

* Carta Bella: Bundled up: 6x6  pad

* Live & Love Crafts: Straws

* Memory Box: Stencil: Mesh

* Kaisercraft: Tiny Alpha Stickers: Black

* Cherry Lynn: Die: Small Swirl Flourish

* Indigo Blu: Acrylic Artists Paint: English Cottage; PostBox Red

* BoBunny: Chipboard: Bella Rosa

Darice: Rustic Accents: Rusty Tin Fence

Prima: Wood Tickets #554422

Tim Holtz: Distress Grit Paste

Kay & Co: Green Patterned Paper

Petaloo Flowers: Darjeeling: Anemona Mix

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog today, have a goo look around whilst your here!

I look forward to seeing your creations for this case file on the linky on the CSI blog

http://csichallenge.blogspot.co.uk/

Here are our sponsors for this month

Ginny  :)