"The Courage to Imagine"

 

Happy New Year Everyone.

I wanted to start the year off sharing a 'Happy' journal page that I created using the Follow Your Dreams collecton that was designed by Michelle Grant.

I just love the pinks and yellows in this collection.

 

 

A couple of the items used in the journal page have sold out however I am sure you will have something similar that you can substitute for them.

 

I wanted the colours to remain as true in colour as possible so I put a layer of heavy white gesso on the page before colouring the background using "Lollipop" Shimmer Dust and "Citrus" Artist Ink.

I used both the Shimmer Dust and Artist Ink to colour the butterflies that I used on the page.

 

 

 

I added some background texture using the A5 stencil "Rhythm" and A6 stencil "Imagine" to the background and then stamped the Mandela stamp from the "Kind Heart" stamp set in Stazon Black ink.

 

More of the Shimmer Dust and Artist Inks were added once the die cuts were attached to the page.  

Thanks for stopping by.

Let's hope 2021 is much better for all of us.

Keep creating.

Anita E

BEE ARTY PRODUCTS USED

Shimmer Dust - Lollipop

Art Ink - Citus 

Stamp Set - Kind Heart

A5 Stencil - Rhythm

A6 Stencil - Imagine

Seeker Word Sheet

Possibility Embellishment Sheet (sold out)

Metal Die - Seeker  (sold out)

 

"Heartfelt" for Colour Blast by Bee Arty

 Hi Everyone

Wow!! I can't believe it is nearly December. 2020 has been such a weird year and challenging year for all of us in one way or another, some of us more than others.

A large part of my immediate family were in Melbourne's lockdown and where their new normal is coming in to affect I love seeing the experiences they are all having to bring some normality back to their family.

For today's share I chose to use some photos of my gorgeous nephew Thomas choosing some flowers for his Mumma.  The way he touched the petals in a couple of the photos and then choosing a bunch to give to his Daddy to pay for is just adorable.  I hope I have done them justice.

 This layout just brings a smile to my face 😄

To start my layout I work out approximately where i wanted to use the shimmer dust and then applied a layer of Heavy White Gesso to the white cardstock.  Once the gesso was drive I sprinkled a small amount of Duke Shimmer Dust to the cardstock and lightly sprayed with water.  

Remember to apply shimmer dust lightly.  It is easier to continue to add more than apply too much to start and then not be able to bring it back.

Next I stamped a heap of flowers using an archival black ink using the flowers from the Floral Delights Stamp Sets No. 1 and No. 2.  I used the Colour Blast water colours in Scarlet however you can colour them with whatever medium you have.  Artist Inks from Colour Blast work equally as well. Once you have coloured them the way you want (I left some just white) fussy cut them out.

 

 

Once the Shimmer Dust has dried and you have it to the shade you like, using the Meridian Stamp Set stamp some circles to the cardstock. I added some splatters of red using the Scarlet watercolour pan.

I then mounted my photos on some chipboard offcuts and attached them to my page.

Next, using the Honeycomb metal die and the Flowers metal die, cut out a couple of flowers and one of the honeycomb.  Cut the honeycomb in a couple of pieces.

 

 

Arrange the fussy cut flowers and die cut flowers and honeycomb on to the page, layering them under the photos, mounting some on foam tape/dots and layering over the edges of the photos.

Next I stamped one of the bees and dragonflies on to the page from the Make me Happy stamp set, and the small sentiment from set as well.

To finish I coloured a chipboard title with my shimmer cubes, glued it to the page and added a gorgeous red Charms Creations heart.

Check out the finished page below and another close up.

 

 

Products Used

Stamp Set - Floral Delights 1

Stamp Set - Floral Delights 2

Stamp Set - Make Me Happy

Stamp Set - Meridian

Shimmer Dust - Duke

Metal Die - Honeycomb

Metal Die - Flowers 

Watercolour Pan - Scarlet

Shimmer Cube - Stormy Weather

Heavy White Gesso

 

 

Thank you all so much for stopping by.

Please make sure you take the time to enjoy some 'me' time and create. There is nothing better for the soul.

Ciao for now,

Anita

xx

 

 

 

 

Beach Hair | Colour Blast by Bee Arty

Welcome back Everyone, Anita back with you today on the Blog.

For this layout I went back to the Life's a Beach range designed by Michelle Grant. Many of the elements from the collection were just perfect to highlight the photo I had chosen.

I chose the Tranquility patterned paper and applied Heavy White Gesso through 

the Footprints A4 stencil.

I made up a mix of Shimmer Dust in Peacock with water and using a wet wipe wiped it across the Tranquility patterned paper.  The stenciled image stayed mostly white and only took a little of the shimmer dust.

I then took a piece of white cardstock and tore it and then inked the edge using the wet wipe that was infused with colour.  On to the back of that I attached some corrugated cardstock and then adhered it to my page.  Next using the bubble stamp from the Making Your Mark stamp set from the  "Untangle" collection designed by Tanya Froud, I stamped with my black stazon ink over the background patterned paper.

Again I took the wet wipe that had was infused with the Peacock shimmer dust and wiped a couple of times across the white cardstock.

The same wet wipe was used to add some colour on to a piece of gauze. 

 I then went to town colouring in using the Colour Artist Inks

using colours of Lime, Walnut, Soot, Calypso, Oasis, Mermaid and Green. Once coloured fussy cut your images.

When constructing the layout, I also die cut one of the "Stringed Wreath" from the "Love and Grace" collection also designed by Michelle Grant.  I cut the die cut in half and curled around opposite corners of the photo. My photo was mounted on some scrap cardboard and the gauze was glued down across the white cardstock prior to attaching the photo.

I added all my fussy cut pieces to the layout  and mounted the "Beach Hair Don't Care" on some 3D foam dots and finished with a small cluster of flowers and a Charms Creations heart that matched perfectly.

Check out a couple of closeups of my finished layout.

I hope you have been a little inspired.

Take care until next time.

Be safe and be crafty.

Anita

xx

Free Spirit | Colour Blast

Hi Everyone, Anita here with you today.  

I love using bright happy summery colours and when seeing this photo of Sabine, needed to bring out the colour of the juice she was drinking.  I am using a wide array of products from differing collections on this layout.

After prepping my cardstock with some of the Heavy White Gesso I chose the 'Encircled' stencil from the Arty Farty collection and added stenciling over the page.

The below photo shows just how beautiful this stencil really is.

Next I took a paper doily and using my watercolour palette, coloured the doily in the "Sunshine" colour.

Using the "Amber" Shimmer Dust and a little water I coloured up a Charms Creations heart with a paintbrush.

Taking my dry coloured paper doily I sprinkled some of the same "Amber" Shimmer Dust over the doily and sprayed it with water.  Dry this off with a heat gun. 

So, I don't know about you but I love the Colour Artist Inks. For my layout I used "Cider" which I added first.  I lightly sprayed the stenciling with water and then added a few drops of the Artist Ink.  I lifted the page to move the ink around.  Dry off with your heat gun.

My next layer of Colour Artist Ink I added was "Citrus".  Dry between each layer and build up the colour with each layer you add by drying in between.

To add more texture to the background I have used the "Circulate" stencil from the Arty Farty collection and some of the gorgeous "Tangerine" Colour Paste.

 

I needed to add some black to the layout so incorporated some stamping on my background.  I love the "Floral Delights No. 2" Stamp Set.  There are two different stamp sets with flowers and are a great staple set to have in your collection. 

After stamping two different size flowers, I then coloured the centre with some of the "Sunshine" watercolours.

The part of prep was to colour my chosen title in black.  I did this again with my watercolour palette in "Soot". If you don't have any of the Colour Blast watercolours, you can get the same affect either using Embossing Powders, Shimmer Dust or Mica Powder. 

 As I now print my photos at home I tend to print them with borders so that I don't have to mat them on cardstock.  I added some 3D foam tape to the reverse of the photo before gluing to my page.

I added the heart and a couple of matching flowers from my stash to the bottom left of the photo, glued down the title (3D foam dots added to back) overlapping the photo a little and then finished by adding a little of the black hessian ribbon at the top and bottom.

Below are a couple of closeups of the finished layout.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I hope you are all staying safe during this unprecedented time and enjoy crafting to keep busy.

Don't forget we have a monthly challenge happening over a the 

Colour Blast Creative Hive Facebook Page

Until next time.... happy creating.

Anita E 

xx

Beauty | Colour Blast by Bee Arty

Welcome back Crafters.

For my post today I wanted to use one of the gorgeous rice papers in my personal stash, so I teamed it with some of my favourite colours from Colour Blast by Bee Arty. The final result ended up entirely different to what I what I was first imaging but I love the end result.

 To start I took my chosen size canvas which had already been prepped with Gesso and attached my rice paper lady along with wording from the paper to the canvas using a clear glue.

I decided straight off I wanted to use the Sienna Colour Paste and needed a colour to combine nicely with it.  One of my favourite colours from Colour Blast by Bee Arty is Deep Water but I didn't have any in my collection so thought I would mix up something similar from my Artist Inks.  I chose the colour of Mermaid and Oasis combining equal quantities with some Heavy White Gesso. 

I covered the majority of the canvas front (kept away from the lady and also went around the edges (sorry forgot to take a photo).  The colour wasn't as intense as I wanted so I just mixed up the same Artist Ink colours together. This time I applied the colour directly to my project, no gesso used this time.  I dabbed it all over the canvas and as the first layer dried I then added more, going gently over my image.

 

Once dry I took the Sienna Colour Paste and the A6 stencil Rose Reveal from the Love and Grace collection and applied the Colour Paste around the edges of the canvas. I also took some of the Colour Paste on the edge of one of my fingers and smudged it in between the stenciling.

More interest needed to be added to the background.  I added some stamping using the script stamp from the Memories Stamp set using a matching ink pad from my collection.  

Next I added more texture using the Scripted Stencil and a mix of Heavy White Gesso and some of the Mermaid Shimmer Dust in a few random places. I then used the same stencil with some of the Mermaid and Oasis Artist Ink to add more details to the background.

 

The last couple of details I created before adding my embellishments was the colouring of my metal with some of the Deep Water Embossing Powder.  I heated up the metal embellishment with a heat gun and then sprinkled the powder over it.  Shake off the excess then set with the heat gun.

And lastly, using a combination of Colour Sprays and Colour Shimmer Sprays colour up some cotton gauze to match the colours of the canvas. I used Colour Sprays in Lagoon and Coffee and Shimmer Spray in Sienna .

I added a few strands of colours pearls along the top and bottom of the canvas and also coloured up a chipboard title with a matching ink.

I glued metal at the waist of the girl and added some matching flowers, tucking in some of the coloured gauze underneath.  Finally I added flowers to her hair and added the gauze also.

Check out the couple of closeups of the canvas.

 

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you get some craft therapy some time this week.

Take care for now.

Anita E