Webster's Layout

Just sharing with you a layout I have done for Paper Trenz to teach to all of my lovely ladies. Websters is such a gorgeous range of papers, and I was lucky enough to meet Brandin ONeill at CHA earlier this year. So I was delighted to work with the papers I saw released over there. This is a clean fresh layout using a lot of fussy cutting, a style I haven't done for a while, as I keep delving into mixed media. It shows that our styles change all for the good. To join me with this class just call Paper Trenz to book in. Oh and guess who the baby is!

Medieval Day

My latest layout for Down Under Direct is of a Medieval day, my daughter had to dress up for at school. This is a girl who usually hates dresses, so it was fun to plan and make this out fit with her and my Mums help.  I wanted the layout to look full of wrought iron and all things medieval, crosses and fences to name a few.Because I have done so much work on the background and embellishments, I have used purchased flowers this time, the background is made by spraying spray gesso over lace on to black cardstock, then spraying with dylusions  

Couture Creations Cherish Layout

A Moment in Time

Today I am sharing the first layout for Couture Creations Design team. One of the things I love to do most is make my own flowers from cardstock. You always get the right size and colour you are after if you make your own. The photo of my daughter when she was younger was the perfect start to a girly but fun layout. 

To make the flowers you need

Co-ordinations Aged Wine or similar colour

Couture Creations Roses Nesting dies

white glitter

Spray adhesive

Stamens

mini mister 

heat gun

Couture Creations sanding block

Donna Salazar Mixed Media Inx Firehouse Red

Cut 3 shapes from cardstock using the 3 smallest sizes of  Nested Die

 ( not the really small centre die) 

Sand the edges 

Ink the edges and  create a hole in the centre with a hole punch of all shapes.

Cut slits into each layer, dont fuss too much on how many, if you do lots the flower will be fluffy, if you do less it looks more like a rose.

Gather a bunch of stamens together and glue the ends,

 insert into the middle of the flowers starting with the smallest and working up to the largest.

Glue the stamens onto the back of the flower with hot glue.

Spray with water generously, and scrunch up each layer at a time.

 Be careful not to damage the cardstock as it becomes quiet fragile.

Unfurl the layers, I use a bamboo skewer to help, and dry off with heat gun.

Use the skewer to manipulate the petals to give a natural look

Finally spray with a little squirt of Adhesive and sprinkle white glitter over the centres.;

You will end up with wonderful flowers like these.

Other Products Used

Couture Creations Embossing folder Super Fancy That, C0723459

Imaginarium Chipboard Cherish and A moment in time tinie

ZVA flourish

Smooch Citrus Tickle
Prima Fairy Belle Collection Marcelle

Green leaves

Gesso

Couture Creations Adalyn Flowers and butterflies

Lace and trinkets

For Stockists of materials go to  http://www.printblocks.com.au/

The Boy layout and Easter Basket

It can be hard to do boy layouts, but I just love them as it is a great chance to do loads of texture and mixed media suits boys and men so well. Here I have used loads of Imaginarium cogs 2 sets of large and one small set, along with the negative shape, and a mask of cogs. I have applied texture paste over the mask as a base and while wet, I have attached one set of chip cogs. Allow this to dry and then paint with gesso, randomly,

when dry spray with a few mist of your choice. 

 This is the fun part, watching those lovely areas of texture popping up. Once the background was completed, I have added another set of cogs along with the mini set, these I have embossed and inked, some I have embossed with a cog embossing folder to give a little detail. I just love to see how far you can push a layout, often I have it finished on my work bench and continue adding as I am tiding up, just to see at what point I should stop lol.

Imaginarium Chipboard Materials  

Easter Basket 

To Celebrate Easter I made an over the top Easter basket. I love the imagery of Easter, but here in Australia it is not spring and we don't seem to do as much with Easter crafts.

I have made this basket with an old circular box. Painted it white and sprayed with Gesso as a finish. 

Then I have been able to Spritz with glimmer mists and add Scalloped edging and loads of chipboard and 3 D flowers. All of the flowers I have sprayed with adhesive and drenched in white glitter, to give that sugared look.

Most of the chipboard I have kept simple, but for the leaves I have painted them white with gesso first, then applied Crushed Olive Distress Ink by Tim Holtz, when this is dry, dab over versa mark and apply UTEE, heat and while it is heating you will see a wonderful mottled look appear, along with a glossy coat. 

I have given the "Happy Easter" the ombre look, graduated colour leading into white. This is easily achieved by painting the alpha white and adding the colour of your choice along the bottom only and blending up into the white. Then coat with Dimensional magic, and I like to add white glitter too, for sparkle.

Imaginarium Chipboard Materials 

I hope you enjoy these projects and they inspire you create something of your own.

Dont forget to add a comment to go in the running for a great prize 

cheers Sue Smyth 

Altered Journal

I will be teaching how to do this Altered Journal at Paper Trenz on 18th April at 10, feel free to book in with the girls. I was lucky enough to go to a Finnabair class recently and she so inspired me to do this style of Mixed Media work, of course I have given it my own twist, and made it a little more pretty lol

What I like about this class is that no two will be the same, and I think I will making loads of these altered diaries for Christmas. Once you learn how you will be able to make heaps of them lol.