Couture Creations Guest post

Happiness Sampler 

or Golden Garden

By Sue Smyth 

Hi Bloggers

Here I am sharing a layout I did recently with the gorgeous

La Aquarelle range.

I really loved the subtle natural colours,

old world text and script.

But I wanted to contrast them with

shiny sparkling glitter.

The lacy open butterfly die is so versatile, here

I have embossed it twice with an aged gold emboss powder

it gives it an almost metal filigree look.

This panel is a sweet bird that I have fussy cut,

first I roughly cut out the bird 

and adhered it to white cardstock, so that 

I could flip it over on a mouse pad and 

cup the image. Then when you adhere

the bird with 3 d foam tape it has a great curved surface.

I loved the butterfly with fern panel, it did not need much

to decorate it, so I kept it simple, see how I did the fern fronds 

below. I covered the butterfly with dimensional magic

so the colour popped out more and it had shine and gloss.

I just love how the dies fit the images in the paper pad

perfectly, it will make, making cards and layouts

seamless and polished.

This butterfly could just as easily be placed on a 

card as a layout. I have added seed beads for detail 

to the centre.

To add more gold to the layout, I have flicked

a rich gold spray over the surface, along with 

a little watered down white and black gesso

for more of that shabby aged look of the text and script.

Each panel is edged with Anna Griffin gold glitter, 

just add a bead of glue or dimensional magic to the edge

smooth out with your fingertip and dip into a line of glitter.

I have then double matted each panel and adhered to 

the background paper with scraps of chipboard to

give them great dimension.

I have cut out fern fronds with the

beautiful fern die, then painted them with a 

green metallic paint. I have randomly

marked the edges with embossing medium and

covered with emboss powder, so just the tips of the 

ferns appear to be gilded.

The butterflies have been die cut from 

light weight chipoboard and then 

double embossed to give a metallic finish.

Each panel has glitter added to the edges, to contrast with 

the natural tones of the paper.

The end result is a lovely sampler that would 

make a great home decor piece in a frame. 

Or a wonderful gift to anyone who loves nature.

Artdeco Products Used 

Ulti15761 Ultimate Crafts La Aquarelle paper pad 12 x 12

ULT157779 Ultimate Crafts L'Aquarelle, Decorative die, Watercolour Bloom

ULT157782 Ultimate Crafts L'Aquarelle, Decorative Die, Drifting Frond
ULT157793 Ultimate Crafts L'Aquarelle, Decorative Die, Butterfly Flourishes Edge Die
ULTI157786 Ulitmate Crafts Widespread butterfly die 

ULTI157784 Ultimate Crafts Watercolour Butterfly die

CO724864 Couture Creations Anna Griffin Glitter collection

Happy Crafting 

Sue Smyth