I am torn.....

Good Thursday morning!

Today I am sharing a couple of layouts that are distressed works of art.

First up is Tracey with this layered gorgeousness using the Scraps Of Darkness Laura's Wish kit!

She started with the treatment to the Blue Fern Tangier Panel-which tied in with the chain link fence in the picture. First, she embossed it with a Lindy's Stamp Gang "Cleopatra's Copper" embossing powder. She then worked in the Magical from the kit in Tainted Love Teal in various places to get the patina look. Finally she rubbed it over with Black Soot distress ink and with her Viva pearl pen, added bronze beads to the fence.

 

 

It looks cool with the Kaiserscraft patina paper.

The "wooden planks" paper was burned around the edges to give it a more authentic look and to add something unexpected.

 

 

 The deep turquoise flowers are from Prima and they allow you to mix and match as you wish. She centered mine with Prima beads. 

The kit comes with some fun Prima butterflies and 2 packets of ephemera which she used throughout the page. Clear and chunky embossing powder was used on the circular title, then cracked.

 

 

Next up I want to share an outstanding layout by Renee using the same kit! 

 

 

This layout features an old photo of her Pawpaw and her Uncle Ralph as a baby. The original photo was torn and worn, so instead of trying to make it perfect, she just replicated it and used the flaws for character.

 

Lots of kit paper layers here that were distressed, torn, sewn, and inked. All the ephemera pieces behind the photo were from the kit and the chest and clock pieces were fussy cut from the papers. 

 

 

  She did some stenciling with the stencil from the kit, as well as some Tim Holtz Distress Rock Candy Crackle  painting. She added some Prima Clock Hands to one of the fussy cut clocks, and burlap pieces for texture.

 

 

The flowers and twine were from the kit and this month's floral add on.

The large chipboard clock piece was a die cut that she inked.

She created a side layer with torn and sewn papers, burlap, some more fussy cut clocks and flowers.

 Thanks for stopping by

"Beautiful", a mixed media layout tutorial by Tiffany

Good morning!
We have another wonderful tutorial to share with you today.  Tiffany is working with our April "Lynne's Garden Terrace" kit, and she created this gorgeous layout, and did a a video tutorial to show you how:

Here's Tiffany's video:



Such a gorgeous layout, I hope Tiffany has inspired you to pull that April kit out and create something gorgeous, as well!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a beautiful day!
~Melinda

2 new video tutorials! Beautiful DIY envelopes (perfect for gift cards!)

I don't know about you, but I am not a huge fan of just dropping a gift card into the cheap envelopes they come with and handing them to someone.  It's not terribly personal, and I am always searching for the perfect way to give a gift card.  If you feel the same, we've got the perfect thing - Tanya has done not one, but TWO fabulous tutorials showing you how to make your own personalized envelope, and they are not limited to gift cards, you can use them in so many ways - include a personal note, drop in a pretty necklace, etc.

Tanya created both of these envelopes with our April "Laura's Wish" kit - and she shows perfectly how you can create something masculine, or feminine and elegant with the same kit, and with Mother's Day and Father's Day quickly approaching, they're both perfect!

Here's the first, showing how to create this gorgeous envelope:

And here's the video for this envelope:



And a few close up photos:

And I did say she did TWO tutorials, so here's the envelope she will show you how to make in the next video:

And the video:



And we have some close ups of this one, as well:

Mixed media Monday!

Good morning!

It seems as though spring has brought the rain - I know April showers bring May flowers but...

I have a big dog that brings in a big mess when it rains so I am hoping the rest of the week is a bit drier!

Today I am sharing a few mixed media layouts that will be sure to inspire you!

First up is Lisa with her beautiful layout using the Scraps Of Darkness 'Laura's Wish' kit!

Lisa talks about her process and how she creates her mixed media projects!

She decided to make her impact with the stacked clocks, stamping and random "rub ons." The rub ons were included in the kit and you know we all run screaming from rub ons as they usually don't "rub on" as we would like. However these did and since she did them in a random way she didn't have to worry anyway!

She had this frame and photo of her daughter in mind and knew how she wanted to set it up. She layered the clocks and then started with the stamping. She tried to choose different shapes that compliment each other. 

Mixed media is about layering and layering techniques so when you look at something you can't really tell what's what. That is what makes it interesting. Yet it does require thought and it does require organization to achieve good results. You can see here she layered many paper elements, stamps, splatters and chipboard.

The chipboard is Blue Fern (from a previous kit) and she used both Distress Paint and Distress Embossing Powder to achieve this effect on the chipboard.

 Paper tearing is her new thing and she kept it to the sides of the page this time around. She layered over it with stamps and some small elements. She also felt the white gesso splattered on the background was all the paint she needed.

A few metal elements tucked in. She really loves (and so do I) the way the butterfly stamp looks. This is one from a past SOD kit.

Next up is Anna!

Anna created this floral masterpiece using the Scraps Of Elegance April kit 'Lynne's Garden Terrace'...

She created amazing layers, with mixed media techniques and layers of elements!

and some of the amazing details!

Finally I am sharing a stunning creation by Stephanie using the Scraps Of Elegance kit 'Anna's Daydream'!

Stephanie thinks this paper is beautiful, and it inspired her to work with the blue and green colors together. She really likes the resin feathers and the metal embellishments from the kit!  She used the Emerald Cove Glimmer Glaze (from the Color Add On), a product that she didn't know, and was eager to try. This color is beautiful, She loves the result (unfortunately not visible in the photo), gloss varnish is present and also brings a bit of texture. She also used distress ink blue (from the main kit) with her stamps. 

Now for the gorgeous details

Did you get all of Lisa's tips?

*use your rub ons even if they do not turn out perfectly

*use different shapes that compliment each other

*layer your techniques

Thanks for stopping by!

Masculine mixed media layout tutorial by Wilma

Good morning, we've got another great tutorial to share today.

Wilma Voermans created this fantastic layout with our April "Laura's Wish" main kit, Color, and Creativity Add Ons:

And she did a video showing you how she did it:




Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope you find the time this weekend to create something amazing...

~Melinda

Unbelievable Love - Mixed Media Layout Tutorial by Tracey

Good morning, and happy Friday!  We have a wonderful tutorial today to start you off to a creative weekend.  Tracey Sabella made this gorgeous layout with our April "Lynne's Garden Terrace" kit and add ons, and she did a step-by-step video tutorial to show you how:

And here's that video we promised:

I just love Tracey's work with the Prima stencil, Texture Luxe paste, and Gelatos (all from this month's Creativity Add On):

And again, from the Creativity Add On, the dimension she gave her title with the Faber Castell Texture Gems:

That's it for today, I hope you enjoyed Tracey's tutorial, and I hope you have a beautiful weekend...

~Melinda

Lots Of Layers....

Good Morning!

I personally love the dimension and character that layers give to a project!

Today I want to share a few layer luscious layouts from two Scraps Of Darkness designers!

First up is Tracey

'Time Spent With Family....'

Tracey was inspired by this months mood board and the pic is of her daughter and her niece.

Using a large rubber stamp, she covered the frame with warm brown ink.

Using 4 sheets of patterned papers and the coordinated cardstock, she planned her  layers and glued them only in the middle of each layer to give her space to play and decide which lace/ribbon she wanted where. She is more of a scrunch and hot glue type as she didn't want it to look too "matchy-matchy". 

Once her background was in place she padded the frame with a cardboard backing and hot glued it in the center. All the flowers, butterflies and paper elements are from the kit, The wooden leaves are from a previous SOE kit. 

She love clock faces so she tucked them in her clusters-they also went perfect with her sentiment.
 

Next up is me!

Layers don't specifically mean paper, they can mean elements, die cuts, layers of paint etc

I layered paper, cardboard, chipboard, paint, mist and elements!

This is my amazing hubby and a fun photo from a photo shoot we did a couple of years ago!
I created this one using the Kaiser Craft Antique Bazaar papers that were in the kit

Lots of layers!  I added the Copper Jacquard Lumiere Light Body Acrylic Paint to the altered blue fern chipboard and the corrugated cardboard

When I saw the title pieces I knew exactly what photo I wanted to use!!!  And of course more layers!

 

 more of the altered chipboard and I added a few metal gears from a previous kit

and finally another one from me using  lots of layers - this time with paper and doilies!

  This is a beachy fun layout using the Authentique's Durable Collection!

I did a few clusters using the flowers from the kit and the floral add on and of course added a Prima butterfly!

I also added a few of the Prima crystals - they remind me of fish scales and thought they went perfect with this beach layout! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

~Laura