Friday, April 29, 2016

Video Tutorial: DIY Home Decor - Prima Frameworks Bird Cage

Good morning, and happy Friday!

We've got a wonderful new tutorial today (especially good if you are looking for a last minute Mother's Day gift idea!)


The OTP Add-On for our April Scraps of Elegance kit was Prima's gorgeous Frameworks Antique White Large Birdcage:




Tracey use this, as well as our SOE April main kit, Wonderful, and the April Color and Floral Add ons:


The Slate flowers and Relics flowers are also available individually in our store, and she also used Ice Queen Prills and Prima Metallique Light Patina acrylic paint from the store. 
Here's Tracey's tutorial:

 And a few detail photos of this gorgeous off-the-page project:





I hope you enjoyed Tracey's video, and I hope we've inspired you to create something beautiful this weekend...

~Melinda


Thursday, April 28, 2016

Gorgeous DIY Mixed Media Masculine Layout Tutorial from Wilma

The Scraps Of Darkness
Travel Stories kit is wonderfully versatile.
Feminine and masculine pages can be created using this awesome kit.

Wilma created this amazing masculine page with a gorgeous design and fabulous lines....

and her amazing details...




and she even created a fabulous video tutorial of her process....




 Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Pretty layouts with Nicole and Tatiana

Good morning!

Pretty [prit-ee]
adjective
pleasing or attractive to the eye, as by delicacy or gracefulness:
 
So today I am sharing two layouts that to me are by definition 'pretty' 
 
First pretty layout is by Nicole using the Scraps Of Elegance kit 'Wonderful'
 
 
 
Lots of pink with touches of fuscia and purple... flowers are a combination of Prima and Blue Fern Studios 
 
 
  This adorable bird cage stamp is from Hot Off The Press and is included in the kit.
 
 
 
The next pretty layout is from Tatiana using the
Scraps Of Darkness kit 'Travel Stories


Her first layout is about trip to Budapest. In the photo you can see St Istvan Basilica.
First she applied the Lindy's the Stamp Gang - Sassy Saphire mist,  Jacquard Lumiere-paint and  gelatos Blueberry Metallic. Then stamped background Used Kaisercraft using the stamp from the main kit and also used Kaisercraft die-cuts, Graphic 45 ephemera cards and die-cuts from City Scrapes collection (from the main kit and Elements Add-on).  
 
 
Also she added chipboard, washi tape and jewels from February kit.
 
 
 
Thanks for stopping by
~Laura 

 

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Nicole's beautiful April layouts

Good morning!
Nicole has an amazing style I am excited to show you a couple of her newest layouts using the Scraps Of Elegance 'wonderful' kit

This first one she chose to use the beautiful Bo Bunny Secret Garden papers and the April Bo Bunny sketch


There are so many beautiful flowers and butterflies in the kit




her next layout pays tribute to her mom...


Along with beautiful Bo Bunny papers and embellishments, the April SOE kit comes with lovely Blue Fern Studios chipboard, pretty peach coloured burlap and lots of flowers in the main kit and the floral add-on!



Using a sepia tone picture helps bring together the chipboard pieces that she stained brown and the stitching done with brown thread.


Thanks for stopping by

 

Monday, April 25, 2016

Mixed Media Monday: Art Journal and Watercolor Cards

Good morning, we've got some fabulous Monday motivation for you today!

Both of today's featured projects were done by Patricia Basson, and both are gorgeous!

The first is a double art journal page:

 Here's what Patricia says about this project:
I had some creative time playing in my journal again.This time using products from the Scraps of Darkness on-line shop. I am still using my Strathmore Visual Journal from an earlier Scraps of Elegance Kit. I really do enjoy using and getting to know different mediums, and playing in an Art Journal is the perfect way to experiment with them...

I started by embossing some floral images in the corners using clear embossing powder which will act as a resist once I start misting. I also used texture paste through a stencil for added texture. For colour I used the following. I started by spraying with Prima Color Bloom: Iris and Soft Teal. I also used Colourcraft Brusho Crystal Colors: Black and Purple. 



I had to use the US Artquest Prills: I'm A-maized on the page as well. After spraying and drying the Prima Color Blooms, I started playing with the Brusho's. I wet the areas were I wanted to use them with water and then carefully shook some of the pigment powder on the area. I used more water to get the powder to run and settle between the textured images.
 
 

 
Some Prima wooden elements, Cheesecloth and word stickers make up my elements clusters.
 
Patricia has also done a set of 3 beautiful pastel handmade cards:
 
Handmade cards created with Brusho Crystal Colours
 Patricia created the stunning watercolor backgrounds on these cards with Brusho Crystal Colours, which you can find in our store here, and a little bit about Brushos:  
Create amazing backgrounds on mixed media scrapbook layouts, art journal pages, and handmade cards! These are amazingly versatile watercolor ink crystals that can be used in a myriad of different ways. Incredibly vivid, vibrant, and brilliant, they open up a world of possibilities for painters, mixed media artists, and crafters of every level. They can be used on paper, canvas or even wood. Sprinkle them directly on a wet surface and watch intriguing organic patterns appear almost like magic. Sprinkle on a wet brush, painting knife, or texture tool to create a variety of effects. You can dissolve them in water and apply them in a spray bottle, or add them to wax paste or gel mediums for body.  Manufactured in Sheffield, England, for more than 35 years, Brusho Crystal Colours are completely non-toxic and non-hazardous.

And Patricia says:
I find them best used on a glossy surface as I have here. It takes some water to get the crystals to dissolve...I have done one colour, let it dry and then added the second colour. I wet my paper, sprinkled some Brusho on and spritzed some more with water to get the crystals moving.
 
Alizarin Pink and Violet Brusho Card
 She used Alizarin Crimson and Violet Brusho to create this card.


Violet and Lime Green Card
And on this one, she used Lime Green and Violet.

Lime Green and Ultramarine card
For this one, Patricia used Ultramarine and Lime Green.
 
She also mixed some into texture paste and applied it through a stencil... she says that is a sure fun way to use them...
 
 

That's it for today, and as always, we hope you find the time to create something beautiful today!

~Melinda


Saturday, April 23, 2016

Prima Frameworks Birdcage Tutorial

Good morning, we have a wonderful new tutorial today:

Shabby Chic Prima Frameworks Birdcage
 Our April Scraps of Darkness Creativity Add On included Prima's gorgeous Frameworks Birdcage (small), and Tanya has created this stunning DIY home decor piece with it.  
Here's a photo of the Creativity Add On, Tanya used these items, as well as some items from the Main Kit (Travel Stories):

Scraps of Darkness April Creativity Add On
  
Here's Tanya's video tutorial:



And here are a few detail shots:

Detail Photo 1

Detail Photo 2

Detail Photo 3

Detail Photo 4

Detail Photo 5
 
 Thanks so much for stopping by today, we hope you have a beautiful weekend!

~Melinda

Friday, April 22, 2016

Mixed media layout tutorial: Travel Stories Kit

Travel Stories Kit mixed media layout by Tanya SonataJoy

Tanya's created a fabulous layout using the Graphic 45 Cityscapes, Kaisercraft Story Book, Tim Holtz, Lindy's, and Prima items in our April kit, Travel Stories.
And even better, she's done a Youtube video tutorial to show you how she achieved all that mixed media goodness:



Here are a few detail shots of Tanya's layout:

detail photo 1

Detail photo 2

Detail photo 3

Detail photo 4

Thanks so much for stopping by, we hope you have a great weekend and find some time to create something wonderful!

~Melinda

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Laura's Final 'Travel Stories' kit layout

Good morning!

I shared a layout the other day of our boys at Canada's Wonderland and today I am going to share my final layout using the April Scraps Of Darkness kit 'Travel Stories' featuring a photo of our family at the amusement park!
 I really love to layer the Graphic 45 papers from the 'travel stories' kit 
I created some flowers clusters using the flowers from the main kit,  and floral add on 
I used one of the Graphic 45 Cityscapes collection Ephemera Cards
from the elements add on and then mounted it on coordinating paper.
Thanks for stopping by! 
~Laura 

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Destination layouts with Michelle!

Good morning!

Today I am sharing a couple of layouts that feature destinations from the talented Michelle, using our Scraps Of Darkness kit
'Travel Stories'

Since Michelle lives in Australia she created a layout about her beautiful  harbor


Her second layout features a steampunk image of the 'city of lights'...Paris


Thanks for stopping by
~Laura

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Snips and Snails with Kathy and Laura!

Good morning!
'Snips and snails and puppy dog tails' that's what little boys are made of....
Today Kathy and I have layouts to share that celebrate the young men in our lives and the diversity of the 
Scraps Of Darkness April kit 'Travel Stories'




The background paper is from Kaisercraft found in the Coordinating Paper Add On.   She rolled one of the pieces from an Engineering textbook so it would look like a page of a book turned back then placed a clip to hold it in place In the top right hand corner.


She fussy cut the shelf of books on the left side, along with a ruler from another Kaisercraft paper included in the Coordinating Paper Add On. 


For the center of the lo she sprayed lots of Prima's Color Bloom "Antique Gold" and stamped the around the page with a script stamp to make it look like the page of the book then splattered lots of inks, and used a ledge stencil to make it look more structured.


 Included in the Elements Add On are some G45 "City Scapes" cards which she used to create mats for the back of the photo. 


She made a little book that is located on the left hand side of the photo from the Kaisercraft Collectables.  She rolled the pages of the book and placed little dowels underneath them so they would stay in place.  Then wrapped a piece of twine around the center for the binding.





Next is a layout I did  with a photo from an amusement park


The Graphic 45 Cityscapes papers are perfect for layering!


I had this piece of chipboard and I used the May Arts Jute String from the kit and wrapped it around a few of the letters
I also bought some Faber Castell glass bead gel medium from the SOD store and mixed it with Marion Smith Designs Color Lab Sparkling Pigments from a previous kit then stenciled it on. 
 


LOTS of layers!!!

Thanks for stopping by! 
~Laura