3 fantastic paper-craft projects to inspire

Today, we're sharing 3 very different projects, an altered box, a layout, and a canvas.

I'll start with Lisa's gorgeous altered box, and here's what she says about it:

Inspiration for this piece came in the form of the beautiful Prima Archival Cast Chandelier Pendant II found here. I opted to cut the metal wire and use this piece without it.  I started off with a layer of Distress Crackle Paint in Picket Fence. I LOVE this paint. It works fabulous for crackles. I then went over it in Art Alchemy Acrylic Paint in Lime Peel. This color came in a previous kit however we have many more Art Alchemy Paints here. I then went over it in Prima Rust Effect Paste and Lumiere Gold. 

To dress up my box I used the Courtship Roses from Blue Fern Studios found here and the gorgeous Spring Iris Chipboard. We have a gorgeous selection of Blue Fern Chipboard you can see it all here. To make my chipboard extra special I embossed it with Lindys. I used Cosmic Blue Violet and you can find a great selection of Lindys embossing powders here. I also used my favorite powders Encrusted Jewels found here. I love a very layered effect. When you look at this in person the piece draws you in beckoning you to touch it and peek beneath the floral layers to see what other treasures lay beneath. 

You can see I also added Art Ingredients Violet Glass Glitter found here and I used the fabulous Prima Christina Adolph rub ons in Poppy Floral Script found here.  I used them randomly along the top of the box and the sides. They rub on beautifully and add extra sparkle to your project.

My base papers were the beautiful BoBunny Secret Garden Vineyard found here. The top of the Archival Cast Chandelier Pendant was enhanced with a BoBunny Secret Garden Brad. As luck would have it you can grab one here. 

You can see me putting my Martha Stewart Punch to use here along with a stencil and Distress Ink. This months Scraps of Elegance Kit features a beautiful color add on with Tea Stain ink and some other needful things. You can see it here.

The inside of my box is also finished off with these gorgeous papers, punching and splatters.

I think this would make a fabulous treasure box for your jewels, special trinkets or vintage photos.

Hope you are inspired to create one for yourself. 

And next up is a wonderful layout by Monica Lowrance. Here's what Monica says about her layout:

 I am so excited I got to use some Blue Fern papers and they are so gorgeous. I used papers from the Serendipity line. The beautiful lady in the photo, Jamie, is a friend of my sister and me.  They went to high school together and have maintained that friendship over the years. She had a photo shoot last year and this shot just screamed to be scrapped!!

I used the flip side of "Chronicle" from the Serendipity line from Blue Fern Studios.
I also used Rebecca Baer Marrakech stencil.
Here is a close up of the stencil work on the paper.

The next item you can find in the Scraps of Darkness store is this awesome Prima Art Ingredients Glass Glitter...I used some gel medium and the glitter held really well.

I'm definitely gonna have to find more places to use this glitter.  Here you can see a feather I tucked in to match what she is wearing.

Now you're gonna see me alter this cool chipboard. I wanted to make it black to match my layout and anchor the left side of the layout. I used Art C Ultra Chalk Paint in black from the the May Scraps of Elegance Color Add On kit. Here you can see how that turned out. I wanted it a bit deeper rich so I used some Ken Oliver Color Burst Lamp Black to intensify the blackness. It worked like a charm.

I like how it turned out and it looks great in the sunlight.

On the other side of the layout I used a wonderful dress form with roses inside. I've never seen one so detailed. I brushed a bit of black ink just little to have blend a little into the background.

Here you can see I used some more of the color burst to intensify the color of the flowers. The flowers I used here were....

Here you can see another flower that I used the Color Burst and placed on top of a Prima metal embellishment.

Now the final layout. I loved adding a few feathers under the photo ...thanks for stopping by.

List of products used that can be found in the Scraps of Darkness store:

Blue Fern Studios Serendipity - Calling Cards
Blue Fern Studios Chronicle
Magnolia Shabby Chic Roses - Mahogany
Prima Art Ingredients Glass Glitter
Rebecca Baer Stencil - Marrakech
Ken Oliver Color Burst Liquid Metal
Feathers, flourish, bling, lace from previous Scraps of Darkness & Elegance Kits.

And our final project for today is this fabulous canvas by Patricia Basson:

Here's what Patricia says about her canvas:

I used the 5'x7' canvas from Winsor & Newton. As you will see in the next photo, I ripped the canvas and peeled the canvas back to expose the wooden frame. This way I got some lovely texture without having to go to the trouble of adding cloth to a frame...

I simply cut an x in the middle of the canvas and tore the pieces apart. I then plied the canvas and glued it with Heavy Body Gel.

This was my initial look and idea I had for the project...After this was done I wanted to add some Rust effect...But once I started I just could not stop adding the Rust Paste! Up to here I had Gesso'd all of it. In the background one can see the pink Fancy Pants Corrugated Sheet that was also Gesso'd. I have used windows from the Prima Shabby Chic Treasures Window III. They are layered with the smaller one in the crevice and the taller one on top of the frame. I used US Artquest Prills: Minni Pearls for texture as well Art Stones. All was painted with Prima Opal Magic Paints: Aqua Rose and  Pink Blue.

As said before....this is were you can stop if you like a more Shabby Chic look...or you can go wild and add Ruste Paste or even different colour Acrylic Paints.

I have used Distress Stains: Evergreen Bough and Peeled Paint on the corrugated Sheet, but the same effect can be achieved using any mist or paints or even Brusho Crystal Colors. The rust effect in the corner is watered down Rust Paste.

Although the final project differs from what I had in mind in the beginning, I do hope that I can inspire you to try something similar...

Please visit the Scraps of Darkness on-line store to purchase these and many more amazing products...

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Fancy Pants Corrugated Sheet

Mixed Media, Paints, Sprays

Prima Art Alchemy Acrylic Paint: Opal Magic, Aqua Rose 

Prima Art Alchemy Acrylic Paint: Opal Magic, Pink Blue

Prima Shabby Chic Treasures Windows III 

US Artquest Prills: Minnie Pearls 

Winsor & Newton Artist Canvas

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:

 

 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.

 

 She used Alizarin Crimson and Violet Brusho to create this card.

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

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

Cards and tags...

Good morning. Today we're sharing projects from two of the talented gals that design for us with products from our store.

 This beautiful card was created by Patricia Basson:

Here's what Patricia says about her card:

I used a piece of Canvas Paper from my own stash simply because I liked the texture of it. I used the Rebecca Baer Stencil: Flights of Fancy and Prima Color Bloom Spray: Cotton Candy (The Prima Color Blooms are on sale at the moment) on my background. I also layered Strips of Heidi Swapp Definitions Stickers  and various Canvas and gauze strips across the card. 

   I placed a Prima Resin Heart  on top of a Prima Royal Menagerie Flower. The resin Heart was also sprayed with the Color Bloom. On the Heart and background I embossed some Embossing Powder and Color Fragments from a Stampendous Fran-tage Encrusted Jewel Kit - in the shop there are beautiful Teal and Gold Kits...

And the next two fabulous projects we have are from Monica Lowrance:

Here's what Monica says about her card:

Here is a card I made with my goodies from the Scraps of Darkness store.
I am using the Bo Bunny Provence line and many other goodies. Let's take a closer look. Here you can see the butterfly on top of the doily die cut.

Another close up here using the Silks Emperor's Gold on some edges along with some gesso.

I loved incorporating some lighter colors for spring. I think I'm ready.  How about you?

I enjoyed using the Bo Bunny Provence paper line, which was part of a previous Scraps of Elegance kit.

 And Monica's tag:

Here is a tag I made with some goodies you can find in the Scraps of Darkness store. 

As you can see I used that cool new stencil again. (Rebecca Baer Marrakech stencil)

I loved the blooms. (Kaisercraft Iceberg Mini Paper Blooms)

That lace is so beautiful. (currently out of stock)

 Thanks so much for your visit today, we hope you are having a beautiful weekend!

~Melinda