Thursday 19 March 2015

Trucks and Gears and Swirls, oh my!

Hi there! I have a couple of projects to share with you all today that have been created for A2Z Scraplets.

First up is a layout titled Lights on the Hill. 


I've used a Mask to do the large cog on the background which I then filled with Finnabair's Graphite Texture Paste (OMG you NEED this stuff!). I also coated 3 of the Gears from the set of 4 in the same Graphite Texture Paste and then spritzed some copper Glimmer Mist over the top for a rusted up type of look. The Truck chippy was painted white and then I added a strip of green Washi Tape to match the truck in the photos. The truck was then outlined with a black gel pen and had buttons added for wheels. The Garage Days collection by Kaisercraft was perfect for this layout!


Secondly, I have a pair of cards using the gorgeous little swirls in the A2Z Scraplets Music Notes set and the stunning Betsy's Couture collection by Kaisercraft.



The chippies were both cut in half and coloured in with a brown felt pen. The right one was coated in Dimensional Magic, and then both were outlined in a gold gel pen. The scalloped strips across the middle of each card was created using a Fiskars border punch.






Until next time... keep calm and craft on!

Karyn

Sunday 8 March 2015

White..with 1 March Challenge

Hi there! This is my entry for the March challenge over at White..with 1. They have chosen Hemlock as their colour this month and it's just gorgeous!


I dipped a paintbrush into some Tattered Angels Chalkboard Mist for the background behind the photo and a Zig pen from the Chalk Collection (shock horror! I didn't use a gel pen!) created a border for the layout. The Chalkboard Mist was also used to colour the family and border chipboards from A2Z Scraplets. The word family in the circle was coated in Heavy Gesso by Finnabair for that lovely thick white. This photo is one of my favourites, it's just a quick, dodgy one snapped with my phone in December 2013. Sam had unwrapped a present, put the ribbon around my neck and gave me a smooch. I love moments like these, don't you? :)


Some Kaisercraft embellies - rhinestone flourishes, resin flowers, and collectables from the gorgeous Blue Bay collection were added, along with a super cute Prima birdie.



I really wanted to have journaling, but I just couldn't get it to suit anywhere I placed it and then I realised it could work as hidden journaling! So I popped it behind the photo and voila, perfect :D


To create your White..with 1 layout, click here. I can't wait to see what you come up with!
Until next time, as always... Keep calm and craft on!
Karyn

Thursday 5 March 2015

Fun with Gesso! ~step by step tutorial~

Have you ever wanted to play with Gesso but never quite knew how? Well, grab your supplies and let's go!


Materials (for this layout): 


* Canvas or adhesive canvas stuck on THICK card. You can use anything, but I recommend using something quite thick, as it will bow and mess up standard cardstock.
* Gesso - for this layout I used Mont Marte, but I have since bought the Heavy Gesso by Prima as I believe it will not need as many coats.
* Broad and thick paintbrush
* Spatula, credit card, or something similar to spread with.
* Charms, resins, chippies, doilies. Just lots and lots of embellies... I know you have just as many laying around stored neatly as I do lol! I love the Flourish chippy by A2Z Scraplets, it's large enough to run up the entire side of the layout and super fun to decorate on and around!
* Mask/stencil/template - I used the Honeycomb template by Kaisercraft.
* Texture Paste - I used Jo Sonja's, it's fine for what we're doing.
* Glue - you're going to want a good strong wet glue. I use Kaisercraft Tacky Glue, it's my personal favourite.
* Mist of some kind - I used Tattered Angels Cotton Candy Chalkboard Mist. Love it.
* Black or grey gel pen
* Tattered Angels Pewter Glimmer Glaze
* I added a Green Tara glass bead thingy at the end too :)


How to:


Step 1. Adhere canvas to thick card and spread 2 smooth layers of Gesso over the blank canvas with your broad paintbrush (you'll need at least an hour drying time between each coat). 
Step 2. Place your template/mask on top of your canvas (I put a little d/s tape in each corner to hold it still) and use your spatula or credit card to scrape the Texture Paste over the mask. This will dry quite quickly, I think mine only took an hour or so.
Step 3. Placement. I laid the chipboard Flourish down first and then placed all of the embellies around it. I messed with them until it suited what I wanted and then glued each one down individually. You can, of course, glue as you go if your brain won't scream at you while doing so hahahaha

*** I left all of this to dry overnight as I wanted it super stuck before I started coating it all in Gesso.


*** Cut to next morning :)

Step 4. Using your broad paintbrush, coat the entire surface in Gesso. You will need to smoosh your brush sometimes to get into the edges and around all of your embellies. Once this is FULLY dry, go over it again. I say fully dry because if you're using metal or plastic embellisments, the Gesso won't stick until it's completely dry and you'll just smear it. Depending on your preferences, you may want 3 or 4 coats - I used 3.
** for the extra embellies added over the top of the photo, cover them in Gesso individually and keep aside.




Step 5. Once your top coat of Gesso is dry, take your layout and extra embellies outside with your Chalkboard mist and give them a spritz (or 5 depending how much colour you want!). You can also leave it all white - it looks gorgeous!
Step 6. Once your spritzing is all dry you can add your photo and extra embellies. My photo was mounted with foam tape.
Step 7. Using the small brush that comes with your Glimmer Glaze, gently brush the edges of some of your embellies. 
Step 8. Outline photo, title and edge of canvas with your black or grey gel pen.







There you have it, Gesso is FUN and oh so easy to work with.
I hope I've been able to inspire you to have a go, I bet you'll love the outcome! 

Until next time, keep calm and craft on! :)
Karyn

Wednesday 4 March 2015

February Creation of the Month!


Here we are, another month, another favourite creation... This layout is my favourite creation for February because it was my very first for the A2Z Scraplets blog! And let's face it, it's a pretty darn cool masculine layout ;)

I love the brickwork and the faux wood finish on the chippy. Not to mention the Tim Holtz metal frame - just gorgeous. Scroll down to find out how to make it look so awesome!



The Tim Holtz metal frames are fabulous. They come in 3 different colours: bronze, silver and brass. I used bronze and then outlined all the raised bits with a Mont Marte gold gel pen (of course) and I just love the effect!

See you again soon, keep calm and craft on!
Karyn :)

Tuesday 3 March 2015

A2Z Scraplets March Challenge!


Hi there! I am super excited about A2Z Scraplets beginning their challenges again! Even more exciting is that I was able to choose our first one to start back with!


You can check out all the details here


Here is the Mood Board to inspire your creations...



I was inspired by the colours in the Mood Board, and the Shine Bright collection by Kaisercraft was PERFECT :) The background was created with a mask and Mont Marte Dimension Acrylic paints. Super awesome stuff right there!


The whole layout came together really easily. Man, I love working with A2Z Scraplets, there is something for every photo!!!



The Superstar chippy was coated in Stampendous! Shabby White Embossing Enamel and then outlined in a black gel pen (of course, always a gel pen lol),
The Shabby Circle was covered in paper from the Shine Bright collection by Kaisercraft and then had some Twinklets Diamond Dust sprinkled over the top. Awesome effects on both!!!



A little hidden journaling!



This challenge was heaps of fun. There is so much on the Mood Board to inspire you! If you're keen to join in (and you know you are!) pop over to the A2Z Scraplets facebook page and add your creation to the album to be in the running to win an incredible goody pack! 
I'm off to create something now... that lantern has me thinking ;)

Keep calm and craft on!
Karyn

Monday 2 March 2015

@titude!




Here is a nice and simple BTP I've created for Kaisercraft Toowoomba using the @ 3D Wall Art and the Off The Wall collection

After painting the back and edges of the wall art, I glued the paper down and sanded the edges. Sanding ensures that your paper won't peel off due to dust getting into the edges. Then I used a mask with red paint for the background. While that dried, I coloured in the '@' and alphas with a red Marvy Marker and added Dimensional Magic. Once the Dimensional Magic was set, I used a dark blue gel pen to add little dashes here and there over the '@' and all of the chippies. Then it was just a matter of choosing placement and voila! 






Until next time, keep calm and craft on! :)

Karyn