Be Free by Sue Plumb

Hi everyone!

It's Sue here today with my latest project created for Colour Blast. Today I am sharing a 12x12" layout that features a recent selfie I took before heading out. (Note to self: always take selfies when dressed up with make up on, you are more likely to scrap them!)

As you may already be aware, I am quite passionate about Aussie scrappers supporting our local Australian scrapbook industry; so I have combined a few of my other fave Aussie businesses to fly the flag alongside Colour Blast on this layout. I started with a sheet of patterned paper from Cocoa Vanilla Studio for my background. As the floral pattern was only black and white, this meant I was able to choose any colour I wanted to customise it, so I went with a punchy pink!

To do my background, I first mixed up some Lollipop Colour Shimmer Dust with a small amount of water in my palette. I then used a water brush to apply the colour to selected areas of my paper and set it aside to dry. (If you haven't already guessed, I LOVE my water brushes!) ;)

Whilst my background was drying, I grabbed a couple of wood veneer pieces that I planned to use and painted them using the new black heavy gesso. I was really happy with how smoothly the gesso went on, and the coverage was so good they didn't even require a second coat!

The next step in my process was to prepare the other embellishments I was planning to use. Like my previous layout I shared on the blog (here); I decided to use some "paintable" ephemera pieces to add to my layout. Again, I reached for my Colour Shimmer Dust, this time in Midnight. Once mixed, I applied it with a waterbrush. I gave each piece two coats of colour, as I wanted to ensure they looked really black.

When all my items had dried, it was time to assemble my layout. I adhered my patterned paper (which I had trimmed down to 11x11") onto a sheet of black cardstock, to form a black frame. I then layered some pink tissue paper and a paper doily to form a mat for my photo.

After that it was simply a matter of adding all my embellishments - wood veneer pieces from D-lish Scraps; painted ephemera; a Charms Creations handmade felt heart; and a flair button and phrase stickers from Flutterby Designs. (SO much Aussie goodness included there!)

Here are some close ups (check out the gorgeous shimmer from those Colour Shimmer Dusts!)

I hope I have inspired you with my layout today. If you haven't got any of your own Colour Shimmer Dusts yet; or if you do, but haven't tried applying them with a water brush - then I highly recommend you try it.
(And please don't forget to support all our Aussie brands!)

I will be back in a couple of weeks with another Colour Blast project to share.

Until then, happy scrapping!