"Give Way", by Amanda H

Hi everyone!

It is hard to believe it is the end of September! Today I am sharing a page from my trip to Amsterdam back in April. I have just visited there again and was reminded just how much you need to give way to bikes on the roads and footpaths! Crazy! I love the colours and tones of Amsterdam and it is fun scrapbooking the memories of my trip.

Here is a sneak peek of the layout, before I show you how I created it.

I decided to do some embossing on a piece of corrugated cardboard. I collected my Colour Embossing Powders, choosing the colours: Dusty Charcoal, Sienna and Leather.

I painted some random patches of clear embossing liquid on the sides of the cardboard.

Then, I sprinkled a mix of the three embossing powders into the embossing liquid. Then I heat set with my heat gun. It looks messy and grungy and pretty cool!

I also embossed some 2Crafty Chipboard chevrons with Sienna Colour Embossing Powder.

And more chevrons embossed with Dusty Charcoal Embossing Powder.

I splattered some Sienna Colour Shimmer Cube over the embossing on the cardboard.

And also splattered some Dusty Charcoal Colour Shimmer Cube as another layer on the cardboard.

I started assembling my page, including layering some washi tape to the background. I added some more splatters to the background over the washi, using Dusty Charcoal Colour Shimmer Cube. I also lightly painted the edges of the background paper.

Similarly, I added some fine splatters using Sienna Colour Shimmer Cube.

Lastly, I added some subtle black stamping to the background.

Here is my final page and some close ups.

See you in October! Thanks for looking!

Amanda

Masculine Cards by Amy Churchward

Hello there, Colour Blast Fans, it’s Amy here!

If you are like me, being a mum with boys with friends with parties to go to… then it is handy to be able to make masculine cards.

So here is how I created these cards.

I cut four card bases to create the traditional card sizes – C6. Score with either the scorer or your trimmer or a bone folder.

Next I cut four white bases, using water colour paper, cut to fit onto the base card stock.

Then to create the background for all the cards, I used various techniques, as follows:

Watercolour – wet the paper, then with a paint brush, applied some Deep Water Colour Shimmer Spray and moved the paper around to allow for good coverage.

 

Created circles – using the lid of the Carribean  Colour Spray, stamped onto the coloured surface.

 

Splattered some Deep Water Colour Shimmer Spray and Carribean Colour Spray using the straw from the bottles.

More colour: using the Apple of My Eye Colour Shimmer Cubes with water on a paintbrush, I applied it sporadically over the prepared background. This really added another dimension to my creation!

 

After the card backgrounds were prepared, I moved onto giving my embellishments a splash of colour.

After I primed the chipboard cogs with Heavy White Gesso, I coated them with Sunshine and Apple of My Eye Colour Shimmer Cubes – I love the versatility of these little treasures!

Using a permanent based ink, I stamped the background with a stamp with some ‘industrial appeal’ – you could use whatever stamp you choose, though.

Heat Embossing. Using a heatgun, I heat embossed the chipboard words in the Just Blue Colour Embossing Powder – which added a superb striking and vibrant effect.

I adhered the water colour panels to the card stock, then arranged the chipboard and embellishments onto the cards as desired 

…and voila!

Here are some close-ups of the cards…

  

Happy card making!

'till next time, ciao!

Amy Churchward

"Happy Moments Together" by Gwen Wruck

Hi, Creative friends!!

Gwen back with you today with another "clean mixed media" project.  Lots of close-ups and step by steps so why not grab a cuppa and enjoy!

For this layout, I started with a black and white picture of myself and my daughter.  I love scrapping photos like this, family pics of us just being together, no special occasion, just being us.  I wanted to work with a white background and a monochromatic colour scheme, I've gone with Pink, Black and White.

To begin, I started with Bazzill Marshmallow card stock so no gesso was required.  I've started with the packaging technique using Colour Shimmer Spray in Punch and Blush.  I've mentioned before how I love using these 2 tones of pink together, they work so well for a tone on tone effect.

Next, I have added some splatters, firstly with the Shimmer Sprays, and then, once dry with the Colour Shimmer Cube in Punch.

Here is a close-up... you can see the different results achieved by the packaging technique compared to the splatters.

Next, I needed some contrast, so I went with the stunning Sienna in the Colour Shimmer Spray. I have used a paintbrush to add more splatters.  I use one colour at a time and allow everything to dry before using the next colour.  This helps to ensure no mixing of the colours as they dry.

With my background complete, it was now time to work on the cut file element I wanted to add.  I simply cut out a bunch of flowers using my Silhouette and while they were still on my cutting mat, I applied Shimmer Spray in Blush and Sienna to them using the packaging technique.  For this process, I did allow the colours to mix a little and really love how that looks!

I was VERY careful not to add too much liquid here as the card stock I was using had not had gesso applied, and I didn't want any moisture getting onto my Silhouette cutting mat.  I then carefully removed the cut flowers from the mat and let fully dry.  You will need to work quite quickly here as the longer the moisture sits on the paper the more likely it will tear as you remove it.  I love how their edges curled up a little as they dried.

Here you can see a close-up of the finished flowers.  I love how uneven the mists look, there are sections where the colour is quite saturated and other sections with very little colour applied.  I now had all of the elements ready to complete my page. 

I simply arranged the flowers onto my background adding a tiny spot of glue to the centre.  I really wanted their edges to stay curled up a little for added interest.  I love how their open design allows you to see the background through the petals.

I then placed my photo and title as these were my two largest elements.  Once their position was locked in, it was easy to add the other elements around them.

To complement my photo I've added in some other black and white elements including these chipboard hearts.  I just love the contrast they provided to the design.  I've added other die cut elements from Crate paper and Flutterby Designs and the page was done.

I give this project a "mess level" of Low

 (Thanks to the plastic packaging which I didn't even bother cleaning (throw it away people), and a paintbrush I can really control where the colour goes and still no messy hands or nails!)

Thanks for popping by

Gwen

xox

"Peacock" - Watercolour painting using Colour Shimmer Cubes by Sue Plumb

Hi Colour Blast friends! 

It's Sue Plumb here today to share my latest design team project with you. You may recall the project I posted earlier this month (a mixed media canvas) was different to the scrapbook pages that I normally create to share here? Creating different types of projects is a good way to get you out of your comfort zone. Today I am stepping well out of mine and sharing a watercolour painting that I created using Colour Shimmer Cubes.

Since I was a child I have always loved to draw and paint. But (like so many of us) I have always been critical of the work I produce. My inner dialogue constantly said "I wish I could draw". And there it is. That self-fulfilling prophecy that serves to reinforce the thought further and keeps you boxed inside your comfort zone. But with age comes wisdom; or least you reach a point where you learn to say "you know what? This makes me happy and I am going to do it anyway". So I did. And here is what I created...

My process for creating this was fairly simple - in a nutshell - I sketched it, then painted it. I started with an A3 sized sheet of 300 gsm watercolour paper, a pencil and an eraser and then roughly sketched out my image. I wasn't looking for perfection, because I knew I was going to paint over it anyway.

Once my design was sketched out, it was time to add some colour! I started with the body, and my Just Blue Colour Shimmer Cube as this was going to be the most dominant colour of my image. To give some variation and depth to my peacock's body, I also added highlights of color using Singin' the Blues; Deep Water and Envy.

Next, I moved onto the feathers. I started with Deep Water, and coloured the spots on the tail feathers. While they dried, I moved onto Apple of my Eye and used it to colour the plumage behind the body. I then went back and painted the outer circles of the tail feathers. After they had also dried, I coloured the inner circles using Sienna.

* Design tip - It is important not to paint over one colour with another unless you are intending to blend them together. Even after it has dried, the paint will reactivate once it is wet again *

I then began adding some detail to my image. I used Dusty Charcoal to paint the "eyes" in the centre of the feathers. I then switched brushes from the small, soft brush I had been using to a fine tipped water brush so I could begin adding detailed strokes to the plumage. I used Deep Water over the top of the existing Apple of my Eye green I had painted, as I knew minimal blending would not give me an undesirable tone. I also painted in some of the tail detail using the same color.

I also used the water brush with the Dusty Charcoal to paint in the detail of the face; then more detail was added to the tail using Stormy Weather, Steel and Apple of my Eye.

I then added some highlights using Bling randomly through the tail, the plumage and on the body.

Once all the paint was dry, I went back and added some small final detail over the top using a Stabilo pencil.

You can see how this added depth to the final result.

Look at the delicious combination of Colour Shimmer Cubes I used for my project...

And look at the equally delicious shimmer they produce...

Thanks for stopping by today so I could share this with you. I hope I have inspired your inner artist to pull your Colour Shimmer Cubes out and paint something with them. Don't listen to that voice of inner doubt that tells you you can't - just do it because it's fun and it makes you happy!

(If you do paint something with your Colour Shimmer Cubes and feel brave enough to share, I would really love to see them! You can post them in the Colour Blast Creative Corner group and please tag me so I don't miss them!)

Til next time, happy scrapping (or painting!) ;)