"Brave Heart" by Sue Plumb

Hi everyone!

Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you. Today I have a mixed media scrapbook layout to share, but for this one I decided to mix it up a bit by creating an A4 sized page. I don't often create in this size, but as the photo I chose to work with was only 3x4", I thought it would work better on a smaller scale page. (And I must say, I liked the change!)

This page was actually inspired by the quote I used. It was one I found in a magazine quite a while ago, and I had cut it out and filed it away; but this week it really spoke to me so I wanted to create a piece using it.

I began my page by creating my background. I had an A4 sized sheet of cardstock, which I primed with White Heavy Gesso (I used an old gift card to get thin, even coverage); then once it had dried I started adding some colour. I used Steel Colour Shimmer Spray, which I applied simply by adding a couple of sprays very close to the surface (so it would pool rather than fan out). I then spread the colour using a wide brush.

Once the spray had dried, I then added some further colour to define my focal areas using Colour Artist Inks. The colours I chose were Barley; Rust and Soot as they worked perfectly with the small amount of colour shown in my photo.
(Great news - the Colour Artist Inks are now available direct from the Colour Blast store - shop for them HERE)

To apply the inks, I sprayed a small amount of water first to wet the surface, before adding a few drops of Barley with a brush. I then added a little more water with my brush, which allowed me to move the colour around my page. I then used a heat gun to dry it before repeating the process with the Rust ink, which I also dried with a heat gun.

The next step in my process was to add some depth and interest to my background by stamping with some mark making stamps from Viva Las VegaStamps and Staz On ink.

Next, it was time to add further depth and some texture to my page, so I grabbed my Bling Colour Paste and a thin palette knife and spread small amounts randomly around my page.

I then used Soot Colour Artist Ink and a small, stiff nylon bristle brush to add some black splatters. (This ink makes the perfect splatters!)

Now it was time to add some focal images. In keeping with the steampunk style colour scheme I had used, and also because of the key word strength in my quote; I chose some images of a water pipe I had previously stamped onto tissue paper. (I used a small amount of matte medium to apply them, but you could even use a simple glue stick.)

I also added a couple of layers behind where my photo was going to go. I used a cute heart piece that I cut from white cardstock using a heart wreath die from Uniquely Creative; along with some frayed gauze for texture before mounting my photo on top.

After my photo was in place, I added a cute wood veneer frame from D-lish Scraps over the top.

I then added my quote, along with a wood veneer arrow from Cocoa Vanilla Studio.

Next, I added my Brave Heart title down in the bottom right corner of my page. This was also a Viva Las VegaStamps image that I had already stamped onto tissue paper.

Finally, to tie in the heart theme and also to add some more dimension to my page; I added a Charms Creations handmade heart embellishment with another wood veneer arrow mounted on top of it.

I am really happy how this one came together, and so pleased I was able to use the quote I had saved. (I knew one day it would speak to me!)

Here's a final look at some of the colours and textures on my page (look at that Bling Colour Paste shine!)

I will be back in a couple of weeks with another project to share. Until then, happy scrapping!