"BFF Birthday Party" by Charmane Koch

Happy Monday Everyone!

Today I wanted to share with you this layout I have created using a "rainbow" of Colour Blast Colour Pastes with a splash of Gold using the Colour Shimmer Brush Gold Marker...

Firstly I used White Gesso and Circle Stencil. I then heat dried it with a heat gun.

Then with a spatula I scraped each colour one at a time from top to bottom of the page, cleaning the spatula between each colour...

While that is drying I coloured Wood veneer Hearts and chipboard words using the Colour Blast Gold Shimmer Brush Marker...

Once everything had dried I positioned all of the elements that I wanted on my page... I thought the Gold/Yellow was perfect contrast with the rest of the other rainbow colours. Then with the black title, splats and sequin star it really makes it all stand out!

Here are some closeups to show the Shine and Shimmer...

This page is definitely a "Colour Blast"! I love how it turned out, and hope that I've inspired you to get out the rainbow colours!

Thanks for popping by!

XO Charm

Thanks for popping by!

XO Charm

Runner Up by Charmane Koch

Hi Everyone! 

Today I wanted to share with you a layout I created using Pinks - in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness month! I have used Colour Paste in Lipstick, Colour Artist Ink in Cranberry & Colour Embossing Powder Blush.

I decided to use a photo of my Harmony girl with her Runner Up Best & Fairest Trophy from last year for Netball {She received Best & Fairest THIS year, but I haven't printed the photo yet!}

Anyway, I firstly started with a piece of Thick White Cardstock that I have covered in Thick White Gesso using a palette knife. I let this dry naturally.

Before adding Colour Artist Ink to my page I have sprayed water, as I didn't want a really strong background colour. After adding a couple of drops of Ink, I have then sprayed more water and moved the page around to manoeuvre the colour around.

I used a heat gun to dry the Ink.

Next I have used a star stencil and positioned them to go from bottom left corner across to the top right corner of the page. I have used Colour Paste Lipstick and used a heat gun to dry.

I have put together other pink embellishments, positioned my photo and added my title and journalling.

My favourite bit though is added the Colour Embossing Powder Blush to the edge of my layout which I think really finishes it off.

I rubbed Clear Watermark ink pad around the edge of my page doing one corner at a time.

I have then sprinkled a generous amount of the Embossing Powder along the edge - making sure I have a pre-folded piece of paper underneath so that I can pour the excess back into the container...

 Don't want to waste all that!!!

And how awesome does the Embossing look once heated? Love the texture on this!

 Here is the final layout:

Such a fun layout to create & as I said my fave is the Embossing edge! Will be definitely using this technique again!

Thanks for popping by & hope I've inspired you!

XO Charmane

"Say Yes to New Adventures" by Sue Plumb

Hi everyone!

Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you. Today I am sharing a fun, whimsical style art journal spread I created in my altered book journal using an old favourite product - Colour Shimmer Cubes; along with Colour Paste, and some of the new release stamps and stencils designed by Michelle Grant.

Unfortunately, the Colour Shimmer Cubes are now a retired product (although you may still find them available from selected retailers); but there are still many of you with them in your stash and they need to be used! If you don't have any cubes, you could still create a project such as this using an alternative product, such as Colour Shimmer Dust, Colour Shimmer Spray or even Colour Artist Inks.

Now, onto my process.

I began my spread by adding a coat of white heavy gesso to my pages using a brush. I chose to use a brush this time as I wasn't concerned about getting a thin, even coverage. If I was working on a scrapbook layout I would usually apply it with an old gift card, but I am less fussy in my journal, so a brush it was.

Whilst the gesso was drying, I chose the Colour Shimmer Cubes I wanted to use and gave the surface of each one a spray of water, then set them aside for a few minutes to moisten. I then grabbed a medium rounded brush and a cup of water and began applying my first colour - 'Sunshine', using a dabbing motion. As I applied the watercolour, I kept dipping my brush into the water to ensure that it was nice and wet going onto the page, allowing me to move the paint around.

After I had the Sunshine on the page, I then repeated the process with 'Singin' the Blues'; 'Envy' and finally, 'Lipstick'. (It is important to remember that the shimmer cubes, like all watercolour paints, will re-activate each time they are wet, so take care when applying one colour over another to ensure you don't make "mud".)

After I had all the colours dried, I decided that a couple of areas weren't quite as vibrant as I would have liked, so I added a little extra colour over the top before drying again.

The next step was to apply some stamping, so I reached for the new August release Colour Blast stamp set and used some of the stamps to add extra interest to my page.

After the stamping was complete, it was time for some texture and shine. The gorgeous golden 'Bling' Colour Paste fit the bill perfectly, and I used it with another of the August new release products -  a stencil. I used the dot section of the stencil along the top portion of my page, applying the paste using a palette knife, and then wiping off the excess paste randomly along the bottom edge of my pages.

I then added the focal points of my spread - some digital collage elements sourced from Mischief Circus that I had printed out and fussy cut. I used a liquid adhesive to adhere them to the page.

At this point my collage pieces were looking a little flat on the page and were in need of something to give them some depth and to help them pop. The answer? My trusty Stabilo All pencil. I added a rough outline around each of the pieces and then  used a water brush to blend the lines out. (These pencils are water soluble.) I also used the pencil to add some outlines to the stamped stars, some small crosses, and a few random scribbles. (I left these lines untouched though.)

Now my all my spread needed was some text. Enter yet another new August release Colour Blast stencil - this one with a fabulous quote. I used a permanent ink and a sponge dauber to apply the ink through the stencil. (Confession time - I actually changed my mind after I took this photo and began sponging the title and switched to black ink.)

To finish off, I used a fine white paint pen to add some detail to the inked letters.

Let's take a closer look at the details...

Adding the shadows around the outlines of the collage pieces makes a big difference in helping to bring them to the foreground.

Close up you can see the different layers and how they all work together to give depth to the page.

Wiping off the excess Colour Paste from the palette knife roughly onto the page gives a great textured result. And look at that pretty shine too! 

And who doesn't love a bit of bling, right?

Thanks for stopping by today so I could share this with you. If you have some Colour Shimmer Cubes in your stash I hope I have inspired you to get them out and use them. If not, why not try creating a similar style project with an alternative Colour Blast product?

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

Set of 3 Canvas by Charmane Koch

Hello Everyone! It's Charmane here again - this time sharing with you a Set of Canvases I've had in my stash for quite a while!

For me with this canvases I decided I wanted to experiment a little bit with the Artist Inks & Colour Pastes - but keep the colours simple. I used the Stencilgirl Deconstructed Floral Bouquet Stencil by scraping modelling paste over the top of the canvases using a metal spatula. I made sure that I positioned the stencil differently on each of the 3 canvases so that they would not be all the same.

I waited overnight for the paste to dry, as I didn't want to use a heatgun because I didn't want it to bubble up but instead have a smoother surface.

The next step I wanted to make sure all of the canvases were coloured using the Colour Artist Ink watered down - I used Spice, Cranberry & Marine. Using a horsehair brush I coated each canvas.

I love how the Colour Artist Ink has soaked into the Floral pattern of the stencil.

With both of the Orange & Pink Canvases I decided to roughly smear Colour Paste Tangareen Dream  & Lipstick over the top of the Ink & Paste.

I wanted a rough looking effect - scraping thinly and thickly in different parts of the Canvas.

I used a heatgun to dry them out, not too close as I didn't want it to bubble up. 

The Blue Canvas I wanted to experiment a little differently using the Clear Shimmer Brush Marker over the top of two of the flowers, and colouring using another paintbrush the other 2 flowers using a less watered down Colour Artist Ink Marine {so that it was a little darker}.

I decided that it still needed more so I have used the Stencil A5 (Medium) Bird by Michelle Grant - 

 I used a thin layer of White Heavy Gesso. I let this dry overnight. I then used watered down Marine Artist Ink to darken the bird and make it standout.

Unfortunately the photos don't show the shimmer & shine - which does looks amazing!

The plan for these canvases were to hang them on the wall going up the staircase to the kids rooms, but when I set them up they were way too wide apart. I decided they would go at the bottom of the stairs, along with my next WIP {the canvas below the 3 finished canvases} You may see this in another blog post soon!

Thanks for looking & hope you've enjoyed my simple but effective tutorial!