"Note to Self" by Anita Enright

WOW!!! I can't believe it is August already!!

I hope you are loving all the inspiration that the Bee Arty design is bringing you.  And thank you all for supporting an amazing Australia company.

For my share today I created a very simple and bright page for my art journal.

I love playing with the artist inks as they are just so so rich in colour.... and of course I had to use my absolute favourite stencil.

I always apply a coat or two of Heavy White Gesso to my art journal page just to give it some more protection particularly when I am using very wet mediums.

After the gesso dried fully I then lightly sprayed with water and took several of my favourite Artist Inks and dropped several droplets of colour on the page and tipping and tilting the pages assisted with the movement of the colour.  In a couple of spots I used a wet brush to move and blend the colours.

I dried with a heat tool and then applied more colour to add more depth and strength.

When I created my page I didn't ensure the Artist Inks were completely dry before I applied my Mandela stencil to the page.  It didn't matter in the end as the paste picked up the colours a little and soften the overall effect.  I added some background stamping in black using the Textiles and Live Your Art clear stamps.  The wording I used on the page came from the Mantas Word Sheet from the Untangle collection. The black and white strip and doodle offcuts from around the wording I attached to the edges of the page. I finished the page just drawing around the outer edge around the wording with a black pen.

Artist Ink Colours Used

Citrus

Berry

Lime

Spice

Slipper

Marine

Oasis

Thank you for stopping by. 

For all our crafty friends down south please stay safe.

Ciao for now.

Anita E

"Browser Brain" by Sue Plumb

Hi everyone!

Sue Plumb here with my latest design team project for you. Today I have an 8.5x11" scrapbook page to share using Colour Artist Inks and Colour Paste that was inspired by a recent quote I saw and shared on Facebook. As soon as I saw it I could totally relate to it, as it pretty much sums up my constantly over-active brain. And a busy brain filled with so many things could only be accurately depicted by a layout that reflects the same things, right?

Before I even bagan, I knew the only way to achieve the look I was going for was to use layers - lots of layers; so bear with me while I take you through my process. 

To start with, I grabbed white cardstock; book paper; music paper; and matte medium to create a collaged background. I also added some random stamping using assorted word and image stamps. (Stamps by Viva Las VegaStamps and Carabelle Studio.)

As I knew my page was going to be very busy, I made sure to leave enough white space around the edges for the viewers eye to rest.

The next step was to start adding some colour, so I grabbed for my favourite Colour Blast product - Colour Artist Inks, in the shades of Lime, Oasis, Calypso and Citrus.

I then sprayed my background with a mist of water from a spray bottle, before using the droppers to add drops of ink around the page. (Be sure to use complimentary colours, as they are going to blend.) My tip here is don't use too much ink or go too close to the edges of the page, as you want to preserve that white space! You can see how some of the inks began spreading immediately due to the page being wet.

Once I had added drops of each colour where I wanted them, it was time to start spreading the colour. I didn't want the colours being too vibrant or dominating on this layer, so I chose to spread them with more water. I did this by again using my spray bottle, and by holding the nozzle very close to each ink drop on the page I spritzed it once or twice with water. This not only diluted the ink, but also fanned the colours out to begin blending together. I also picked up my page and tilted it slightly in each direction to help the process along.

I then carefully placed it flat again and immediately dried it with a heat gun so I could preserve the integrity and placement of the inks. (You can see the hard water lines that form when you dry quickly using this method.)

Next, it was time to freshen up the page using some white heavy gesso. I didn't want the yellow tint of the book and music paper showing too much in the areas the ink hadn't touched, so I applied a little gesso with my fingertip to soften it. (In some areas I used a wiping motion with my finger, whilst in other smaller areas it was just a little dab.)

Now it was time to liven things up with some contrast and texture! I used the amazing Mandala Floral stencil from StencilGirl Products; and applied Royalty Colour Paste through it with a palette knife.

To ensure the stencil didn't move and ruin any of the intricate details, I used washi tape to secure it to my page before spreading the Colour Paste. This stencil measures 9x12", so I was able to use the entire design on my page, and it looked amazing when it was removed. 

At this point I thought my page needed another colour for some additional contrast; so I reached for Slipper Colour Artist Ink and applied some very fine splatters around the edge of my design using a small, stiff brush. I then used my heat gun to dry the entire page thoroughly before moving on.

The final steps in my process were to add the photo and embellishments to my page. I used a paper doily and some frayed gauze under my photo to help separate it from the background, as well as adding some cardboard behind it to pop it up. 

I added some twisted, coloured wire using staples; title alphas (using the natural flow of the stencil as a guide for placement); a Charms Creations chevron; my printed quote and a few enamel dots for some extra small pops of colour.

And with that, my page was complete!

You can see all the multiple layers at play here and also how I used the natural curves from the stencilled image to dictate the position of my title alphas. 

The bright yellow doily contrasts against the other colours and helps separate the photo from the background, whilst the chevron also helps draw attention to it.

Cutting the quote into pieces and placing them haphazardly rather than straight, also helped to reinforce the theme of the page. 

Thanks for stopping by today so I could share this with you. I hope I have inspired you to try your hand at creating your own multi-layered project.

For all my fellow Brisbane peeps - don't forget that the Brisbane Scrapbook & Papercraft Expo is on daily at the Convention Centre from Thursday 7th - Sunday 10th. The Colour Blast girls will have all your favourite products on sale (and some show specials too), so make sure you stop by the stand. 

If you see me wandering around on Thursday or Sunday, please come up and say hi!

Until next time, happy scrapping!

"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!