"Beautiful Disaster" Mixed Media Canvas Class - Scrap & Chat Retreat by Sue Plumb

Hi Colour Blast fans!

It's Sue Plumb with something a bit different to share today.
Last month I was lucky enough to attend the annual Scrap & Chat retreat in the Dandenong Ranges near Melbourne with 60 other ladies. If you have never been on a retreat, let me tell you that there is nothing that compares to being around like-minded people for a weekend full of creating. So good for the soul!

While I was there, I was also fortunate to have the opportunity to teach a class to a couple of dozen ladies and I had an absolute (colour) blast! hehe 

The piece I taught was a mixed media canvas panel, entitled "Beautiful Disaster" and it was a great opportunity to fly the flag for a number of fabulous Aussie brands including Colour Blast, Cocoa Vanilla Studio and Flutterby Designs.

The canvas was was coloured with my favourite Colour Blast product - Colour Artist Inks, and we used the warm tones of Slipper, Cranberry, Cider and Citrus for the background; then the cool blue colour of Oasis for adding some contrasting highlights. 

Besides the Colour Artist Inks, we also used one of my other favourite Colour Blast products - Colour Paste. We used Deep Water for contrast and texture through a Flutterby Designs stencil (although there were a couple of ladies who used Lovely Lilac from my stash because we thought it would work better with the pieces they had created). 

We also used both black and white Heavy Gesso on the canvases - using the white to strip back colour and provide the eye a place to rest; and black to add some contrast and tie in with the stencilled image and the Flutterby Designs quote. This was probably the messiest part of the class as I encouraged everyone to test my motto that "fingers make the best brushes" - so fun! 

We finished off the canvases with some vellum embellishments from Cocoa Vanilla Studio. The gorgeous colours of the printed vellum die cuts worked beautifully with the tones of the inks and paste. 

I so enjoyed the opportunity to fly the flag for Colour Blast and share my love of mixed media with such a lovely group of ladies. Thanks to everyone who attended!

If you would like the opportunity to take a class with one of the Colour Blast design team members at your local store, crop or retreat; please ask the store owner or event organiser to contact Tenisha at Colour Blast to enquire and see if we can come to you.
Until next time, happy scrapping! 

"Thank You" Card & Colour Blast Retreat Classes by Sue Plumb

Hi everyone!

Sue Plumb here today to share a "thank you" and to give a quick wrap up on my classes from the recent Colour Blast retreat in Brisbane. I had such a fabulous day with all the ladies, and I was so happy to be able to share my love of Colour Blast products with everyone. 

I was also lucky enough to bring a couple of new Colour Embossing Powders home with me (perks!); and I couldn't resist using the stunning 'Golden Purple' right away to test it out, so I whipped up a quick "thank you" card. 

I started with very basic supplies for this one - white cardstock; a small Heidi Swapp stencil and stamp set; 'Lipstick' Colour Shimmer Spray and 'Golden Purple' Colour Embossing Powder. 

I started by securing my stencil onto the cardstock using washi tape (so it peels off easily) and then spraying the heart in with the Colour Shimmer Spray. I sprayed it lightly because I just wanted the heart to be part of the background, rather than too dominant in my design.

Once it had dried, I took the Heidi Swapp stamp and stamped the sentiment over the top using embossing ink. Then I applied the powder over the top.

Look at that amazing colour! You can see the golden sparkles through it already. I tipped the excess powder back into the jar and then set the powder using my heat gun before repeating the process with the word thankful (also a Heidi Swapp stamp).

Photos really don't do this embossing powder justice - it has the most gorgeous golden flecks speckled through the purple tone. I then added a few splatters of the 'Lipstick' Colour Shimmer Spray by flicking the nozzle from the bottle and then set it aside to dry.

Next, I mounted the cardstock onto a piece of patterned paper to form my card base. I then added some small pieces of torn washi tape and a few purple enamel dots to tie it all together and finish it off.

There you have it - a quick an easy project you can create with a small amount of supplies. (And gives me a card in my stash for when I next need one!)

Not only did I want to use that gorgeous Colour Embossing Powder right away, but I also really wanted to create something that expressed how thankful I was for the opportunity to teach the lovely ladies at the Colour Blast retreat. So. Much. Fun.

Here we are getting busy in class one - the layout class. We used Colour Shimmer Spray; Colour Paste; Colour Artist Ink and Colour Shimmer Cubes on the page, along with products from the new 'More Than Words' collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio.

Sometimes I just can't help myself but get "hands on". (Thank you for trusting me Dianne!)

This is the layout the ladies were creating...

In the afternoon it was time for the "messy" class, where everywhere created their own canvas panel and I got to share my love for (my favourite) Colour Artist Inks. This class was very free-flowing, with everyone able to interpret it as they wished; and I loved seeing the ladies "go their own way" with it!

Everyone was heads down and hard at work during this class...

This is the piece that I created for the class...

Besides Colour Artist Inks; we also used black and white Heavy Gesso; Colour Paste; a fabulous quote and stencil from Flutterby Designs and some gorgeous 'Bohemian Dream' vellum accents from Cocoa Vanilla Studio.
Here's a peek at some of the amazing interpretations that were produced...

Thank you so much to everyone who came along, I hope you all went away inspired to create more. (And remember what I say - "less think, more ink!")

There is another Colour Blast retreat being held at the same venue in Brisbane in October. If you are interested in attending, the details can be found in the Facebook event HERE

I will be back again soon with another project to share. Until then, happy scrapping!