"Sunny Days" Mixed Media canvas

Hey everyone!

The Canvas Corp Crew had a challenge I gladly accepted: make something using spring colors, English Garden style. And I have been lucky enough to have this canvas featured on their blog! 

Luckily I still had the most adorable picture of Connor, that simply screamed 'spring'! This picture takes me back instantly to those lazy, sunny days we spent at our in-laws, in their beautiful, huge, grassy garden. Thinking back still warms me on the inside.

So here's my 'Sunny Days' canvas! I'll talk you through the steps with pictures underneath.

Obviously, I started out with a 12 by 12 inch (30 by 30 cm) canvas. The paper is from the 7Gypsies 'Take our breath away' collection. I cut off the edge to fit the outline of my (reversed) canvas. I glued the outer 'frame' and the inner section to the canvas.

The transitions from paper to canvas and some of the wooden parts of the canvas were covered in white gesso. 

I covered the sides of the canvas (and some other bits here and there) with my recently bought Art Extravaganca White Crackle Texture paste. If you're a regular reader you might have heard my experience with the Golden Crackle Paste hasn't been good. But this texture paste works like a dream. It dries quickly and actually cracks. Period.

I let the gesso and texture paste air dry for some time and then I brushed some glimmermist Olive Vine all over the sides. Yes, I dipped my brush into the bottle. Later on I splattered some droplets over my canvas as well.

Using 2 masks I created a gate and some diamond patterns on my page. I mixed modeling paste with Verdigris glimmermist and applied my mixture through the stencil using a plastic card. I didn't remove the stencil immediately, but sprayed on some Olive Vine glimmermist. This turned out better than I had hoped: the colors blended smoothly and the pattern slightly repeated outside the spot I had done with modeling paste. If you haven't tried this before, you should!

Finally I had a reason to use my gorgeous Dusty Attic chipboard vines... To color the leaves I mixed the white crackle paste with Olive Vine glimmermist and got a nice, soft green color. Once this had dried, I dabbed on some more of the Olive Vine glimmermist, to enhance the cracks and give the leaves a deeper green color.

Another score from the craft fair that my sis in law Laneen (you should totally check out her blog too! Laneen's Journey Through Creativity ) and I visited February 20: Rusty Paper.

The twigs needed a brownish, textured coat, so I figured: why not? And I really like the effect!

Almost forgot to mention that I painted the 'poles' with the Emerald  Finnabair Metallique Paint.

This really had the texture I was hoping for: like Hammerite. (The paint people use outdoors and has a grainy structure.)

The wash basin is from Prima Marketing (another embellishment waiting to be used on a special project) and I aged it by applying almost all of the blends and paints I used on this project, onto it. However, the coat of white gesso I dabbed onto it afterwards, really did the trick. Everything blended together better.

The 'Sunny days' chipboard is from Scrapiniec and built up in layers. I covered the 'stripy' parts with Golden Goddess Glimmer Glam. The top part of the text was done with the crackle paste/glimmermist mixture, and also dabbed on with glimmermist afterwards. The text underneath was painted with Finnabair's Emerald Green Metallique paint.

The pieces of stone (chipboard) were coated with an orange/pink metallic paint first, then I painted the Golden Goddess Glimmer Glam over them.

Later I dabbed some Olive Vine glimmermist around the edges too, mimicking moss.

Okay, with most of the chipboards altered and the background ready, the time had come to play with placement. Time to break out my flower collection. I added a little at first, and then I added some more. And then even more. And then still some more, until the composition felt right.

To the background I glued some bits of off-white sisal. I made a circular 'wreath' around Connor's picture with the sisal as well. The parts protruding from the circle were dabbed in gesso mixed with a little glimmermist. Also, I ripped some pieces of the picture because in retrospective, a completely circular picture might have been more pleasing to the eye.

When all the flowers, chipboard and embellishments were in place, I dabbed everything with white gesso, using a foam brush.

When that had dried, I coated everything with Chandelier Glimmer Glam. I am not sure whether the white spots came from the glimmer glam or from the gesso, but it doesn't matter, because I LOVE it! It was like a glittery, jummy, edible snow all over my project! (Without looking too snowy, because it made it all look like candy. Delicious, fun candy. Cotton Candy.)

I will leave you with plenty of more pictures and close-ups to soak up the feeling of spring yourself. Comments are always welcome, as are questions.

You can also find me on facebook: Less is Bore!

Or Instagram.

Happy scrapping!

Mini chopping boards mixed media Christmas presents

Hey everyone! 

Over here in the Netherlands Christmas is over and we're having a lazy day with our own family of three. Hope you had a lovely Christmas surrounded by loved ones. We did. Sort of ;)

Only a couple of days before Christmas I decided to turn these cute little amuse chopping boards into finnabairesque gifts. (For measure: they are a bit smaller than my hand.)

I took a picture of the crackle paste coat I applied at first, but that has vanished somehow. Unfortunately this crackle paste as well as the 13Arts magic powder do not go give me the crackle effect I desire, but at least I have some structure. I let this dry overnight before I proceeded.

So sorry I didn't take any pictures of the next steps but basically they're quite simple.
Pick out the embellishments you like. I took the first letter of the names of my uncle and aunt, our host and hostess, R and Y.
She owns a bird so I went with that theme for her, and he's sort of a locksmith so that was my theme for him.
Added some drywall tape (mesh) on his, some lace paper on hers. Some micro beads (nail caviar) on both theirs.
Then I painted all of it with black gesso. Dried it with a heatgun, then sprayed both with various glimmermists (drying in between steps) and finished it with different shades of Inka Gold.
Added some chain and a key to his, and some pearl string with a little 'made with love' charm to hers.

Honestly, I like the result! And asides from a little more preparation and drying time, they're made almost as quickly as a card. If you know the receiver will appreciate (your) handy work, it's a much nicer option.

I'll leave you with some pictures and close-ups.
If you want to keep up with my work, like my facebookpage Less is bore!
         
                    Happy scrapping!

Mixed media layout "No one else will ever know the strength of my love for you..."

Hiya fans :P

Had the chance to scrap another layout this weekend. And this one is sooo sweet, it'll hurt your teeth... 

Ready? Set... Go!

Here's a close-up so you can see the quote I used. "No one else will ever know the strength of my love for you. After all, you're the only one who knows what my heart sounds like on the inside."
I typed that myself on an old typewriter. Mounted the quote onto a wooden frame, which I coloured purple with Inka Gold. Then I covered both frame and text with one step crackle medium. (Way thicker on the frame ofcourse, I needed my quote to remain visible! So I brushed that area thinly.) Patience is the key here, do not try to speed the crackle process up with your heatgun, because you'll end up with broken bubbles.
So, once dry I inked it with some aqua ink.

You also see part of the angel's wing I stenciled. I used glass bead texture gel mixed with a pearl medium. The tiny butterflies are mirrors, which I gave a layer of pearl alcohol inkt first, and afterwards I covered them with glass beads texture gel.

The blue heart you see peeking out from underneath it all was also a mirror. I gave that a coat of the same mixture I used to stencil my big damask swirl with. A blend of crackle paste and an aqua blue Dylusion spray ink/mist. In my opinion the paste didn't crackle as much as I hoped for. But the stencil was hard to handle because it was so big and I didn't want to risk smearing too much in unwanted places, so.

I used modelling paste to stencil the text on the top left and bottom right. Afterwards I sprayed and inked those parts, as well as the rest of the page lightly here and there, with lilac and blue. 

Almost forgot to mention that I practically distress every page I do, by tearing up the edges and sides with a

 special tool. I ink the sides too.

The flower wreath is a piece meant for home decor. I bent it into a heart shape and added blue flowers to the existing pink ones.

I suppose that's all there really is to it! Let me know if you want to learn more. Comments are always very welcome.

Happy scrapping! 

"Butterfly Kisses" Mixed Media layout

Hey all,

As promised im back to show you my latest layout. It's called "Butterfly Kisses". On the picture my boy Connor is 3 weeks old and being kissed by his nephew.

I didn't take step by step pictures because I didn't have my phone with me. Also, it's a good thing I didn't because my initial idea went horribly wrong. 

The paper is by 7Dots, Nature Walk. For some time already I had sought out the backside of this particular paper to scrap with this picture. The backside was black with a sandy coloured swirl. Very pretty. I wanted to use the Prima Finnabair doilie stencil with black gesso to begin with. 

So I tried. Upon removing the stencil I had one big, black blob :'( I decided to smear out the black gesso but that was horrendous. So I decided to flip the paper over and work from there. Strange enough it all came together rather quickly after this debacle! 

I glued some strips of old sheet music to the paper with gel medium and dried them. Afterwards I  wiped some white gesso over them because they were too yellow.

I stenciled my doilie with black PAINT instead of GESSO :P

I stamped the border swirls and parts of a text stamp with black ink. 

Tried out my glass beads texture gel and crackle paint and crackle paste on the wooden chalk tags. And later on almost every other surface ;)

Layered the picture on a piece of blue patterned paper and some cardstock. Added the blue denim rose ribbon, which I coloured partially with black mist. 

I guess that's about it! The picture above shows some of the materials I've used. If you have any questions or comments, please dont hesitate to leave me a reply.

Happy scrapping!