Xmas Layout for Blue Fern Studios and Scrap Around the World December Challenge

HI GUYS! I'm back again with a process tutorial for my Xmas Layout!

As mentioned in my previous post, my crafty friends and I finally got a chance to meet up again during the Black Friday Sales at Made With Love Store to enjoy awesome promotion on items so we took that opportunity to take another picture and make it our 2nd #STYDCHALLENGE!

So a little background story of #SYTDCHALLENGE, we're a bunch of crafters that are still or left working in Made With Love, our local craft store. It's kinda difficult for all of us to meet up, which is why we come out with this challenge of creating a project with the photos we had taken together.

The theme this time round is Christmas, and our dearest friend, Genevieve, from Sizzix Design Team (Check out her blog here!) decided to sponsor a prize for us with a tiny clause, of course! Hahahah. That we're supposed to include at least a Sizzix product in our layout. You can check out my other friends' layout by going to Instagram and search for #stydchallenge. :)

I also decided to take up the December Challenge by both Blue Fern Studios and Scrap Around the World.

This is a sketch by Blue Fern Studios. For more information about the challenge, you can click here!

And this is the moodboard for Scrap Around the World. I really like the combination of blue, gold and white. I decided to forgo red this time round cos it doesn't match my layout. For more information on Scrap Around the World challenge, click here!

I started out with priming by A4 Canvas with a thin coat of white gesso then followed by misting it with my Tattered Angels' Turquoise Mist and 13arts' Pastel Mist in Cobalt in a vertical direction following the Blue Fern Studios' Sketch.

I also pulled out my Blue Fern Studios chipboard. I really LOVE LOVE LOVE their chipboard! They always come in this kind of intricate designs that I found it hard to believe how intricate they are. Anyway, I used my stencil brush and brushed on a coat of gesso and then quickly added Ranger's Holographic Embossing Powder while the gesso is still wet so that it'll retain the powder, then I heat set it.

I also decided to cut the chipboard in half, so that they can extend from the picture. I also used my heavy gesso on the Prima Finnabair stencil on top of the blues that I misted. I layered everything following the vertical direction of the sketch. I chose this circles stencil cos it reminded me of snow which unfortunately, we don't get to experience it in Singapore, since it's forever summer here. Haha. 

Here's a closeup shot of the stencilling as well as the holographic shine of the chipboard. :)

I also decided to add in some extra circles to highlight the whole background, to make the stencilling more prominent. 

I then added more christmasy embellishment. I have to confess that I have never done a xmas layout before and before doing this layout, I was getting quite petrified as I do not own any christmasy items, I began shopping around our local crafts store and even Daiso, my best friend, which sells every thing at SGD$2. So I was super happy when I managed to lay my hands on these pretty flowers.

They actually come in a ring of flowers along with leaves and gold/white ferns/twigs? I think it's meant for decorating xmas trees but I just bought them and tear them apart and used it on my layout. And thanks Kwee Mei for donating some pinecones to me!

And then, I suddenly remembered I have some snowflakes dies that I bought from Simon Says Stamp long ago. Hahahahah. I pulled them out and die cut several pieces of them on white cardstock. Since they are very intricate, I glued around 4 to 5 pieces of the same snowflake together so they're sturdier. 

I also brush on a thin coat of gel medium and sprinkled a mixture of Martha Stewart Gold and Silver Glitter. 

And at this point, I realised I haven used any Sizzix products at all and I have to use it since it's part of Gen's rule for our layout. So I used Tim Holtz alphabet dies for my sentiment. And a little word of advice? You better use this with a magnetic platform. These little alphabets are like little monsters that'll run all over the place, but with the magnetic platform, they transformed to little angels instead. :)

So I used the dies and cut through my pale gold/silver? glitter cardstock.

I also decided that my canvas needs some texture. So I mixed some gesso with 13arts micro glass beads to create this 'snowy' effect. And I'm absolutely in love with the glass beads right now that I started using it on almost all the craft projects that I did after I bought them. Haha.

So this is the finished look of my canvas! I added some dewdrops from Robins Nest as well as some snowflake sequins that are from Pretty Pink Posh (I think? If I'm not wrong. Haha.)

So that's it for this week!

And...

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

I'm gonna head of the Genevieve's place for our crafty friends christmas party now. I'm also pretty sure this will lead to a 3rd #STYDCHALLENGE. Haha. 

Lemme know what you think of my layout.

Thanks for reading!

 :)

Christmas Tags for XMAS PARTY!!! :)

HI I'M BACK!

Feels like forever since I last blogged! 

Here in Singapore, even though we do not get cooling weather for Xmas, we're still busy enjoying ourselves and immerse ourselves in this festive season as we buy and buy and buy, eat and eat and eat. As for me, apart of eating and shopping, I'm busy crafting!

You see, my group of crafty friends decided to have our own Xmas gathering (because we finally found a day where everyone is FREEEE!!!), and Genevieve is very gracious to provide her cosy home for our party. The party is next week, and I'm super excited cos we'll be pot-lucking, playing games, and just chilling beside the Christmas tree. HOHOHO.

In preparation of the party, I had created some tags with Christmasy stuff and I probably give them out as gifts for games I had planned or so. 

I first started by pulling some manila tags and mounted them on chipboards so they will not warp with all the mediums I'm going to use. I also painted a light coat of white gesso over top. 

I began to play with my new sprays. Haha. Did you know? I bought it over from someone who didn't need them anymore at mere SGD$20. I thought I must have strike lotto or something. HAHAHAHAH. And the best thing is... THIS IS NOT EVEN HALF OF IT! I got at least 20 bottles of Tattered Angels products. My scrapbook haul from 13arts also arrived within that few days as well! So I made my tags with all these stuff.

For this tag, I used Lindy's Stamp Gang's Cocklebells Coral with Tattered Angels' Cherub Pink then dried it with my heating tool so that there's some watermark left behind as a pattern. Haha. The shine is really pretty!!!

For this I used Tattered Angels' Silver Sugar with Cherub Pink.

For this, I used Lindy's Stamp Gang's Frenchy Pink Pouf with Kissin' Kenickie Coral as well as some Pink Ladies Pink. I muted the colours down a bit with my Dylusions White Linen spray.

I sprayed a coat of Heidi Swapp's Gold mist over the tag then Tattered Angels' Aquamarine, Patina, Turquoise Blue as well as some 13arts' Cobalt Pastel Mist. After everything dried, I misted the Dylusions White Linen over top. LOOK HOW PRETTY THE MARBLEISED EFFECT IS!!!

I used Tattered Angels' Mustard Seed with Shimmerz Spritz in Plum Pudding as well as a coat of Dylusions White Linen on top.

So after everything are dried and ready, I added some textures with my heavy gesso from Finnabair with the Prima Finnabair Lace Stencil.

Then I started assembling the embellishments! WEEE!

I also decided to add a coat of Ranger's Crackle Paint at the background for some interesting texture. :)

Tada! Here are the finished tags!

Most of the flowers you can find them at Wild Orchid Crafts or from Prima Marketing Inc. I also used some of the little red/gold cherries (is that what you called them?), leaves, twigs and laces from Daiso (MY BEST BUDDY! COS THEY SELL EVERYTHING AT SGD2!). As for the sentiment I used, they're from Alison Kreft Christmas Love stamp set. I simply stamped them on a cardstock and put a coat of Ranger's Glossy Accent on top. 

That's it for this week! Leave some comments to tell me what you think of my Xmas Tags!

And also...

Stay tuned for next week because I'll uncovering the Christmas layout I made because we had our Episode 2 of Shop Till You Drop Scrapbook Challenge!

Bye! :)

Special Canvas Project for Lindy's Stamp Gang DT Call

Hi Guys!

2 post this week! Busy me! Hahaha. 

This is a special post created with Lindy's Stamp Gang's product for their Seasonal Design Team Call. 

This is a picture of my final layout created for this Seasonal DT Call. I work together with these ladies and the idea of this canvas is sort of as a tribute to them as our term of duty in school ended and we part ways as a team but not as friends. The gears represents how well we work together and the pinks, purples and yellow are to give this canvas a feminine touch as well as some sunshine in it. :)

I prepped the canvas with a coat of white gesso, followed by Liquitex Heavy Gel Medium with this Studio Calico stencils. 

My idea was to let the colors flow around the gel medium as the gel medium will act as a resist. I began to paint my background by adding Magical Burnt Orange firstly as base colour, followed by Starburst Sweet Violet Purple Teal, Flat Fabio Frenchy’s Pink Pouf, Flat Fabio Pink Ladies Pink and Flat Fabio Summer Lovin Sun. 

Next, I began to prepare my chipboard embellishments. This is one of the Tim Holtz Movers and Shapers Die. I prepped it with a coat of white gesso and sprayed Starburst Hydrangea Blue along with Starburst Sweet Violet Purple Teal. I also used the Damask stencil from Prima with the embossing paste and sprinkled on some Desert Moon Turquoise and Comic Pink Blue embossing powder. 

I also gently brushed on some gesso to make the damask more obvious. I really like how the embossing powders are shining at the edges of each damask pattern. 

As for the small stamp chipboards, I also used a mixture of Starburst Sweet Violet Purple Teal, Flat Fabio Kissing Kenickie Coral, Plumeria Pink. 

As for the gears chipboards I used, they are from Tim Holtz Gadget Gears Die, I brushed a thick coat heavy gesso to create the texture then I painted a coat of Kaisercraft Metallic Silver acrylic paint to give it the metallic look. I also heat embossed both Desert Moon Turquoise and Comic Pink Blue embossing powders onto the gears to give it some iridescent shine. 

For the flourishes, I simply used Stampendous Aged Silver Embossing Enamel and heat set it twice so as to create this thick and round-at-the-edge flourish.

I began to alter my flowers as well. Most of the flowers are made from mulberry paper which has high water absorption, which is why I simply used a brush to brush some Flat Fabio Pink Ladies Pink and Kissing Kenickie Coral at the bottom of the flowers and wet the mulberry paper so that the colours will spread and created a very natural looking rose. 

I also began to assemble all my elements. 

Here are some closeups. :)

After I finished with the assemble of elements, I did return to the canvas with more finishing touches, such as stuff cheese clothes for the soft look as well as Stampendous Bronze Glass Glitter and also not forgetting to add more Flat Fabio Kissin Kenickie Coral, Pink Ladies Pink, Pumeria Pink, Yellow Rose of Texas at random areas to create some shadows under all the embellishments. I added a few drops of Robin’s Nest Dew Drops as finishing touches. 

That's all for this post! I really hope I'll get the chance to be part of the LSG team. I'll be really honored so fingers crossed! 

Goodnight! 

TREASURE: LAYOUT FOR OUR SHORT GETAWAY!

Hi Guys!

This is a pretty intense layout cos of the colour combination. I have to warn you first. Haha. It's rather out of my comfort zone because of the colours I used. 

I was actually making a purple card (as requested by a friend) before starting on this project. I realised I was so uncomfortable with purplish things that I didn't even have much purple mediums/embellishments except for a purple spray from Dylusions Ink Spray. I was stuck with that card for very long, pondering how I'm gonna do it, finally when I planned it out and did it, I realised purple is actually a very nice colour! It sorta prompts me to do this layout the same night. Haha.

I chose this piece of patterned paper as background from Blue Fern Studios as I fitted the colour combination I had in mind (blue and purple). I prepped it with an even coat of Clear Gesso from Prima Finnabair.

I decided to use this Gear stencil from Kaisercraft that I newly out. But after spraying it on with my blue Dylusions Ink Spray, I decided that I did not like the effect. 

Which was why I'm sorta masking it up with turquoise spray as well as cheese cloth that was applied randomly.

The structure of my layout was to have the main piece at the bottom right. I felt that I need something on the top left to make everything more balanced, so I also watercolored and applied cheese cloth on the top left of my background as well.

I used my modelling paste from Teresa Collins on top of a stencil by Dyan Reaveley to create some dimension on the background.

I added my second colour, purple, to my background as well as more water and hold it upright so some of that purple ink will drip down and create the dripping effect. :)

I proceeded with texture stamps from Tim Holtz as well as stamps from Kaisercraft as well. I used Momento Black Tuxedo ink with the stamps.

After this step, the background is done!

I began to layer my embellishments, including wall tape, papers and flowers from Prima Cartographer Collection (I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS COLLECTION!!!)

I tore those papers and crumpled them up to create more texture and also used my Vintage Photo Distress Ink to sponge the side of those papers to make it antique looking. :)

Mounted a pic of me and my mum that we took from Wat Arun when we're in Bangkok, Thailand. 

I also embellished the top left of my layout with Sizzix Ornate Frame die that I die cut from my Big Shot Machine. I also added a prima keyhole resin on top of that die cut. I altered the colours of all these embellishments with diluted Dylusion Inks as well as gesso. 

More flowers to embellish and a light coat of gesso to highlight the flowers.:)

These are the closeups of my layout. 

And...TADA!!

Final look of my layout! :))

This is so under the sea. Haha. It's really a great day at Wat Arun though it's really hot there but we really enjoyed ourselves especially laughing at people when they come down from that super duper steep staircase. HAHAHAHAHA. We're meanies. I know. :))

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 Take a look at my list of supplies!

Mediums

Cinnabar Clear Gesso

Marie's White Gesso

Teresa Collins Modelling Paste

Dylusion Ink Spray - Crushed Grape, London Blue, Vibrant Turquoise and Black Marble

Memento Black Tuxedo Ink Pad

Embellishments and Tools

Prima Flowers and leaves

Prima Wood Veneer (Heart)

Kaisercraft Wood Veneer (Leaves)

Prima Lace

Teresa Collins Label Stickers

Wall Tape

Sizzix Ornate Frame Die

Sizzix Treasure Die

Prima Keyhole Resin

Kaiserkraft Pearls

Blue Fern Studios Chipboard (Fabulous Arrow)

Blue Fern Studios Papers

Prima Cartographers Papers

Kaisercraft Texture Stamps - Tiny Dots

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Stamps - Papillon

Amy Tangerine Clear Stamps  - Yes, Please Collection Aspire

Crate Paper Rub Ons - Notes and Things Collection

Kaisercraft Stencil - Cogs

Dyan Reaveley Dylusions Stencil - Letter Jumble

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I'm taking part in Off the Rails Scrapbooking December 2014 Challenge. Though my layout is not Christmasy at all I'm going to try my luck. Hahaha.

Click HERE for information of this challenge.

THAT'S ALL FOR THIS WEEK!

If you like my post, leave a comment and share my blog among your crafty friends!

THANKS!