The Craftminded: WEDDING BLISS! GUEST DT FOR FABRIKA DECORU!

HI GUYS!
HAPPY TO BE BACK HERE AGAIN!

I'm very happy to share the news that I'm guest-designing for Fabric Decoru this month. Fabrika Decoru is a Ukranian brand that manufactures pretty papers, paints and mediums!

I first get to know of Fabrika Decoru through their Instagram (@fabrikadecoru) where they always post gorgeous projects designed by their designers. I was attracted to their products there and then and I'm so honored that I was given this opportunity to guest design for them.

I was sent a package of their products: paper collections, assorted paints and mediums and I was so trilled (I FORGOT TO TAKE PICTURE) to be playing with them!

Prior to designing this, I personally have not tried their products. Since most of their packaging comes in Russian/Ukrainian words, I decided to take a leap of faith and not google translate the words on the packaging. To put it into simple terms, I basically have no idea what I was using. It actually makes this layout so much fun as I explore and figure out the things I was using.

So without further ado, this is the layout of which I'm sharing today.

It's actually a wedding gift for my mum's friend who's getting married real soon. We think it'll be pretty sweet to gift her with this canvas to celebrate her marriage, hence I decided to go for sweet and romantic pastel colors as the color theme of this canvas, inspired by Words & Paintery's Moodboard Click HERE to see more info!

(Psst.. you know what? I'm applying for their design team too!)

I first started out by prepping the 12x12 inches canvas with a cost of white gesso. As I have decided that I want my centerpiece to go in a horizontal direction, I used Aqua-spray in Sensuous Pink (FDSM 13) and in Fragrant Lavender (FDSM 36) to spray them in a horizontal direction as seen in the picture below.

Once the sprays dried, I used Fabrika Decoru's Delicate Lace 1 Stencil (FDTR 184) with Texture Gel Glossy in Gentle Shabby (FDDG 03). As I said previously, I had no idea what mediums I was using as I can't read the words so I was pleasantly surprised that it turns out awesome! The gel dried to a transparent finish with a light pink tint. It's really gorgeous!

I really like their stencil as well. Whenever I'm using stencils with intricate patterns, I'm always worried that that I will somehow bent the thin plastic or smudges the inks and destroyed the pattern I was creating. I'm glad that this doesn't happen with their stencils and I love it!

I stenciled on 2 doilies on places where my photos were going to be as well as stenciling on the lace border from the same stencil on the top left and bottom right corners of the canvas to create some added interest.

Once the gel dried, I sprayed on the third color to create some contrast. I used Fabrika Decoru's Pearl Spray in Azure Ice (FDPS 04) and sprayed mainly on the doilies part. I also used another stencil Waves Illusion (FDTR 154) with White Texture Sand Paste (FDTPS 150) to create more dimension and textures.

Once everything dried, I brushed on a light coat of white gesso on the doily part to make the pattern stand out further as well as added some 'enamel dots' created with Fabrika Decoru's Deco Acrylic in Peach by squeezing out droplets from the bottle and letting them fall directly onto the canvas.

Deco Acrylic is heavy body paint that dries matte. The pointed tip of the bottle allows me to draw directly onto the canvas. Since it's an acrylic paint, I'm gonna dilute it and paint it in the future to see what results it may bring me!

Now that the background is done, I proceed to building layers for my centerpiece!

I was given the Shabby Dreams Collection (FDSP-01012) which consist of 10 sheets of 12x12 inches patterned papers. I cut them down into assorted sizes and started layering them. I also added some scraps from my personal stash to create a contrast of colors. I chose to distress edges of some of the paper with Prima Marketing's Distressing tool, though you can always create the same effect with a pair of scissors.

Shabby Dreams Collection also comes with a sheet of patterned papers that's awesome for fussy cutting! I cut out some laces and flowers and layered them among the papers. I also started embellishing with assorted flowers from Prima Marketing and from my personal stash.

All items on this canvas are adhered with Fabrika Decoru's All-Purpose Transparent Glue.

An awesome thing about getting flowers that are white is that you can always alter them into any color you desire.In this case, I simply sprayed on Aqua Spray in Sensuous Pink (FDSM 13) and a new look was created! I really like this line of sprays as the colors are not super intense, it's perfect to spray directly on flowers and canvas. I personally does not like to spray directly onto objects as I think it's difficult to control the colors that way. With this line of spray, I'm glad I can sprayed on directly as the colors are light.

I had cut up pieces of laces and randomly placed them around the papers. I colored them with Aqua Spray in Fragrant Lavender (FDSM 36) and in Sensuous Pink (FDSM 13) by lightly dabbing them with a brush. Since lace are made of cloth, the colors will spread and blend, giving it a natural look.

I've also created some enamel dots with Fabrika Decoru's Dove-Colored Dots, Deco Glaze in Fuchsia (FDCG 04) and Deco Glaze in Aquamarine (FDCG 10) by lining them up on a piece of waxed paper. I used waxed paper such that it will adhere to the paper and it will be easier to peel off. You can peel off just what you need and keep the piece of waxed paper for future usage!

Dove-Colored Dots is more suitable to make enamel dots as it has heavier body hence it's more dimensional and it dries opaque. Deco Glaze on another hand is more liquid. I was fooled by it's appearance when I first squeezed it out from bottle. Since it was opaque and comes in same packaging as the Dove-Colored Dots, I conveniently thought Dove-Colored Dots and Deco Glaze are the same product (I can't read the description on the packaging!). Anyway, it's still a pleasant surprise as I still use them as enamel dots and they are more vibrant in colors so it gave the canvas a pop of colors!

I also created a mixture with Texture Gel Glossy Gentle Shabby (FDDG 03) and Deko Topping Crystal Maxi (FD-TOP 01) to create my own texture paste and applied randomly on the canvas to create some textures and added interests.