Let's Get Sketchy Challenge

This layout is for Let's Get Sketchy April Week 2 Challenge as inspired from this sketch. For more details you can click HERE.

My final layout is pretty different from my usual style, it's less on the mixed media and more on layering (AND NO FLOWERS!!!). Haha.

Most of the products I used here are from Crate Paper. Some of the embellishments are from Mambi Stickers, Tim Holtz Rub-Ons, Amy Tangerine Stickers.

I chose a BW photo for this layout as the colours are pretty bright and colourful, hence BW photo gives a very good contrast.

I actually did layering first and intend to stop there. However, in the end I actually decided to add some colours to the back of my paper that was not gesso-ed. I used Tattered Angel's Patina Blue, Mustard Yellow and Tim Holtz's Distress Stain Spray Milled Lavender. I first sprayed them on my craft sheet and used them as my watercolours. I think the trick is to really water down your watercolour, instead of applying it with a mere wet brush. If your brush is really wet, you actually get the opportunity and some time to 'manoeuvre' your colours before they get soak into the paper and create harsh lines.

As the finishing touch, it's always nice to add a some splatter. In my case, I watered down my black gesso and splatter it around my centerpiece.

That's all for today's post.

Thanks for reading. :)

Layout for Prima & Off the Rails Scrapbooking April Challenge

I seem to be blogging a lot recently! Haha.

My inspirations come from Off the Rails Scrapbooking & Prima's PPP this month. 

As you can see, the colour scheme is CRAZY! The thing that came into my mind after looking at this moodboard was that the person who designed this must be a master at torturing people. Haha. This colour scheme completely pushed me out of my comfort zone which was why I decided to take up the challenge. After all, it'll not be a challenge if it's not challenging rite?

I pulled out my A4 size canvas and began to layer a piece of Tim Holtz Idea-ology tissue wrap. It's actually my first time using it after getting it for so long. The packaging is rather interesting, like our aluminium foil packaging with a jagged edge at the side for easy tearing. 

So before putting the tissue down, I applied a thin coat of matt medium evenly on my canvas so my tissue will stick. You can use any type of adhesive as long as it's applied evenly. I then added butterflies chipboard from Maya Road on it.

A close up shot of the tissue. It's really thin so I actually adhere extra pieces so to build up the background to make it look more complex. 

After the matt medium dried, I brushed on a coat of gesso randomly.

And this is how it looks like after I began to colour it!

I used my Tim Holtz Distress Stain Spray in Shabby Shutters, Spun Sugar, 13 arts Turquoise Pastel Spray and Dylusions Pure Sunshine Spray on canvas, as well as Luminarte Silks in Pink Grapefruit and Guatemalan Green on the butterflies. 

The coat of gesso applied previously sort of created a whitewash effect on the canvas. 

And because I realised the moodboard has got hot pink on it instead of soft pink, I splattered on some Dylusion Spray in Hot Pink and some diluted black gesso. Oh! I also added in some Honeycomb chipboard from Sizzix Tim Holtz range before splattering. Haha.

This is the final look after embellishments! I used mainly Prima flowers and die cut some intricate leaves from Prima as well. I also mixed some tiny glass beads with gesso and brushed it on around the centre piece to highlight it. I also used Tim Holtz's Small Talk Sticker Book for my sentiment. As for my wood veneer, I'm sorry that I couldn't remember where it come from cos the packaging was long gone, but I think it might be from freckled fawn. 

Here are some detail shots. :)

So throughout the whole process of creating this canvas, my head was screaming NOOO as the colours coordination complete go against my natural instinct but my heart was telling me YESS and to finish what I started. Hahah. And that sounds like a song lyric. Hahaha. Despite the difficulty of executing this moodboard challenge, I had fun doing it especially the part where I had to crack my brain to somehow incorporate green in the canvas since I don't own sprays in vivid shade of green (AND I STILL THOUGHT PURPLE WAS DIFFICULT PREVIOUSLY!). Haha. 

Anyway, that's all for this week!

Thanks for reading and leave some loves in the comment section below~

Let's Get Sketchy Design Team Call

HI! IM BACK AGAIN!

So I decided to apply for Let's Get Sketchy DT call. They currently have a DT call that runs till 9 April. You can find more information HERE!

I've decided to use this sketch as the inspiration for my layout. All you have to do is to do your layout using one of the 2 sketches they provided. As for me, since my style is mixed media, I tend to relate to this kind of layout better. Hehe.

Before I start anything, I sorta gave myself and extra challenge, that is to not use any new materials. So I picked up all my old papers, papers that are no longer in 12x12 size, old packets of flowers, etc.  So I'm not supposed to open new packaging for everything.

I choose this chevron paper from Teresa Collins from my paper pile and straight away swiped on some modelling paste using Prima Finnabair stencil. Before the paste dries, I quickly poured some Ranger's Embossing Powder in Liquid Platinum colour on most of the wet surface as well as some Black Embossing Powder from ZING! on selected areas. 

I owned these powders for ages, but I don't seem to be using it so I just thought why not use it now. Haha.

If you happened to see some of my past layouts, the colours are pretty intense. Hence for this layout, I chose colours that are more vibrant and cheerful.

I used Tattered Angel Shimmer Mist in Yellow (Sorry I can't remember the exact name and I'm not at home to check!) as well as Patina Blue. I added in shades of purple and pink with Tim Holtz's Stain Spray in Tattered Rose and Milled Lavender. 

I didn't spray the colours on directly to the paper. I wetted the paper first and splatter the colours then I used a wet brush to 'manoeuvre' the wet inks so they will not all mixed together and form some yucky colours. Haha. I find I can control the colours easier using this method.

I also watered down some black and white gesso to create some random splatter! This is a great way to add some details to your projects. Splatters make everything look better!

That's all for the background!

This is the final look after embellishments!

The flowers are from Prima Marketing. I added some black threads to create some fine details. I also used Prima's wired ribbons to highlight the picture of me and my friends taken in Strasbourg, France. I briefly studied in Freiburg, Germany for awhile and this is one of our escapades. Haha.

I used wood veneer stars from Studio Calico as well as Blue Fern Studios paper for layering behind my embellishments. My sentiment phrases are from Tim Holtz sticker book. I absolutely love this sticker book and I really recommend you to buy it. IT'S SUPER USEFUL!

Here are some close up shots.

I added from frayed burlap ribbons underneath the flowers.

I also adhered some clear glass glitter from Prima Finnabair using matt medium. After everything dried, I actually go back in with more Tattered Angels Patina Blue. I really love this technique as the ink will flow through the cracks of the glass glitter. It just looks super nice. 

I also added Prima Finnabair Platinum glass glitter in random areas.

And that's it!

I'm very happy to use up some of my paper scraps, otherwise these scraps will just keep piling up! Haha.

Hope you like my tutorial! 

Comment if you like it! :)

Prima Marketing's PPP March Challenge

Hi Guys!

It's been awhile since I last blogged. I'm glad I managed to squeeze out some time to craft. My colour scheme was inspired by Prima Marketing's PPP mood board. 

Look at all those lovely shades of green and teal! 

I first painted my box with black gesso from Prima Finnabair, and let it dry thoroughly before I add more paints.

As usual, I got too engrossed with layering paints that I forgot to take pictures in between step. Sigh~

Anyway, to achieve this result, I painted a coat of white crackle texture paste from Prima Finnabair. I had actually experimented it a couple of times. I realised Prima crackle has finer cracks as compared to Ranger's, the whole cracked look was pretty neat as the cracks are fine, it serves well as details. 

So I added thick coats of white crackle and I think I completely covered the black gesso base. Haha. I let it dry naturally as I realised the cracks look nicer that way as compared to heat dried. I proceeded with the colours using 13 Art's Pastel Spray in Blue and Teal (I think) mixed with teal mica powder by Prima Finnabair. I also added tints of yellow from Shimmerz to give it some highlights. 

Then I watered down my Prima Finnabair white and black gesso and splattered it all over the box. When everything was nice and dried, I mixed Kaisercraft's Gloss Varnish with a tad bit of Marion Smith's Whisper powder. I HAVE TO SAY, that thing is crazy sparkly, so used with caution! Hahah. So I painted the varnish all over the box to seal the paints. 

Embellishment time!

All of these flowers are from Prima. I added some paper leaves die cuts from Maggie Holmes as well as altered the flourish chipboard die cut from Sizzix Tim Holtz with Prima Finnabair White Sand Texture Paste with my yellow Shimmerz.

Before adding finishing touches, I got distracted by my paper collections and start playing with patterned papers instead. Haha. Anyway, I pulled out this patterned paper from Prima's Sunrise Sunset Collection and cut it down to size to fit my box.

I watercoloured it such that it'll fit the colour scheme.

For the inside of the box, I picked this chevron patterned paper from Maggie Holmes. 

And there you have it! The final look of my altered box!

:)

I brushed a light coat of gesso on the flowers to help them blend in better as well as give the flowers some highlights. I added some clear dewdrops from Robin's Nest. I also mixed glass beads with Clear Gesso and gold mica powder from Prima Finnabair (used clear gesso instead of soft gel just because it was beside me, haha). I poured from bronze glitter on top of my mixture while it's still wet such that the glitter will adhere to my self-made texture paste. 

Here are some close-ups.

I used tart tins! :)))

The cracks are so gorgeous! 

So that's all for today!

I'm glad I made this altered box in time for the submission of March's PPP. Haha.

Seeya soon! 

Let me know what you think of the box! :)

Guest Designer for Frosted Designs

Hi Guys!

I'm so honoured to be invited on this fabulous team at Frosted Designs as a Guest Designer. This is my first ever designer post so I'm super excited!

I made a little 6x6 inches canvas piece meant for home decor for this tutorial. 

I first started out with priming my canvas with heavy white gesso by Prima Finnabair. I then sprayed randomly all over the canvas (Don't think too much! Just do it!) using Heidi Swapp's Gold mist, Tim Holtz Distress Spray in Tattered Rose and in Shabby Shutters. After everything dried, I pulled out my new flourish stencil from Tim Holtz and applied a thick coat of White Sand Texture Paste from Prima Finnabair. 

I have to say this texture paste has got pretty interesting texture after dried. It dries shiny and rough. It's actually very nice to touch. As you can see from the picture, I lightly brush on some gesso to make the flourish stand out better. It sort of created a white-wash effect which was matching to the background, giving off that very antique/vintage-looking vibe.

I also brushed on a light coat of Ranger's Clear Crackle and made it more visible by watercoloring Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Brushed Corduroy. 

With a new shade of dark brown, I think it made the background stand out even more as there's now a mixture of different shades of browns and greens. 

Now that the background is done, I need to think of what to embellish it.

I gave myself a challenge to use some of the stuff that was long forgotten. Haha. Such as this Tattered  Floral Bigz die from Sizzix. I actually bought it LONG LONG LONG ago but didn't use it at all. So I cut out a couple of the same sizes and layered them up. Glued down a matching button in the centre and altered the flower with Tim Holtz Distress ink in Brushed Corduroy.

This is the final look of the canvas!

As you can see, I die cut some leaves from the Prima leaves dies for layering. I also managed to dug out a long forgotten border punch and punched a strip and glued it down vertically. Most of the flowers I used were from Prima and I also added some mica fragments in Tea Stained colour from Stampendous. I loved how the dark colour of the mica fragments increased the interest of the canvas as the rest of the colours were pretty soft. The sentiment was actually a cut out from Kaisercraft's patterned paper. I also painted a light coat of gesso on the outer petals of the flowers to give some highlights. It also had the effect of pulling everything together. 

Here are some close-ups shots. 

I enjoyed the process of making this canvas. The colour scheme is actually pretty challenging for me as I never thought green and light pink (that's the original colours of the sprays, but everything became brownish after they dried on canvas. Mediums can be unpredictable! Hahah) would go well together and this is my first time succeeding in creating a vintage layout. My previous attempts didn't work out as my style of embellishing stuff is not vintage at all so I'm super happy that I can finally strike the 'vintage' theme off my to-do list as well as using those long forgotten products. Haha. 

So...That's all for today. 

I hope you like my post and also feel inspired to try out mixed media if you haven't. 

Cheers! :)