'Moments'

Hello my dear crafty friends, so glad you stopped by!

There are so many lovely 49 & Market goodies to play with in the new

spring kit from International Scrapbook Garden, and I love how this page turned out,

tenderness and the brutal beauty of nature was the look I was going for here.

'Moments'

This paper from the 'Tattered Garden' collection is called 'Tattered Leaves' and I really love the

details in these papers and the rich dark colors. I created a small step by step of how I  create

my backgrounds, it just involves a lot of layers of gessoes and paints, in this case I used

the two Shimmerz Inklings in Steely Blue Eyes and Coral Reef from the Mixed Media kit. 

I added some stamping with the Kaisercraft stamp and used the Crafter's Workshop stencil,

both of these from the Bonus Embellishment kit.

After my background was finished, I layered on some vintage book paper, some torn up pieces 

from another 49 & Market paper, the 49 & Market chipboard circle and honeycomb 

from the Embellishment Bonus kit, some fussy cut leaves and clocks from two 13arts papers 

from the Bonus Paper kit and some 49 & Market flowers from the Extra Blooms kit.

I would like to enter my layout into two challenges:

This gorgeous moodboard is by the wonderful blog called 'Cinnamon Tea Scrap',

one of my favourite blogs ever, my heart melts looking at all the wonderful 

work by these girls. They have moved their challenges over to Instagram now,

and you can find them at cinnamon_tea_scrap. Everything about this

moodboard inspired me: the pale colors, the peeling paint, the old books,

and the delicate softness of that pretty lace.

The second challenge was a sketch I really loved:

This is another amazing blog with so many talented designers, and 

a lot of different styles, please check it out here.

I created my page with the kit 'A Rustic Spring' which you can purchase here.

A simple tutorial on how to create a mixed media background:

Step 1: I always choose my paper, cover it with a coat of clear gesso to prep it for 

all the mediums I will use, and then gather and arrange my elements so I can decide

on the design, where I am going to use my paints and create the focus of my background. 

This helps me form a mental image in my mind that I can follow as I'm creating my page 

and also helps me from 'overthinking' things as I'm creating; it just allows 

my process to flow a lot smoother and be really enjoyable as opposed to frustrating.

Step 2: I like to apply heavy white gesso very randomly and very messily. I love my

pages to have an aged worn look, sort of like a peeling wall, and this gesso makes great 

textures, especially when I overheat it with my heat tool. I like to heat it up so the gesso 

bubbles up and cracks.

Step 3: This step of creating the background can take a while, as I'm using my 

paints, more gesso and also finally stamps and a stencil to create the look I'm going for.

It can take several different layers to get to this look, so just play with it and have fun!

I apply the Inklings here with a soft round brush, letting the paint seep into the cracked gesso,

and also just splashing the paint around (my favourite part). I really love those little pots of paint,

you can use them with very little water to get the saturated colors or dilute them more for 

a more watercolor effect. I use a stamp all around the page, and then finally 

use some more white gesso through a stencil to add some more textures.

The last steps are glueing down my elements, the photo and the flowers, and then 

after that is all done I go around the page with some more paint to blend everything

together. I hope this sparks some ideas in you all! My style is quite deconstructed

and messy, but you could still try these steps on your background just perhaps 

in a bit more delicate way to get some cool mixed media textures on your background.

Long post, hope you enjoyed!

See you soon,

Lisa xo

'Memory Lane' for International Scrapbook Garden

Hello crafty friends! 

I finally received the brand new kit from International Scrapbook Garden,

and it's beautiful!!!! So many lovely things that coordinate so well together.

This kit is called 'A Rustic Spring', and it's full of 49 & Market papers, 

flowers, and so much more.

'Memory Lane'

There are so many lovely goodies in this kit and add ons...and it all goes together

so well! I used a 49 & Market paper called 'Tattered Playground' from the 'Tattered

Garden' collection. I added clear gesso and then heavy white gesso through

the stencil from the Embellishment Bonus Kit, and then after that all dried

I used the Shimmerz Inklings in 'Steely Blue Eyes', and the two

purple sprays from the Mixed Media kit on my background.

Here is the new kit:

And here are all the amazing Bonus and Add On kits:

To find out how to purchase our kits, please visit the online store, here.

And don't forget to check out our blog here, our designers always

create so many unique designs in different styles.

Here are a few close ups:

I also used one of the Creative Embellishment chipboards to frame my photo

that I first painted white, then colored with the purple spray, and then I added lots of 

flowers from the Extra Blooms kit.

I went with a romantic vintage feel for this page, but there are so many possibilities 

with this beautiful kit!

See you next time,

Lisa xo

'Treasure' a new layout for my new team!

Hello my crafty friends! 

If you follow my blog at all you'll already know how much I love 7 Dots

Studio papers, they inspire me very much and that's why I was
so happy to be chosen for the new Scrapki Wyzwaniowo team!

It's a wonderful challenge blog that is owned by Tusia Lech and sponsored 

by her very own 7 Dots Studio.

'Treasure'

What a wild page! This one kind of took on a life of it's own,
so I just went with it :). I started with some of the coolest papers ever from
the 7 Dots Studio 'Writer's Block' collection using one called 'Epilogue' and
some tags, and then I added some twine, some bits of lace, and an old
Prima vine of flowers.

The challenge this month is all about 'Gardening',
and you can interpret this theme however you like.
You can find more about the challenge and see the designers
first reveal here.
And you can check out the brand new Design Team here.

Here are a few close ups:

I took this photo of my boy one summer when we, along with our neighbours created
a community garden plot where we planted tomatoes, beans, carrots and a whole
lot of other vegetables. It was so fun to teach him how things grow and how you have
to nurture the plants, and I think he really enjoyed helping us harvest
our little crop:)

I used some of my favourite Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays on my background,
and also some 2 Crafty Chipboard - the title, some leaves, and a piece of lattice.
I also created thee little gold tags by glueing down some old book paper,
and then stamping some leaves in black.

I had so much fun creating this, and I hope you join our challenge, always some
7 Dots Studio paper packs to be won!

See you soon,
Lisa xo

'Into the wilderness....'

Hello my mixed media friends, it's my turn to share my project that
I created for Mixed Media & Art. March's moodboard was bursting with
fresh spring green colors and this is what I created.


'Into the wilderness...'

I started with a piece of old plain cardboard....just by adding lots of lace, vintage

ephemera, watercolors and flowers I transformed the cardboard into a forest scene.
I applied lots of thick white gesso very messily, then used some Lindy's Stamp
Gang sprays in green, gold and brown, sewed on some pieces of a doily and strips of cotton,
built up my layers of old book pages, and then finally I added some art stones and gold beads.

Here is the moodboard I was inspired by:

You can find more info on how to join in our mystical challenge here.

Here are a few close ups:

I hope I have inspired you a little to explore nature and create something for us!

Lisa xo