Hi Creative Friends,

Gwen here with you on the blog today with my latest layout.  This one features my little Miss and a photo taken on her 5th birthday.  She was such a princess at this age and I will admit, I love love loved it!  Think princesses, unicorns, fairies and all things magical – that certainly was her at this age.  I have scrapped many photos already from this birthday party, so for this one, I really just wanted to document her age and for it to have that sweet soft princess vibe about it.

This page started with the idea to use a cut file word that was repeated over and over on my background.  I have done similar things in the past and always loved how they worked out.  (You don’t have to re-invent the wheel for every layout you know.) I wanted the words to stand out from the white background so I added some Colour Shimmer Spray in Envy to my background.  I used the packaging technique as well as adding splatters straight from the nozzle.

Next, I set about cutting out my words.  I went with “Love this moment” and cut it out 6 times.  I then sprayed the words with the Colour Shimmer Spray in Blush.  I made sure to spray un-evenly, I wanted a textured look that had the colour deeper in some areas than others.

Once dried, I then layered over my background and stitched down.  I just love how my die cut pieces sit on top of the background. It is the perfect base for my paper layers in my photo mat.  You can see here I did not stitch them down perfectly, the bits that sit up off the page add interest and I love the effect.

Next, it was time to add my photo and embellishing.  I started with a large photo mat paper cluster and added bits and pieces until I was happy.

I went with puffy stickers, wooden hearts, vellum butterflies and chipboard, all to add texture and interest.  I also wanted a lot of pretty embellishments on this one to fit with the Princess theme.

Here you can see a close up of the Envy in the background and the Blush on the die cut pieces.

More close-ups of the die cuts in my background, and those pretty wooden buttons hand stitched on.

and one more close up for good measure, this one of one of the divine handmade embellishments by Charm Creations.

I give this project a “mess level” of Low.  Very little mess and a really clean look.  I did consider adding some splatters in at the end and then decided against it as there was a lot going on embellishment wise – yes, I chickened out!

Thanks for popping by today, I hope this page inspires you to pull out your Colour Shimmer Sprays and die cut machine and give this kind of background a go.  If you don’t have a Silhouette or similar, you could also do this with a Sizzix or Cuttlebug machine and why not give other elements a try such as flowers, or border pieces.  I love this technique and I think you will too 🙂

Until next time,

Gwen

xox

Hi Creative Friends,

Back on the blog today for Colour Blast and with Christmas just around the corner, I thought I’d do some last minute Christmas card creating! I have not made many cards this year so this was a heap of fun 🙂

For this project, I started with my background.  I wanted a subtle look with all the shimmer so went with the Colour Shimmer Spray in Bling which I sprayed through a stencil.  It is a little difficult to see in the photo below but it is soft and sparkly and super pretty!

While I was waiting for that to dry, I cut some leaves with my Silhouette and embossed them using the Colour Embossing Powder, also in Bling.  This is a messy embossing powder so not the best for stamped images if you want a very clean look, however, it does an amazing job of chipboard and die-cut pieces like these, the shine is so so pretty and the coverage is excellent.  It is also very easy to get back into the generously sized jar which is a plus for you clean scrappers out there!

It was time to work on the second layer of my background.  Using a circle stencil, I added a layer of Colour Paste in Snow White.  I love this paste so much! It is super sparkly and adds a lovely texture to the background.  As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, you don’t need a lot of this to go a long way, it spreads really nicely, like soft butter!

Next up, a couple of close-ups of the details, first, the 2 leaves die cuts, one in plain white, the other all embossed and looking pretty. I have applied only one layer, as I mentioned previously it has really great coverage!

and a close up of my finished background with the layer of Bling Shimmer spray followed by the layer of Snow White Colour Paste.  This photo really shows you the beautiful texture the paste gives you.

Once my background was complete, I added a few embellishments and the cards were complete.  I will add here that I have gone for a really subtle look with my cards, however, this technique would work so well with any colour combo, something darker such as Deep Water with the Snow White over the top would make the paste stand out more, and the shimmer of the Bling is stunning over a black cardstock.  So have a go at different combos, I’d love to see what you come up with.

I kept these pretty simple so that they could be posted and so as not to distract from my pretty background.  There you have it, three simple and sparkly Christmas cards ready just in time for Christmas.

I give this project a “mess level” of Medium/High.  It’s high simply because of the Colour paste and Embossing Powder.  However, the paste does not stain your stencils and the embossing powder is super easy to pour back into the generous container so that brings it back to a medium rating from me!  Totally worth the mess!

Thanks for popping by today, and as this is my last post of the year, I’d love to wish you all a Happy Festive Season!

Until next time,

xo