Sketchy Solutions...

So I recently discovered a great challenge blog and online scrapbook supply store called  The Memory Nest and I decided to play along with their January sketch challenge.

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Looks pretty easy right? Nope.  Not for this girl.  It's these simple sketches that stump me. Especially with a vertical 4x6 photo.  I've grown quite used to scrapping smaller, usually square photos, so to scrap a larger photo was more of a challenge than I expected (and I still had to skinny it up so it's more like a 3x6).

I started a layout with the larger squares of paper layered behind my photo.  Agonized over it for a couple of hours, then tossed it and pulled out a light grid covered cardstock and my good old Faber Castell gelatos.(shocker, right?) ;-)  Every time I have struggled with a layout I have ended up coming back to the gelatos and I always feel happy with the outcome.  So here's a bit on my process of putting together a layout using mediums as substitutes for paper elements on a page.  Give it a try!

For this layout, I used the gelatos as a stand-in for the lighter gray paper layer shown in the sketch.

First I put a decent layer of gesso over the background paper.  Once that dried, I scribbled big lines of color with the gelatos, finger blended them, then went over them with water and a watercolor brush.  If you want your gelatos to blend well without hard lines, apply them softly to the paper - you don't have to press down hard at all.  Then wet a watercolor brush and apply a generous amount of water on the lines that separate your rows of color.  Blend the colors out until they look the way you want them.  I stood my paper up and tapped it on my desk to get the colors to run into each other and make some dripping and pooling.

I used a stencil and added some circles with modeling paste over the gelatos, then layered strips of vellum to stand in for the darker gray paper in the sketch.

 A few hearts, a button flair, and a little bit of doodling.  Viola.  A super cute pastel page of the kiddo. :)  I switched the elements but stayed pretty close to the sketch shape.

I hope enjoyed this little how-to...and link me to your layout if you give this technique a try! :)

Have a fabulous weekend!

xoxo,

Shawna

My favorite snow star

I'm on a scrappy streak lately!  Loving winter vacation where I can stay in my jammies and just play. :)  This layout is for Scrapfriends' December sketch challenge and I will readily admit, I got a little carried away and this page MIGHT be slightly gaudy LOL...I had this page of woodgrain paper with some modeling paste on it leftover from a page gone bad awhile back and for some reason I didn't throw it away.  Worked out to simulate the snow on this page.  I added some blue gelatos and let them drip to the left, and pulled out the modeling paste again for some little circle dots and to make the snowman.  (These photos were taken of my little one making a snowman earlier this winter.)  I couldn't find a good spot to put my journaling so I will likely add it to the back of the page to tell the story of her silly faces.  You see, Frosty the Snowman came to life when the top hat was put on his head and the first thing he said was "Happy Birthday!"  This is my daughter's replay of that scene, so gaudy or not I love this page. :)

Here's the awesome (and challenging!) sketch from Scrap Friends.

I love your visits and comments so thank you for having a look!  Have a wonderful Sunday!

xoxo,

Shawna

A new Scrap 365-CSI case file is up!

Time to reveal CSI's third special Case File created in collaboration with Scrap365,UK's biggest and best scrapbooking magazine. This special Case File will be open for investigation for the entire month of December. We will have a new Scrap365 Case File every other month, with the publication of a new issue of the magazine.   Here's the case file:

And here's my take on it:

This soft pastel palette was a dream to work with and I am really happy with the way this page turned out.  I loved the combination of the texture paste with the liquid pearls and the enamel dots.  

I hope you will come play along...remember you have the whole month of December to get your entries in, and we will choose 5 favorites to guest design in a coming month.  Good luck!

CSI CF#98 - Our Family

Case #98 is live over on CSI and it has spectacular colors and some really great testimony prompts…check out the case file below and click here to play along!

  

And here is my take on it.  I chose wood and clock from the evidence list and for my testimony I used the inspiration word "dream" and tucked my journaling behind the photo on the right.

The background is modeling paste applied over a mask, with sections sponged yellow.  Then I spritzed some Heidi Swapp teal mist, and added some Ranger purple mist under the photos.  Then I just loaded on the embellishments and called it done. :)  Here are some close-ups:

Thank you again for visiting me! xoxo

CSI CF# 97 - The Best Cross Eyes

I don't know how she mastered it at such an early age, but man...my kid can cross-eye like no other.  ;-)

This week's case file over at CSI is full of gorgeous color and, being the 2nd week of the month, comes with a fabulous sketch by Emma Stafrace.  I had a lot of fun creating this layout, which compliments the "Memories" layout I posted last week.  Here is the case file:

And here is my layout.  I went for my modeling paste to spruce up the background a bit (I seem to be using modeling paste almost as frequently as gelatos lately!), and tried to layer up lots of texture to match the woodsy background of the to photo.  The papers are a mix of a little bit of everything I had in my scraps, and the little stitched heart, the feather and the awesome textured ribbon are from Citrus Twist kits of months past.

Thanks for stopping by - I appreciate the visits! xoxo  Have a fabulous weekend!

CF# 93 - Touch the Sky

I haven't been able to do a CSI case file in a few weeks, so it felt great to work with one of Debbi's lovely schemes again!  And, being that it is the 2nd week of the month, there's a fabulous Emma Stafrace sketch as well!  (Unfortunately, while I had the best intentions to follow the sketch, the layout ended up going in a bit of a different direction).  Here's the case file and sketch.

And here's my layout.

I have gone back and forth on this one and whether I love it or hate it, but as often happens when I'm working with mixed media, getting my hands dirty and playing with the different textures and mediums trumps any discipline I have to "see" a page as complete until it's so layered up and over the top that there's no coming back...nonetheless, I love the colors, I love the quote, and this was a TON of fun to create.  (P.S.  I am going to have to order more of those metal birdie clips...I love putting them on my photos like they're my little guardian angels sitting on my shoulder.) ;-)

(I forgot to put the birdie on the pic for this one!)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

This and that

.I am so not a fan of Mondays...yet, here we are again.  The start of another work week.  Had a fabulous weekend full of relaxation, crafting, and good food with good friends.  Wish it could have lasted a little longer!  Hope you all enjoyed the weekend as well!

Posting a layout I did awhile ago, but never posted...I had a craft night with some friends who were new to scrapbooking, and gave them a color scheme and sketch to work from to create their first layouts.  This was my sample page using the sketch and colors (Unfortunately my color swatch and sketch are on another computer so I can't post them here.)  Also posting a fun "just because" card I made experimenting with gelatos, distressed inks and stamps on canvas.

(sorry about the bit of glare - had a hard time getting a good shot of this layout!)

And here's the card I made.  This was really fun to play around with.

Enjoy the week everyone!

DT Reveal - AAG Lots of Flowers Challenge

Is it Monday already?  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are enjoying the cooler fall weather!  We filled our weekend with fall-themed events and I can't wait until the work week is over so we can do it again!
Today's layout is for About a Girl's mid-month challenge.  The challenge is to use lots of flowers.  Sounds easy, right?  Well, if you are like me and don't often use flowers, it truly is a challenge.  However, I have a handful of photos from my daughter's ballet recital that are perfect for a flowery layout, so those were the ones I chose to scrap for this page.  I used a mixture of gesso, mists, gelatos, and modeling paste to create the background and color the patterned paper and doilies.  Then I added some perfect pearls and mists to the flowers and layered some tulle behind the patterned paper under the photo.  A very foo-foo, flowery layout perfect for my little ballerina. :)

Thanks for stopping by!