My mother in the 1940's |
The photo I used for this layout was cropped and enlarged from one I have scrapped previously of my mother and two of her sisters. I used Blue Fern Studios papers from their Timeless collection.
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I envy scrapbook artists that have a free, spontaneous looking, multimedia style but every time I try to be more adventurous I just seem to wreck paper and shed some tears, lol. But I thought I'd try applying a layer of clear gesso to the background like I've seen some of them do. It dulls and darkens the colour slightly and gives it a gritty texture which I wasn't sure I liked.
I used a stencil with modelling paste coloured with Pearl Ex across the corners of the paper. The colour was darker than I liked so I brushed white paint overtop with my fingertip but then it seemed too subtle so I thought I would try some misting over the stencilled areas to add some contrast. This is where I almost wrecked the paper. Luckily I discovered I could wet the misted areas and lift off most of the colour with paper towel to undo the damage (the gesso keeps the water-based mists from sinking into the paper quickly and permanently staining it). Yay, for clear gesso! So I decided to stay with the "subtle" look after all.
To add some "punch" to the background I used a Mango Gelato (by Faber-Castell) which I scribbled onto the paper and then rubbed with my finger after dipping it in water. The Gelato did blend a lot more smoothly on the gesso coated background. I might be more inclined to use that pile of Gelatos I hardly ever touch now. Another "Yay" for clear gesso, lol.
The background paper and rectangular layers were distressed and inked around the edges. The die-cuts were layered over a black copy and offset slightly to accentuate the edges.
Spellbinders die - Floral Assortment |
The chipboard frame was coated with one mistake after another. I ended up adding some Chandelier Glimmer Glam overtop which "awoke" some brown mist I thought I had covered up with white paint but I kind of liked the result. I then traced around the edges with a brown marker to make it "pop" a bit more off the page.
Dusty Attic - Baroque Frame Set - Square |
I painted the metal pieces with Vintaj Patina paints and sanded them lightly.
I glued random patches of Prima glass beads and Art Stones by Finnabair around the layout.
I also used a paintbrush to splatter some Burnt Umber Moon Shadow Mist by Lindy's Stamp Gang on the background. I thought the page still needed something so I tried using a stitch stamp between the stencilled areas and the chipboard frame but the result was too subtle to really add any impact.
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today!
Tracy, you couldn't "wreck" any layout if you tried! LOL! This is awesome....as expected : ) You have the coolest embellishments and dies. Your techniques are to die for! I LOVE this! How awesome that you have this wonderful photo of your mother!! Beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteAnother beautiful layout! I love it that you are so brave to try these techniques. I, like you, end up ruining some things I have to redo. Glad for the Gelato idea; mine lay unused, too, so I'll have to try the clear gesso.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marsha. I've also seen people use soft matte gel to coat the paper first but I haven't tried that yet. I ended up coating the backside of the paper with the clear gesso too because the paper curled up quite a bit as the gesso dried.
DeleteWonderful the way you applied the stencil and built up your design around that!! Really stunning composition, and very delicious color!! Absolutely fabulous layout, as always, I might add! :))
ReplyDeleteTracy - a gorgeous page and wonderfully elegant! The photo of your Mom is adorable - and her glasses are quite the thing today!
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