Don't be Afraid to Get Dirty....

I'm not new to using paints, sprays and other mediums on my scrapbook pages but I haven't used them a lot. Ever since I started working with the Dusty Attic laser cut designs I'm finding myself playing with paints, gloss, glitter glues and all sorts of mixed mediums a whole lot more. For the above l/o I worked with 2 wonderful laser-cuts, the first being the fairy design (in the top left corner). For this one I simply painted the whole thing white. Once it was dry I used a pencil and lightly sketched in the design I wanted (hair, fairy costume etc) Then I used my set of water color pencils and did a bit of coloring. After that I added a bit of brown chalk on the edges to get more definition (easy does it with this)....and finally I finished it with a variety of Stickles glitter glues (Platinum, WaterFall, Lavender, Pink, Diamond are a few of the Stickles colours I used). Here is a close up pic of the fairy......


The other piece I used was one of the flourish designs (right side of the photo). I went for a metalic look again on this one. I painted the whole thing first with some soft green paint and mixed in a little turquoise too. Now, here is the important part....Don't be afraid to get dirty!....I didn't use a paint brush. I simply dabbed my finger in the paint and splotched it on! Let the paint get a little lumpy and uneven in spots, it'll give a more natural look and a great texture, especially when you add the next step. Once the paint is dry take some bronze 3D metalic paint...again just using your finger splotch it on here and there, rubbing it in on some places and leaving it lumpy in others. Here is a close-up pic of the finished piece on my l/o....

Here is an extreme close-up of the flourish design so you can see what I mean about getting the paint on in a blotchy way and the effect it gives....


And finally, although I had a wonderful batch of Prima blooms to use on this l/o (thank-you Pam!) I thought it would be fun to try and make my own fabric center piece bloom for this l/o. I took a 12" strip of a shimmery burgundy silk fabric and gathered one of the long edges, then brought the 2 ends together. I did the same for the sheer grey/glitter fabric layer on top. In the middle I added on of those cute Prima 'centers' and viola! your own homemade fabric bloom. Here is a close-up picture.....

Okay, gotta run!....I just got my May MCS design team kits in the mail and OHMYGOSH! they are gorgeous!! I can wait to crack them open and play! Don't miss reveal day (May 5th) to see the beautiful goodies in next months kits! The LE kit might be my all time fav! ...shhhh!

~Gabrielle xxx