Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Lucky / Paige Evans DT

Hello again, friends!  I have a new layout to share for the Paige Evans Design Team featuring her new Bungalow Lane collection.  This is my first layout using this new line, and I just love the colors!

I couldn’t resist creating a fun rainbow design. I started by choosing six patterned papers from the 12x12 Paper Pad. I cut arcs in each color to create the rainbow which stretches horizontally across the entire page. I decided to embellish with small pieces in a tone-on-tone manner to keep the rainbow theme flowing. I also added some matching colors of Shimmerz to create a watercolor effect on the background.

I used thick white cardstock for the base and I coated it with clear gesso first before adding any paint. I used a brush to paint the color on above the red arc and below the blue arc at the bottom. I wanted it to look like the layout was left out in the rain and the rainbow started leaking color. Once that was done, I glued down the rainbow arcs and then machine stitched through each one using matching thread. I also distressed the edges to create some texture. I splattered white acrylic paint to create a weathered effect. 

 

Once I arranged the photos, I started going through the embellishments. I tucked in a few of the Epoxy Puffy StickersCardstock StickersLayered Stickers, pieces from the 8-Page Sticker BookFoam Phrase Stickers, and Ephemera Die Cuts all around the photos in the color coordinated areas.

Here you can see more of the watercolor effect. For the title I used this large “Lucky” Foam Phrase Sticker. I love that it was perfect for my rainbow theme and it worked great on this white area. It has gold foiling, which is so pretty. I added more embellishments here at the bottom. I fussy cut a butterfly from one of the 2x2 Paper Pads and popped up several pieces with adhesive foam. I wrote the journaling with a black fine-tip Sharpie and tucked in a few colors of matching thread in a few places.
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It's so much fun going through all of the embellishments to pick and choose what to put where.  When you do a tone-on-tone design, it helps you narrow down your choices--meaning you only have so many blue things to add to the blue area. 
As a final touch, I hand cut a few little clouds using scrap Bazzill textured white cardstock. I distressed the edges and smudged a bit of a gray gelato to give them depth. I love adding clouds to a rainbow layout! I finished the page off with gold paint splatters.
A new addition to this collection is these Epoxy Stickers.  They are are really neat.
Sometimes I like to tone down the shine on pieces that have metallic gold foiling, so I use my finger to smudge some white gesso over it.  It's still shiny, but just a little more matte.
Here are more close-ups of all the pretty things :)
As far as the mixed media goes on this, I was very intentional about where I added the paint.  I wanted it just peeking out at the top and at the bottom, so I controlled how much I added with a brush.  Also, adding the gesso first was crucial to helping the colors blend and spread out so nicely.


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 I hope you got some fun ideas to try from this layout!  I love rainbow pages, and they always make me happy.  I'm looking forward to making more layouts using this beautiful collection :)

Here's my process video:


 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

Friday, August 6, 2021

Hello Today / Paige Evans DT

Happy Friday, friends!  I'm back today with a new mixed media layout for the Paige Evans Design Team featuring lots of hearts. I mixed Paige’s Wonders and Go the Scenic Route collections to create a fun blue, pink, and orange color scheme. I pulled a heart punch from my stash and went to work with some of the patterned papers. My design idea changed several times and I wound up trimming the hearts to make them a little smaller. I also used the trimmed outline of the hearts on the page. 

I used Wonders Paper 3 for the background and I coated a lot of it with white gesso - this helped to fade some of the pattern and prep the paper for inks and sprays. I scraped a few matching Distress Oxides across the paper and added a bit of water to make the colors run and blend.

 

I decided to stack my two photos vertically and place the hearts around them. I distressed the edges of the solid hearts, glued them all down, and then machine stitched through the centers with gold metallic thread. I also used a few matching Shimmerz sprays to add some splatters as well as some Jen Hadfield Gold Glitter Spray. I embellished around the photos with a few Wonders Ephemera Die Cuts and Epoxy Phrase Stickers.

I made sure to not glue down the entire heart pieces so the ends would bend up off the page. Here at the bottom, I added an Ephemera Die Cut onto the bottom photo and I fussy cut “home” from another piece. I added “life” from the Epoxy Phrase Stickers. I tried to keep the embellishing tone-on-tone. I added matching colored thread in each of the three color areas and then finished off with sequins from my stash.
I love how the ink colors turned out here in this area. I splattered down white acrylic paint before everything was completely dry, and I love the effect that creates. I created a small title on top of the photos. I fussy cut “hello” and “smiles” from Paper 24. The “today” is from the Go the Scenic Route Puffy Word Stickers.
 I love how the edges of the hearts pop up off the page.  Instant dimension and texture :)
I really love how the inks blended here...it looks so dreamy with these colors!  Also, if you like to use thread like I do and you don't have the exact color you want, blend two colors together.  I added some red thread here to this pink and unless you get up really close it looks like that darker pink color.
I also really love the effect of white paint splatters.  Such a small detail with a big impact.
More close-ups of all the details :)





I hope this gives you some ideas to try on your next page.  I had fun making this, even if I didn't know where it was going for a while...haha.  Just keep playing around and eventually an idea will form!

Here's my process video:


Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a wonderful weekend :)