Mixed Media Christmas ATCs for Scrap Africa

Hello again, and happy December! I created this set of Christmasy ATCs inspired by the December Mood Board at Scrap Africa.



I was particularly inspired by the textures, glitter, festive mood and shades of red. The rose in the top left corner made me think of using a stencil, so I started the background with stenciling some structure paste.



I worked the background in one large piece, about A3 size. I actually started it with a scrapbook layout in mind, but couldn't think of an inspiring photo to combine with it, so I decided I was more in an ATC mood this time.



When creating with a paper of the size A3, there's actually enough for both scrapbook layout and a row of ATC backgrounds. A3 short side is a quarter inch short of a regular 12x12 scrapbook paper, but I don't mind a difference this small in my projects. I think it's handy and economical to buy art paper for mixed media scrapbooking, even though the sizes have not been created with scrapbook albums in mind.



Can you guess what other media I have used?



There are quite many layers actually. Over the stenciled paste, I first painted some parts with tube watercolours and other spots with acrylics. You can perhaps see the fluorescent red that pops out a bit. That, for example, is an acrylic paint.



I used two different lettering stamps that are among my very favourites at the moment: historical script-looking Liesbeth's Letters from Art Journey and an old one that looks like scribbly handwriting.



For the main embellishment, I used wood veneer Christmas trees that I had first gessoed white and then heat embossed with a white gold shade.



I also used paper scraps, washi tape and a velvety flourish fabric tape.



I am also joining the following challenges: Christmas at the Artistic Stamper, and Merry & Bright at the Mixed Media Monthly.



Thank you for popping in! Do check out what the rest of the DT did and join our challenge at Scrap Africa until the end of December!

Hello Friend − Layout for Scrap Africa Sketch Challenge 78

Hi! Happy Friday, and happy September! It's monthly challenge time again at Scrap Africa!

I felt like making a light and neutral coloured layout with some mixed media elements on the background. I'm still using my Krafty Travel Kit I joined the Counterfeit Kit Challenge with last month.



This month we have an elegant simple sketch with a circle around the focal cluster.



I'm also sharing a couple of photos of how I got the layout started. For the background, a cardstock colour called Straw was suitable for my idea, light but not completely white. I had spread a very light layer of gesso on it previously. The journaling card, the gold and white striped straw and the paper with the crosses or plus signs are from my Counterfeit kit as well as the cardstock.



Due to having a toddler at home, I quite often start my projects at night, choosing materials and trying different layouts. If it's already late at that point, I don't necessarily do anything else but just "sleep on it", and next day I have a better idea of how to go on.

The photo with my messy table below is about a trick I have learned at patchwork quilting.



That is, for checking if the layout still looks mainly white when I add the plus sign paper and the blue journaling card.

Sometimes it's hard to compare the lightness value of different elements from up close, so it helps to look from a distance. Blurring your eyes a bit or taking a blurry photo, like I did here, confirms that the other elements are fairly close to the background in lightness value. I wanted it to be this way so that it's just the photos that pop out from the background, not the whole cluster of elements.



At the point of taking the photo above, my 2-year-old had been drawing beside me, and I wanted have the mark of his pen on my background, too. He and his brother are also the stars of the layout, so it felt like a nice way to keep a memory of his first drawings!



In addition to the doodling, I used mists, white and gold structure pastes, yellow Paint Pen and turquoise Stickles for the circular frame.





The chipboard rocking horse is from Wycinanka. I used blue acrylic paint on it first, let it dry and embossed around the edges with Midnight Teal from Lindy's Stamp Gang. Last layer is clear embossing powder. The separate stars that came with the horse just have the blue paint and the clear powder layers.



Apart from the thin washi tape strip in the top left corner, I felt like no more embellishments were needed this time!





Thank you so much for looking. I hope to see you at Scrap Africa!

Old is New Again − Counterfeit Kit June Challenge 3

Hi there,

and welcome to June Challenge #3 at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge! The prompt is
"Old is New Again: Showcase the oldest item in your kit in a new & fresh way!"

My oldest items were the floral papers from The Sweet Blossom Stack by Die Cuts with a View: one 12x12 paper and a 12x12 that has tags in different sizes.



I picked three other papers in shades of aqua/mint green/teal. I cut the solid mint green cardstock in half to make a 6x6 card.



This was the perfect moment to open the Studio Calico wood veneer package I got recently...



I was once again crafting at night so I didn't get to take process pictures, I'm afraid. But here's the finished card!



In addition to the papers and wood veneer, I used stamping inks, 7 Dots Studio Alpha Stickers, Geometric Neon Washi tape from Papermania Docrafts Capsule collection and Liquid Pearls glue paint in Mint Green.

Although I didn't have any of their papers this time, just the alphabet, I was also inspired by the Gardening challenge at the 7 Dots Studio blog!



Another challenge theme that inspired me was Berries at Studio Leto.



I'm really happy with how the fuzzy cut painterly flower and branch look in the card! The paper was restless to use as such, and that's probably why I hadn't used it. It definitely needed a new and fresh look from this challenge!



For those of you who aren't familiar with the The Counterfeit Kit Challenge, it's is all about putting together our own kits from what we have, inspired by actual kit club kits. I'm happy to be their Guest Designer this month and got to Counterfeit the May kit from Hip Kit Club. If you want to see what else I included in my kit, it's here!



Thank you so much to Leslie and the team at Counterfeit Kit Challenge for inviting me as the June 2016 Guest Designer! It has been a lot of fun and I continue to be inspired by the kit I created. A ready made kit is also very easy to take with me when I spend some summer weeks in the countryside, so that's an extra plus side!



Thank you for coming and hope to see you again soon!

Amazing Glass House − Counterfeit Kit June Challenge 1

Hello! Today's the day for June Challenge #1 at Counterfeit Kit, where I am happy to be the Guest Designer this month.



The challenge prompt is to be inspired by one of these mood boards at Burnett's Boards − you're free to choose one that works with the color/mood of your own counterfeit kit!

The images that you see on the main page are only partial so if something looks promising, take a closer look!

There are some really gorgeous color combos & moods... This one seemed spot-on for my May Hip Kit Club inspiration this month:

Neon Wedding



The neon colours inspired me to use the yellows and pinks of my kit. And I loved the decoration with the hanging glass pieces and the alphabet in different colours. The letter O in the word LOVE has a metallic finish that made me think of using my sequins. Instead of alphabet, I cut out and decorated two arrows from my kit.



In the background, I've used some gesso and acrylic paints in neon orange and yellow. I thinned them with water so that I could splash them like watercolours. There is also some pencil doodling and stamping.



I used washi tapes and strips of my papers to create the background for my photo.





I'd love to see you pop in and link your own challenge project at Counterfeit Kit Challenge. It'll be so fun to see what mood boards everyone will choose!



Thank you for coming!

Hip State of Mind: Guest Designing for Counterfeit Kit Challenge

Hello everyone, and happy June! My exciting news today is that I've been invited to Guest Design for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge!

At the Counterfeit Kit Challenge, the idea is to be inspired of a given kit from existing kit clubs, and put together a Counterfeit version from your own stash. It’ll help you see your products in a new light and give new ideas for using them. Before this, I've joined the Counterfeit Kit Challenge once last year, with a very different kit.

Can anyone guess which was our inspiration kit this month?



Here you go! It is the May 2016 Kit from Hip Kit Club. (photos by Hip Kit Club)

May 2016 Main Kit from Hip Kit Club



The May 2016 Kit from Hip Kit Club is a fun mix of colours, but also a cool contrast of graphic black, white and navy. Looking at the papers I had in my stash, I decided to go a bit more in the black and white direction. You'll see my picks soon, but first...

May 2016 Paper Kit from Hip Kit Club!



The kit has several fun patterns, like triangles, irregular dots and doodled five point stars. It also has some painterly papers, flowers and circles that again make a fun contrast.

Inspired by these features, I started building my Counterfeit Kit. But let's look at all the Hip Kit Club add-ons first:

May 2016 Project Life Kit from Hip Kit Club



May 2016 Embellishment Kit from Hip Kit Club



And last but not least, May 2016 Cardstock Kit from Hip Kit Club



Now let's take closer look at my kit, starting from papers in the photo below. From top left:

Canvas Corp – Yellow & White Big Stripe
My Mind's Eye − Love Me Do − Heart of the Matter
Studio Light − Flower Delight
Die Cuts with a View − The Sweet Blossom Stack − painterly floral paper
Die Cuts with a View − The Sweet Blossom Stack − painterly striped paper
Tiger − pink paper with black doodles
Tiger − black paper with white dots



Bottom row:

unknown – black with white stripes
Die Cuts with a View − The Sweet Blossom Stack − white polka dot on black canvas-looking paper
We R Memory Keepers − It Factor − Hello Bobby
Dear Lizzy − Documentary − Mondays
Sodalicious − Cozy Moments − Time for a Cup Of

And here below, from left:

Kaisercraft − Bow & Arrow − Sunrise
unknown − aqua check pattern
unknown − teal with polka dots
unknown − sea green/white diagonal stripes
unknown − pink triangle pattern
unknown − four 6x6 papers with black, white and grey patterns



A general view of the embellishments and Project Life supplies I found to go in my kit:

Here are the embellishments for a closer look! From top left,

Maya Road − Rag Tag Animals, Mini Sheer Set
Queen & Co – Twinkle Goosebumps
unknown − metal frames
Studio Calico – Wood Veneer



Middle: I found plenty of washi tapes in suitable colours and patterns.

Papermania Docrafts − Capsule − Geometric Neon Washi tapes
unknown − white with blue ledger
unknown − white with blue stripes
MT Washi tape − sea green/white stripe
Papermania Docrafts − Capsule − Spots & Stripes Brights washi, dark blue with dots
MT Washi tape − narrow yellow with text
MT Washi tape − traditional Japanese Samekomon aka Wavy Dots on dark blue
Papermania Docrafts − Capsule − Geometric Neon Washi tapes re-shown out of their box
unknown − pink with stripes

Always good to add a mixed media element: American Crafts − Pop! Microbeads − Lipgloss

And bottom row:

Papermania Docrafts − Neon Pink Adhesive Gems
Papermania Docrafts − Neon Yellow Adhesive Gems
Doodlebug Design − Sprinkles, Lilac Assortment
Navy blue sequins
American Crafts − Thickers Delight −Glitter Letter Stickers
American Crafts − Thickers Playroom − Felt Letter Stickers

In Finland we have this cool tape store called Teippitarha (Tape Garden), that also delivers internationally. Check it out if you are a fan of washi tape − they have a huge selection of tapes, also the MT brand which is the original Japanese one.

(*Note: this is not sponsored advertising, apart from a postage-free next order, having mentioned the store in my blog.)

Then let's check out my Project Life add-on.



Die Cuts with a View − The Sweet Blossom Stack − 12x12 of journaling cards
Kaisercraft − Shine Bright − Mango, 12x12 of journaling cards
large black paper clips
Papermania Docrafts − Capsule − Spots & Stripes Brights, leftover journaling tags
We R Memory Keepers − It Factor − 6x6 paper pad
13arts − leftover words and arrows for fuzzy cutting
Sodalicious − Whoo Lives Here − DIY journaling cards from leftovers
Sodalicious − Cozy Moments − So Delicious Notes

And last but not least, my cardstock choices! In addition to the solid cardstock, I have these two papers from 7 Dots Studio. They're previously lightly gessoed and I may or may not use them in one of the May Challenges at Counterfeit Kit.

7 Dots Studio − Love is in the Air − Whisper of the Tree
7 Dots Studio − Domestic Goddess − Overused Tablecloth

Yes, there will be more to look at in the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog! In addition to the challenge of building your own kit, there are also weekly challenges. Before the first of those, do come back on the 4th for our Forgeries on the Fourth Blog Hop, where the DT presents DIY embellishments to add to our kits!

And to see the rest of today's Counterfeit Kit Reveal Blog Hop, here's the list of the regular Design Team members!

Julene
Kelly
Lesley
Leslie
Lisa
Lynnette
Margie
Susan
Susanne
Jemma

Thank you for coming and I hope to see you soon again!

Edit: Blog hop list updated.

Easter − Layout for Scrap Africa Sketch Challenge

Hi everyone, and happy April! The sketch at the new Scrap Africa Challenge inspired me to scrap a photo of our Easter decorations.



Here's the lovely sketch by Scrap Africa owner Denise van Deventer.



I am also joining the challenge at Scrapcraft.ru themed Wood and Decorative Tape.

I used wood in the embellishments − firstly, the heart that was silver coloured in the beginning but I sanded it to let the woodgrain show a bit more and inked the sides to suit my colour palette.



The bird I glued on the photo is also of wood veneer.



I'm not sure if it counts for the wood theme, but the challenge also inspired me to use birch bark! You can see it as a strip on the right side of the photo and in the die cut flower on the left side of the photo.













Here below is the photo I used in the layout so you can see it from a bit closer!

In Finland, willow twigs with decorations are a typical Easter thing to do. Feathers and flowers made of colourful tissue papers are the traditional ways to decorate the twigs, but I was using washi tape and eggs covered with foam clay. Those were super easy and fun to do with kids, by the way. Even pretty young ones, like our 2-year-old, was fine doing it with just a little help!



Thank you for looking in and Happy Springtime to each and everyone who's reading this!