TCW Labour of Love by Tam

 Hi there

Well this month is pretty exciting around here!

In celebration of ME being on the Design Team for TCW - The Crafter's Workshop we are having a month that is all about their gorgeous products.

I'm kicking it off with a page that was a real labour of love.

Luckily I find doodling relaxing...

Yep this one took a while!

So let's take a look at the process....

I began with a sheet of 12x12 Smooth Cardstock by PaperArtsy.

I also grabbed the gorgeous stencil TCW777 Tree Paradise by Art by Marlene - it's been one I've drooled over for a while.

I placed the stencil onto the cardstock and with a pencil, traced the entire image.

Lift up the stencil and you are left with....

Ok now comes the zentangling....

Go around all of this with a fine black pen - make sure it is waterproof!!

Add in lots of extra details to the basic shapes.

For this part you may want to part yourself in front of Netflix!

I added in a few borders as well.

Ok time for the colour!!

For this I used the NEW ColorSparx Pigment Watercolour Powders

I'm loving playing around with these.

For this I added some of each powder to a paint palette, and then added a few drops of water to create my own watercolours.

The more powder, the stronger the colour.

For the sky I used:

Scarlet, Fuschia, Marigold, Orange and Gamboge.

I also added a touch of Dylusions Ink Spray in Lemon Zest as I wanted a really vibrant yellow.

As they are watercolours, they blend together beautifully making ombre sunsets really simple!

For the hills I used Turquoise, Lime Green and Chartreuse.

For the front hill area I used Turquoise, Orchid and Wisteria.

Now this is the part where I should have stopped, but I didn't.

I added Cerulean Blue to the trees as I think this is my favourite shade in the Color Sparx.

I think I preferred them white but never mind

I did leave a few pops of white - this helps to brighten everything!

I'm going to pop it in a frame.

I love all the details.

I can't wait to see what you create this month using the yummy TCW products.

Don't forget to tag #tcwstencillove in your projects as I know they'd just love to see them too.

I'll be back again a bit later in the month!

Luv Tam

xx

The Final DT inspiration.....

Hello lovely people and Happy New Year!!

We truly hope that this is a Year of Joy and happiness for you all.

We hope it's an easier one than last year.

Kinder. Gentler. 

Whilst we are on a difficult subject.....We’re finding this a difficult post to type.

You see Scrap Matrix is closing it's doors and this will be the final 'formal' inspiration from us, the Design Team.  

We have loved sharing our arty inspirations with you and we have loved getting to know you all. It is definitely a real family here - a very safe and encouraging community that has put a smile on our faces whenever we have felt a little flat.

And guess what!!!! You guys have inspired us right back.

We have been in awe of your creations and love seeing what you come up with.

Plus we got to have Vicki as our boss lady - and let me tell you Miss Vicki is divine. Always so generous and grateful for all that we do.

So we have one last request....

PLAY along this month.

Let's flood the page with colour.....

So without further ado, here is our last challenge......

Yep.....The Crafter's Workshop.

They are a lovely company and Tammy is a member of the Design Team.

(In fact it was due to her getting on this team that this idea was born)

They are well known for their Stencils but they also do fantastic mediums including gesso, gel medium, modelling paste, watercolor powders and much much more!!

So use as much TCW goodness on your page as possible.

So let's take a look at the DT's inspirations.....

Come on creatives, let's create the hell out of this last challenge.....

See you over in the Facebook Shares Group.

(WARNING - we won't be going away that easily, we will still be around to connect with)

Yep you just can't get rid of us that easily!

Much love and hugs and tears and snuffles and more hugs and colour

Tam, Tanya and Jen

Scrap Matrix Design Team

Either/Or with Tam

 Hello creatives

Tam here today to share my Either/Or page for our current challenge.....

A cutesy page with a touch of naughtiness.....

I selected the following:

Page

Circles

Brights

(I tried to do pastel but I couldn't help myself - me and brights just go together)!

Naughty

First I gathered a few supplies that were circly and appealing to me.

I had no plan - I just opened my art journal and added some pieces of Art by Marlene paper torn into strips from the Collage Paper #3. I also added in some torn words from a magazine.

I adhered with TCW Gel Medium - this is my new fave for sticking down images in my journal - I find using my finger works best and there's no left over residue! YESSS!!!

I then added some 'Ocean' and 'Yellow' in Dina Paints - randomly swiping across the page - they mixed together to form a lovely limey green colour.

Whilst still wet I used the stencil TCW Circle Jumble  and a wet baby wipe to remove some paint.

Immediately I saw hills - so I marked in some hills and then I added some 'lemon', 'turquoise' and 'magenta' into the sky section - couldn't have a green sky and these colours were a bit sunsetty.

I also added some circle background stamps from the Art by Marlene Little Ladies stamp set. There's quite a few circle ones in the pack.

Ok so the background is done, time to start working on what to add to the rest of it...

I love that girl in the stamp set who's leaning to the side - she definitely looks like she's doing a cartwheel - this reminds me of twirling and again has a circly vibe.

I stamped her out onto PaperArtsy Smooth Cardstock 3 times and then added colour.

I then cut them out and adhered them onto the page to look like she was twirling down the hill.

Once I had glued them down with TCW Gel Medium, I felt the background was too muted. I needed some POP so I grabbed my Dylusions neons - these are quite translucent so they're perfect for adding over paint to brighten it up....

Much much better...

The final step was to add in some flowers and grass to the hills, some doodles to the sky and a bit of a naughty quote - the Dylusions Back Chat are perfect for this - you could choose any - most of them fit the naughty brief!

When I saw the one that said

"Does running away from your problems count as exercise?"

I knew it was perfect.

I also added "I'm calling in fat tomorrow"

There you have it - a fun and little bit naughty page.

That's it from me today.

I've already been working on another one for this theme so keep your eyes peeled to that Facebook Shares Page.

More Arabian Nights with Tam!

 Hi all!

Tam back to share another 'Artsy Arabia' page.

All these gorgeous colourful pages make me think of the musical 'Aladdin' that I've been lucky enough to see twice!!

I have the playlist on whilst typing this....and yep I'm breaking into song every now and then.

Yep as you can see I was inspired by the glorious colours!!!

I was also inspired by the gorgeous art by Ady Almanza!

I began by grabbing out what I thought I'd use...

absolutely adore this 'Artsy Arabia' range by Marlene.

I started with a page in my Art Journal that I had already added some magazine script to the background.

I added a page from the Art by Marlene Collage book #7 using TCW Gel Medium.

I then added lots of paint and TCW black gesso and TCW white gesso using a spatula. 

No brush or blending allowed!!!

I used Dina Wakley paint in Bubblegum and Turquoise, and tried to be as messy as possible...

I then added some Dina Wakley Lemon and Ruby paint to the sky (sorry forgot to take a photo!)

I think I was just enjoying the messiness way too much and got lost in the process. 

Whoops!

I swiped some paint through TCW Stencil 'Fantangle' both in the sky and the ground section.

I then repeated this using TCW Stencil 'Botancial Dream'.

I came back in with more Lemon paint and then used this part to stamp some of the gorgeous little buildings in the Art by Marlene Stamp Set #58.

I love how fine these are and they stamp just beautifully.

I added a hint of colour to them...

I then added a few flicks of TCW Black Gesso to the sky area, and a quote from the Art by Marlene sticker pack #3.

For the final step I swiped TCW Black gesso through TCW Stencil 'Sketch Grid'.

Love how this added to the grunginess.

I also created another page.....

but had enjoyed a glass of two of champagne, so didn't even think to photograph the steps!

Those buildings have been created using the lanterns from the Art by Marlene Die Cut Book #2

(of course I had to have a go at turning something into something else!)

Those gorgeous little camels and that sun came from the Art by Marlene Die Cut #1.

I used the TCW Stencil 'Shaped Landscape' in the mountains and TCW Stencil 'ScreenView' in the sky.

This was a lot of fun to create (and had nothing to do with the champagne!)

I'm loving seeing your entries into this month's challenge.

Keep them coming.

Just use some products from Scrap Matrix to create something that fits this theme.

Once done head to our Facebook Shares Page and upload your entry into the 'Arabian Nights' folder.

Luv Tam

xx