Metals and Petals with Helen

Welcome back to the Scrap Matrix challenge this month 
where we have a unique mood board to inspire you;
it's all about petals and metals.

I've been waiting for the right challenge to scrap this photo of my Father harvesting in the mid North of South Australia.

 This paper from Stamperia, "Clockwise" seemed perfect for the photo.

I decided to team it with a piece of chipboard from 
Blue Fern Studios, "Techno Scape"

Getting the rusty look I was after proved to be a bit time consuming, but it was worth the effort, as I love the result.

This chipboard was raw, so I painted it with white Gesso to seal it.

The first layer of paint after the Gesso was Ranger patina "Moss".

The second layer was a mixture Ranger Patina "Jade" and "Verdigris".

Next came a layer of Prima Rust Paste, "Red Rust". 

Then a layer of Prima Rust Paste, "Gold Rust". 

Ad finally a layer of Prima Rust Paste, "Brown Rust". 

Pheew!  Well may you say, what a load of Bull Rust, but thanks for sticking with me so far, as I have a few close ups to show you.

The metal clock reminds me of my Father's watch face which he protected with a leather cover.  

There is a similar one at the Scrap Matrix shop Here.
I've stencilled a few flowers here.

This stenciling reminds me of the curves and circles left by the machinery, as Dad drove around trees and the uneven terrain.

It was created with a Carabelle Stencil, "For the love of layers"

and TCW light and fluffy modeling paste.

This stencil is super versatile, as I plan to use the whole thing as a background. However for this project, I simply masked off the parts I wanted to use.  It looks a mess with all the ripped post its stuck down, but it allows me to get a crisp result of a particular area. 

No page about a Farmer would be complete without a bit of string!

 A closer look at some of the metal flowers.
Vicki has heaps of metal flowers in her shop Here


I hope you find time to play along this month.  

How about using waxes to simulate metal?  What about an off the page project with some oversize flowers that could be painted a metal colour. You might have an embossing folder or a die which has a metal look.  There's lots of ways you can create a project.

Just add your entry to the Scrap Matrix Shares page in the corresponding folder and don't forget to let us know what Scrap Matrix products you used and what inspired you.  You could be in the running for a $30.00 gift voucher and perhaps a Guest Design Team spot down the track.

Scrap Matrix Products used:-

Stamperia Papers, "Clockwise", on back order.

Prima Rust Paste

Ranger Patina, Moss, Jade, Verdigris

Blue Fern Chipboard, "Techno Shape"

Art Journal Cover .... by Lynn Good

Today I would like to share with you my project for this months Challenge - Metals and Petals.

When I saw what the challenge was for this month, I was super excited.  I just love to create these projects - whether it be on canvas, board or like today as an art journal cover.

I have created this on  my small Dylusions Album

I have glued everything down except the bulb - that goes down last. I find that the Finnabair Matte Gel is great for most items - anything that requires a depth of gel it is better to use Finnabair Heavy Body Gel.  I leave this to dry naturally.  You can use a heat gun but as I often have two projects on the go at once I tend to work on my other project whilst it dries

Once dry everything gets covered with black gesso and then the colouring can begin - this is the exciting part!

I have used Prima Art Alchemy Paints.  I start with the colour that is going to be in the background and then build the colours up layer by layer. 

Once I am happy with the colours, I then add the finer details - highlights with Prima Art Alchemy wax,  glass beads, micro beads, sequins and the light blub which I have painted the back of with the Art Alchemy paints.

Here are some close ups:

Products Used:

Black Lace

Paper Flowers

Beads  and Buttons 

Wooden Veneer - cog set

Metal Rounds

Brass Key

Penny Farthing

Finnabair Art Alchemy Metallique Wax

Finnabair Art Alchemy Paints and Opal Magics

This is such a fun month - so many options - and you have until the end of the month to enter. It is super simple - just upload a photo of your layout into the Metals and Flowers Album in our Scrap Matrix Shares page and tell us at least one product that you have used that is available in the Scrap Matrix store.

I hope that you find time to enter - I would love to see what you create.

Til next time - Happy Crafting :)

Tam's Metals and Petals share...

Hi all

Tam here today to share my creation for the 'Metals and Petals' November Challenge.

Such a gorgeous combo, but I wanted to do something a little different.
When we think of petals, I guess we immediately think of flowers.......I decided to go elsewhere.

A butterfly wing reminds me of a petal. RIGHT?!? It was the first thought that popped into my head, so I decided to go with it.

 

 

Yep, you can see that a few flowers, mainly my favourite Aall & Create Stamp crept in there too....

 

 

Just love those metal butterflies, and how their wings (petals) just fly right off the page.

 

So let's have a look at how this page came together.

I began by selecting my background paper, and the paper that sparked the whole idea.....the latest 7Dots Studio Garden Party paper......

I began by cutting out some of the butterflies from the black and white photo.

I then created my background....

I love this stamp by Stampers Anonymous. I used the butterfly to stamp onto the background. I ensured I repeated the design and also ensured that some of the stamp was half on and half off.

This helps with the flow and movement across the layout.

I then stamped one of the sayings from that stamp by Stampers Anonymous to use for my title and my journaling.
I trimmed it down into segments.

Next I used my favourite AALL & Create stamp No 20. It definitely appears on all my layouts lately!
I stamped this onto white cardstock.
I find as it's such a large stamp, its difficult to get a perfect image - this does NOT worry me at all.
I like imperfection and I also always cut down the stamp into smaller pieces anyway so if there's one patch that's particularly faint, I just disregard it.

 

 

You can see here that this stamp image is a bit faint in sections. I used my Fudeball pen to draw over the top and fill in the gaps.

 

 

 

 



I pop these aside, ready for the tucking in part, once my layout has come together a little more.

Now onto the Metal.......

 

 

Love the shape of these metal butterflies.

I added black gesso to them.

They come up beautifully!

I love that this gives them a more modern feel, rather than vintage.

 

 

Time to start putting it altogether.

I reach for my 'go to' 7Dots tags, and also create a few of my own to poke out from behind the photos.

 

 

 

 

The photos are a sequence of 3....my gorgeous little niece in USA.

She is a pure delight, and her mama is just a beautiful earthy chick who inspires me in so many ways. She values homemade, real and nature. She embraces the outdoors, believes in fairies, and sees the planet as her little one's backyard.

 

 

 

 

I love that these photo's capture that joy, that absolute love, that wonder.

Just magic.

 

 

 

 

I printed two photos in black and white and one in colour.....I decided to go with the black and white theme with a few touches of green and yellow to highlight the flowers and grass.

 

 

 

 

So after lots of tucking of flowers and tags, I added butterflies....I wanted them to look like they were taking flight up the page.

I stuck everything down with this 3D Gloss Gel - so good for sticking metal, and great too if you want things to have some dimension - also great for poking flowers and bits into and around your photos.

The final step was to add a bit of water to some yellow paint (I used Dina Wakley) and flick it over the layout. There's my POP of yellow!

Let's take a closer look at those metal butterflies in flight.....

 

I hope that's inspired you to enter our challenge.

Vicki has a $30 voucher up for grabs, she also has lots of amazing new products, so what have you got to lose?  At the very least you will have completed a page, and had a chance to be creative.

You could even be asked to guest design for Scrap Matrix!!

 

Just be inspired by Metals and Petals....

 

 

 

 

Create something......a layout, a journal page, some cards, a few tags....the list is endless!!

 

Upload it to our Facebook Scrap Matrix Shares Group - in the appropriate folder and let us know which products you used from Scrap Matrix.

The more the merrier, but the minimum is only one!!

 

I look forward to seeing what you create....

 

Much love, I'll be back again soon, but if you'd like to see a bit more of my work just head to my blog

 

Tam

xx

 

 

Scrap Matrix Products used:

 

woodgrain paper

AALL & Create stamp no 20

Ranger Black Ink

7Dots Paper Garden Party - Born

7Dots Tags - Writer's Block

7Dots Tags - Northern Lights

Stampers Anonymous Stamp - Perspective

Metal Butterflies #1 filigree antique bronze

Dina Wakley paint - Lemon

3D Gloss Gel

Fudeball pen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guest Designer - Sandra Scott

Hi Sandra here with my first project as Guest Designer for the month of November.   Thank you Vicki and everyone involved for the opportunity.  :).

I pondered this for some time before deciding to create a layout with one of my favourite floral stamps as my petals and then used metallic watercolour paints to highlight the leaves on the flowers.  I have listed the products used below with a link to the Scrap Matrix Store.

Products Used:

Dina Wakely – Abstract Bloom Stamp (MDR55679)

Dylusions Rose Quartz Paint

Tim Holtz - Small Talk Phrases

Thickers Alpha

Posca Paint Pen

Metallic Watercolours

Black and White Cardstock

I will be back with a second project later in the month :)

NEW MONTH ..... NEW CHALLENGE WOOHOOO

Morning everyone - Today is the start of a new month - and that means we get to share the new moodboard and what the design team girls have come up with this month.

This months challenge is all metals and petals - what a fantastic combination - so many options!!!

You can create an art journal page, a card or 2, a gift, a layout, a tag, a canvas - the options are endless.  Just link up your creation in the "Metals and Petals" album over at Scrap Matrix Shares facebook page.

The only rule is that you need to let us know at least one product that you have used that is available at the Scrap Matrix Store - feel free to tell us about all of them!!!!

You will be eligible to enter the draw to win an instore voucher from Vicki and Scrap Matrix - who doesnt love a bit of crafty shopping!

To get you inspired here are some of the amazing projects the Design Team have come up with:

Dont forget that each of the Design team will be sharing how they made these projects, plus they all have a second project to share in the coming weeks.   We also have a guest designer who has created two projects.  So keep popping back here to have a look.

We look forward to seeing what you create :)