All Frocked Up

Hi there.

Gosh, I've had the biggest scrapping month ever and I'm managing to get a lot of blogging done as well! I must be slipping behind on something - I suspect it's work!

I have a new layout to show you using those amazing Bohemian Bazaar papers from The Scrapbook Store. I had a lot of fun and a lot of frustration with this one! I knew exactly the sort of photo I wanted for this layout and finally found it. It's a couple of years old and it's been patiently sitting on my computer waiting for the right occasion.

First the fun - aren't those fussy-cut flowers amazing! The papers are so rich and detailed that even smaller pieces like these make such a big impact. I finished off the cluster with a stunning Manor House Creations peacock feather, available here. and a Zva Creative bling flourish, available here. Here's a close up:

I used a label from the sticker sheet as the background for my title - all very easy really. ( I removed the friend's name from the journaling as she's not a relative of mine.)

Now the background was where I had all the frustration. I spent quite a while making a gorgeous textured background then was too heavy-handed with the Dylusions ink spray and ruined it. I was spraying red Dylsuions with a splash of yellow through a The Crafters Workshop honeycomb stencil. I contemplated starting again but had an idea how I could fix it so I gave it a go. I brushed gesso over the Dylusions really thickly. I made the brushstrokes go all different directions, adding to the textured look. I laid the gesso on thinker at the edges then thinner as I approached the photo so more of the Dylusions and stencilled pattern showed through. I then gave a very small spray or two of black Dylusions through a The Crafters Workshop Burst stencil behind the pic. You can't see a lot of it but it helps to ground the photo. I really love the final effect.

Here's a section of it:

I added a few splashes of red and black paint and scattered a few flowers from the sticker sheet to help balance the page.

You might have noticed the border. It was really easy to make. Here's how:

Step 1
Lay a piece of film strip washi tape on a craft mat.

 Step 2
Run a piece of double sided tape along the centre of the washi and adhere a strip of patterned paper that has been cut to fit between the edges of the film strip.

Step 3
Tear the whole thing down the middle.

Step 4
Adhere it around the edge of the page with the black side to the edge.

Easy peasy!

Bye for now.

Heather