Helen Tilbury's July Post An Inspirational Canvas, a Set of 3 Cards & a Penguin Page!

Hello to you all today!  HELEN back with you  to share my July projects with y'all!

First I made a canvas for myself!  I needed something to take pride

 of place above my workspace {there is a little patch of wall above

 the blinds as my work area is in front of two lovely big windows}.  

Hence the reason why my canvas is a landscape orientation.  

The size is 10 inches high by 14 inches wide.  {approximately 25cm x 35cm).

I used the "Always Follow Your Dreams" title.  

The 2Crafty titles are beautifully balanced & in the very prettiest of fonts.  

They add the perfect touch to every project.  I always prime my chipboard with 

white acrylic paint {you could use gesso - acrylic paint is just cheaper for me!} then

 I painted it with an Adirondak Paint Dabber in Raspberry {a must-have Ranger

 colour} then sprayed over it with some pink mist to give it a sparkly touch.  

I used a card with an inspirational quote on it & around the card I used a giant 11" 

Florabella frame.  I painted it with white acrylic paint then sprinkled it with tiny

 glass beads while the paint was still wet.  I adore the sparkly look this gives.  

I used a plastic vintage doily as a stencil, together with some hard modeling 

paste, that I embossed with white gold embossing powder whilst still wet.

It has an awesome sheen to it in real life!

Around my sentiment & over my frame, in the top left & bottom right hand 

areas only, I clustered numerous flowers & tucked various pieces of 2Crafty 

chipboard leaf designs underneath them, together with some glass pebbles

 from the home decor store & some misted up gauze from the pharmacy!

I used the leafy silhouettes {see far left} which I LOVE because they are just the 

outline of the leaves only.  I also used some leafy twig branches, some Summer

 leaf stems & some Tiny leaf stems.  I also used the Tree with Sparrows, just a 

section of it together with 2 of the sweet little birds, as well as 3 shrubs from a 

couple of Shrub Sets.  I painted up my leaves using some green mica paint for

 shimmer, then on some of them I added some green art glitter whilst still wet. 

 I have a leaf green & a lime shade.  I also used Gold so there are several 

co-ordinating goldy green colours going on & it looks nice & dimensional!

Next up I decided to make a trio of cards.   Very unusual for me as I don't choose cards usually but I've decided I need to  become more versatile as a crafter & create more ''other" projects aside from layouts {for example art journal pages, canvases, cards, etc!}

For my first card {below} I used the Leafy Twig Branches which I painted green 

then embossed with a two-tone white/green embossing powder.  If you are a 

lover of chipboard & altering it then embossing powders are a must.  They're

 a little expensive so I suggest buying them slowly to build up your stocks.  

I also used part of "Tree with Sparrows" in my bottom cluster.  2Crafty has SO MANY 

beautiful leaves, flowers & flourishes that I suggest  you get hold of a selection so you can mix & match them when tucking them into your floral clusters, as I have done this month.

Making Mixed Media cards can be messy so I worked on all 3 at the 

same time to get the most out of my dirty stencils & spatula!

For my 2nd card I used the Dandelions.  They come in a set of 3 & I used just 2 of them.

They are really an IN design at the moment & I love how they look.  I embossed mine

with green embossing powder which I then sponged over with gesso to highlight.

I always use either hot glue {which is very strong & effective but takes control & practice to apply) or Tombow Mono Adhesive (the little white bottle with the green writing) which is a great glue for small items.  It dries clear & is really strong but fast setting so no mistakes!

For my last card I used a heart from the Ornate Heart Set (of 2).

I've used these hearts quite often as I'm crazy about heart symbols

(I have them all over my house!) & these ones are lovely. 

 I embossed this one with a greeny bronze embossing powder.

If you enjoy the mixed media look & want to try it out for yourself you need to start 

adding some extra texture to your projects.  This can be easily achieved by using

 thread (that you just unspool & drop onto your layout/card/etc in a creative bundle!)

 Then use chipboard to ''anchor" it by gluing it on top of it, or, even easier 

& prettier I think, use gauze.  It is so inexpensive & you can buy it in 

pre-cut squares at the pharmacy.  It also mists up really easily 

using your spray mist & water spray to blend & dilute.  

Now onto my final project. 

 It's one I created back in

 February & you can see more of it on my blog HERE.  

I used a combination of 2Crafty swirls & corners to create my photo & cluster mat  for this layout & gesso dabbed the chipboard only before glazing it for a shiny finish. 
 As this page was about my Daughter's obsession with Penguins I kept the colour  palette cool & wintery.  Thanks for looking at my creations today - I hope that I  inspired you in some way to create using 2Crafty Chipboard!   HELEN       And remember, to find a 2Crafty stockist near you, drop an email to...
salesat2crafty@optusnet.com.au