December inspiration by Marianne Johansson, Norway

'Sisters are attached @ the heart'

Hi and a Merry Christmas to you all.

Hope you all are having a good time, enjoying the holiday with family and friends

Today I have two layouts to share with you, both from our trip to London earlier this year.

I knew that I had to have this gorgeous chippie title, as I had a lot of photos of the girls together.

All the chippies are colored with archival ink in a "blue'ish" colortone

The "Elegant hearts" were perfect for this layout with my two daughters and I used some of the "Floral Branch" attached to the heart. And added a few flowers as well.

I also used bits of the Fiddlesticks chippie underneath the photo and also some bits of 

the Floral Branch. Almost looked like fence.

And as the photo is taken outside Buckingham Palace in one of the parks, 

it matched my photos perfectly!

I used gesso and stencils on the background.

2Crafty Chipboards used:

Sisters are attached @ the heart

Elegant Hearts

Fiddlesticks panel

Floral Branch

  

  

'Cool'

Another layout from our trip to London.

Walking around I suddenly saw this awesome cool little car caught my eye. 

I just had to photograph it, isn't it sweet?

In this layout I wanted it to be just fun and simple, so I only used some ink and chippies

Handwritten London with black India Ink underneath the rings from the Circular Panel.

All the chippies are colored with black archival ink.

I absolutely fell in love with the funky arrows, aren't they cool?

I also used the chippie "cool" as a stencil here, where only the word "cool" 

were colored on my kraft-paper.

  

2Crafty Chipboards used:

Circular Panel

Word Bubbles

Arrows Funky

  

Please remember to become a blog follower & leave a blog comment to

be eligible to go in our monthly draw for a great chippie prize pack.

Three New Layouts from Helen!

Hello everyone!  Happy New Year from me, Helen. I have a few new layouts that I am excited to share with you today!   "My Sunshine"

This first one is a masculine layout & I have used quite a number of 2Crafty Chipboard pieces on it, including the title - My Sunshine - which you can find in the Words/Phrases section of the store.  

Chipboard pieces used :-

My Sunshine Title

Chicken Wire Panel

Squiggly Heart Cluster

French Lace Border

I also used the Squiggly Heart Cluster, which is DEFINITELY one of my favourite 2Crafty pieces!  

I cut it into 2 "squiggles" to make it even more versatile & I simply pushed the pieces

 into my big black archival ink pad to colour them black.  

I used part of the French Lace border too. 

 I flicked some watered down gesso onto my black chipboard for an artsy touch.

 These borders come in 12 inch strips & I only used 2 inches here so I have plenty left over for future.

To recolour my chicken wire panels I used metallic inks called Izinks, that are made by Aladine in France, but sold in the US.  I bought them online & they were a bit of an expense but their shine is amazing & the little dropper bottles go a long way, especially if you dip a fine paintbrush into them to apply.

The Chicken Wire Panel comes in a 6 inch square & can be cut into several pieces, as desired, 

So again it is very versatile & economical & I have at least half of it left for future projects.

My advice is to not to cut the chicken wire straight across but to cut it randomly for a more natural look.  

To adhere my chipboard I always use Tombo Mono Blue (the little white bottle with the green lid)

 as it dries clear & quickly & is really strong.  

"Sisters Are Attached at The Heart"

Next up I have totally the opposite! Instead of a masculine layout in neutral colours I have a feminine layout in girly colours!!  Well I am blessed with 4 children, 2 girls & 2 boys, so I have had to learn how to mix it up!

I wanted to use a nice big, ornate heart so I took the Sammi's Swirls & placed them face to face in order to make my own!  I used Ingvild Bolme inks to recolour the chibpoard pieces in shades of pinks & purples then I sponged over some areas with white acrylic paint to soften the effect.  

I repeated exactly the same process with the "Sisters are Attached" title, 

which can be found in the Words/Phrases section of the store. 

Chipboard pieces used :-

Sammi's Swirls x 2

Sisters are Attached Title

I just love the fine cuts & delicacy of the 2 Crafty Chipboard pieces.  

I always use a set-square & a ruler when I am attaching the lovely long titles

 from 2 Crafty, just to ensure that everything stays relatively straight!

I hope I have inspired you today to think about your chipboard pieces in different ways.  Swirls can make hearts~!  Clusters can be cut into separate pieces!!  With chipboard there are so many possibilities!!!

"Beautiful Life"

My last layout is one I did for Scrap Around The World this month.  I used the lovely Sharon's Butterflies, that come in a pack of 8, so I have 6 left as I just used 2.  I didn't recolour them at all, just used them raw, which I also think is a great look when appropriate. 

I also used the 5 inch sheet of Chicken Barbed Wire Small, & again I didn't recolour it at all, 

just left it raw.  I cut it into 2 pieces & still have plenty left over.  

 Chipboard Pieces Used :-

Sharon's butterflies x 2

Chicken Barbed Wire {small}

Something I often do is use chipboard to anchor strings or threads beneath it,

 as I have done here, above.  

Often just a small touch is all that is needed to give your clusters some depth & texture.  

Layer your chipboard over some pieces, ie stickers {as they are nice & flat} but under other elements,  such as your photo, which you can pop up on some foam tape, for a little dimension & 'pop'.

Thanks for visiting today & remember,

 to find your nearest 2Crafty stockist, simply email salesat2Crafty@optusnet.com.au

See you all again next month!  Helen