Sunday, August 4, 2013

My August Shares by Nicole Doiron


August already, and time for another DT reveal for the wonderful 2Crafty blog!

Being right in the heart of Summer, I thought it very fitting to make my first project a beach-inspired one.

I don't get to scrapbook yellow and blue very often even though I love those colors. 
And with the risk of sounding vain, I have to say that I love this picture of myself.  I seem so carefree, so happy, so... in love with the photographer (my bf Yves HA!).

 Here you can see I used one of the many beautiful 2Crafty titles "Enjoy This Moment, This Moment Is Your Life" which I dabbed with a little white paint and then added just a touch of light yellow.  I treated all the chipboard pieces (except for the mermaid) pretty much the same way.


And of course, you know that I can't help sharing a close-up of the blooms :)

How about these gorgeous Cog Nested Frames?  I love them, and there are so many in a pack that I have lots left over for other projects.
  

A smaller Cog Frame
  

I also used some of the Skeleton Leaves which I love so much that I ordered some more for the rest of my DT term with 2Crafty.

They come in different sizes and look wonderful tucked behind any flower cluster, no matter the style of your layout.

And now for the main focus of my layout...  the Mermaid!

You can't really tell because of the amount of products I ended up using on my mermaid, but I first covered it with layers of the same blue ribbon bordering my page.  I then dabbed the ribbon-covered chipboard with gesso, blue stain, then a thick coat of Glossy Accents.  Then I sprinkled a little glitter on top and added some white paint to give it a foamy look as if she just dove out of the ocean.


Hope you will try out these techniques too.

My first project was inspired by the ocean, this 2nd one digs deep into the earth as I played around with different metallic finishes.

I went all gold, silver and COPPER with this altered grunge-style frame using a beautiful quote from the Graphic 45 Kraft Reflections collection.  The frame is a wooden frame I bought at my local dollar store.  I started by painting it black, then I added some clear crackle paint.  I then improvised with different paints and inks until I found the right combination of alcohol ink, Liquid Pearls and distress stains.

The Penny Farthing piece was a favorite of mine the first time I saw it.   I was saving it preciously for the perfect project.


With the grunge look being so popular these days, you have to add these chipboard Gears to your stock.


Now a close look at the blooms that I also distressed with a metallic finish.

This is the gorgeous Swirly Bird Branch - I cut off the bird to save it for later of course!  You can also see that I used up the last of my Chicken Wire Panel.

And a final look at that inspirational quote!

My 3rd share is this very monochromatic layout inspired by 2 different July challenges.  You can find out more about these challenges HERE on my blog.


Some of the products I used are 13arts' All is Love collection, loads of Prima blooms and pearls, assorted metal trinkets and, of course, 2Crafty chipboard.


Just as much as I am in love with this picture of Yves and I (and with Yves himself of course), I love the way this layout turned out.  I tried and tried to take the perfect picture of it (more than a dozen takes, I swear!) so that the colors would all come out as close to reality as possible but it's still not 100%.


I used the Key to my Heart title (above) and one of the intricate keys (below) from the Vintage Keys set.  All chipboard pieces were covered with white gesso, minty green Liquid Pearls which I also dabbed all over my background papers.



 I put a heavy coat of molding paste on the 2Crafty 1" Hexagon shapes using a sponge dabber to give them texture, then followed with the same gesso / liquid pearls treatment.  In the image below, you can also see the beatiful Corner Geneive pieces which I used in the 2 opposite corners of my picture frame.

 


Hexagons layered with more hexagons cut out of the 2Crafty Chicken Wire Panel!  I love it!


Very pretty blooms dabbed with gesso and liquid pearls.


One last look...
And there you have it, my August 2Crafty inspirations!  I already can't wait for my September reveal!  In the meantime, you can visit my blog, Scrap-Utopia, to see more of my creations!
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