Daydream by Elisa Ablett

Hi everyone,

How awesome is the latest challenge over at Scrap Matrix Shares ! 

Mandalas and Zentangling together look amazing and the entries so far into this month's challenge look fantastic so make sure you head over to check all the inspiration out. 

The challenge is pretty easy this month, just create something with both Mandalas and Zentangling and you can use the challenge graphic as inspiration as well.... easy peasy...

August Mandala Challenge - Scrap Matrix Shares

So, i was lucky enough to be on a craft retreat with Tanya Froud, my awesome buddy recently and we were bouncing ideas off each other all weekend. 

I decided to use my new Tracy Scott Mandala stamp set along with some fussy cut Art by Marlene Collage paper to create my Mandala background on my Scrapbooking page. 

Add some great Zentangling by Tanya Froud and a few wines and we had ourselves a craft collaboration! 

Tanya is a master tangler and has such a steady hand, so I threw my trusty white Posca Pen at her and she went to town on my layout with her freehand designs. 

Here are some of the products used from Scrap Matrix Store with the direct links below- 

  

http://scrapmatrix.com/collage-paper-3/Art by Marlene

http://scrapmatrix.com/primary-elements-mica-powder-10oz/

   

http://scrapmatrix.com/tracy-scott-stamp-ets123/

http://scrapmatrix.com/posca-paint-marker-white-2-5-mm-tip/

Let's take a closer look at the finer details!

I decided to keep my stamped Mandala's black and white and let the collage paper shine with colour. I had a cute little chipboard title which I embossed with Gold embossing powder and added splatters of Gold Mica Powder (watered down) onto my page. 

Layer your fussy cut elements under your photo, alternating the black and white stamped images and the fussy cut coloured collage pieces. Use a simple glue stick on collage paper for a smooth finish!

Add some freehand zentangling to match your other pieces, you can see that Tanya has incorporated dots, scallops, hearts, strings of circles and black and white elements to coordinate with my background.

I was so happy with how this turned out, very unique and different and also holds a small piece of my good friend's awesome 'tangling talent' on my page. 

Thanks for stopping by the blog today, make sure you leave some love.

hugs 

Elisa xx

Allow your Soul to Grow by Elisa Ablett

Hi everyone,

Elisa here from the Scrap Matrix design team with my layout created for the Watercolour and Words challenge. I thought i would share the close ups of the finer details of the layout and a handy step by step tutorial on how i put the layout together.

The main focus of my layout was using the Ayeeda Water Inks from 13 Arts and the versatile 13 Arts - Strength in Numbers Chipboard Sheet.

Here is my finished layout, I love the boho look of the watercolours and flowers so I decided to continue that on with some hand drawn flowers and vines.

Lets have a look at how I used my focus products to create my layout:

Step 1 - I drew a very faint line halfway down the page and then sprayed water onto the bottom half of page tilting the page to let the water run down. Then drip the pink and scarlet Ayeeda ink onto the water letting it pool in the water that you have sprayed on.

Step 2 - Add a couple more colours to your page, you can use a pipette to have more control where your colours end up.

Step 3 - While your page is still wet add 13 Arts Splash Glitter Ink - Pink using the dropper provided.

Step 4- Ink your chosen chipboard Kinder Kreations Zen Leaf Chipboard with a black ink pad and let dry, once dry thread the wire ends of your Green Crystal Stems through the chipboard leaves.

Step 5- to start your flowers ready for fussy cutting - Spray your craft mat liberally with water and then add drops of ink onto the water, grab a piece of white mixed media cardstock and turn it upside down and smooth over the ink. You will end up with a sheet of coloured paper ready for you to stamp on. I did two of these sheets and made one with darker colours and one with more violet and green. Put it them aside to dry. You can also flick water onto the page to create a distressed look like the photo below.

Step 6 - Once your background has dried, grab a black marker and hand draw (or zentangle) (or if you aren't confident in drawing download a free template, or trace a design in)
                                                                                                                                                     

Step 7 - I found an old transparency from Kaisercraft and cut it up to use as a feature piece on my layout then layered German Scrap - renaissance-petite-black trim and German Scrap - ornate-garland-2-black and black /molossi-crystal-lines

Step 8 - Glue down your chipboard pieces and crystal gem and Scrap Matrix metal- leaf-pretty-silver as pictured above, add some stamping and extra crystals.

Step 9 - Now onto the stamping, I used an awesome set of stamps (Paper Artsy -e-tracy-scott-11-a5-set) that are available in the Scrap Matrix store today. I stamped on both sheets of paper that I made with the coloured backgrounds. I then fussy cut all the pieces out.

Step 10 - Glue your photo down along with the green fussy cut border like the photo below.

Step 11 - Layer all your pieces by using 3D foam mounting dots and glue

Step 12 - Using the pink glitter ink from 13 Arts and the dropper provided add small drops to the butterfly as an added feature.

Step 13 - Pick your desired Chipboard and stickers - I used 13 arts 'Small saying's stickers and 13 Arts chipboard. Colour your chipboard with your green watercolour 13 Arts ink and let dry, once dry glue it to your layout. Also add your sticker to your page, i added mine to the side of my photo.

Here are some close ups of the finished layout!

Well that's it from me! 

I hope you have enjoyed the tutorial and seeing how my layout came together.

Don't forget to leave some love and make sure you visit the store either in person or online to say Hi! and check out all the wonderful and unique products.

Hugs

Elisa xx