M for......

I created this page from my August Kreatorville kit mainly because I knew we were focusing on painting techniques this month, but also because on regular occasions I just want to go all "art-journal" on my pages. This came together really quickly and was absolutely freeing and soooo much fun to do!!

I used the b-side of the Collage Press paper in the kit as my background. It was perfect because although it was plain, it was also already 'grunged up'. (I tried to upload a picture of the paper to show you, but Collage Press have got copyright protection stuff turned on, so I'll direct you to this link instead).

Firstly, to create the frame for the photo I laid down the cover sheet from the Girl's Paperie Sticker Book directly onto my background paper and traced around the inside of the window shape. Then I just drew a simple scallop frame around it.

I also traced the same shape onto the red Sassafras Paper and cut it out slightly inside the lines. I stuck that down on my page before mounting my photo onto it.

Without any pre-planning, and without any rough drafts I simply got my black calligraphy pen and started doodling fun shapes. That's why my birds are a little wonky!! Sure, I could have used some kind of template, or drawn it in pencil first until I was happy with it, but I liked the risk of just going with the flow. It's quicker and easier, and gives a more 'arty' feel rather than a perfected painting.

Then I got out my water-colours and painted away. Again, the trick here was not to be too perfect or precise but simply slap on some colour! Once it was dry I did some free-motion sewing to add dimension, and highlighted with a white gel pen.

To incorporate more of the kit contents onto my page I added a lot of the embellishments from The Girl's Paperie - such as that banner, the compass', the bird and the arrows around the photo. And as Keandra pointed out on the Kreatorville blog, I love how you can barely tell where the paintings finish and the pre-made embellishments begin.

So what do you think? Too messy and distorted? Or arty and lovely? I have to admit that I waver between the two opinions myself, but at the end of the day I really enjoyed the process of this page and would do it again in a heart-beat.

Kreatorville Week (+1) Day Eight

So this is the last installment of Kreatorville Week. This is in fact, the +1. Thank you for indulging me and taking the journey along with me. 

But before it's officially over, let me share the June kit with you. 

Pretty papers in lots of happy colours.  

TWO Collage Press die-cut papers.  

Lots and lots of banners. Yay!! 

And a truck load of other goodies. Not to mention the handmade title and embellishment.  

I really wanted to do the June sketch with the June kit (not that it's a requisite, but it made sense in my head!) so I turned it on it's side so the stripes ran horizontally and interpreted them as paper strips, which is my current go-to technique in case you haven't noticed *lol* And I used a few of the Sassafrass banners across it too.

I used the b-side of the Collage Press paper (the first one on the left in the photo) as my background, and I misted over some 1" circles scattered randomly across it. I did that with the thought that I was going to use one of the Kreatorville tags on this page and so it would tie in with the spots on the tag. But that didn't end up happening. Never mind! 

 

I put a frame around my centre photo to represent the circle embellishment in the middle of the sketch. And then I stitched on my journalling, and attached a couple of buttons for a bit more dimension. 

The only other layout I've managed to do so far had to be with one of the die-cuts (I've got plans for the other one - they just haven't manifested on paper yet!)

I'm not brave enough to just do a layout on a die-cut and leave it alone. I'm stuck in the mindset that my layouts need to be square so I had to layer this pretty green circle die-cut on top of the b-side of one of the Jillibean Soup papers and sew it on. I misted the background first with the Spritz to get the sunburst pattern.

I am in love with that pretty Webster's bloomers that came in the kit, but that is one embellishment I couldn't bring myself to use all in one hit so I cut it up and only used a couple of pieces on this page. But I think it's enough to make a pop of colour and texture without overwhelming it.

The title "The Big Q's" comes from the journaling on this one which is about the day Munchy asked me who she was going to marry. I mean the girl is all of 3 years old and she's concerned about her future prospects! But meanwhile look how lovely and shiny those honey Thickers are! And yes, I stuck a million tiny pieces of red paper behind the holes in the scalloped edge. It's sometimes the little details........

Ok, and that's all folks. Well, for the time being anyway. There will certainly be more pages and projects from this kit, I just haven't had the time yet :-) Thanks for all your kind comments along the way. I've certainly appreciated every single one of them.

Today is the last chance to enter a comment to win the Kreatorville prize. You can comment on this post and/or all of the last 7 Kreatorville posts to go into the draw. I'll leave it open for another 24 hours before I choose a winner.

And never fear, even though Kreatorville Week is finished for now, it's only a little while longer until the July kit is revealed so you'll be seeing many more Kreatorville layouts from me in the future. And in the meantime don't forget about the crazy deal Keandra's got going to get some of the past kits for half price! That way you can start playing with all the kit goodness for yourself. I would love to know if you do end up getting any kits, or if you make any layouts inspired by this week. Link me up!

And stay tuned on my blog because I've now got a bit of a back-log of projects and surprises and Guest DT posts coming up in July.

:-)