Break it down with Quirky

Hi there!

Have you been following Shimmelle's class on UKS? I have been, but going at my own snail's pace and have managed to complete the first class a mere 2 weeks late!

And of course I used my Candy Floss Cart Quirky Kit to play along...

Starting with the Kesiart anti cyclone over the grey cardstock I spritzed over the mist using a sunburst mask to help bring the PPs together and because I felt the rays needed a little more definition I lightly sketched over the borders with a black pen. I used another mask with black ink to give more contrast where I knew I wanted the embellishments to go, using spatters and a touch of doodling for extra detail. I made a banner with the wide pink ribbon and put this behind the vellum photo mat. the circles are punched from kesiart fete, and stapled together with a few sequins, perfect perls and some of the cork stickers to further embellish. A few more dew drops, circles and punched file tabs later and we are good to go!

Why don't you head on over to Shimelle's break it down and see what you can create with your kit? I would love to see what you come up with!

see you soon!

Nikki :)

Hi there!

So glad to be sharing a layout with you today! The main kit is lots of fun to play with and I love all those misting ideas Leo shared yesterday, I wonder how many of them you can incorporate into your layouts?

I used a few techniques for this layout which I'll explain after you've had a look...

OK, so the first technique with the turquoise mist was just plain ol' misting...the nozzle gives a lovely fine spray unlike some other misting products out there. I dabbed off the ink with paper towel straight after applying to the card to stop the colour from being too intense.

The second technique with my own darker blue mist was to apply a small amount of ink directly to the card and then use a large acrylic block to kind of smoosh it around randomly, I especially like how it shows up the texture of the background paper. I recommend you practice this first though just to see how much ink you want to apply, a little can go a long way, and don't forget your kitchen roll! I also used this ink to make a few splodges (technique 3!)

Technique four was to spray both inks lightly onto the organza ribbon provided with the kit to help it tone in with the beachy coloured theme of my page.

Want to take a closer look? Here you go...

Aren't those transparent alphas just divine? Perfect for this page :) You will be seeing lots of sunny pictures from me in the next few weeks, everytime the sun comes out so does my camera! Any questions about this page? Ask away...

Until next time,

Nikki xxx

The rest of the paper

As I said on my last post, I wanted to use the other side of that lovely spotted paper so I carefully cut out an 8" square from the back which I knew would be covered by cardstock and so was able to use it on this one. The green was just a fabulous match for the green of the grass

I had begun to arrange the papers on the layout but it just didn't seem right. Then I thought "I wonder if some gesso would help?" So I sploshed a thin layer on the papers and somehow it gave a lighter tone and the unity that I had been looking for.  A strip of the ribbon and some of the vellum paper added to the airy feel.

Then it was a case of chopping and layering until I was reasonably happy. You may notice that the spotty side of the paper features as well. Lets just say that the cutting out of the middle was not as straight as it could have been... but it did lead to these little strips. I saw that idea on a scrap video and I have searched for that and can't find it so you'll have to take my word for it... and thanks mystery inspirer!

I added a few drops of mist and some washi tapes (including one from last months kit) that suited the colours of the layout perfectly. And aren't those feathers just so cute?

I wanted two different fonts and found these letter stickers from a past Quirky kit - Footnote. And as I didn't want a repeat of last time I tried to get the see through stickers straight I decided to go for the deliberately wonky effect!

As per usual I ended up with a few spots and dots - the sequins from the kit and the larger dots are made using Beads in a Bottle left to dry on acetate overnight

Ways to use your Kesi'art colour mist

This months main kit 'Candy Floss Cart' has a bottle of Kesi-art colour mist to play with so I've done a quick demo of different ways you can use it on your projects.

 

Here are all the effects I covered in the video in more detail:

 

 

Hope it's given you some ideas to try out with your mist.

x Leo

Quirky Life Kits

If you've seen the questionnaire on the shop website you'll already know I'm working on a new Quirky Kit to compliment the 'Project Life' scrapping style. The new kit will be 'Quirky Life' and the first trial kit will be available to purchase around the end of next week. I'm also working on a special page on the website where you'll be able to purchase Project Life essentials to add to your kit like pocket page protectors, basic grid cards and albums. The Quirky Life kits will fully co-ordinate with the current main kit and lite kit so you can mix and match the kits together. They'll also be inspirational ideas using the kit right here on the blog. The first kit is coming together and I've arrange a little sneak peek to share today. This is only a small portion of what's coming up in the kit but you can get a feel for it already :)

 

The kit will be based around the 3x4 and 4x6 card basic sizes and include a selection of embellishments especially selected for scrapping at this size and of course will have the feel of the regular Quirky Kits. I'll keep you updated when kits are available to order.

x Leo

Going a bit dotty

I was positively giddy when I realised just how well the papers in the kit this month matched the photo that I wanted to scrap.

 The pink photo mat? Exactly the same colour as the cup that the icecream is in. The greeny yellow paper reflects the  colour of the little plastic spoon and the grey cardstock and paper - a wonderful match to the icecream. Yup, it is not a photo printing failure, the icecream really was that shade... Something that needed to be scrapped and so it made my heart very happy that the kit set it off so well. I am beginning to think Leo's powers extend beyond good taste to something psychic!

There are also a lot of dots and sprinkles going on. Feel free to yawn and say "boring" as almost all my layouts have dots and sprinkles at the moment but do you know what? I like them and I don't care if my layouts are obviously going to scream Summer 2013. That's just what I enjoy right now. (Plus a lot of them were in the kit so the boss obviously agrees!)

The big shiny spots are the glassine envelope

confession time: I had torn mine open in the excitement of getting to the contents and so had to think of a way to use it, as it features in the embellishment list. So I die cut circles from what was left (!). Initially I painted the glitter paste on and stuck it face down with the idea that the glitter would shine through. But it didn't so I had to carefully peel them off and turn them over.

I loved that spotted background paper but I also loved the other side so carefully gutted it. You will see the rest on my next layout. I covered it with some of the grey cardstock. Everything has been inked with Pumice Stone distress ink. The green/yellow paper strip was stuck down and some of the grey ribbon was glued on top. The word "elephant" was die cut from some of the grey patterned paper. I was initially going to stick the Amy Tangerine letters direct to the page but they got a bit lost so I mounted each one on some of the spare grey cardstock and stuck them on using foam pads.

All that was left was to add the journalling and lots more dots. The sequins are from the kit, as are the glass beads. I also added on some of my Liquid Pearl "blobs".

And another important holiday story is documented

May/June Pinterest Pointers

I've been tottering around the internet and Pinterest again looking out for inspiration for you. This month I've been looking out for ombre and watercolour looks. Hopefully there's something here to kick start a few ideas for you. I know once I get going looking for pins I straight after want to get the paper out and start to scrap! :) Check out this months' board so far. I'll add more to it through the rest of month too, http://pinterest.com/craftytemplates/candy-floss-cart-and-ice-cream-stall-mayjune-2013-/

x Leo