Crafty Sunday

Hello there! This week I was able to spend some time being crafty and for me that means stained fingers and glitter in my hair. I got some really fun pages completed and was able to play with some of my favorite companies and products.

On Friday, I created my favorite layout from the week. I had been playing around with the idea for this page for awhile but could never find the perfect photo. I was rummaging through some pictures from 2008 and ran across this photo of me with my camera. And then BoBunny came out with this super line called "Mama-razzi" and the colors were perfect, so I knew it was time to create this layout.

The one thing from the BoBunny collection that I didn't purchase were the flowers because I figured I had enough flowers. Well I had a ton of flowers, but none of them were the right color. So I decided to color my own. I absolutely love how they turned out and I want to share the technique. :)

 Materials:  White flowers (Mine are the wildflower mix from Prima), distress inks in multiple shades of the same color, ink blending tool with foam, Perfect Pearls (perfect pearl color), Ranger Mini Mister filled with water, heat gun, Ranger Craft Mat

2. Choose your lightest shade of distress ink. Here I chose Broken China.  Apply the ink to the flower using the ink blending tool. For mine I held the middle of the flower as I inked so that the flower wouldn't tear. Also make sure that you get ink into the crevaces of the flower.

This what the flowers look like with the lightest color on them.

2. Next take your darker shade of distress ink and ink blending tool and swipe the color over the top of the flower. This ink will only reach the raised parts of the petals. Here I am using Faded Jeans Distress Ink.

3. Make your own pearlized mist with a Ranger Mini Mister, Perfect Pearls, and water. I used the clear glitter color called Perfect Pearls on my project.  To make your mist, use a craft stick to scoop some perfect pearls into the mister. Fill the mister 2/3 of the way full with water, screw on the lid, and shake to mix. I glued a pearl on the top of the lid of the mister so I know what is inside it.  I got this tip from one of my favorite artists, Jennifer McGuire. To see more of her tips, visit http://www.jennifermcguireink.typepad.com/.

4. Spray your flowers with the Pearlized Mix. Because of their unique properties, Distress Inks react with water and the colors will bleed together creating a cool muttled look. You could also use Glimmer Mist in the Pearl color for this technique, but I found that the Pearlized Mix works better for me.

5. Dry the flowers with a heat tool. This sets the color and stops it from bleeding anymore. It also speeds up the drying time on te flowers.

This is a close-up of the blue flowers. I used Broken China and Faded Jeans Distress inks  and then spritzed them with the pearlized mix. I totally love the subtle glittery shine they have.

These flowers were created with Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress inks. I also sprayed the pearlized mix over these.

Layer your different sized flowers together on your layout and add a flower center of your choice. The top flower here uses a cardstock sticker with foam adhesive dots behind it and the bottom flower simply has a large gemstone adorning its center.

Bonus Tip

To create these cool multi-colored and layered chipboard letters, I first painted them with the greenish-blue color of acryllic paint. After it dried, I then used a tan color of paint and dabbed it on different areas of the letters using a wadded-up paper towel. Finally I used a paintbrush and some copper-colored glimmer mist to paint on some glimmer color over the areas painted tan. It really gave the letters a unique aged look that added to the overall look of the page.

Well I hope you all are enjoying your holiday weekend. Mine was very busy with a going away party for my brother-in-law who is heading to Iraq this summer. We had over 60 people here and it was a blast!!! :)

Until next time,

Janeen :)