MIXED MEDIA WALL ART/PERFECT PAINTS

Good morning, friends. HAPPY NEW YEAR! I'm looking forward to inspiring you with new projects this in the upcoming months. Today, I'm sharing how to create a beautiful wall art for your creative space using a variety of Polishing Plaster and Shimmering Matte Acrylics. 

To begin this fun project, I coated a 6x6 mixed media board with White Gesso. I let it dry overnight and then came back to add the purple tape all around the edges to create a nice thick border for my artpiece. Next, I used a palette knife to pile up the Polishing Plaster in the colors of Jack Frost, Organic Sugar, Cayenne, and Gilded Azure. Once my colors were selected, I gently swirled the Polishing Plaster together just so the colors all blended together without turning it muddy.

After I was satisfied with the mixing of the Polishing Plater, I scooped it up using my palette knife and I gently spread the medium to the center of the mixed media board. I removed the tape after applyig the Polishing Plaster, carefully. While the Polishing Plaster was drying, I painted butterflies that I created using metal dies and watercolor paper and painted them with the Bohemian Blue Shimmering Matte Acrylics.

After everything was dry, I glued a gem to the center of the butterfly and then glued the butterfly to the center of the board using strong glue.

I just love how pretty this turned out. Isn't this lovely? I just love how pretty the four Polishing Plaster looks mixed together with the painted butterfly in the Bohemian Blue Shimmering Matte Acrylics. What do you think? I hope you found my first mixed media project of the year inspiring! Thank you for visiting today. Let's make it a great year, creatively!

Nic

FRESH SNOW SNAP PAGE/A CHERRY ON TOP

Hello, friends. Happy New Year! Nicole here with a few 6x8 layouts I created using the beautiful Fresh Snow collection from Simple Stories. Last year, my sister went to Iceland with a few of her friends and I have been itching to create a SNAP album for her! The photos are so amazing and the Fresh Snow collection really compliments the photos!

I used a variety of rub-ons directly on the photos and tag that was cut from the cut-apart sheet. I wanted to keep this spread simple-focusing on the beautiful photos! Can you spy all of the rub-ons? Aren't they beautiful?

Here is a close up of how pretty and nicely the rub-ons look on the photo. I decided to place it along the edge so that the "wonderland" wording did not get cut off. The gloves and snowflakes on the tag are rub-ons, too! Love the quality of these rub-ons...they transfer smoothly!

I created this insert page using the "hello winter" page from the 6x8 paper pad. I mounted it to the brown and white polka dot insert page that comes with the album. Then, I used foam strips to mount the chipboard frame to the center of the paper. Next, I added the Chipboard deer and heart to add dimension.

Here is another simple pocket page I created using more rub-ons and a few snowflake stickers. Look closely and you will see the "hello snow sentiment on the photo of the ice cave. Seriously, I have so much fun playing with rub-ons!

I really wanted to let the photo be the main focus on this page. It's just unreal!!! I framed the photo using a chipboard frame and added a few chipboard elements to fill in the corners, being careful not to cover too much of the photo.

I created a fun flip page by cutting two 4x6 cards together and then I folded the card in half and tucked it in the sleeve. 

For this spread I decided to print two 4x6 photos and place them side-by-side to really showcase the land... I cut the "winter" chipboard phrase down the middle so it would split between the two photos and I added the rub-ons below the chipboard to fill in the white space. These both fit nicely in the 4x6 pocket pages.

Chipboard frames don't always need to be on a page... I matted the chipboard with patterned paper and a photo and punched two holes at the top to create a fun insert for the album. Super simple, and oh so much fun! I did not add any journaling throughout this album because I want my sister to document her trip in her own words.

More photos of the scenery. I really made this album photo heavy because my sister took so many beautiful photos! Be sure to stop by on January 14th for more inspiration using the Fresh Snow collection! I'll be playing with mixed media! Also, visit the Simple Stories Instagram account on January 11th with more inspiration. This album has so many pages and it's absolutely beautiful! Thank you for visiting today!

Nic

DECEMBER CITRUS TWIST PROJECTS

 

Good morning! Hope you had a wonderful Holiday. Today, I'm sharing my layouts I created for Citrus Twist this month. I love each and every one of them...and I think that's because each one includes a story. I really need to get back to journaling more!

The embellishments are so pretty. I clustered several embellishments together to bring this layout to life. The mushrooms are so adorable. I used foam squares to add dimension to them.

For my next spread, I used Edward's 9th grade school picture. Isn't he handsome? I wanted to include a bit of journaling about what he's been doing at this stage of his life. Notice how I used four different patterned papers on this layout? Don't they look great together and the drooping leaves at the top really makes everything pop.

We recently had family photos taken to celebrate my grandmother's 88th birthday! The picture looks beautiful against the floral print paper. I especially love the bird and flowers! Sooooo pretty!

Thank you for visiting today and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Nic