Ombre Inlay (It's Simpler Than It Looks!)

Hello again! 

I have something of an experiment to share with you today. Yesterday I was at a bit of a loose end so I figured I would have a go at an idea I've had for a while... an ombre inlay in a pattern die.

Maybe that sounds over complicated? It's super easy (if a little fiddly), and in the end I came up with this.... 

For this card I used a First Edition repeat pattern die by Trimcraft. I cut it from kraft card. I also cut it from four coloured papers from my scraps box, and (IMPORTANT!!) saved all the little 'bits' from inside the die. I backed the kraft die cut with sticky tape, and then used the little bits to fill in the gaps. I arranged them into an ombre pattern (dark red>red>gold>yellow), with a little of each colour in the next colour (I'm bad at explaining things...) so the transition to one colour to the next was smoother. 

The dragonfly is from a mini die by Dovecraft. I did the same technique as with the pattern - die cut from kraft card and then from coloured scraps, saving the 'bits'. 

The background is some watercolour paper with a DecoArt mister sprayed over it. This was just to test the mister out (Katie kindly sent me a parcel of mixed media goodies last week <3) but it went well with the inlayed die cuts that I used it as a background. I used yellow washi tape around the edge and backed onto orange paper. 

Finally (I'm obsessed with this lately), I cut a length of gold thread and stuck it around the dragonfly, using little gems to cover up the areas where the double sided tape was visible.

Right, off to watch some December Daily videos as I'm thinking about doing it this year. I have a little 6x6" album coming, it was like £1 in the docrafts sale so I thought... why not?!

Thanks for stopping by! 

Emily xx

More Than Words October Challenge

Hi all

Here's my entry for the October More Than Words Challenge. You can find out more and join in here.

Here is the October mood board.

I wanted to do an autumn layout as I've not had much chance to make one so far this year. 

I decided to do an ombre of orange-yellow-green like the colours in my photo and I did this by covering a sheet of 12x12" cardstock with gesso and then used watercolours once the gesso was dry.

I tried to keep the ombre going through my embellishments - these wooden stickers by BasicGrey were perfect and I'm so happy I could finally use them - they've been in my stash for a while now. I painted them in the same colours as my background so they blended in. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

Mixed Media Layout Using Gelatos

Hi all,

I've been playing around with my Gelatos and made a layout using them and some pictures I took on a recent visit to The Deep.
If you haven't been or heard or it, The Deep is an aquarium or 'submarium' as they put it, in Hull.
It's a really cool building, here's a picture I took last time we went.
Basically when you go you get your ticket and it's valid for a whole year so you can go back whenever you want, which is great if you're bored and fancy a drive somewhere (as we often do!)

On our visit this time there were lots of school groups which is fine but slightly alarming when you're taking a picture of some fish, turn around to move on but find yourself surrounded by nine year olds nearly as tall as you! 

Anyway, here's my layout!

I only have the one set of gelatos (so far!), I bought a pack of metallic ones to experiment with and I love them!

With this layout I scribbled the purple, blue and green down the page, overlapping slightly. I then went over with a wash of water, pushing the gelatos across the page, working my way down. 

I placed blank embellishments on the layout to work out where they would be and then coloured them the same colour as the place they would sit on the page.

The circle border is a plain 'kraft' one by Studio Calico, the dots going up are just the middles from the circle border. I coloured them in before sticking down so it would be less messy.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

An update and a brand new layout!

Hi all

Been so busy lately... uni is such a pain in that you get nothing to do for weeks and then the deadlines approach and it's worth making a start so Nathan and I have been doing some photography and filming this week. Luckily I enjoy the photography aspect (most of the time!). Here's a portrait I took of Nathan. (I had to stand on a bench to get a decent angle. I hate being 4'11") Glad he's still wearing the scarf I knitted for him last year! :)

Also when I was shopping with my parents last week I picked up some new supplies, a set of ink pads and a My Mind's Eye chipboard embellishment set from TKMaxx. It's actually a better store for crafts than Hobbycraft because there's always something that little bit different. I couldn't resist the chipboard, especially as it has lots of gold foiling and I do love some sparkle. 

So, I had to have a picture to make a layout using those embellishments (obviously!) so I asked Nathan if he would take a selfie with me.

It's a bit different to what I usually do, more simple, but it works better that way I think. I tried to do an 'ombre' thing with the papers and embellishments to match the background paper... it kind of worked until I added the chipboard but then having a hint of pink at the bottom and a hint of teal at the top balances it out.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx