Bellissima!

Those of you who know me or who have followed my story - I have been living in Italy for the past 17+ months while still managing Wild About Scrap with help in Australia for the hands-on stuff.  During this time I have not seen one scrappy piece of anything except what I see through the Internet - thank-you Facebook & Blogger!!!  Finally I cracked....last winter was TERRIBLE - wet and cold and I did nothing except read, sleep and eat....this winter I decided would be different....and it is!  It's sunny and warm to start with and last week I received what I've called my "care package" from the lovely Bridget who is helping me with the store.  So, for my very first creation in over 18 months, I'd like to show you one where I have both used a subject foreign to me (a baby), plus products and techniques I haven't used before....I never said I did anything the easy way. :)

For those of you wondering, NO I have not got a secret love-child over here!  :)  I have "borrowed" this sweet baby for this layout.  This is the 2 month old niece of a friend of mine.  When I was trying to explain what I do with the products, I was asked to make something, so I did!  It's a surprise gift so hopefully it'll be liked.

ALL products used in the layout came from Wild About Scrap and if you would like to try something similar, you can find it all there.  This is a list of what was used:

• BoBunny - Little Miss cardstock - 3 different sheets & combo sticker sheet
• Zutter - Donna Salazar - Corrugated Board
• The Crafter's Workshop - 12x12 Mask - Paint Lids
• Ranger - Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Brushed Corduroy
• Ranger - Acrylic Paint Dabbers - Mountain Rose & Espresso
• Tattered Angels - Glimmer Mist - Tokyo & Blarney
• Graphic 45 - Staples - Keys
• Tim Holtz - idea-Ology - Paper String
• Tim Holtz - idea-Ology - Swivel Clasps
• Prima - Velvet Rainbow Flowers - Vintage
• Prima - Printery - Coventry Rose 1.25"
• Want 2 Scrap - Pearls - LeCreme
• Want 2 Scrap - Swirls Finesse - LeCreme Pearls

OK, so in reality I didn't have the Zutter Corrugated Board, but I improvised by cutting up one of the Express Post boxes in which I received all my goodies :)

Step by Step how this was created:

• Select and roughly decide on the layering of the pattern papers.  This also gave me an indication of how large I needed to make the backing corrugated board and how large I needed to cut the papers.

 

• Trim corrugated board to approximately 12"x12" and do some roughing up of the board to make it look a bit grungy and old.  In sections I tore off the top layer of card and with my fingernails and paper distresser ran around the edges a bit trying to make it look less new and perfect looking. 
• Lay the Paint Lids Stencil over the corrugated board and with the 2 different Ranger Acrylic Paint Dabbers selectively paint over the stencil. In some places I dabbed a bit of the of the alternate colour on top of the original colour.
• Rub over some of the torn sections of the corrugated board with the paint dabbers.  Remember that the centre of the board is going to be totally covered so there's no need to decorate here, only around the edges.

 

• Using the 2 different Glimmer Mist sprays, spray selective sections on the board...in some places overlap the colours to achieve a different look.
• Trim the 3 different Pattern Papers to desired size.  Distress using a Tim Holtz Distress Tool or similar and ink with the Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad. 
• I then re-ran the Distress Tool around the edges to soften the distress colour (having decided it was too dark!).  Plus further distress using fingers by tearing some sections and ripping some of the corners. 
• Spray sections with the 2 different Glimmer Mist sprays, again overlapping the colours in some sections.

 

• Add the photo.
• Using the Tim Holtz idea-Ology Paper String, cut 2 strips of equal length, long enough to run across the entire layout and fold around the back.  Add as shown and fix to the back using small pieces of wonder tape.  Before the layout is affixed to the board it will seem to not sit flat, but once affixed it's fine.

 

 

 

• Affix the layout to the backing corrugated board.
• Add the "You are beautiful" sticker.
• Affix half a strip of Want 2 Scrap Finesse Swirls.  These strips are self-adhesive and come as a full strip so it's just a matter of deciding where to put it and placing it on the right spot.

 

• Now comes the hardest part for me - always difficult - adding the flowers!  Hard because the objective is not to overwhelm the photo, but to enhance....it's so easy to go overboard.   This literally took me longer than the entire rest of the layout put together.  However, using 2 different flower sizes I think it adds a nice feature without overwhelming the photo in the middle.
• Pierce 2 holes at the top for the hanger - I used Paper String, however you could easily use ribbon or other cord...as the layout isn't very heavy the Paper String seems to be OK.
• Using a small idea-Ology Swivel Clasp attach a key to the hanger.
• Add the title "bellissima" (Italian for beautiful) - sorry, but you'll get a mixture of Italian and English on my layouts now!
• Sit back and admire your work!!!  And wonder how you managed to make such a mess in such a short time... :)

I hope you enjoyed my return to the world of scrapping!!!  I have heaps more ideas so hopefully you'll see me back here soon...

 

Veronica