Turning 50 ~ Donna Salazar Sketch Challenge

I had a lovely outing with my husband this afternoon. Last winter he bought a convertible that he calls his "mid-life crisis" car. :-) It was a wonderful day for a drive. I even got to do a little shopping at the new Michaels that just opened up. How nice to have one a mere 30 minutes away. I hope you are having a lovely weekend as well. 

Back in June we had a birthday for my sister, celebrating 50 years. This shot of her with our nieces is so sweet. My sister is such a blessing to me. She is such a strong woman whom I admire so much. 

I used the Donna Salazar August challenge sketch by the talented Mistra with lots of Donna's amazing products. These Donna Salazar papers were so perfect to pick up the colors in the photo.

Mistra's gorgeous sketch:

I included a butterfly on this layout to participate in the "Wings" Challenge over at Berry71Bleu. Such a lovely site!! This is my first time entering one of their challenges. 

Techniques:

Handcrafted Flowers ~ For the larger focal flower, I used the DSD Grand Peony Die and for the medium roses, small roses, and leaves I used her Rose Creation Dies. I used one of Donna's favorite adhesives, Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear Glue on each of the petals and while wet dipped the flowers into diamond dust for lots of sparkle. 

Crystal Flourishes ~ all of the flourishes on my page were cut from a single Zva flourish. One flourish can go a long way if you are willing to cut it apart. I still have the butterfly portion with a trail left for yet another project. 

Painted, Misted paper ~ I dry brushed nearly everything on this page with some antique white acrylic paint. The circle behind my flower cluster had a lovely light grey flower design on it. I proceded to write my journaling there. To make a long story short, it didn't work. I painted over the journaling and it took about 8 or 10 layers before it stopped showing through. I then inked over the paint, and that wasn't working for me either. So not one to give up, I started misting. The paint acts kind of like a resist, so the mist settled into the paint brush marks. I just kept spritzing different colors until I got a color combo that worked. I had a pitiful sopping piece of paper on my hands. I kind of liked the look, but was sure the paper was ruined by this point. I let it dry over night, and it was dry by morning, but oh so wrinkly. I spritzed it lightly on the back put it between some paper towels with several heavy books on top. The result was a perfectly flat circle with color and texture that was perfect for my page. Yay!! I just adore happy accidents. 

Corrugated Board Liner Butterfly ~ I mentioned in a previous post that when I use Donna's corrugated board to die cut my corrugated butterflies, it comes off in one neat piece. Oh yes, I've been saving these gems, and here is one all dressed up. I inked the rough side of the paper with several shades of distress ink, until I achieved a color that coordinated with my page, then coated it with a thick layer of Ranger Clear Rock Candy Distress Paint and set it aside to dry. To add a bit more dimension, I rubbed more ink into the fabulous cracks that appeared when the paint dried. I curled it over a paint brush and added some extra flourish gems to the body along with flower stamen antennae. My good friend, Juliana Michaels, tried out my corrugated butterflies and added the crackle paint. Her creative approach  gave me the idea to try the crackle out here. 

Stamping ~ I wanted just a little more visual texture and weight next to my butterfly, so used Donna's Lace Corner Stamp here. 

Distrezzing ~ I distressed all the straight edges with my Distrezz-It-All. It's even is even a breeze to Distrezz corrugated board in seconds. 

Hand Stitching ~ I penciled in swirled lines, then punched holes for my hand stitching. This time with 2 strands of DMC floss for the swirled lines and 4 strands for the straight lines. 

Ripped Edge ~ I've seen and admired these ripped edges tucked with embellies for years, but had never tried it myself until now. I tucked one of my handcrafted roses into the opening. The back of the paper clashed with my layout, so I dry brushed it with some antique white paint. 

Stickle Accents ~ It's hard to see in the photos but the two vertical mats have sweet flourishes that I painted with Crystal Stickles for a lovely shimmer that's oh so girlie in person.

Rhinestone Accents ~ I had a couple little segments of my flourish left over and pulled the tiny rhinestones off to add them to the center of my lace scallops on the left. I used larger rhinestones from my stash to embellish the other lace piece. 

Donna Salazar Products:

Spring in Bloom:

     Spring Blooms

     Pretty in Purple

     Spring Sky

Botanique:

     Magical

     Cards

     Bliss

Corrugated Board 

Smooch Spritz:

     Sea Breeze

     Mixed Berries

Spellbinders Dies:

     Rose Creations

     Grand Peony

Lace Corner Stamp

Distrezz-It-All

DSD Compatible Products:

Smooch Spritz:

     Cherry Ice

     Frosted Grape

     Silver Foil

Want 2 Scrap Say It With Bling

Other Products:

Embellishments:

Zva Creative Crystal Flourish Fancy Butterfly - Lavender and Grape

Paper Doilies - Stash

Crochet Doily - Stash

Lace - two pieces - Stash

Creative Charms - Vintage Brads

Prima Alphabet Stickers - Craftsman #559113

Technique Products:

DMC Floss #316 and #931

Floral Stamens - Stash

Making Memories Acrylic Paint - manila

DecoArt Crafter's Acrylic - Antique White; Light Antique White

Ranger Distress Crackle Paint - Clear Rock Candy

Ranger Stickles - Crystal

Distress Ink - Vintage Photo; Stormy Sky; Dusty Concord

Twinklets Diamond Dust

Rhinestones - Stash

Adhesives:

Scotch ATG

Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents

Darice Foam Strips

Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear Glue

Tools: 

Tim Holtz Movers and Shapers - Mini Butterflies and Base Tray

Martha Stewart Doily Lace Punch

Martha Stewart Circle Cutter - large

Fiskars Craft Knife and Self-healing Mat

Prima Distress Tool

Bazzil In Stitch'z Mat and Piercing Tool

Punch Bunch Tool Set

Tim Holtz Craft Mat

I have also entered this at Word Art Wednesday Challenge #42 Joy or an encouraging sentiment. 

Thanks for stopping by! I treasure your comments.

~ Blessings ~