"True Love Stories" ScrapThat! Details & Prima BAP

Hi everyone. We are having a couple rare warm January days here in Ohio. It reached the low 60's yesterday and is expected to reach those temps again today before dropping back to normal freezing temps tomorrow. I don't even mind the accompanying rain.

I wanted to share some of the details from my "True Love Stories" page from the February ScrapThat! kit. I have to admit, as much as I enjoyed creating each of my pages, this was my favorite this month. I was so happy with the dreamy effect of the mixed media background. Originally I was going to do some more textured stenciling over the misted gesso, but in a rare move for me decided less was more this time. ;-)

"True Love Stories"

MK, EAO, FAO

I turned the Prima BAP Sketch for my design inspiration:

Tips and Techniques:

Resin Cherub ~ Aren't the Prima Cherubs in the EAO kit darling? I rubbed distress ink onto the bird, robe, and cheeks to add just a tiny bit of color, then rubbed the wings and hair with some Viva Inka gold rubbing compound. 

Chipboard ~ I painted the leafy chipboard flourish, then inked the edges before using a permanent marker to doodle the leaf veins. 

Fiber ~ I colored a narrow gauze strip from my stash and tucked it around the cluster. 

Prima Darlings ~ The FAO kit contained these gorgeous Prima flowers and I added the sweet glass heart charm from my stash. The centers of my hand crafted roses are also Prima crystals from my stash. 

Butterfly ~ I used the Donna Salazar/Spellbinders Wonderful Wings die to cut this sweet butterfly from a scrap of paper. I lightly inked the edges and added this charm from a package in inexpensive clearanced heart charms I picked up a while back. 

Mixed Media Background ~ This was actually quite easy to accomplish. I spread a thin layer of gesso over the center of the page with a credit card, leaving some grooves and texture. When dry, I came back and misted with Tattered Angels Cork, in some places a bit heavier and in others with a lighter misting. In the heavier areas I also spritzed on just a little water so that when I tapped the page, I got the beautiful little drips. Next to the photos I stamped the vines with a retired Prima Build a Frame stamp. I wanted the vine strips to blend into the background, so used Distress ink, which gives a somewhat distressed and mottled image when used on clear stamps. Hint ~ once the mixed media work is done, the page can be somewhat warped. I find that if I very lightly mist the back with water, place beween paper towels, then lay a large glass mat on top stacked with a pile of heavy books and let it sit over night, it is much flatter the next morning. Also use thin layers of media and dry completely before adding the next layer or you can get major warping that no amount of "pressing" can flatten. 

Extending Your Paper ~ I've mentioned it before, but you can get so much mileage from one sheet of paper. After distressing, I trimmed out only about an inch around the page for the border and used the inside for all my die cut embellishments and handcrafted flowers/leaves. It is much easier to distress the edge of an intact sheet of paper, than trying to distress after it has been trimmed down. (Ask me how I know!!) ;-)

Heart Die Cut ~ This heart piece was trimmed out of one of the hangers from my Spellbinders Elegant Posts Dies. 

Sweet Open Roses ~ The tutorial for these sweet little roses can be found here. I used the crystals rather than the stamen and no gesso. 

Leaves ~ One of my favorite ways to add texture to my clusters is to cut leaves from my paper scraps, fold them down the center and pinch creases where natural veins would lie on them. Then a bit of inking highlights that texture. 

Distressing ~ The mat and photo as well as page edges were distressed with my Donna Salazar/Zutter Distrezz-It-All. You really can use any distressing tool or even the sharp edges of your scissors, but this handy tool gives the thick edges so quickly. 

Heart Flourish ~ These KaiserCraft wood heart flourishes in the EAO kit are so sweet and can be added to a cluster or as photo corners. I painted this one with gesso, stamped with a script image, then lightly inked. 

Title ~ I have a set of love stamps by Cloud 9 that I have used over and over with the wedding and engagement photos I've been scrapping. A simple paper scrap is easily transformed to a beautiful title/sentiment with some embossing powder and a heat tool. The gold embossing really has so much dimension that doesn't quite show up in the photo.

Prima products used to create this page:
Prima Romance Novel ~ Messenger
Prima Romance Novel ~ Harlequin
Prima Shabby Chic Treasures Resin Cherubs #891404
Prima Say it in Crystals #551452
Prima Vintage Trinkets #930042
Prima Flowers Kennedy Vintage #558406
Prima Stamps Build a Frame Collection #1
Prima Stamps Build a Frame Collection #2

Thanks for stopping by! I treasure your comments.

~ Blessings ~