"Wedding Flowers" Mixed Media Layout for Helmar and Leaky Shed Studio

I've been a crafter since I was a young girl. So although I had not done much with flower arranging, I was game when Elizabeth asked me to create the bouquets for her and her bridesmaids. The wedding photographer captured them so beautifully.

I've used some of my favorite products to create this layout from the Leaky Shed Studio Chipboard and Helmar Adhesives to the gorgeous 7 Dots Studio Nature Walk paper collection.

"Wedding Flowers"

Tips and Techniques

Stop by the Helmar Blog to check out the details on how I use Zap Dots to raise my photos so that I can tuck flowers, chipboard, and other elements under and around my photos.

I've added texture to the Leaky Shed Studio Fern Flourish by dabbing with extra heavy gesso, then painting. 

The dragonfly wings are painted with metallic paint, then dusted with Donna Salazar's Clearsnap Twinkle Dust Glitter in Mixed Berries. The body was covered with Helmar 450 and sprinkled with silver microbeads. I've used Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to adhere these gorgeous chipboard pieces to the layout.

The flowers, chicken wire and metal leaves are adhered to the mixed media background with Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive. 

As you can see here the flowers are positioned on different levels and layers. To place them properly I've used Liquid Scrap Dots to lift and arrange them where needed.

Here's a shot of the smaller cluster. The purple on the background was created with Pan Pastels and spritzed with Helmar Crystal Kote Fixative spray. I've also stamped randomly with Mix'd Media Inx.

Helmar Products

Zapdots ~ 1/2" Square, white

450 Quick Dry Adheseve

Premium Craft Glue

Liquid Scrap Dots

Crystal Kote Fixative spray
Paint/Glue Spreader

Leaky Shed Studio Products
Fern Flourish
Spring Dragonfly

Other Products
7 Dots Studio Nature Walk - Cotton, Musical Blooms
MME ~ Lost and Found - Record It Antique Alpha and Word Stickers
Metal Leaves ~ Etsy
Chicken Wire - white
Lace - stash
Petaloo ~ Canterbury Collection Rose Blossoms - white
Prima ~ Troika - white
Prima ~ Parisa Mayfair Mix
Prima ~ Wildflowers Pillar Pack - white
Wild Orchid Crafts ~ Sweetheart Blossoms - white
Wild Orchid Crafts ~ Cottage Roses 25mm, mixed purple/lilac
Wild Orchid Crafts ~ Cherry Blossoms - white
Clearsnap by Donna Salazar ~ Mix'd Media Inx - Sparrow, Midnight
Ranger ~ Distress Ink - Dusty Concord
Pan Pastels
Liquitex ~ Extra Thick Gesso
Liquitex ~ Gesso
Golden ~ Soft Gel, Matte
Golden ~ Light Molding Paste
Clearsnap by Donna Salazar ~ Twinkle Dust Glitter, Mixed Berries
Beadies ~ Microbeads, silver
Art Gone Wild by Donna Salazar ~ Vine
Close to My Heart ~ Distressed Backgrounds
Glitz ~ Distressing
Stampers Anonymous ~ Seamless Experience
TCW ~ 6 x 6" Mini Art Is ... Stencil

Thanks for stopping by! I treasure your comments.

~ Blessings ~

Faith Hope Love Layout for Leaky Shed Studio and Guest Designing for SEM

I'm so honored to have been asked to guest design for
Scrapping Everyday Miracles this month.

SEM has three challenges this month to choose from.
#1 Theme Challenge - Faith, Hope, Love (One or more of these)
#2 Card Sketch Challenge
#3 Layout Sketch Challenge

For all the details, stop by the SEM blog.

I've combined the theme and layout sketch challenges for my page
and feature beautiful Leaky Shed Studio Chipboard.

Weddings are such special days. Those of you who follow my blog know that Elizabeth and Andrew's relationship is centered around a love for our Lord. When I see this photo of the two of them, I sense that they looking forward to a life of  . . . 

Faith . . . Hope . . . Love

I flipped the SEM sketch as shown.

Tips and Techniques

The photo is framed with large Clock #2. I created texture with extra thick gesso that I tamped with a stencil brush. Once dry I painted with metallic gold paint. The sentiment is cut from coordinating paper using a Cameo Silhouette file.

I clustered with flowers, Prima heart gears, bling, and die cut leaves. I've also added some stamping and stenciled molding paste to the background.

The Leaky Shed Studio Butterfly on Garden Spring fits this background design on the gorgeous BoBunny paper so perfectly!!

I heat embossed the flourish with red and green Fran-tage Embossing powder, then embellished with self-adhesive pearls.

The Leaky Shed Studio Heart Key and Fancy Keyhole represent how these two hold the key to the other's heart. A simply coat of gold metallic paint gives them an easy gilded finish.

I fussy cut these pieces from coordinating paper to created this layered medallion. The layout edges are distressed and the bottom corner has some machine stitching.

Leaky Shed Studio Products

Butterfly on Garden Sprig

Clock #2 ~ Large

Heart Key

Key Hole Fancy

Other Products
BoBunny ~ Autumn Song - Melody, Beautiful
BoBunny ~ Time Piece - Home
BoBunny ~ The Avenues - Shutters
Prima ~ Junkyard Findings - Heart Gears
BoBunny ~ Brads - Autumn Song
BoBunny ~ Licorice Jewels
BoBunny ~ Blossoms - Natural Earth Daisy; Wildberry Daisy
Petaloo ~ Beaded Peonies, Small Plum
Want2Scrap ~ Say it with Pearls - White
Queen & Co. Pearls - Pearl
Close to My Heart ~ Timeless Charms
Memory Box Die ~ Norwich Corner
Lumiere Paint ~ Brass
Liquitex ~ Flexible Modeling Paste
Fran-tage Embossing Enamel - Aged Hunter; Aged Scarlett
Ranger ~ Perfect Medium Pad
Ranger ~ Inkssentials Embossing Pen, Clear
Ranger ~ Distress Ink - Brushed Corduroy, Seedless Preserves
Clearsnap ~ Mix'd Media Inx CHOX - Sage
Art Gone Wild Stamps ~ Donna Salazar - Dear Sir; Stanza
Prima Stencil ~ Flourish 6" x 6"
Helmar ~ 450 Quick Dry Adhesive
Helmar ~ Premium Craft Glue
Helmar ~ Liquid Scrap Dots
Zutter ~ Donna Salazar - Distrezz-it-All
Darice ~ Heat Tool

Thanks for stopping by! I treasure your comments.

~ Blessings ~

Butterfly Card and Tutorial for Donna Salazar

Spring is finally in the air here in Ohio!! The crocuses are blossoming and the breezes are starting to warm. 

I enjoy creating cards with the warmth of a personal touch, both in times of celebration and in times of loss as the case is for this card. 

I've featured Donna Salazar's Spellbinders Wonderful Wings Dies and Tinkle Dust Glitter to create these lovely Twinkling Butterflies and have included a photo tutorial.

Butterfly Card

Tips and Techniques

Here's a close-up of the Twinkling Butterflies. Please scroll down to find my tutorial.

I've embellished with one of my Open Lace Roses using Donna's Spellbinders Grand Peony and Rose Creation Dies. My tutorial for these flowers can be found here. (Please note, even the largest of the "Grand" Peony dies fit in regular size die cut machines.) 

Below the rose, I've layered Spellbinders Foliage leaves cut from Donna's Mix'd Media Stax 2 Mulberry paper. Some are lightly inked and some left in the natural color.

Another view of the butterflies and flower.

I've stamped the sentiment with Donna's Mix'd Media Inx, then heat embossed with Clearsnap clear embossing powder. 

Edges of the card and sentiment flag are distressed with Donna's Zutter Distrezz-it-All and I've machine stitched around the card edge. 

I've used the same techniques for the sentiment inside the card. 

A side view.

Twinkling Butterfly Tutorial

Supply List

Donna Salazar Products

Spellbinders ~ Wonderful Wings Dies

Clearsnap ~ Twinkle Dust Glitter - Mixed Berries

Clearsnap ~ Mix'd Media Inx - Denim

Other Products

Cardstock

Clearsnap ~ Glue Gloss

Want2Scrap ~ Say It with Pearls Baby Bling - White

Want2Scrap ~ Say It with Pearls - Tear Drop Pearls - White

Spellbinders ~ Artisan X-plorer

Step 1. Select one of the Wonderful Wings Butterflies and cut from a scrap of white or light cream cardstock. 

***Hint*** To more easily remove the intricately cut paper from the die, layer two sheets of wax paper between the die and the paper when cutting.

Step 2. Lightly rub Denim Mix'd Media Inx across the edges of the wings as shown.

Step 3. Brush Glue Gloss across the wings in the areas you have inked. 

Step 4. Sprinkle the wet glue with Donna's Twinkle Dust Glitter in Mixed Berries. (Donna's Fairy Dust Glitter has been renamed to Twinkle Dust Glitter.)

Step 5. Add pearls for the body of the butterfly.

Donna Salazar Products

GCD Studio ~ Natural Beauty Collection

Clearsnap ~ Mix'd Media Inx - Denim

Clearsnap ~ Mix'd Media Inx - Stormy

Clearsnap ~ Mix'd Media Inx CHOX - Bluejay

Clearsnap ~ Mix'd Media Inx Embossing Powder - Jasmine

Clearsnap ~ Twinkle Dust Glitter (Formerly Fairy Dust Glitter)

Spellbinders ~ Wonderful Wings

Spellbinders ~ Grand Peony

Spellbinders ~ Rose Creations

Zutter ~ Distrezz-it-All

Other Products

We R Memory Keepers ~ Storytime Cloud Cardstock

Want2Scrap ~ TearDrop Pearls, white

Want2Scrap ~ Baby Bling Pearls, white

Want2Scrap ~ Beautiful Bling Border

Darice ~ Finishing Accent Brads 12mm Crystal AB

Organza Ribbon ~ Stash

Lace ~ Stash

Doily ~ Stash

White Thread ~ Stash

Clearsnap ~ Clear Embossing Powder

Spellbinders ~ Foliage; Pendants in Spades; Opulent Ovals

Close to My Heart ~ Sincere Expressions; Look to the Light

Clearsnap ~ Glue Gloss

Helmar ~ Craft and Hobby PVA Glue; 450 Quick Dry Adhesive

Spellbinders ~ Artisan X-plorer

Sewing Machine

Thanks for stopping by! I treasure your comments.

~ Blessings ~

Thank You Card for Helmar with Glitter Glue Tutorial

The days are getting shorter as the temperatures cool down, but the fall color is still gorgeous here in Ohio. I've created a thank you card up on the Helmar blog today featuring Helmar Gemstone Glue. I've included a tutorial on how to create your own glitter glue.

One of my favorite mediums to include on projects to give beautiful sparkle and shine is super fine glitter. There's only one problem, this sparkle has a way of invading my workspace, even spreading into the rest of our home, not to mention making me sparkle. If you've used glitter, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I've come up with a wonderful solution, so be sure to scroll down to check out my tutorial for making your own glitter glue.

Thank You Card

I used the Cardabilites #85 sketch for inspiration:

I've also used the Color Board for Challenge #10
over at A Mixed Media Color Challenge:

Tips and Techniques

Here's a close-up of my glittered flower. I die cut the layers from printed paper and printed cardstock, then misted. When dry, I brushed with my handmade glitter glue. Even though I secured the flower with a brad in the center, I like to glue each of my petal layers together to make sure the petals will stay offset. To adhere paper to paper, my go to adhesive is Helmar Premium Craft Glue. Below the flower you can see some of my die cut layers.

Here you can see the pearls and sequins I scattered across the top corner of my tag. I used Helmar Gemstone Glue to secure them in place. I squeeze some of the glue onto a craft sheet or scrap of wax paper that I can toss when finished. Then I pick up a pearl or sequin with craft tweezers, dip the base into the glue, and place on my card.

Another view of the flower, pearls as well as the heat embossed sentiment. I found my homemade glitter glue to be slightly tacky when dry, so after I put my flower together and before adding the brad center, I sprayed it with Crystal Kote Gloss Varnish Spray to give this gorgeous glowing finish that still allowes the glitter to sparkle.

A side view of my card. You can see my mixed media background. Any time I need to afix something to mixed media, my go to adhesive is Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive, which adheres well to mixed media surfaces and texture.

Now I'll share my Glitter Glue Tutorial. As you can guess by my previous comments, I love the look of glitter on my projects, however, not how it invades my space and home. I got to thinking . . . Helmar Gemstone Glue dries perfectly clear so what would happen if I mixed my glitter into the glue? Yes, there are several glitter glues on the market, but none of them have the sparkle that I get with Fairy Dust Glitter which is super fine and has several sizes of glitter flakes mixed together. My little experiment gave me some happy results that I will be using over and over on my future projects!!

Glitter Glue Tutorial

Supplies

Helmar Gemstone Glue

Superfine Glitter ~ I used Clearsnap Fairy Dust Glitter by Donna Salazar Designs

Something to mix the glitter on ~ I used wax paper

Something to mix the glitter glue ~ I used a toothpick

• Step 1. Squeeze out some Helmar Gemstone Glue onto the wax paper. The amount you use will be determined by how much area you have to cover.

• Step 2. Place a small scoop of glitter next to the Helmar Gemstone Glue. You can vary the amount of glitter depending on how much sparkle you want to achieve. I like sparkle, so used a lot of glitter.

A close-up of the Helmar Gemstone Glue and glitter:

• Step 3. Use a toothpick or skewer to mix the glitter into the Helmar Gemstone Glue.

• Step 4. Use a paintbrush to apply the glitter glue to your project. A stiffer brush works better. You can apply this glitter glue to flowers, decorative elements, or even to your page background ~ anywhere you want glitter.

Here's what it looks like right after applying:

And another photo after drying. You can see that the Helmar Gemstone Glue dries perfectly clear, allowing that glitter to sparkle and shine in all its glory!!

Hint ~ I did notice as mentioned previously that there was just a slight tackiness that remained even when completely dry. That was easily taken care of with another fabulous Helmar product. I simply spritzed with Helmar Crystal Kote Gloss Varnish Spray. The glitter still sparkled just as brightly and the flower took on a lovely glow from the glossy varnish.

Here's a photo of the finished flower on my card:

I can't wait to see the projects you create with your own homemade glitter glue!!

Helmar products used to create my card:

Helmar Gemstone Glue

(I highly recommend getting the larger Gemstone Glue if you want

to try this technique, because you won't want to stop!!)

Helmar Crystal Kote Gloss Varnish Spray

Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive

Helmar Premium Craft Glue

Other products used: Donna Salazar Designs Products: Clearsnap Fairydust Glitter ~ Pralines and Cream, GCD Studios Antiquities Collecton and Crafy Chronicles, Clearsnap Mix'd Media Inx and Embossing Powder, Zutter Distrezz-it-All by Donna Spellbinders Grand Peony Dies. Additional products: Spellbinders and Sizzix dies, Tattered Angels Chalkboard Mist, Heidi Swap Color Shine Mist, Stencils by TCW and Pink Paislee, CTMH stamp.

If you have a moment, I'd love for you to stop by the Helmar blog to leave a comment.

Thanks for stopping by! I treasure your comments.

~ Blessings ~

Timeless Love ~ for Donna Salazar Designs

Here's my latest page for Donna Salazar Designs. Weddings are a special day for a bride. For this layout, I combined soft blues and pinks from all three of Donna's latest GCD Studios collections: Natural Beauty, Family Jeans, and Fun & Funky to showcase this dreamy photo of our daughter, Elizabeth, on her special day. 

"Timeless Love"

Tips and Techniques:

This focal flower features Donna's Spellbinders Grand Peony and Bitty Blossoms Dies. All the details can be found below in my Shabby Layered Blossoms Tutorial. 

I finished out my flower cluster with a variety of Bitty Blossoms. I also tucked in several crystal flourishes from Donna's Want2Scrap Build Your Own Bling. The chicken wire and heart buttons are from my stash.

The Bitty Blossoms from another angle.

I used Donna's Art Gone Wild Heart Applique stamp with Chiffon Mix'd Media Inx and Clearsnap Clear embossing powder to create these hearts that I fussy cut for my banner. I tucked in lace pieces adorned with Want2Scrap Teardrop Pearls. 

The large doilies are cut from Family Jeans - Heirloom and Natural Beauty - Blue Fence then the edges inked with Mix'd Media Inx and adorned with Want2Scrap Pearls. I stenciled here with Donna's Want2Scrap Heart Stencil and above the photo with her Leaves Stencil using molding paste then spritzed with Donna's River Mossy Smooch Spritz by Clearsnap. 

This double loop bow is tied with Iridescent Champagne Organza from Really Reasonable Ribbon topped with a Bitty Blossom flower. The ribbon is also looped through the design of the smaller doily. 

I embellished the denim back side of this Fun and Funky Yellow Polkas paper with Donna's gorgeous Art Gone Wild Brass Corner and Bubble Wrap Stamps. I combined Mix'd Media Inx and Mix'd Media Inx Embossing powders to achieve these shabby corners. And of course I used my favorite scrappy tool, Donna's Zutter Distrezz-It-All to distress the edges. 

I painted this Want2Scrap Fancy Chipboard Word with white gesso and inked with Bluejay Mix'd Media CHOX Inx. When dry I heat embossed with clear embossing powder by Clearsnap. 

Notice the grid design on the background. Before adhering my flowers and photo, I randomly placed pieces of drywall mesh tape and spritzed the page with River Mossy Smooch Spritz. When dry, I removed the tape leaving these great grid marks. The smooch added a ton of sparkle along with the subtle color. 

Now I'd like to share the details on how I created my layered focal flower. 

Shabby Layered Rose Tutorial

Supplies:

Supply List:

Spellbinders ~ Grand Calibur (not pictured)

Spellbinders ~ Donna Salazar Designs - Grand Peony

Spellbinders ~ Donna Salazar Designs - Bitty Blossoms

Spellbinders ~ M-Bossibilities

GCD Studios ~ Donna Salazar - Natural Beauty papers of choice

Ivory Crushed Voile Fabric

Tea light or other small candle

Bowl of water (not pictured)

Step 1. Die cut the following papers and fabric:

3 Grand Peony #6 from paper for outer petals (numbered from smallest to largest dies)

3 Grand Peony #4 from ivory crushed voile

1 Large Bitty Blossoms from paper for flower center

Step 2. Emboss the three outer Petals.

Step 3. Roll and shape Bitty Blossoms flower for center.

Step 4. Curl edges of crushed voile petals by pulling each petal close to, but not in the flame of your candle. Be sure to have a bowl of water next to you just in case your petal gets into the flame and needs extinguished. 

***Hint*** Start with a short candle wick. You don't want your flame to be too large. 

I have found that I can cut up to 5 layers of crushed voile at a time with the following sandwich ~ listed from the bottom to the top: cutting plate, cardstock, fabric layers, die - face down towards fabric, and on top another cutting plate. You may need to run this through your die cut machine several times for a complete cut.

Step 5. Shape outer embossed petals by curling each petal over a round pencil and pushing the petal upwards.

Step 6. Curl each petal side down over a round pencil to create a natural petal shape.

Step 7.  Assemble the three outer petal layers by placing a drop of quick drying glue in the center of each set of petals and glue together, off-setting the petals as shown.

Step 8. Assemble the three fabric petal layers, off-setting as you glue them together as in the previous step.

Step 9. Glue fabric layer on top of embossed layer.

Step 9. Glue the Bitty Blossoms flower to the center of your flower.

*** Hint*** If you would like a flatter flower you could use a large decorative crystal brad or button in place of the Bitty Blossom flower.

Side view of finished flower:

Thanks so much for dropping by to check out my layout and tutorial!! 

~ Blessings ~

Tracey

Supply List

Paper:

GCD Studios: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Family Jeans - Heirloom

GCD Studios: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Family Jeans - Denim Stripe

GCD Studios: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Family Jeans - Family Dots

GCD Studios: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Family Jeans - Denim Stripe

GCD Studios: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Fun & Funky - Yellow Polkas

GCD Studios: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Natural Beauty - Twiggy

GCD Studios: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Natural Beauty - Blue Fence

GCD Studios: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Natural Beauty - 6" x 6" Pad

Chipboard:

Want2Scrap ~ Fancy Chipboard Word - Love

Stamps:

Art Gone Wild: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Brass Corner, Heart Applique, Bubble Wrap

Color/Inks:

Clearsnap: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Mix'd Media Inx - Jasmine, Chiffon, Denim

Clearsnap: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Mix'd Media Inx CHOX - Bluejay

Clearsnap: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Mix'd Media Inx Embossing Powder - Jasmine, Denim

Clearsnap: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Smooch Spritz - River Mossy

Clearsnap: Top Boss Embossing Powder - Clear

Stencils:

Want2Scrap: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Heart

Want2Scrap: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Leaves

Dies/Embossing:

Spellbinders: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Grand Peony

Spellbinders: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Bitty Blossoms

Spellbinders: Pendants In Spades

Spellbinders: Heartfelt Creations ~ Blossom Corner

Spellbinders: M-Bossabilities - Flora

Punches:

Martha Stewart Circle Edge Punch with Flower Arches, Modern Lace

Embellishments:

Want2Scrap: Donna Salazar Designs - Build Your Own Bling

Want2Scrap: White Pearls, Teardrop White Pearls

CTMH: Timeless Charms

Really Reasonable Ribbon: May Arts Iridescent Sheer Ribbon - Champagne

Stash: Lace, Heart Buttons, Cherub Charm, Chicken Wire

Mixed Media:

Liquitex: White Gesso

Golden: Light Molding Paste

Adhesives:

Helmar: 450 Quick Dry Adhesive

Beacon: 3 in 1 Advanced Craft Glue

Art Glitter: Designer Dries Clear Adhesive

Tombow: 3D Foam Tabs

Tools:

Zutter: Donna Salazar Designs ~ Distrezz-It-All

EK Success: Honey Bee Scissors

EK Success: Tweezers

Darice: Heat Tool

I have entered this at:

Word Art Wednesday Challenge #94 - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by! I treasure your comments.

~ Blessings ~