Friday, April 4, 2014

My 2crafty April Post




Can you believe that it is already almost Easter? It is seriously scary how fast the months are flying by! It is my turn to update the 2Crafty blog and I would like to share two new layouts that I created especially for 2Crafty. I am still trying to catch up with the pile of summer holiday photos that I have waiting to be scrapped. The first project that I would like to share with you today showcases a couple of my favourite shots from our family beach vacation. Sometimes, when I get a photo that I really love I like to print it out at A4 size to really make it the focus of my page. That was the case with this picture of Benji swinging and humming to himself on the rope swing in the beautiful Hokianga harbour. You can see the majestic sand-dunes in the background. Because there was a lot of 'white space' on my photo I chose another favourite shot from the same morning, printed it out at 3x3" and layered it over the main photo. 
The great thing about using a larger photo is that you don't need too much patterned paper or background work to set it off. A few well chosen embellishments are all that is needed. 2Crafty chipboard pieces are perfect for the job! 
The pieces that I have used here are:

  • chicken wire panel
  • 'Cherish' loopy word
  • 'Today' loopy word
  • assorted arrows


The chicken wire panels are great for rustic, outdoors or beach themed pages. I hae left mine completely raw as it matches my theme so well in its natural state (and I love the look of raw chipboard!). It adds interest and dimension to the page, lifting my smaller photo a little from its background so that the viewers eye is drawn to it. 


The 2Crafty loopy words and the 2Crafty phrases are my absolute favourite way to add a title to my page.Here I used the words 'Cherish Today' and added them directly onto my large photo. I used white embossing powder and heat embossed the glossy white finish onto the letters. I chose white because it blends into the colours of my photo and the title becomes a subtle part of the whole rather that the focus of the page. 

To finish off my page I added a couple of 2Crafty arrows. I considered painting them, stamping on the or outlining them, but in the end I decided that I couldn't improve on the 'raw' look for this beach themed page. I simply added a little ink to the edges.


The next page that I would like to share today features my little son again. He is standing proudly by his classroom window next to the 'self portrait' that he painted on his first school trip (to a local art centre). His painting had pride of place in the window and he was very excited to show it to me (and to pose for a picture!).
I piched the green colours from the photo to create my background using 'Inktense' water colour pencils. When the colour was dry I added lots of stamping and ink splatters. The 2Crafty products that I used on this page really make it shine. 
  • circle revolution frame 
  • Loopy word 'Sweet'
  • Sharons butterflies
  • view finder
The 'circle revolution frame' that I used to frame the focus of my page really is the centrepiece of my page. I painted it with black distress paint and attached it to the page using cross-stitches. This adds interest to the page as well as serving to attach the frame. 


Again I have used a loopy word 'sweet' as my title. This time I coloured it red using a gelato pen. To get great chipboard coverage using gelatos simply colour in the shape roughly with the gelato then rub and smooth in the colour using your fingers.  
'Sharon's butterflies' are a pretty addition to many page themes. If you have the larger Martha Stewart butterfly punch these chippie pieces are perfect to layer with the punched shapes as they are very similar designs. Here I embossed the butterflies using white embossing powder for a glossy finish. 


The final chippie item on this page is the view finder (well half of it anyway - the other half can be seen on another of my pages!). I painted it white, backed it with black cardstock and inked the edges. 


Thanks for popping by today. If you have a chance to check out the 2Crafty blog you will see a wealth of inspiration and pure 'eye candy' over there. 

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Gorgeous Sarah!

Lizzy Hill said...

You really do work the 2crafty goodies to perfection...& I have to say, every time I see a big pic LO...I want to do one!! It looks fabulous....:):):)

Lizzyc said...

I must say I always know I will stay a while at your blog just looking and admiring your work.. I really LOVE the big photo in the first layout.. it looks wonderful, it just would lose so much if it were small. well done on using it like that.. and all your details in the second layout look wonderful. too.. fabulous creating!

Kel said...

You never cease to inspire me..they are both stunning xx

dstandard said...

Loving both pages !! Really love how y used the photo as your background in that first one

Стокли said...

Love both pages with the photos as main focus. Especially the first one with it's big photo and title.

Blog Archive