Sue's Week - creating a textured mixed media background

Hi everyone. Today is my last day for taking over the blog this week.

I've been playing around with some AltaMATZ to create a lovely textured background for a canvas and here is the result.

I selected a couple of relatively new AltaMATZ, the 12" Square Frame and the 6" Heart Mosaic

I wanted to use texture paste with these templates but also wanted to make sure the texture paste didn't accidentally go 'out of bounds' so I laid them out in the arrangement I wanted on a sheet of paper.....

...and then traced around the relevant bits so I could mask off the places where I didn't want the texture paste to go.

I cut out this piece and then attached it with tape to the two AltaMATZ and placed on my canvas which I had already prepared with stuck on pieces of book paper, and proceeded to apply the texture paste with a palette knife

This is how it looked once I carefully removed the templates. In some places I have used less texture paste so the print shows through a little.

After allowing that to dry, it was then onto the fun bit of adding colour using a variety of mists and water in multiple layers. 

It's always fun to see how using a combination of different things causes reactions that create beautiful visual effects

This is only the beginning of the canvas. Over the next week or so I will continue to build up the layers and colours and textures. Who knows how it will end up? But I will continue to document the steps and share the finished result with you at a later date.

Thanks for joining me in 'my week'. Be sure to check the blog tomorrow for August's exciting New Releases and what the design team have created with them.

Also don't forget our colour Challenge this month for a chance to win a pack of WOW goodies. Details are here if you've missed it.

Sue's Week - 'Zombie Love'

Hi again everyone. As promised today I am going to share a layout I did this week using the heart embellishments I made on the weekend with one of my favourite Words Or Whatever AltaMATZ.

If you missed my post about how I created these cute little hearts, you can catch up here.

The photo I have scrapped is of my daughter and her fiance dressed up as zombies for a party.

For the background I sprayed the kraft cardstock with My Huey's 'Clay' mist using this 12" Spiral Swirl AltaMATZ....

And I used the 'Love' word from the Wood Veneers pack 'Love Laugh Smile' coloured lightly with white ink to form part of the title....

Here's a close-up of the title....

And finally a close up of the heart embellies which I kept attached to the transparency for perfect spacing.

Thanks for dropping by the blog to see what I have been up to this week.

Sue's Week - some more creative fun with WOW

Hi again everyone!
As promised, I have another 'experiment' from my creative Sunday to share with you.

The aim of my day was to try something a bit different with AltaMATZ. On yesterday's blogpost I showed the results of trying one of the AltaMATZ as an embossing 'die'. Check it out here if you missed it.

I have again used the 6"x6" Hearts In A Row AltaMATZ, but this time to make my own unique embellishments.

Starting with a sheet of acrylic transparency, and using the AltaMATZ as a shape template, I painted the transparency with alcohol ink.

The alcohol ink dries very quickly on the transparency, so I was able to go onto the next step straight away. 

I took a small amount of Gel Medium and mixed it with some microbeads which were a colour mix of silver, pink and red. 

Once they were evenly mixed through, I used a palette knife to apply an even layer over the painted hearts using the AltaMATZ as a guide once again.

I had some mixture left over so I did a separate row of hearts without the background colour to see the difference.

I then carefully lifted off the AltaMATZ and left it to dry completely. 

This took about 12 hours in the sun and in front of the heater. 

You could use a crafting heat tool, but it would still take a long time and you have to be careful not to warp and/or melt the transparency.

 The gel medium dries clear as long as it is no thicker than 3mm and below is a picture of the dried hearts with no colour underneath.

And here is the final result of the ones with the red alcohol ink underneath.

This was all lots of fun to do and definitely something I would try again. I now have some lovely unique embellishments to use on new projects. Once I decide how I will use these, I will share that with you too.

Sue's Week - some creative fun with WOW

Hello lovely peeps out in blogland.
Do you ever allow yourself a totally creative day, where you have no particular agenda other than to have fun making stuff?
That's exactly how I spent my lazy Sunday....even though the sun was shining and the outside was beckoning, I had a 'pyjamas-all-day' and 'create-all-day' kind of Sunday.
I had a day of experimenting with lots of fun things which I will be sharing with you over the coming week.

Here's a card I made yesterday with one of the results of my experiments....

I created the background with this gorgeous WOW 6"x6" Hearts In A Row AltaMATZ...

I decided to try putting it through my Sizzix Big Shot to see if it would emboss cardstock, and sure enough it did! The effect is subtle, but there none-the-less.

Please note: If you decide to give this a try, just be aware that there is the risk of the AltaMATZ cracking or breaking, as using it under pressure this way is not how it was originally intended. In saying that, I put mine through numerous times without any problems.

Here's a close-up of the result....

Because it wasn't a very dramatic result, I lightly ran a white stamp pad over the top to show up the relief in the cardstock better and I loved the effect....

 I then rounded the corners, stuck it onto some cream cardstock and added some chipboard, ribbon roses, thread, satin binding and pearls.
The chipboard I used is the bottom one of these beautiful fine filigree WOW 'Mini Fences' with the top of the gate trimmed off as I wanted the flowers to be the focal point....

I painted the fence with a layer each of Smooch 'Moonlight' and 'Snickerdoodle' so it toned in with the ribbon roses.

Thanks for stopping by and looking at what I've been creating. I have a couple of other experiments to share with you during the week, so be sure to pop back again to see what I've been up to.

Sue's Week - The Hottest Day Of The Year

Hi everyone, Sue here. Happy Sunday to you all and here's hoping you get to spend some scrappy time today.
Today I'm sharing a layout I did of my daughter and her boyfriend at the Sydney Big Day Out this year. I really don't know how they survived the horrendous heat that day, let alone manage a smile for the camera.

I've used some of the new Words or Whatever wood veneers on this layout. I am really loving these at the moment, and decided to leave them 'au naturale' to show off their woody goodness. Here is a close up so you can see how yummy they are....

These wood veneers are from an assorted pack of nine called 'Arrow Icons'....

There are many more exciting wood veneers soon to be released. Be sure to check the blog next Sunday to see the fab new range in the August release.

Tess's Week - Today

Its Tess back with a sneaky little Saturday share.

 

Using WOW on your own tags.

 

I use these tags in my Smash book, but they are also fantastic for hidden journaling on your scrap pages, or other projects such as getting people to leave messages for the parents to be at a baby shower or the Bride and Groom at a wedding. They are so versatile. If you let your imagination go, you will be amazed where you can use these.

Today Tag

Using Chipboard Today Word Pack (WOW1851)

 



As Washi Tape is all the craze at the moment, I'm sure most of us have at least one roll in our stash.

 

I have placed a strip from top to bottom on both sides to decorate to the tag. In this case I have a lot of journaling to do, so will use both sides of the tag.

 

I have then coloured the chipboard with a black sharpie marker, then sprayed with Heidi Swapp Bronze Colour Shine mist to get the metallic look.

 

So simple and easy.

Tess's Week - WOW and Smash

Hello lovely WOW followers, its Tess back again with another quick share.

I am a big Smash fan, and WOW products fit in so well with these albums. All of the nice little pieces of chipboard and wood veneer are a perfect fit.

Here are a couple of pages from my current album that show how easy it is to use these items.

 

Blue Lagoon Love

Using Wood Veneer Mini Filmstrips (WV011) and Wood Veneer Word Speech Bubbles (WV001)

 

The wood veneer has been coloured with a black sharpie marker

 

 

 

Moments

Using Chipboard Arrow Icons (WOW1932) and Chipboard Life Element Word Pack 2 (WOW1853)

Again the chipboard has been coloured with a black sharpie marker.

 

 

Mud Run

Using Wood Veneer Narrow Arrow Pack (WV018)

 

The wood veneer arrows have been coloured with an orange sharpie marker to match the colours on the page.

 

 

Well that is the end of my week on the Words or Whatever blog. Thanks for calling past and checking out what I have been up to.

 

Just remember, if you like what you are seeing, head to the WOW website to find your local stockist and pick up so of these awesome products. If you cant find a stockist, ask your local scrap store to order some of these items in. They are well worth it.

 

Get ready for New Release this coming week. There are some fantastic products being released.