Explore-A Beijing layout by Lynne

Hello there! As some of you know, my son is away at university in China and  occasionally sends me photos which I'm always thrilled to scrap. This one was taken in the fall in Beijing when some friends went down there from Hong Kong to visit him.

I have gotten so many layouts out of the wonderful Oriental Shape Set, and of course the Bamboo is a perfect addition, especially since this photo contains a lot of greenery.

For the bamboo, I ran it through this embossing folder:

I then painted it a light sage green and dry-brushed a light taupe brown over that.

I then use this stamp to add Versamark ink and heat-embossed with clear embossing powder:

The pagoda was run through the same embossing folder as the bamboo; the surface is larger so more of the floral pattern showed up. I painted it a light taupe, then
added layers of embossing powder by stamping with Versamark; I used Artful Stamper black glossy, Donna Salazar's Mix'd Media in Jasmine, and Ranger Embossing Antiquities in California Stucco, in that order.

The paper had a subtle harlequin pattern which I echoed with the stencilling and with the diamonds cut from coordinating paper and hand-stitched with embroidery floss.

I love that chipboard pieces like these can be altered and adapted in so many ways. Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a wonderful and creative week!

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED
Bamboo Shape Set
Oriental Shape Set

OTHER ITEMS USED

Prima and FabScraps papers
Ranger, Donna Salazar and Artful Stamper embossing powders
Versamark ink
Prima clear stamp
Darice Embossing folder
Embroidery floss and large needle
Crafter's Workshop stencil
homemade texture paste

Greetings From Shanghai! A Layout by Lynne

                      Well hello there crafty friends or          

            你好朋友 
as they say in Shanghai China, where my son has spent the last 10 months in university learning the language.

He's coming home for the summer tomorrow (yay!!) so I decided to create another page with some of the photos he emailed me, as well as a couple items he sent back with some friends of ours from their trip to Hong Kong in February (the gold coins and the red envelope behind the photo). I also used some great pieces of Gypsy Soul chipboard from the Oriental shape set!

This building is one of the dorms on campus at Fudan University where Graham was staying and I thought the paper with the touches of red was perfect to showcase it.
I had so much fun with the chipboard lantern strip! I started out doing all of them with the pleated paper in different colours/patterns, but didn't really like the effect so I decided to change it up a bit and just fussy cut and pop up a few bits for dimension on some of them. I found that brown die=cut lattice in my scrap box and loved the way it looked on the long lantern! The strip was heat embossed in gold to coordinate with the gold coins and the writing on the envelope. I also popped up the two red lanterns that were printed on the paper for a little more dimension and interest.

For the fan in the lower right corner I fussy cut some flower designs from the reverse of the paper and layered them over each other. The edges and lower part were all heat embossed with the gold that I used on the lantern piece.

I stenciled  with texture paste on the page, did a little punching on some of the edges ,and misted in gold and red.

Keep in mind that you don't have to go to China to find uses for this lovely chipboard set. It would be great for scrapping a visit to a Chinese restaurant, a page about your Chinese zodiac animal (I'm a horse!) or even what your fortune cookie says! I'm sure you could think of lots of other interesting ways to use these pieces and I'd love it if you'd share some of your ideas with me!

Wishing you a wonderful and creative week!

Gypsy Soul Items Used
 Oriental Shape Set

Other Items Used
Kaisercraft Serenity paper
Prima stencils
Heidi Swapp and Dylusions mists

Follow your Dreams/Fudan - Layout by Lynne

Greetings from Shanghai! No, I'm not there, I'm still here in Ontario Canada, but my son is there at Fudan University and this layout features one of the photos he sent me. It was taken in one of the gorgeous garden areas on the grounds there and I couldn't wait to play with the Oriental Shape Set I ordered from Gina's knowing that Graham would be sending me photos!

I painted the pagoda with acrylic paint then heat-embossed it with UTEE to create an enameled look, then added the Asian coins. The two at the back are actual coins which I found in a Chinese shop in Toronto a few years ago and the top one is a brad that I removed the back from.

I covered the Asian lady piece with some embossed paper I found at a stationery shop ages ago and have been hoarding...uh I mean SAVING... for the right project.

 

The red of the paper actually matches the paint and the hand-stitching a lot more closely than it appears to here in the photo.

Some lovely Prima flowers tiny crocheted doilies and die-cut foliage complete the effect; since the papers are quite busy I tried to keep the added details down to allow the photo and the red elements to really stand out-thanks so much for stopping by; I'm sure there will be more projects coming up using some of my son's great photos and I hope you enjoy sharing his year-long adventure with me!

Gina's Items Used

Oriental Shape Set

Other Items Used

FabScraps Cherished papers

Prima Royal Menagerie flowers

UTEE

embroidery floss

Northport Summer Vacation

Hi everyone! Melissa here with a layout for Gina's Designs.  This photo was taken at my in-laws house. It's great going there to see family, and to enjoy the cooler temperatures.Where I live in Houston, Texas, it's very hot and muggy in the summer.

I painted these fun Japanese lanterns first with gesso, then oil paints.  I decorated the rest of the page to fit around them. I stitched a border on the edges of the bg. paper, and on the paper for under the photo.

I sponged gesso on Nature Garden paper by Prima. I did that so the design on the paper didn't compete with the items I put on it. I wanted the pattern to show through a little but wound up putting too much gesso on. I painted on some pale yellow and green watercolors. It was too dark,and I didn't really like all the green, so I covered it up with more gesso. I used a stencil and put on some modeling paste.

My husband likes gnomes and frogs, so I stamped and painted some. My father-in-law liked moose, so I put one next to the frog.  I fussy cut images from several lines of paper. I punched a border, and put beads,liquid pearls, and watercolors on.

There is a piece of watercolor paper under the top piece. I painted a yellow border on it,so it would show through the punched areas. I brushed on some grey pearlex powder under the lanterns to make more of a contrast. I brushed and rubbed on  white pearlex all over the page, because I like the way it softens the look of the matte white color of the gesso.

I painted the sunburst with gold paint. I painted crackle accent on in a thick layer on the sun, and thinner layers on the outside edges of the page. I brushed on blue chalk to emphasize the crackle, and then painted with Viva Decor Inka Gold.

I applied glossy accents on some areas of the sunburst and sprinkled on gold embossing powder.

Thanks for looking! Have a great weekend, and I hope you can find a little time to make something for yourself.

Gina's Products Used:
Oriental Shape Set

Other:
Prima paper for background

Prima green rose
Small images fussy cut from Prima, Bo bunny, and Graphic 45 papers
Tiny yellow flowers made with Sizzix Tattered Flower Garland
Twinkling H20s
Winsor and Newton Watercolors and Oil Paints
Perfect Pearls
Ranger Crackle Paint
Viva Decor Inka Gold
Martha Stewart punch
The stamps include some from Hampton Arts, Tim Holtz, and Prima
Swarovski Crystals
Stampendous Embossing Powder in Jeweled Gold

A Mixed Media Layout by Melissa

Hi, it's Melissa here with a layout using Gina's Designs Lasercuts, and items from Craftsupplies 1.

In this project I wanted my layout to reflect the detail of the photo. I began by painting watercolor paper with watercolors to get a soft and delicate look.  I added texture paste, and used the same paint. I also applied Twinkling H20s, and art deco pen ink.

I like how well the chipboard complements the era. I especially like the fan, and how it gives a very feminine touch to the page.

Chipboard used:

Oriental Shape Set

Steampunk 2 Shape Set

Cardstock Doily Set Intricates

Dressforms 1 Miniature Shape Set

Craftsupplies 1 items used:

Flower Filigrees

Silver Fairy Sprites

White Flowers

White Roses

Other products used:

Vintaj Patina Paint

Winton and Lewis Watercolors

The Crafters Workshop stencil

Stickles

Tim Holtz rub-ons

Lumiere Paint