Fast and easy Christmas inspiration by Marta Lapkowska

It's all about the glitter and shine :)

Wazny jest tylko brokat i blysk :)

I would love to share with you some simple but very elegant Christmas cards.

All you need is some texture paste, stencil, paper and glitter.

You can create many cute creations by using the same idea in different colours.

Enjoy this few photos from my creating process.

Chcialabym Wam dzis pokazac latwe ale bardzo eleganckie kartki. Potrzebujecie pasty strukturalnej, maski, papieru oraz brokatu.

While the paste is still wet sprinkle some glitter on top of it.

Gdy pasta strukturalna jest jeszcze mokra posyp calosc brokatem.

You can use as many colours as you wish and have a great effects.
Mozecie uzyc roznych kolorow i uzyskac piekne efekty.

Here is my table with drying cards.
A tu stol wraz ze schnacymi kartkami.

Użyłam: / I used:

 

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My second Christmas inspiration is in mixed media style. The backround was created with stencil and Lindy's Stamp gang sprays.
Moja druga swiateczna inspiracja jest w mediowym stylu. Tlo zostalo stworzone za pomoca maski oraz kolorow z Lindy's Stamp Gang.

I added beautiful mandala flower doilie chipboard.
Dodalam tekturke azurowy kwiat paproci - mandala.

Wording is stamped.
Napis to stempelek.

       

Grid design background with stencils - video tutorial

Hello there! Today I'm hoping to spark an idea in your head with this background tutorial. It's really simple but yet effective and you get to play with your stencils! So please check the video underneath to see how I created the background for the layout you see above.

Now that you've seen the steps, let me explain a few things which I didn't have enough space in the video. For starters I tell you why I added the gesso first. It's because gesso creates a layer to the paper that prevents color mediums to soak in. And in order to have those misted bits water-color like blobs instead on circles of mist there needs to be a layer preventing the mist from soaking to the paper immediately. Of course you don't have to use mists to add the color, any color medium will do!

And why then again I'm adding the mist there in the first place? It's just a visual thing - I wanted the grid to have more color than just the amount I can put there through the stencil. So to add a touch of color in there first and then layer the ink on top creates a more colorful background than just using the stencil. If you have a really open stencil (with a lot of gaps) or use the same stencil many times over the grid, you can definitely go without the added color. 

As I typed in the video, I don't mind the "rough around the edges" look. To me that's really appealing and likable. If that's not your cup of tea, you can always draw the shape of your grid to a piece of paper, cut the grid parts off thus creating a stencil of the grid and layer that one together with your stencil to prevent the ink from going over the edges.

Needles to say you can use any colors and any patterns! You can use just one color with different stencils or multiple colors with one stencil or even one color and one stencil. All of the variations create a different mood to your page. As my page is about joy of discovery (my daughter learned to say the harsh Finnish R), I wanted to use multiple colors to have that happy, playful feeling!

Thank you so much for visiting today! I hope I have inspired you! If you have any questions, please just leave a comment or mail me! 

Supplies from 3rd Eye:

         

'Never give up...' art journal page by Marta Lapkowska

Mixed media backround created using stamp and stencil.

Pages coloured with Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays.

Black flowers and wording are stockers.

Mediowe tlo stworzone przy uzyciu stempla oraz maski.

Strony nabraly kolorow za pomoca spray'ow Lindy's Stamp Gang.

Czarne kwiatki oraz napisy to naklejki.

Użyłam: / I used:

 

Rainy Day Fun

Hi, it's Riikka here to share a layout with you! 

I just love board games! I'm so happy that our girls are getting bigger and they seem to share my love for the games. Their favorite game is one about building princess cupcakes but luckily they enjoy other games too, especially when they can team up with an adult. The picture in the layout was taken in my parent's summer house when we all sat by the table and played. Such a great way to spend a rainy day! 

To get the rainy but fun feeling to the page I used Distress Inks to stamp the background. Before stamping the image I sprayed a little water to the stamp so that the image would be a bit blurry and watercolor like. I used several stamps and used them layered on top of each other. 

I also used the sequin stamp in the project and stamped the image with watermark ink. Then I embossed the sequins with gold embossing powder. I also added some sequins stamped with blue Archival Ink. To build even more layers to the background I used the clock mask and drew around it with a black pen. To balance the blackness I also added a few stamped clocks when the page was almost done.

I didn't happen to have any good blue papers at hand when I was creating the piece so I created some of my own. The striped one I drew with a Copic marker but if you own the lines stamp, you can get the look easier with that. For the other paper I used the tutorial Elina created (link) and the "Sparks" stencil. 

For the embellishments I used 3rd Eye stickers, a flair and a piece of chipboard. It's actually waste from the actual shapes, but I really loved it's look so into the page it went. 

Materials from 3rd Eye:

           

As I was making the page my girls got to join in and make some cards. We all used the same colors and technique in our creations. When the backgrounds were done for their cards, we then embellished them with 3rd Eye chipboard, some clay decorations I had made earlier (link) and some thread.

Thank you for stopping by! Wishing you a delightful day!

Materials from 3rd Eye: