Dusty Attic Inspiration for December - Beautiful Ordinary Life

Hi Dusty Fans,

Welcome to December... I wanted to create a post and a project to remember to smell the flowers in light of all the flora that has been devastated this month from the bushfires. It honestly brings me to tears to know that so many homes, animals and history, such as our Wollemi Pines, are destroyed. 

This project is to remind me of the beauty there is in the little things. 

 To create this project I kept it clean and fresh and let the elements speak for themselves. I used chalk based paints and fussy cut elements from the Pink Fresh range.

 I liked the idea of circles to remind me of the perpetual cycle of nature and chose to use the Floral Frame Set #3. I trimmed the smaller frame in half and used my water mister to 'stretch' it out to a wider arc so I could layer them. I also used my chipboard scraps to create a matt for my photo to sit on.

I used Art stones and glass Cabochons to keep the earthy organic feel. For a little bit of magic I used my shimmer pen & Shaved ice. 

To accent my clusters I added Tropical Foilage #6

I finished it off with a splatter of Distress Oxide Spray in Dried Marigold 

I hope you enjoyed my layout and I wish you all a Safe and Merry Christmas.

Kristy Abela

Check out the products I used below. 

Dusty Attic November Inspiration - Breathtaking

Hey Hey Attic Lovers!

Welcome back!!

I have a new Layout this month. I have had this image for a while and I really wanted to find something to capture the wonder. Well,  thanks to some Chipboard designed by the lovely Jennifer at Dusty Attic I could finally do it justice.

I was really naughty this month and I was so caught up in the project...

 I forgot to take progress shots. I will make it up to you.. Promise!

I used every product under the sun playing with my Chip board and stencil. Each one has been decorated differently. 

I find that it creates a lot of interest and keeps drawing my eye back to look for more. Shows how versatile chip board really is. 

To start I used my Damask stencil to lift the background with some shimmery paste. While that was drying, I used my chalk paints for Breathtaking and my Monarch Butterfly applying them with a sponge. On the butterfly I added layer upon layer to create a fade and then dazzled them with a little wax.

For my Tea Leaves I used the chalk paint as a base and used my (sadly discontinued) Dusty Crackle Glaze to finish them off. I did this in another project called Brotherly Love and fell in love with the effect. You can check it out by following the link.

I used gilding flakes on the Medallions in a gorgeous Verdi Gris.

The beautiful Paisley Flourishes (So Boho) were done in a metallic paint. I was sure to not apply it smoothly as I really wanted some texture in there so I could highlight them with my Waxes.. (Again)

I finished it off with some Flowers in Bloom, Sisal and some of my (newest) favourite boho mandala stamps.

Products Used

Monarch Butterflies

Paisley Flourish

Damask Stencil

Dusty In Bloom - Grassy Knoll

Medallion #2

Tea Leaves

Breathtaking (Title)

Thanks for joining me! If your keen to see more, check out my website!

Dusty Attic November Moodboard inspiration - Art Journal

WOW.. November already! 

Welcome back for our new challenge.

This project is a little reminiscent of the fury of spring we have been experiencing - not the delicate and soft warm up to summer on our mood board inspiration. 

I was inspired after Tracy Scotts' visit to Australia last month (weren't we all...) and wanted to try something different this time around. Who said we cant put pics in our Journals... Not me!! 

What do you think?

I used pinks, oranges and yellows out of the Paper Artsy range and brayered the background. I added some layers of gold in between to give it a bit of life. After all those bridesmaids there are absolute treasures..  

I played around with the stamps and used the paint in three shades on my chipboard creating an ombre effect. I love the quick drying nature of these paints, I can work without a heat tool. The chalk finish of the paints colours & primes our Dusty Attic Chipboard in one go. Who doesn't love a shortcut!

Look at those mini's!!!

I love that we have a whole range of chipboard that can be used in smaller projects as accents. 

Chipboard used in this project.

Mini Dragonflies

Mini Hearts

Flower Buds

Blooms #2

Kristy Abela

 Thanks for checking in and if you want to see more... 

Follow the links! Happy crafting!!

Dusty Attic Mood board Inspiration - Some kind of wonderful

Hello again!! This one is a bit special today. I don't scrap myself usually, however I cut my hair short recently and was reminiscing about the "longer days". I know, first world problem!

So whether your winding down for fall or warming up in a sunburnt country I hope you enjoy the challenge.

I used Metallic paste to brighten up the background... All those earthy shades need not be dull! A little bling goes a long way.

I added some stamping in a Brown Archival ink. 

I didn't want to over power the background with too much black. 

I used a Black Archival for the cross hatch stamp. 

I used Metallic paint on this chippy. Its one of my favourites as I can wrap the curls around my collage pieces. I did that on the flower below.

I have fallen in love with the transparencies too. They let all the beautiful work I put into my background peek through. 

I used some pan pastels to highlight my Magnolias. I wanted to break up the contrasting Black and white with just a hint of colour.

 And... with a delicate splash of gold over the final piece I am done. 

Thanks for looking.... If you like what you see...

Come and check out my other Dusty Attic Projects

Abela Artistry

Dusty Attic Goodies... 

Mini Captions #10

Love Heart Corners

Decorative Frame #5

Creative Script Stencil

Warped Flower Stencil

Dream Big - Dusty Attic Mood Board Inspiration

Hi Dusty FANattics,

I have some exciting news. I am going to be teaching this layout at The Scrapbook Superstore in Penrith. What this means is that you can come along and try your hand at a Mixed Media Layout Class! Woohoo...

In this layout I used Oxides as my colouring medium. I used sprays and Inkpads  to achieve this look of muted pastel tones on an dark background. Take a look at the close ups and come and join me for a day playing with fabulous Dusty Attic chipboards and I can show you many ways to dress them up.
Check these out!!

Photo Bomb!! Too cute not to share...

Abela Artistry

Product List:

Distress Oxide - Antique Linen

Distress Oxide - Victorian Velvet

Word Disks

Leafy Flourish 2

Stamperia Crackle Paste - Transparent

Vintage Soul for Dusty Attic

Hi everyone!
 I have a small canvas I created. I fell in love with the photo and wanted to create something to hang on my wall. I have a floral collage to enhance the image and to compliment all my awesome Dusty Attic Chipboard. 

I used some Rice paper to create a background and some crackle paste to blend in the harsh edges. I then coloured the paste and rubbed it back with a baby wipe to get the colour to contrast in the cracks.

I used some embossing powder and the Dusty Attic Script Stencil in the background and i used Distress Oxide in Walnut and a little gel medium to seal the chipboard from reacting to moisture. I really like the variations you get in colour with the oxides. 

I added some stamping to the background. and continued to colour the chipboard. This time I used Glossy Accents to seal the colour. I also edged the photo with some white paint to frame it.

 You'll notice I used some Broken Bits from the Dusty Attic Collection. I have used paint and Dusty Attic Crackle to colour these pieces.

This is the background and all my Dusty Attic Goodness... Enjoy some close ups. 

Kristy Abela

Juliette Balcony

Vine Corner #2

Broken Bits - Circles

Rose Cluster

Mini words #3

Dusty Attic Moodboard Inspiration for September by Kristy Abela

I have wanted to alter a bottle for a while now,  collecting many different shapes and sizes. 

I wanted to use Wings but found it difficult to find a bottle to suit... until I met the Fireball! 

Not sure if it was the wings or the Fireball that made me fly (Wink Wink). I thought that the Mood board was soft and delicate and wanted to capture that. After what started out as a very messy process I have success.

Here are some close ups of the process. 

Thanks for looking. 

Kristy Abela

  

Leafy Flourish 

Large Wings

Flutterbies #3