I am enough - Dusty Attic Inspiration for April 2021

 

 Hi Dusty Fanattic's

With the changing of the season and a new job... that is super hectic, and a little out of control, I created a post that reflected the changes around me and a little reminder for myself that I am enough. I hope you like the mini tutorial and find something new for creating backgrounds for off the page!

 

Here are some close ups of my project.

 

  

I started with some paper piecing. I always have a stash nearby that I use for my journal. I wanteTo create a white washed look I covered the whole piece in chalk paint.d to add some texture in the background so I distressed the edges of the cardstock, cut them into squares, added some plasterers tape and old die cuts. I covered teh whole thing in a layer of gel medium to help with the resist on teh distressed edges of card.

 

 

 

To create a whitewashed look I covered the whole thing in chalk paint. One it was touch dry  I used a baby wipe to rub back the areas I wanted the rusty paper to peek through. This helps all the elements look like they belong together.

 

 

 

I did the same thing with some orange paint and then dry brushed some red on there. The dry brushing ends up sticking to the areas that are raised so it is a great way to add some highlights. 

 

It was time to decorate my chippies. 

I used a base coat of brown on the chains and then added some rust paste by dabbing randomly with my brush. The best fix for a heavy hand of rust paste is to just go back over it with the base coat and play until you get a realistic look. I touched some yellow paint to the top of the chains to finish it off. 

I wanted to grunge up the cogs as my contrast colour. I used a base of blue, a layer of dark green and then a dry brush of burgundy... and a dry brush of creamy white. I really just kept adding layers until I got to the point where i was happy. If it didn't work... I would have just painted over it and started again. It doesn't hurt to just play...

 

 

I have always found it difficult to display tags once created. I love the way they are mini masterpieces and don't take up much room but they often fall off the wall or get knocked over. My crafty partner in crime (Kerensa) has designed these stands for me! If you love them too you can email me and I will put you in touch with her and she can send you out some! For a small fee of course...

 

Thanks for looking and I will keep my eye out on the Dusty Fanattics page to see your fantastic creations. Till next time... Kristy!

 

Abela Artistry

 Dusty Attic Chipboard used...

Gears 1 - Designed by Nuneka

Chain Circles

Quoted Sentiments #3

 

 

Every photo tells a story - Dusty Attic Mood Board inspiration - April 2021

 Hi Crafters!

I really enjoyed the Mood Board this month. I found some amazing masculine themed paper in the new releases from 13@rts. There is a more laid back set and this one here is aimed at teenagers. Its not often we get young male inspiration and this new release is page after page of great ideas. I loved the composition on this piece and really let the paper speak for itself. All it needed was some dimensional accents from our favourite Dusty Attic chipboard and some clever composition. Instead of talking about how I decorated the chipboard I thought I would give you some tips and hints on composition. Let me know on our Facebook page if they help!

 I treated myself to something new from the Tim Holtz release and found this tissue paper. Perfect for my puzzle pieces! I used Gel Medium to stick it down and used a light spritz of water to peel off the excess once the underneath layer of Gel medium was dry. Then I added another layer to seal it. Either gloss or matt gel will do the job. If you don't have any Tissue paper you can always paint the chipboard pieces white and use your favourite stamps to get a similar effect!

 

 

I really wanted to highlight the circle in the background and use it as the frame for my composition. You will notice that I haven't added any dimensional accents on the left hand side so the eye is really drawn to the collage within the circle. To enhance it I used some regular old string, brushed some water based black dye, and a few staples... Nothing says teen grunge like dirty water and bits of metal!

I matted the background with black Bazzil to frame the composition and I used my finger to run some black paint around the edge of the photo. This created two black square-ish shapes on the page. Repetition of shapes helps create cohesion and also framed the photo in amongst all the bright colours to draw the eye to what was important.

 

 

To give the chipboard some place to 'sit' I created a neutral texture in the background with my favourite accessory, Plasterers tape!! I love this stuff because you can cut it at different angles to create some amazing shapes. It also helps to give your mediums something to stick to. Can you see the the gold leaf flakes? How cool are these and they give a touch of an electroplated influence to a page. Can you see how the mesh tape in the background gives it a place to rest? I applied the tacky glue with a pallet knife and because of the ridges you can get a really random effect when you brush off the excess.

 

 

 I wanted to colour the chipboard to tie in with the background palette. Because it is so bright, adding more colours would confuse the focal point. In this composition we have used black and white as part of our palette. When creating with bright colours we need to 'calm the page down' at some point otherwise our eyes get overwhelmed. Without black and white to do this, grey becomes a great option as a neutral! To break up the layers of chipboard I added some interest by dabbing texture paste on the Broken Bits - Bricks with a brush. I added some variation of colour with chalk paints. If you don't have texture paste you can add some sand to acrylic paint and get the same effect. 

 

 

 

 A plain white title on top of all the crazy was all I needed to finish it off. See how I used the Grey again to frame what was important on the page? 

I hope that you gained some clever tips to help with your next project.

 

 

Products used

Broken Bits #9

Jigsaw pieces - Medium

Perforated mesh

Title - Every photo tells a story

Triangle Panel - Small

Mini Brackets