You and Me.

This is a layout I did for the Beat the Rush Crop over at Pages in Time.  We were given a sketch to work with.  I have to say that this is the fastest layout I've ever done and I actually had a hard time with it.  I'm not one for working off of a sketch.  As a matter of fact, I draw my own page sketches and my layout never ends up looking like my own sketch LOL!  Most of the elements on their sketch are represented here, but not all of them. 

This is a picture of my DH and DD back about 4 years ago.  It is one of my favorite pics of all time.  We were at a friend's camp on Lake Ontario.  It is a few hours from home and about 20 minutes from Canada (near Kingston).  My DD was playing in the lake and found herself really cold. 

What I did on this page was go for some texture with my paper.  The blue and gold paper is more like a paper/fabric hybrid.  The gold is very shiny and is actually quite beautiful in person.  Very rich.  I found the paper that is behind the pic one day pawing through all of the papers at AC Moore.  It's kind of like tree bark.  I finally got to use that brown scroll that is along the side.  That thing has been hanging around for ever now.  As usual I handmade the flowers and leaves.  Here is how I did them and then the finished product:

 I use a program called Sure Cuts a Lot.  This program allows you to import SVG files and then cut them with your cricut.  So I cut out  Impatiens and their leaves on manila paper.  I love using manilla or white paper because then I make these flowers all my own.  The next thing I did was choose my Distress Inks.  One thing to note; card stock or even regular paper need to have their fibers broken down a bit.  You do this simply by crumpling the paper and then bending it all over the place.  This makes the paper pliable and will ultimately give it a worn look.  The other thing it does is create creases and high spots that will grab more ink than other parts of the paper. Another thing to remember with Distress Inks is that it is best to work in layers. I started the flowers with a very light, all-over base of Weathered Wood.  Then I took Faded Jeans and starting from the outside of the petals I worked my blending tool in and over the paper.  The edges will grab more ink and it will fade as you move toward the center, giving you that really nice gradient of shades.  Then I went over the edges and slightly in a little bit father on the petals with Walnut Stain.  Each time the new color builds off of the one before it sometimes creating a color all its own and other times creating these beautiful subtle shades that you see in nature.  Once I finished inking these then I took out a sheet of foam and placed my flower on it.  Using the ball end of my stylus I "drew" a circle over and over right in the middle of the flower.  This makes the paper begin to fold up into a cup shape.  The paper will relax unless you glue it like this so don't panic.  Then I took fabric paint and placed a dot in the center and then little lines going up the middle of the petal.  Last, I used Distress Crackle and just placed it on the tips of the flowers.  This gives the ink a nice rich look and also stiffens up the paper.  Please remember that the paper will begin to come out of that cup shape but once it is dry you can begin working the paper again to give it shape.  I did the same thing with the leaves but used greens and the walnut stain.  I also used the ball end of my stylus to create a center vain. Something to think about is that when you do this, your ink will be darker over this area, so if you don't want every ink shade that you use to pick up on this high spot, then don't create it until you are ready to use the ink that you want to stand out.  I also crumpled and worked over the paper to make it pliable and bendy.  Here is the finished product:

 If you have any questions or don't think I explained it well enough, please leave me a comment and let me know.  Thanks for looking and happy inking!!!