Bella Donna
Tres Jolie’s April Scrapbook Kit comes absolutely crammed with gorgeous elements: the Bella Collection from 13 @rts, flowers from 49 and Market and several packages of Tres Jolie’s own chipboard.
The 13 @rts selection includes the entire 12 x 12 paper collection (plus an extra sheet of cutouts), a package of ephemera, an A4 sticker sheet and an A6 paper pack. One of the images from this pack struck me immediately as a possible focal point in a layout. And once I took a good look at the April Mood Board, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Here’s what I came up with:
And here’s the Mood Board that inspired my design:
I was struck by the worn stucco walls and images of windows and worn iron bars as well as the pretty pinks and greens of Spring, captured so well by the beautiful patterned papers. I selected the Antico paper as my bottom layer and the Romantic Evening piece to go on top. I fussy cut the flower image on the right before carefully tearing the paper on a more or less diagonal line toward the bottom. This was glued to the base with a thin piece of chipboard in between to give it some dimension. I created a couple of matting layers from the remainder and distressed the edges. I tore and distressed the edges of the focal image and adhered it all to the layout.
And now it was time to embellish. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the amazing chipboard gate that came in the kit; I just wasn’t sure how to get the effect that I wanted, so I ended up doing a bit of this and that and I’m very pleased with the results. I started by coating it with clear gesso to give my mediums “teeth” to cling to. I dug out a Color Bloom spray mist that I’ve had for years and gave the gate a thorough coating. This resulted in a white coating with a very light gold underlay. When it was dry, I went over it with a layer of Moonshadow Mist and let it set. Hmmmmmm……. Still not what I wanted….. I grabbed a Distress Ink pad and pounced over the chipboard here, there and everywhere and yes!!!!! just what I wanted….. Sometimes it pays to experiment, doesn’t it?
I cut the gate in half and placed it above and beneath the image. I finished with a few of the 49 and Market blooms and layers and layers of fussy cut flowers and leaves.
A few closeups:
Don’t forget that Tres Jolie can be found in the following places:
And remember: the Mood Board Challenge (with a prize of a gift certificate to the Tres Jolie Store) is open to everyone. Check out the details here in the April Reveal Post.