Sunday, November 25, 2012

Tough Guy, Gentle Heart....

   Hi, and hoping you are having a great day!

Posting two days in a row, I must be on a roll.... but I finished another lovely layout last night, and just had to share it!
 
My brother is the subject of this layout.... he is a rough and tough kinda guy, but has
a really gentle, loving side... I decided to try and show both sides by making a background paper that looks kind of graffiti or grungy, and then have the floral touches... of course, the photo itself sorta tells the story anyway, with my tough brother standing in a field of flowers!  I'll bet he was messing around and doing "catalog posing" for this pic! 
 
"My brother Billy and I live in different worlds- he is an audio engineer and music producer in the alternative music world, and has a totally different lifestyle than my "white bread" existence. He works hard, lives hard and plays hard. But beneath the many tattoos and body piercings lies a gentle soul that loves children, pets and his family more than anything. He will alsays play with his nieces and nephews, and they all LOVE their Uncle Billy! He is also very sentimental, and loves anything with historical or significant meaning to his own life or someone else's. Even though I have known him his whole life, he still manages to surprise me with his tough exterior, and gentler inner man."
 

 
I have been experimenting with a lot of different techniques lately, and my favorite new
medium is Faber-Castell's gelatos.  They are stick paints that look like a little Chapstick, and you color with them like a crayon.... spritz them with some color mist or water, and VOILA!  you have some really cool effects on your project...  I used white paper with purple, yellow, gold and two shades of green.  I just spritzed my paper lightly, because I wanted the crayon strokes to show instead of everything blending together.
 
I also used an emboss- resist technique... if you have never tried it, it is a lot of fun!
I used embossing ink and stamped my image BEFORE applying the gelatos, and embossed the image with UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel).  I stamped and embossed once, and after the image was cool, overstamped and embossed it again... the overstamping makes the image really thick and textured, so it will stand out well when you apply the gelatos.
 
I premarked on my paper where my picture was going to go, and then used the same
emboss-resist technique for the first part of my title.
 
Here is another neat use for UTEE...  I took a precut chipboard bracket, and inked it
with white ink (Clearsnap mixed media ink).  When it was dry, I stamped "gentle heart" on the bracket, and dried it with a heat gun.  Then I stamped the whole bracket with embossing ink, and covered it with UTEE... use your heat gun to melt it, and it makes another great textured element for your page!
 
The squares background paper I got from the Color, Stories, Inspiration site for their Case File
No.46 Challenge... this layout was my entry for this week, and I used the sketch from Once Upon a Sketch for the month of November.... I am also entering this layout in that challenge... Here is the sketch and the case file:
 
For the evidence in the CSI challenge, I did a grid design (the background squares paper), painting, textured element, and something that shimmers or glows (I used glimmer mist on the gelatos)... for the testimony, I did something that surprises me, and the inspiration word "surprise".

For some of the background flowers, I used the squares paper and punched out some
flower shapes, spritzed them with water, and crumpled them up... when they were dry, I smoothed them out a little... not totally, and lightly rubbed them with shimmery paint.  Then layer them, and you have another element to put on your layout!
 
I have really enjoyed playing along with CSI and OUAS this week.... I hope you visit their sites
also get inspired!
 
                                   Shelley

 
 


6 comments:

  1. this is beautiful. Thanks so much for playing along with us at OUAS:-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a very innovative page based on your brother! The photo itself conveys your theme...he's a 'tough guy' yet he's standing in a field of flowers! LOVE IT! Also great textures in your background. I have gelatos in my stash and have never used them!? This page inspires me to dig them out and try them out. Thanks for sharing your talent with us at OUAS!

    ReplyDelete
  3. OMG! Stunning page with so many different techniques and such a gorgeous photo!!! Thank you so much for playing along with us at OUAS!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love your detailed page... like the girls mentioned, it's full of techniques and a gorgeous cluster of flowers!!! Love the part of title that's on the bracket, as well!! Very smart idea! Thank you for joining us at OUAS!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Really pops in the gallery Shelley! chiming in with the previous ladies about your wonderful page! Thanks ever so much for sharing it with us at OUAS!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a beautiful page.I love the rotation.It gives a unique effext on your layout.Thank you for joining us at OUAS

    ReplyDelete