Born to Fly - Sue Smythe with a bonus card

 Born to fly Layout and bonus card 

Hello Crafters 

Today I am sharing with you all, a sweet layout and a little card I made with my latest paper design for Bee Arty "Songbird Melody" Featuring lots of Dusty Attic chipboard. They make the perfect addition to my layout and I will show you some of the techniques I use to alter them to fit the shabby chic style and colours of this paper pack.

I have created a base, by painting the patterned paper with clear gesso, I love the feel it leaves on the paper, 

and also it makes a good barrier to the paper if you want to use 

mixed media, the paint will not soak in and you can move it around more. You can also wipe off any mistakes easily too

I have altered chipboard for my layout, 

 a gorgeous wreath to go around the photo, some chipboard leaves

which I have made to resemble feathers, some cute ladybirds, bird cage and a leafy flourish

To alter I have first painted the chipboard with white gesso, in a stipple motion so that it is patchy and some of the chipboard colour is showing through.

Then I have applied some Colour Blast shimmer dusts, peacock and paris mixed with a little water over the top, again in a patchy way, it is better to do one colour and then dry, before adding the next colour. I have then dry brushed a little mint chalk paint over some of the leaves and when dry, I have dotted the leaves with a white paint pen. I like to also spray with a little hairspray, I know if sounds funny but this gives it a subtle shine, and if you want to sprinkle with a little white glitter you can, it will stick to the spray.

Bonus card idea 

Here is a bonus card, I have made a wallet style card, from a 12 x 12 sheet of cream cardstock. There are many templates and ideas on line, then I have trimmed paper to fit, and added some tags, all from the Songbird Melody paper pack 

You can add as many tags as you like, or tickets, scratchies or even photos to finish you card, punch holes in the tags and attach some fine blue ribbon or whatever you have.

To alter the frame, first I have painted it with white gesso, you may need 2 coats to get a really good white finish. Then dry well with a heat gun.

Then I have blended brown ink around the edges, inside and out. Then I  have stamped a crackle style stamp in brown ink randomly over the frame. In this instance I have used Bee Arty Wing fragment stamp. This gives you the look of a shabby chic crackled frame. Great for cards and layouts.

These are the chipboard elements I have used