Mixed Media layout & Scrapfest Kitchener recap

It has been a few weeks and I have wanted to blog all about Scrapfest but never seem to find the time!

We had a fantastic weekend!  It started with an 11hr car ride as we decided to hit as many scrapbook stores as we could from here, Ottawa, to Kitchener.  We managed to make it to 4 but one was closed!  Oh well, plenty of shopping was to be had at the marketplace on Friday and Saturday!

We took a mixed media canvas class that featured Beeswax from Christy Riopel and I really enjoyed it!  She is a lovely gal!  Very relaxed and down to earth, I like her style of teaching!  I like her!  I even hugged her!!  bahahhaah  *wink*

new "Vintage" Butterly, TH stamps, Beeswax, and I added some twine from a  piece of packaging from our gift bags....

We also had a private lesson on Pan Pastels from Karen Ellis, owner of the "Art House Studio" in Kitchener.  We had a mix up with the mini class we were supposed to be a part of and since we are all so awesome and she is so kind and generous she gave us a special VIP session!!  ;)  Unfortunately, there were no canvases left over but I quickly piped up and told her we all had our art journals with us and we could simply use those!

I think I mainly bought stamps and mixed media supplies with a couple of paper lines too.....I had a great time! We all did, I think...except for the whole not sleeping for four nights part.....

I created a mixed media layout prior to leaving for the "Topic is Tropic" layout challenge from Scrapfest.  This contest was judged by members of the Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine team.  I wanted to use my new love of all things mixed media and not necessarily traditional scrapbooking for this contest.

"The Topic is Tropic" layout challenge entry

I began by creating my own paper to use as my background using a white crayon resist technique.  I free-handed a white crayon chevron pattern to mimic waves in the ocean.  I then used watercolour paints to create the blue of the waves.

Next I used some new  blue and green Dylusions sprays to spray on a stencil to use as a stamp to looks like seaweed.  I  then quite liberally sprayed "Turquoise" Perfect Pearls mist all over the whole paper to give it a really wonderfully pearly shine.

Hand painted white cardstock 

The next layer consisted of more sea grass this time cut from my Silhouette Cameo.  I then painted all the sea grass with multiple hues of blue and green using Twinkling H2Os.  They are fabulous!  I recently acquired quite a few of them from a garage type of sale and I LOVE THEM!!!!

I had cut that wonderful starfish corner border out of cream cardstock and then tinted some Glass Bead Gel medium using red, orange and yellow liquid acrylic ink.  I had a nasty spill of the red ink on the carpet in my art room and it now looks like I sacrified someone in here!!  lol  carpet out, laminate in!!

I printed my picture of my family 8x10 and then cut it into three sections and lifted all the sections with pop dots to create some additional texture and dimension and then journalled directly onto the photo along the waters edge with rubons.  I distressed my Thickers with the Imaginisce dstresser tool to compliment the beachy look of the layout and it was complete.  I love, love, love how it turned out!  I really wanted to show some different ways to do a layout.  I got some really great compliments and feedback from some other fellow scrappers. Some other lucky lady won the challenge. oh well, you win some, you lose some.....

Thanks for looking!