Fall Project Series #4 - Inspired by Louise Nelson

I am SO EXCITED to share this project with you! I had so much fun playing and experimenting...and I am pretty sure I am not quite done with the "creative play" that started with this layout.

As I told you in my last post, I have been enjoying the art of Louise Nelson...a designer who lives in Australia. She does some SERIOUS - outside the box creating.  You can check out her blog here. Her projects have such a wonderful sense of movement and feel very organic.  I have been wanting to try and apply some of the things that she uses on her layouts, and this fall layout seemed the perfect time.

See what I mean? She creates backgrounds that I would describe more as "back drops" for her overall design...I love it! I couldn't wait to try to create my own take on the inspiration that I find when I look at her projects.

Source

Louise uses "gray board" (raw chipboard) for her base and often uses gesso in a sprayable form to create her subtle backgrounds with stencils and masks.  I knew these were two things that I would concentrate on when I started experimenting. I haven't ever seen a "sprayable" version of gesso...so I decided to create my own...and you know me...once I start mixing it rarely stops!

To make it a bit easier to follow - I've done a video highlighting the techniques that I used.  You can watch it here...or over on YouTube if you prefer.  I will put some close-ups of the project and the process down below so you can see the results a bit better.

Here is a close-up of the focal image. You've seen those felt die cuts before, right? Sharp eye! I always keep the "leftovers" from previous projects and you never know where they may show up!

 I am totally loving the SPLAT! I think it takes away the "edges" and gives a softer look to the background.

Here is a close-up of the secondary focal image area....just added a bit of stamping and another die-cut sprig.

All these fun layers just make me happy!

And here are a few of the extra bits and pieces you could use if you don't have exactly what I used...remember - "raid your stash" when trying something new!

And finally, I know most of the folks that visit my blog are "lurkers" - and that is totally ok...but I want to get your opinion about my next series (we're not done with this one - but I am thinking ahead), so if you would humor me and leave me a comment I would really appreciate it. Here is my idea..

I know a lot of us do some form of "December Daily" (Ali Edwards) or "Journal Your Christmas" (Shimelle Laine) mini album project...and I was thinking that I would do a series in November sharing how I prepare my basic project to get ready for December. I would focus on some fun techniques and products and by the end of November we could have our Christmas Journal to the point that we only need to add pictures and a bit of journaling from the day.  What do you think of this idea?  Would it be something that you would be interested in seeing?  I wouldn't do a DAILY video - but I would probably cover 2-3 pages per video. Let me know what you think...and if there is anything else you would be interested in us doing after we finish our Fall Project Series.

Gotta run - but I will be back soon with another Fall Project!  Have a great week...and be sure and save some time for Creative Play!