The Great Indoors - Australian - Inspired Mixed-Media Scrapbook Layout

 Hi everyone and happy crafting Tuesday

Another month (where is this year going?) and another colour 

Hello creative friends! Today I’m sharing “The Great Indoors,” a humorous mixed-media scrapbook layout inspired by the colours and textures of the Australian bush. I used eucalyptus green, natural stone, copper and rusty finishes to complement the wildlife photograph and create plenty of earthy texture.

Here's a layout inspired by the great outdoors - just wish the wildlife would stay out there!

I began with the gum leaf stencil and Bundled Sage and Pumice Stone Distress Inks to establish the soft botanical background. Limestone Stone Effects Paste added raised texture, while 13@rts Rusty Powder and Simon Hurley Lunar Paste introduced the aged copper details.

 Products I've used include:

Gum leaf stencil with Distress ink (Bundled Sage & Pumice Stone)

Stone Effects paste (Limestone) and stencil

13 @rts rusty powder

Lunar Paste - Refined copper and brick stencil

Tim Holtz film strip

Heidi Swapp Oh What Fun chipboard

Heidi Swapp bow

Heidi Swapp Jumbo tag

Film strip, chipboard, a jumbo tag and a fabric bow completed the layered design. The combination of natural colours, metallic highlights and playful embellishments makes this a fun interpretation of an Australian-inspired scrapbook page.

TFL

cheers

Trace

You Don't Need Approval - By Lisa Oxley Curated Collective Creator 2025

This bold and emotive mixed-media art journal spread is a celebration of self-worth, resilience, and unapologetic expression. Anchored by the empowering message “Remember, you don’t need their approval,” the piece radiates strength through vibrant colour, powerful portraiture, and layered symbolism.

 Key Visual Elements

1. Central Portrait – The Fierce Muse

At the heart of the piece is a digitally enhanced or hand-collaged portrait of a woman draped in rich blues, adorned with floral embellishments and butterfly accents. Her steady gaze and face partially painted with vivid blue mark her as a symbol of defiance, self-possession, and power.

   •   Expression: Calm, confident, and assertive — she doesn’t seek permission to exist fully.

   •   Palette: Blue dominates the figure, contrasted by warm skin tones and deep shadows to create emotional depth.

2. Monarch Butterflies

Floating around the composition, the vibrant orange monarchs provide a stunning contrast to the dominant blue hues. Butterflies traditionally represent transformation — here, they suggest freedom from societal expectation and personal growth.

3. Botanical & Natural Motifs

Painted and collaged blue foliage sweeps through the layout, softening the intensity with delicate, organic balance. They connect the composition to nature, grounding the emotional energy with calming structure.

4. Layered Collage & Ephemera

Elements like measuring tape, textured edges, vintage paper scraps, and photo frames create a scrapbook-meets-fine-art aesthetic, rich with symbolism:

   •   Measuring tape = judgment, comparison, standards

   •   Antique embellishments = heritage, memory, feminine power

   •   Blue painterly strokes = expression, release, clarity

5. Typography – The Affirmation

“Remember, you don’t need their approval.”

Positioned subtly beneath the focal portrait, this quote acts as a personal mantra — a quiet but unshakable declaration of self-trust.

'Be Brave' by Emma Zappone

 Hey there everyone.
Em popping in with a simple Art Journal page today. I have not been very well so I needed to play simply and quickly this week. I visited some older techniques while still focusing on the colours in the affirmation board.

I played in one of the smaller ABM Art Journals as this allows for a quicker play. Lets just look at he colour scheme in the board....

I liked the 'smooshed' effect behind the quote on the board, this inspired me to recreate it as the background of the page. My blues are are a mix from the board. More the donut colours I think. I created this background using Distress Oxides in Uncharted Mariner, Faded Jeans and Broken China.

I then added some stamping layers. Digging out some of my oldies and my faves created a panel of stamping. I then used some quotes and words from a selection of 49&Market Rub-ons. I never use them so I thought these would blend in great with the stamping. Plus they are words that really are needed for me right now.

Finally my focal feature is from the Lucky Foundations pack 'Reverie' and I chose to cut out 2 of the bees from the acetate sheet. I painted the backs with some White Gesso, so that they didn't blend into the background too much.
A little black ink splash and a quote this page is done.

Thanks for joining me today and I hope simplicity inspires you.

Till next time, Em xx

Sweet Specimen by Emma Zappone

Hello everyone!

Today I want to share my take on the fab February mood board! 
This months board is so awesome, I'm sure I will say that every month but it's true.

Here is what I created....

Check out the mood board.....

I really wanted to create a background with the fantastic 49 & Market Rub-ons. I have used a collection of the ones found in the Everyday Essential collection.

So I made a background a bit like when I stamp a background. Can I just tell you if you haven't played with these yet, I think you will just have to! They are one of the best Rubs I have ever used!
Next I layered a stencil over the top with a white texture paste. I chose a stencil out of the Tim Holtz Mini Stencil set 30.

Then came the pop of colour. I only wanted to use it sparingly as I wanted the rub-ons to be a major feature. So I added Distress oxide in Frayed Burlap with a water colour brush to highlight parts of  stencil.

And then came the layers. I used some torn book paper, corrugated card and some Tim Holtz Idea-ology ephemera these ones were from the field notes collection.

And then i added chipboard, flowers, a resin and more including some more rubs from Tim Holtz.

I love how this page came to be and I love that I didn't even need to use one stamp!

I hope this page has inspired you to create with this months mood board.
I cannot wait to see what you all make. 

See you again soon, Emma 

Shine

Hi everyone.   

I'm super excited to have been invited to join this very talented DT.   So here is my 1st LO inspired by this month's gorgeous mood board.

I started with some old My Minds Eye patterned paper.   I masked off a portion of a Dina Wakley Jungle stencil with some washi tape and scrapped some modelling paste through with a palette knife.   I then cleaned the stencil, flipped it over and repeated the process.   This is a great way of making more use of your stencils.

I did some random stamping using a 49 & Market stamp with some Fossilized Amber Distress ink and some navy water based ink.   I sprinkled on some Colour Blast shimmer dust in navy and gave it a light spritz with water.

I grabbed a few wood veneer leaves from my stash and rubbed them (using my finger) with Indian gold Nuvo embellishment mousse.   I then added a touch of Viva Inka Gold in Haematite on the leaves and on the modelling paste so it would stand out.

I sprayed some cheese cloth with some Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist and then stuck it all down with a little bit of gold thread thrown in for good measure.

I finished by adding my title, a gorgeous Heidi Swapp acetate word and a scattering of Finnabair Art Ingredients Mica Flakes stuck on using gel medium.

Thanks for stopping by.   

Enjoy your week and hope you have some time to get crafty.

Summery 'Handmade Cards'

Hi All! I hope you are enjoying your summer!

We are currently over on the west coast of Australia, having a beach break. The Western Australian coast is just stunning, with its white sand and dry heat.

I am sharing with you today some summery cards. These cards were very simple to create using the fantastic Tim Holtz Distress Oxide ink pads from the store. 

I have layered cards using white,black, teal and yellow cardstock from my stash.

For these two cards pictured, I blended Distress Oxide in both 'Fossilized Amber' and 'Spiced Marmalade' on heavy cardstock. 

If you have watercolour paper, you could use this too. To add texture - on the hexagon-shaped one - I lightly sponged a Kaisercraft Honeycomb clear stamp with water then stamped over the blended area. After I heat-dried this, I scribbled the border using a Posca pen in black from the store. 

The sentiment here was heat-embossed with white powder from my stash.

For the second card, I repeated the same process, except I stamped the large circle using a 49 and Market stamp set. 

After I assembled these cards - I placed them side by side and splattered both backgrounds using Colour Blast 'Roadbase' Colour Spray. 

I have used enamel dots from the Cocoa Vanilla 'You Rock' collection.

For the cards pictured here, I have used the same technique again, with blending and water-stamping, with the stamps from Kaisercraft and 49 and Market.

However, I have used different colours from the store: This time, I used Distress Oxide in Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, Twisted Citron, Fossilized Amber and Peacock Feathers - the latter to bring out the blue in the border. 

For the sentiment - for both of these cards - I have heat-embossed using white powder from my stash and Versamark from the store.  

Once again, I splattered Colour Blast 'Roadbase' over the back grounds of this pair of cards. I also used sequins to add some more 'bling' to complete the cards.

Thank you for popping by!

Enjoy your day.

Amy 😊