Exploring - By Lisa Oxley Curated Collective Creator 2025

A dreamlike fusion of light, texture, and curiosity, this mixed-media art journal page titled ”[EXPLORING]” captures the spirit of adventure, introspection, and the magic of the unknown. With vibrant painterly skies and vintage textures, the piece invites the viewer to step into a world of imagination and gentle wonder.

 Key Visual Elements

1. Ethereal Sky and Water Reflection

The background bursts with horizontally blended strokes of vivid colour — pink, orange, gold, and deep purples — mimicking a rich sunset sky reflected on rippling water. The layered brushwork and colour blending convey motion, emotion, and transition — symbolising the journey of exploration.

2. Silhouette of the Fairy Girl

In the foreground, a small figure with delicate green wings steps into a glowing pool of water. Her silhouette stands in stark contrast to the saturated background, drawing the eye directly to her form — a representation of innocence, curiosity, and courage.

   •   The wings suggest a fairy or magical being, adding an otherworldly narrative.

   •   The placement in the water implies a moment of initiation — stepping into the unknown.

3. Vintage Ledger Integration

On the right-hand side, a beautiful torn edge reveals a handwritten vintage ledger page, grounding the ethereal scene in a sense of history and timelessness. This juxtaposition between fantasy and archival ephemera gives the piece emotional and visual depth.

4. Title Typography – “[EXPLORING]”

The word [EXPLORING] is stamped in bold black over the middle horizon line, enclosed in brackets for emphasis. Compass rose motifs flank the title, reinforcing the theme of navigation and personal discovery.

5. Mixed Media Collage Touches

   •   Ink blending & dry brushing to create transitions between colours and borders

   •   Ink splatter & texture stamping to add energy and break the smoothness

   •   Grunge effects around the frame for a weathered, timeworn quality

Mood & Message

This piece captures the quiet, brave act of stepping into the unknown. The fairy girl is not flying — she’s walking. She is grounded, reflective, and full of potential. It’s about intentional wandering, emotional growth, and quiet bravery.

The mood is both vibrant and gentle — a powerful contrast that Lisa Oxley executes beautifully, allowing for the magic to speak softly and profoundly.

 

PRODUCT COMPARISON - GESSO

White vs. Clear vs. Black Gesso

If you love mixed media, you already know gesso is a must-have in your stash. But with so many options  - white, clear and black, it can be tricky to know which one to reach for. Let’s break down the differences and when to use each.

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White Gesso

Best for: Classic base coating, priming, bright backgrounds.

• Creates a smooth, opaque surface that covers patterned paper, chipboard, or canvas.

• Brightens colours layered on top—perfect when you want paints, inks, or pastels to really pop.

• Great “oops fixer” if you need to tone down busy paper before adding layers.

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 Clear Gesso

Best for: Preserving patterns or working with slick surfaces.

• Transparent primer that lets the original design (like patterned paper, collage, or photos) show through.

• Adds “tooth” so your mediums grip better—fantastic for journaling, watercolours, or over glossy papers.

• Ideal when you don’t want to lose detail but still need a workable base.

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Black Gesso

Best for: Dramatic, moody, or grunge-inspired projects.

• Gives a deep, matte black base that makes metallics, neon paints, and bright colours glow.

• Creates instant contrast—amazing for Halloween, industrial, or night-sky looks.

• Can transform plain chipboard or wood into bold, ready-to-layer embellishments.

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 Quick Tip:

Think of gesso like a stage:

• White sets a fresh, bright scene.

• Clear keeps the background in the spotlight.

• Black adds drama and intensity.

Want to try them all? You’ll find white, clear and black gesso in the Scrappingclearly store. Perfect for experimenting with new looks this October. Stock up today!

'Live Everyday with Intention' - by Emma Zappone

Hello to you all this fine Thursday.
Today I am sharing a project that I made last year sometime and have yet to share it with you.
It was a fairly simple page, with techniques that we all like to play with. Plus I found the video of it being created too....bonus!!

It is an A4 layout created on heavy white cardstock. I started by using an image transfer by Dress my Craft and then a coat of clear gesso to seal that and the page together. I would love you to check out the video to see the process as it probably would explain the process much better than I could 😂😂😂

I used some great products on this page including the awesome Aall & create stamp Lotus Clusters, which I stamped onto the background with emboss ink and then using White emboss powder heat set it. I also stamped the same flowers onto white card this time with black ink and then added colour in a watercolour type technique.

The colours used where a combination of Izink pigment inks and Distress Crayons. I used the same colours on the background as well as on the stamped flowers. With the stamped flowers I incorporated a little pink too. The additional stamps on the back ground were from Tim Holtz Field Notes set and I used permanent ink to stamp these and add some more vibrancy to the page.
Beats using Black all the time.

I kept my embellishments simple, so the colours really made the statement. I did manage to use an awesome Finnabair Metal flower amongst the flower cluster. 
I hope you enjoy the process video and I will see you all again soon.

Stay crafty, Em xx

Bloom - Travellers Notebook by Emma Zappone

Hi, Em with you today.
And today for my share I have a Travellers Notebook page that also showcases the moodboard for Feb.
So some of you may know that I quite like Brown and when I saw this months colour theme I might have squealed with delight.

As a reminder lets peek at the amazing mood/sketch.....

I will play with the sketch side of the board later in the month.
I used some awesome products for these pages. I started with some Rubons. Once they were applied I coated my pages with a clear Gesso to prime them ready for all the colour and medium.

Next I used some modelling paste through Finnabair's stencil - Mind games along some of the corners and edges of the pages. This created a nice bit of texture with out overwhelming the pages.

Then came the colour. I used a variety of different products for all the neutral shades. I started with Distress Oxides in Gathered Twigs, Vintage photo & Frayed Burlap and then a Dylusions Ink Spray in ground coffee. I moved it around with a little water and a damp brush.

Next came the tree. This was painted with a Mix of different acrylic paints which included Art by Marlene - Tobacco, Dina Wakley - Buff, Dina Wakley Heavy Body acrylic - Ancient and a little cheap acrylic from my stash. For the trunk, this was painted with black Gesso. You can see how it all came about in my Video.

This weeks TN theme is hearts, now I'm not one to play with hearts much, so I drew these little hearts dangling from the tree to honour the theme. Finally I added a word and a quote from Art by Marlene quote book and this weeks TN pages were complete. 

I hope this inspired you to play along with this weeks theme or even have a go at this months fab mood/sketch.
You can check out my video here....

I will see you all again very soon.
Stay safe and stay crafty, Em xx

My Darling with Emma Zappone

Happy Sunday all! Emma here with you today sharing a page inspired by this months glorious moodboard. It has the warmest shades of mauve, purple and grape. Colours that usually would have me running, but this time I decided to really embrace them and make them my own.

Here is the moodboard.....



To achieve the different shades of purple, I used a variety of different products. But lets start from the base sheet up. I primed by paper with a clear gesso and allowed to dry. Then with a couple of different stencils added a white crackle paste and again allowed to dry. Once dry I then used a Distress Crayon - seedless preserves and a touch of Dylusions crushed grape ink to create a dramatic effect on the crackle paste.

To add a little warmth I watered down a small amount of Art Alchemy Metallique romance pink acrylic  with a fine brush, dotted in amongst the other shades of purple.

I used a number of scrap pieces of paper from all sorts of brands to achieve my layers behind my image. The chipboard is painted with the Romance pink acrylic, I primed all my resin pieces with black gesso and then brushed Prima waxes once dry. these were a combination of Heather Hills and Amethyst magic. It created such an awesome finish. 

Once all my embellishments and flowers were in place I dry brushed a little white gesso over a lot of the elements, this allowed me to then add a touch of wax over the art pebbles and other embellishments.

Lastly a few Finnabair micro beads and Prima pearls to add a soft touch. I watered down a little of the Distress crayon used on the background and flicked this around my layout to tie it all together.

I hope this page inspires you a little to try a colour that may not be your first choice or one that you play with often, but that's what makes a challenge like this so much fun.

Catch you all again soon, Em xx 

Beautiful Memories Forever - Goodbye from Emma.

Hi lovely Scrapping Clearly Friends.

Emma here with you all for my what will be my last time here on the blog as part of this amazing Design Team. I am so very VERY sad to be leaving, unfortunately due to some work commitments I have had to say goodbye. It has been such an amazing team to be on, and Kylie is just the BEST person to work for and design for. And all you wonderful friends are going to be missed also, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. ARGH I'm totally crying right now!

So instead of me crying let me share my final page with you all...….I decided to play with items that became favourites for me and still are. 

After choosing some paper and tags ect, I pulled out my Distress Oxides. First though I coated my base sheet with clear gesso to prime my page for the oxides. Before I started on the oxides I used the Distressed Lace stencil by TCW and spread a transparent modelling paste through. Then I chose 4 colours to suit my image, these included.... Tumbled Glass, Peacock Feathers, Carved Pumpkin and Cracked Pistachio. I added the colour with the good ol' smoosh effect with a piece of plastic wrapping and dried in between layers.

Once the oxides were dried I then added another stencil this time it was Script Dots by TCW and used  White Crackle paste through it. Dried this off and flicked a little Art Alchemy Romance pink all over. I then stamped. I picked some of my faves, the awesome Studio Light Grunge Smile like a flower stamp and my all time fave Fairy Orb stamps.

In amongst my layers I cut up a sheet of Heidi Swapp Die cut paper and tucked that into my other elements.

This title I chose from an old 13 arts paper, it really spoke to me as I created this final layout. I have always really enjoyed creating for this team and I feel I made some beautiful creations due to the awesome product I got to play with from SC. So it just seemed fitting to add this for my final page.

As like nearly all my projects for SC I added a couple of quotes from Tim  Holtz Small talk stickers and flicked Liquitex Titanium white ink over the final page.

I do have one final video made for you to watch of this page coming together too. I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you Kylie, the team and all you lovely friends for all your kind comments and support and generosity over the last 2 years. It has been an amazing experience.

I won't be gone forever as I love a good challenge and SC always have awesome challenges and I will just have to join in! 

But for now I say thank you and Goodbye xxxx

Em xx

Look for the Magic - with Emma.

Hi beautiful people!

Today I share another take on the mood board, this time really embracing the Green.

First though lets refresh our minds on the glorious board.

Here is how it turned out (I added a touch of Gold too)…..

So to start this project, oh I have a little video process for this page also, so please check it out, I applied Clear Gesso first, then with Modelling paste through a Tim Holtz stencil I created texture highlights.

Then once dry I added a Distress Oxide Re inker dotted, water sprayed and smooshed over the background. Once this was dry I used a Gold crackle texture paste through the same stencil as the beginning. Adding small highlights and pops of colour.

Behind my image I trimmed and layered a Heidi Swapp Kraft tag which I distressed and inked. In these layers I also cut Oxide inked this time with Cracked Pistachio and stamped Heidi Swapp die cut sheets.

Then the magic happened! I played with the very awesome Tim Holtz Transparent acetate wings! Oh WOW!!!

Stunning right!

I trailed this up my page complimenting the photo image.

My title went on and some quotes from Tim Holtz Small talk stickers completed my look.

I really hope you get inspired to create with this months mood board if you haven't already.

Please check out my video for this page and leave some love.

                       

I'll see you all again next week.

Till then Em xx

You do You - with Emma

Welcome to Tuesday friends, Em with you all today.

I have been finding it really hard to find time to scrap lately or finding the right head space to scrap in, so I decided to do a layout that doesn't use too many elements and comes together fairly quickly for me.

I started as usual with most of  my layouts and used a Clear Gesso to prime my base paper. Once dry I then added modelling paste through a stencil and then went over that with 2 Distress Oxides, this time I chose Cracked Pistachio and Spun Sugar. 

I wanted to leave it soft in colour as the vibe of the photo was soft and peaceful.

I only added 1 stamp also from Jane Davenports build a bouquet set.

Then I used a mix of elements, layering with Heidi swapp ephemera pieces and flower trimmings.

I added a few quotes from Tim Holtz and some stitched hearts by Pink Fresh studio.

 These are a perfect addition to any sort of layout.

A few flicks of Dylusions ink and this page is finished. I think it took approx 15 mins to put together once I knew what elements I was using. 

I hope it inspires you to try out some simple layouts when you may be time poor.

I'll see you all soon, Em xx

Breathe - with Emma

Welcome to Tuesday SC friends.

Today I'm sharing a page that has been created using inspo from this months moodboard.

It's a beautiful textural moodboard, with very pretty colour tones.

Not my usual go to colours, but it did allow me to dig into my stash a little deeper.

Here is my interpretation.....

I tried very hard to get texture into this page and followed the drapping down of fabrics by using strips of paper.

These strips were made from 3 sheets from Heidi Swapp September skies 6x6 paper pad.

I added torn pieces of fabric in amongst them.

To add more texture I used a Heidi swapp Fabric tag that I distressed to add more interest.

I also layered a few pieces from a Heidi swapp Ephemera pack.

The title "breathe" comes from a set of acetate words also by the cool Heidi Swapp.

Very fitting for this image I thought.

My back ground work consisted of a few ingredients, firstly by applying Clear gesso on my base sheet, once dry I added a Distress Oxide in Abandoned Coral and then dripped some reinkers in Tattered rose and Candied apple.

The doilies were coated in Spun sugar.

Finally I added 2 Pink Fresh stitched hearts to the page and now the page is complete.

Hope you enjoy this page as much as I do and I will catch you all next week.

Em xx