The Four of Us

My husband and me with our two boys on October 5th, 2014

I made this page for my mother-in-law who asked for a layout of my husband and me with our two boys.  I knew I didn't have any recent photos of the four of us so we went for a walk along a nature trail for a scenic backdrop and used the timer on my camera.  Picture me pressing the timer button then madly stumbling across the rocks to get in position.  I actually started this layout a while ago but had to put it on the back burner for a while because of my other commitments.  As it was to be a birthday present I had to switch it to a priority to finish on time.

The background of this layout is a piece of 13arts paper,  Always Reach Higher, from their Fly Away collection.  I added some colour with a green Faber-Castell Gelato and diluted Flat Fabio mist to the background, did some stencilling with molding paste overtop, applied a clear crackle coat over parts and did a light grey wash over the crackled areas

13arts paper, "Always Reach Higher"

The Crafter's Workshop mini template - Kasbah

The old paper doily behind the photo was coloured with a green Gelato and Flat Fabio mists then glued to the paper with matte multi-medium .   I punched around the edges and added a bit more red to some areas of the paper to balance it out and sprayed the paper with a coat of Krylon Low Odour Clear Matte finish (to tone down the glossy look of the crackle which I didn't like).

Ek Success punch - Round Binding Edge

The rocks were made from oven-baked clay using a mold and then painted.  I did a basecoat of grey and played with washes and dry brushing overtop until I got something I liked. The clay stays somewhat flexible when cured so I was able to cut pieces of it off and place some of the "rocks" on top to make it look more natural.  The acorns were also made using a mold and clay.

First Impressions Molds -  Cobblestone Path

Best Flexible Molds - Oak Arbor

These are some of the other products I used:

Dusty Attic chipboard - French Flourish

Dusty Attic chipboard - French Flourish Border

Creative Embellishments chipboard - Flourish 10

Sizzix Sizzlits die - Autumn Gatherings

And some more close-ups:

The chipboard leaves were painted green and sprayed with brown mists, then lightly inked around the tips with black. 

 The lacy die-cut leaves were made using  Prima dies.

I sprayed the die-cut maple leaves with red mist then inked around the edges in black

Thanks so much for looking.