New Design Team member announcement and technique post

We have been sitting on some VERY exciting news over the last couple of months... yes we have a new Design Team member that joined us.  Why did we keep it a secret??  Well because we wanted to announce it closer to when her first kit will be released!  We do try to work ahead with kits and release, and having a new Arty Chic is definitely making that happen.

Our new design team member is Fiona Paltridge.  She is a super talented Arty Chic who will be showing her stuff in the form of the premier kits as well as technique sheets e-mailed to members and inspiration on this blog.  We are super excited to have her join the team.

A little about Fiona

My first Scrapping experience was in 1998 when I attended a "Crafty Kids" party (now known as Kaszazz). I bought some 12x12 papers a small black ink pad and two stamps and I've never looked back.

I have evolved as a scrapbooker to what I now like to refer to as a messy scrapper. I use many mixed media techniques in my work along with more traditional scrap booking methods so my hands are often covered in paint, ink sprays or glue. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

I currently design for three Scrapbooking teams. My first ever designing experience was for Kaszazz when they asked to feature some of my creations in their recently published catalogue. This then lead to the creation of my blog "Pastiche Scrapbook Studio" and the confidence to enter some challenges online. From this an offer came to me to join "Off the Rails Scrapbooking" as a DT member. This challenge blog is a new and innovative group with an amazing team of designers and I couldn't believe they wanted me! I soon joined up with it's sister Facebook site "Scrap it With Attitude" an equally exciting venture and suddenly found myself completely absorbed in the world of scrapbooking. All of these amazing experiences have also lead to being featured a few times as a guest Designer for Kreative Koncepts and recently having a piece featured in "Scrapbook Creations" (up coming June edition).

These opportunities have really helped me push my scrapbooking to another level and I am grateful everyday for their support. I love exploring the web to find inspiration. I hope that my work helps to inspire you too.

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To celebrate Fiona joining the team, here is a technique post from her on how she created this fabulous background using the products in the new kit.

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Hello Scrappy friends. Fiona here to share with you my first creation as a new member of the Scrappy Chat Designs Team. When I received the May "Cheeky Smiles" kit from Beck in the mail, I couldn't believe all of the fantastic bits and bobs that was in it. I couldn't wait to start creating!

I'm a bit of a sprays and paints girl so the "Tumble Dye" in the kit got me very excited. I jumped straight into my crazy thinking zone of "What can I do with this?" I wanted the colour to dominate the Layout so I decided it needed to be a background feature.

I began by choosing a fairly basic background stamp. The one I used was a grid stamp but you could also use a script or word stamp or any stamp that uses thin lines such as a honeycomb or journalling lines. You don't want anything that is too blocky or uses a lot of flat surface, if that makes sense.

First step is to add a thinish layer of texture paste over the centre of your white 12x12 card (I wipe mine on with an old credit card) and before it dries, push the stamp into it firmly creating an impression. Make sure you wash your stamp in between pressing it down as the paste clogs it up and you won't get the same clean effect if it's full of gunk.

Once the imprinted texture paste is fully dry, (you can use a heat gun if you're impatient - like me!) spray a light layer of water over it, then spray some of the "Tumble Dye" into a palette tray (mine is super fancy ...... it's a jar lid!) and lightly brush the dye onto your background over the areas where you've stamped an impression. The Dye will run into the cracks and it looks AMAZEBALLS! (I have teenage kids!)

The papers compliment each other perfectly so I chopped them all up! I'm a bit like an apprentice hairdresser when I have a pair of scissors in my hand. I never really know when to stop cutting but it seems to all work out in the end. It may not necessarily be what I had in mind ........ but it's all good.

I loved the circles on the papers. I love circles full stop actually. So I used a toilet roll (yes - VERY expensive must have tool) to add some more circles using watered down paint. The little black paint circles are created by using the lid of the "Tumble Dye" bottle.

I hope you've enjoyed reading my first post for Scrappy Chat Designs. If I've left you wanting more, then full techniques and more detailed pictures are shared with our members. Simply email orders.scrappychatdesigns@gmail.com if you would like to sign up. All of our members, for a three month period for only $135, receive a full kit every month including postage along with 3 video tutorials showing you how to create 3 layouts every step of the way as well as written instructions with photos. But wait .......... there's more! You also receive email technique sheets from the Arty Chics! showing you how they have used the kit and sharing their techniques, tips and tricks with you.

Thank you for stopping by xx