Bart Bums and Echo Park

Bart, Bums and Echo Park

Hi Ladies
Ngaire here,

Naughty Tracy showed me the new Echo Park Apothecary Emporium range and although this is not a company I usually scrap with, I have fallen head over heels with its very striking orange/white/black/beige combination. After walking out with half her stock of it I immediately had to play – and I found it perfect for a photo shoot of my youngest son that I have been ‘sitting on’ for the past couple of months (I promise you Tracy – it is not just because it matches his hair!!). J

‘Bart Bum’ is the first of several I am planning on completing during the current school holidays. Although it is the first ‘completed,’ it is actually a leftovers layout – done with the bits and pieces ‘left over’ from other layouts.

One of the things I really like about Apothecary is that there is such a choice in patterns that suit cutting up into blocks or strips of patterned paper: - 3 different stripes, 2 diamond patterns, a grid pattern, several ‘background colour blocks’ – as well as all the other patterned papers. It makes it very easy to create a layered page using left-overs.

I’ve used the grid pattern reverse side of Skull and Bones as the base of the layout. Over this went my leftovers: - a vertical piece of Hypnotic Stripes (diamond pattern reverse side) (link - ); a horizontal strip of Striped Toad (striped side) and then a rectangular block of the Vanished and Liquid Smoke Distress Cardstock (beige side). I’ve then used a piece of black cardstock as an off-set matt for the photo. This gives me the basic structure for my layout – the rest is playing around.

I added another horizontal strip of Striped Toad (striped side)to the space over the beige cardstock to provide some colour and pattern there; and to fill the space above the photo and over the diamond pattern I added a couple of Scrapware Cogs Large and a smaller Scrapware Clock Cogs Mini . These have been inked up with some Spiced Marmalade and Black Soot Distress Ink and given a thick layer of the matching Distress Stickles (my stash).

 

As you can see from the close-up, this gives the cogs the appearance of being coated in ‘cut glass’ and is a really cool effect. It certainly makes them pop. 

I decided to put the journalling onto a hidden tag and this close up shows you the edge of it behind the photo matt. I had a thin strip of the Levitationand Zodiac Distressed Cardstock (orange side) left over and this I edge punched with my all-time favourite ‘boy’ punch pattern – my trusty old Fiskars Bracket Punch - inked with Black Soot and then tucked under the right side of the diamond patterned block.

The cool little ‘Bart’ skull image (to match DS3’s jeans pocket) I downloaded from the internet and printed onto an acetate sheet. It’s actually stuck to one of the tag shapes cut from the Labels patterned paper. Not liking the starkness of the original white, I inked it orange with some Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink.

This is the journalling tag – I’ve used a standard luggage tag which I inked over with some Spiced Marmalade and Black Soot Distress Ink and then lightly brushed over with some Black Soot Distress Stickles to give it that glassy splattered effect. There’s another of the acetate ‘Bart skull’ images and some (very old) rub on letters spell out a classic ‘Bart-ism’ to complete this Simpsons inspired tag. To make it easier to pull the tag out I have popped one of Tracy’s Skull and cross-bones Charms onto a Ball and Chain and threaded this through the tag.

I added a thin strip of the Viper Venomand Squid Ink Distressed Cardstock (black and orange side) across the bottom of the layout. Finding a left-over bit of black cardstock cut out from a shaped layout I did ages ago - I included it down the bottom where it filled in a space there nicely. J

The alphas are a combination of my favourite Scrapware alphas – Antique Lowercase Alphas  and AntiqueLowercase Alphas Mini. I’ve actually left her some in stock this time – so go get in quick. I used Black Soot Ink and Distress Stickles to colour them. The cute teeny-tiny skull and cross-bones chippie is one from my stash – I have NO idea who made it and where I got it from – but they are sooooo cute.

In the offset space on the photo matt cardstock I popped in a strip of Hypnotic Stripes. The tag is another from the Labels patterned paper and again I have altered it with some Black Soot Distress Ink and Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink.

A little while ago I scored this lovely little stamp from Tracy (they were from the August Embellish Me Kit). It was perfect to finish off this ‘corner’ of the layout. I’ve embellished it with a few rhinestones from my stash and another of those cute little skull chippies. The final touch to the layout was to do a little stitching here and there with some black embroidery thread.

I had a ball playing with Apothecary Emporium and am impressed with how easily it all goes together. Looking at it here, you would never guess it is a Halloween themed range. So check it out before Tracy sells out – I notice some of the papers are running low.

I’m back next week with a Teresa Collins Off the Edge layout – but then it’s back to playing with Apothecary Emporium for me.

Ngaire