Challenge #26 ~ Let's get messy!

This was, by far, the most divisive challenge this team had ever seen! As soon as the "get messy" challenge was presented to our design team, some of them ran to the paint and dove in, and some of us just ran in the other direction, lol! What resulted were all types of messy. Lots of paint, ink and misting, but also some surprisingly simple methods to get that messy look. Oh, and apparently, getting messy is the remedy for lack of motivation and insomnia! So try it soon! 


To have a chance at joining our design team for a month, be inspired by our messy challenge or scraplift any of our layouts. It's totally up to you, just roll up your sleeves, spread the dropcloth down and get messy!


Here is what our team did this month!

Kimmy

Dream Canvas: watercolor ink, gesso, & glimmer mist on canvas with a mask... which I ended up NOT liking so I covered it with modge podge, book pages & glitter, stamping & glimmer glam... (some of the original purple/blue mist/watercolor ink can still be seen through the book pages).

Linda

I started with the Jan. Birds of a Feather kit and then misted the background with blue glimmer mist, white paint (I keep a spray bottle at my desk) and then splatterd on some orange shimmerz. This was a real challenge for me, because I don't normally do messy on my layouts :)

Lisa

Well I started off with a messy subject, my DD getting a painting lesson. First I lightly painted the Chipboard letters with Cream Acrylic paint then topped the paint with Moonlight Smooch. The chipboard frame started off metallic pink in color, I sanded that and inked it with Tea Dye Distress Ink, the outside edges with Memento Dye ink in Rich Cocoa, the inside edge of the frame with Colorbox ink in Merlot & topped it all off with Quick Quotes ink color Bloody Mary (Which is really a reddish brown). The instruction card was inked an aqua blue color from Colorbox. I couldn't forget the papers I made droplets from Alcohol Inks in Butterscotch & Stream, then inked the papers with the Tea Dye Distress Ink & the Memento Dye Ink in Rich Cocoa.

Miae

Hi ladies! Here's my first official page as a Lipstick Chick:) I'm really excited to be working with this group! OK, on to the LO..

I wanted to emphasize the title on this page because it's a quote I hope my DDs live by! I started by heat embossing the title with clear powder on canvas. Next I randomly sprayed glimmer and homemade mists about. I then used liquid acrylics, and india ink over stencils. Finally I took a make up sponge and applied lumiere paints (love that stuff) over the title for bolder color. After my layers I took a baby wipe and wiped over the embossed letters to reveal the title. I made the butterflies with molding paste and a stencil. The final step was to take a black pen and doodle and outline everything.

Michelle

I've had a hard couple of months struggling with lack of motivation- the ideas just weren't flowing. I visited a mural by Keith Haring last week and things clicked- sometimes you just have to touch base with art- music, paintings, quilts- it's all inspiration- get off the computer and go OUTSIDE to study light- that's what photography IS after all. The page came together really quickly after that. I used some left over packaging to make a window and a sort of "snow globe" with a photo- it's the first draft but I really like the effect so I'm going to try to do it a couple more times. I used Gauche Alchemy Pink Parts and Scarlet Fever Mixed Media color kits as well as some Instax film. The stamp is from Cocoa Daisy.

Tess

OK girls. Here is my take on "Messy". I have misted, spritzed, splattered, wiped, stamped and drawn, and that is just the cardstock!! From there the papers are all torn and randomly arranged with the only bit of order on the page my cluster and my title. I am in love with the end result and it shows you can use pinks and purples on guy pages too!!

Tiffany

Here's my take on the "messy" challenge- I have a hand-drawn title, torn pattern paper, some misting, a not-fully-inked stamp I repeated all over the background and finished off with a fewdrops of acrylic paint. So fun to play and get messy!

Alaina

This started off as a clean piece of canvas. I prepped it with gesso then added a pale pink, acrylic paint background. Next I mixed grey acrylic with modeling paste and added punchinella texture. I used what was left by edging the canvas. Any hanging threads I pulled off to give a shredded texture. Then I added a bit of magenta and black PanPastel throughout. Next I added flourescent pink embossing powder as an accent. I misted the entire sheet with two colors of Glimmer Mist (pinks) and a homemade Perfect Pearls mist for extra chunky sparkle. My daughter actually flung drops of turquoise paint on it so I had to act fast and remove what I could. So I have more layers of everything but paint. Then sanded here and there. A bit of black inked edges and I glittered letters with Glitter Ritz gunmetal. Took a bit of black Color Bazaar powder to the embellishments. Hambly overlays, Creative Imaginations brads, Teresa Collins tags, strings of pearls, Pink Paislee Artisan Accents (misted) and Prima flower (misted), Judikins Rox, Melody Ross glittered word and border.

Cheryl

I have been having trouble sleeping this month - a new job and simply the worry of not getting enough sleep has caused me sleepness nights... and I've been feeling by turns cranky/grumpy and frenetic/buzzing with ideas. I wanted this Messy layout to be a reflection of my state of mind - pops of color, sparkle, feeling all over the place, desperation.... I'm sure you've all suffered from insomnia at one point. This is what my insomnia looks like!

Christa

So..I am a Clean and Simple girl and MESSY is just not in my vocabulary. I wasn't sure if I could even DO messy?! So . I decided to be messy in a Clean and Simple way. I used a medium like watercolours and obtained a translucent colour array with different lids and buttons. The butteflies are punched out of paint chips. I stitched in a 'messy' fashion and ..VOILA! (N.B.This page cost less than $2 including the photo and background!) and I think it's true to 'me' style-wise.

Emma

Here's a layout on the Pooh ride we had in HK Disney. 
Loved playing with my mists and acrylic paint. Enjoyed being messy here!

Faye

I don't know that I am the messiest scrapper but this is my attempt. I did some inking of the edges, some misting, some tearing, and I used paper that has words about being messy.

Khristen

Got a few things goin' on here...started out spreading gesso in the center of the page, then laid my Studio Calico mask down and went to town with a little Clay Mister Huey. Made up a pearl mist using water, decoupage glue, and Pearl Ex powder in True Blue, it's great in person but hard to see in pictures. Fancy Pants Off to School background paper spritzed with the mist as well and crumpled up (I loved the blue shimmer on my hands :) ) along with some chipboard elements from the same collection. Bella Blvd alpha to finish the page off perfectly.

Do you want a chance to be a gdt with the True xoxo team? Have your blog posted forever on our sidebar? Hang out with us in our super secret Facebook group? Be treated like a queen for a month? Time to enter! Just let us know how you were inspired by finding inspiration, or scraplifting, any of these layouts. Color, design, subject or wording - there is endless inspiration in any or all of these. Enter as many times as you like! Enter to become eligible by:

• showing you layout on your blog, link its specific post in the comments section below -or-
• putting your layout in your favorite gallery and post the link in the comments below -or-
• use Mister Linky to link up any of the above.

Although it's not required, we'd love to know what or who inspired you, and how, if you have a little time to write about that.

• Layouts are due February 29th, midnight your time.
• The team will vote on their favorite and the winner will be announced on or about March 5th.
• Winner will be our April guest design team member; you will be invited to hang with us in our private Facebook design team group for the month, see how we get our inspiration and have a layout posted in the April blog post.
• Winners are eligible once every three months.

p.s. xoxo