Monday 24 November 2014

The beautiful Lily Grace

Hello everyone and a warm welcome, thank you for taking the time to look in here. Today I am sharing the next page in my altered book, a page around the beautiful Lily Grace.
Lily Grace, or Grace as she was known, was my husband's great grandmother, this shows her in 1880.
I adore the expression in her face, to me she looks like a real charmer, dreamy and romantic. She would give birth to 5 children 4 girls and a boy. Unfortunately I have no photo of her husband, but I keep hoping he will have looked a little bit like his brother, whose photo you can see here.
People are always asking me how I put my pages together, and I promise, I will do some full step by steps in the new year. Meanwhile, here are just a few "along the way" photos:
I covered the next double page in my book with some Tim Holtz tissue wrap, followed by a thinish coat of gesso. When that had dried I coloured the page with a mix of different acrylic paints (Tim Holtz Antique Linen, Paper Artsy paints in brown tones, both opaque and translucent) I used a brush and both a baby wipe and some kitchen roll to blend them together. I call this the wipe-on-wipe-off method. With the gesso underneath you can easily blend and merge the colours as long as they are still wet and with the help of the kitchen roll add additional textures to the paint.
 Here you can see the different textures a bit better, achieved through the tooth in the gesso and the kitchen roll bunched together and pounced on the wet paint. When the paints had dried I sprayed on two colours of Sprays: Lindy's Stampgang Starburst spray in Bodacious Blush (what a name lol) and Tim Holtz Victorian Velvet. They both have wonderful old vintage pink tones and the star burst just adds a little sparkle.
Anyway, because I wanted a really romantic feel to these pages I then added the top layer of a rose tissue, a packet of which that I was lucky enough to find in a stationary shop.
I used Ranger Multi Matte Medium for this, my absolute favourite of the moment, because it really dries totally matte and has the perfect consistency.
I had this notion of Lily Grace writing romantic love letters so I stamped a number of vintage writing stamps on some tissue paper.
I stamped quite a few, just to have a choice and then selected just three to adhere to my page, tearing around the edges to avoid hard lines.
I could have left it at that, but could not resist the temptation of adding some more texture to the page with the help of some stencils. I never seem to learn the lesson of "less is more"....

By the time the texture paste had dried it was dark, so I could not take any more step by step photos.... (it gets dark here in Scotland just after 3:30 at the moment :o( )
So all I can show you now are some close ups of how I finished the page:
I mounted the photo of Lily on to some tags and other stamped elements and embellished with some flowers, sprayed with a mix of glimmer sprays. I also did some more background stamping with a little Prima stamp and added her name with the little Tim Holtz letter stickers.
Sticking with the love letter theme, I rolled up a bit of old book paper, tied it with some vintage lace, tucked in a little flower and added some other flowers underneath. Everything was adhered with the Ranger medium.

Well that was pretty much it. The page is probably a bit over the top, but then I think Lily was quite a full on lady.....
Sorry this post got a bit long, but for those of you who asked, I hope it has given you some idea of how I put it together. Hope you are having a good week and that you will find some time to be creative!

Thanks for visiting like always


49 comments:

Stamps and Paper said...

Absolutely gorgeous Astrid...love your beautiful vintage look...wonderful images and textures...

Anne

massofhair said...

Thank you Astrid! Your post isn't too long at all, it is very easy to understand and shows step by step, what more could we ask.

Gorgeous pages, so many lovely colours and textures, it is always a pleasure to while away a few minutes reading your charming and inspirational posts :-) xxx

Shilpa Nagaonkar said...

Wonderful wonderful page, Astrid. Truly romantic. I love to read how you created it with all those beautiful color mediums. TFS. I am so much inspired :)

Dagmar said...

Das ist so wunderschön- die romantische Ausgestaltung passt wunderbar zu der Fotographie - und ganz lieben Dank für die Bilder der Entstehung dieser tollen Doppelseite!
Ich wünsche dir auch eine schöne Woche, liebe Grüße, Dagmar

pearshapedcrafting said...

Oh Astrid these pages are so beautiful and something I am going to try (having hoarded loads of tissues and napkins!!) Lily Grace certainly was a stunner and your pages emphasise her beauty! Still looking at this fab page as i write! Chris ps I did lol at that spray name!!!

Jan said...

What a fabulous book Astrid xx Jan

Corrie Herriman said...

Gorgeous as always !
Corrie x

Words and Pictures said...

Not remotely over the top - and I think as far as your gorgeous vintage layers and embellishing goes, MORE is more, not less!! Fabulous seeing some of the build-up stages, and a glorious finished result celebrating the beautiful Lily Grace. Another wonderful page.
Alison xx

froebelsternchen said...

AWESOME! She was really a beauty and you made a wonderful spread as a tribute to her beauty!
Wonderful pages!
Have a great new week Astrid!

Nicole Wright Designs said...

So pretty and soft!

Maryann Laursen said...

Oh my goodness Astrid, these are such amazing pages, so beautiful and soft and romantic. Absoolut stunning work here again hun.

morkaren said...

Jeg er ret vild med din teknik, billedet af den skønne Lily bliver dejligt fremhævet af dit meget kreative arbejde, jeg elsker det. knus morkaren.

Inky and Quirky Designs said...

Oh this is so gorgeous Astrid,that is one beautiful lady and I'm loving her corseted tiny waist :)

Big hugs
Donna xxx

Deborah said...

She's a stunner, Astrid, and you've really done her proud with your gorgeous pages.

Dreaming of Vintage said...

Wow! Gorgeous Astrid!

Valerie-Jael said...

Wonderful pages Astrid, really beautifully made. Valerie

rachel said...

stunning work Astrid and thanks for all the details too - I keep meaning to get more to grips with tissue work - must try harder. I love Lily Grace - she looks full of fun to me! Big hugs Rachel x

Meggymay said...

Stunning pages Astrid, she was a beautiful lady.
Yvonne

Meggymay said...

Stunning pages Astrid, she was a beautiful lady.
Yvonne

Dianne said...

Oh Miss Astrid this page is just PERFECT, it's gorgeous at every stage, Lily is so beautiful don't you just love her clothes, beautiful
love the tiny love note, excellent tutorial, love to see all the stages in your creating, you certainly are an inspiration with all you create, thanks for sharing hope you have a wonderful week in lovely Scotland, dark, cold rainy I still love it there.. ((( BIG HUGS )))...

Julie Lee said...

I just had to take a closer look at Lily Grace! This is a beautiful spread with some wonderful texture. I love the exuberance of it. It's all just perfect and the step by step approach is great xxx

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

BEAUTIFUL is right!

Judy Rice said...

Such a beautiful page! Love all the textures you used. Thanks for sharing your steps.

mamablitger said...

Astrid your Lily Grace journal pages are fabulous. Love the finished result so much. You really achieved the vintage shabby chic look. Oh gosh.. You are so creative, smart and skilled !!!
Thank you for a great tutorial as well.
Hugs to you... Monica... Spain

Rika said...

Gorgeous vintage pages Astrid!

brenda said...

What an amazing way to cherish family memories Asrtid, the fashion of that era were so lovely and your treatment of your pages is so sympathetic to the age.

B x

chrissie said...

Amazing ideas for this stunning tribute page. Thank you for sharing the way that you made the beautiful background

Love Chrissie x

Elena F Scrap said...

WOW fantastic page.

Jackie PN said...

Astrid, Lily Grace is gorgeous!! And your spread for her illuminates her beauty! i love that you are creating this journal of family- it is just fabulous!! xo

Deborah Wainwright said...

I adore this page so pretty and romantic, a truly romantic setting for beautiful Lily Grace.

Thank you for sharing the techniques you used to achieve the wonderful effects xx

Unknown said...

This is stunning. The colors are so soft and romantic. The textures are beautiful. I love this piece.

Anneke said...

Astrid this looks so pretty. I love evrey part of it. Wonderful to see how you made it. Thanks for inspiring me Anneke.

Ana K. said...

Thank you very much for taking time and sharing step by step with us, dear Astrid… This is another awesome creation to admire... beautiful colour palette and amazing textures...I agree with you about the expression in Grace face…Best wishes from Slovenia

Juliz Design Post said...

How wonderful to have this photograph of Lily Grace which is now documented so beautifully. Over the top....definitely not. So full of vintage elegance, stunning work as always Astrid.
Julie x

Dorthe said...

So beautiful, Astrid,-
I love every bit of romance you added to these pages and the lovely great-grandmother of your husbond, seems to love being there.
Dorthe, xo

Linda M. Cain said...

Absolutely STUNNING!

~Linda

Redanne said...

Love the gorgeous background you created and your layering is superb! I don't think there is too much at all, it is all perfect... Anne xx

May said...

Breathtaking beauty Astrid, the texture, colours, design & elements are just perfect....Hugs May x x

Alie Hoogenboezem-de Vries said...

Love these pages Astrid, you're a fab artist...great details and composition!
Greetings, Alie :-)

Evelyn Walter said...

Oh my! What a stunner! A wonderful page for this beautiful woman!
Have a nice week!
xx Evelyn

Ruth said...

So, so beautiful, Lily Grace and the result! Just love your choice of colours and style....wonderful. Ruth x

Anonymous said...

Oh Astrid what another beautiful piece! I just adore your pages, it's always a delight visiting your blog. Thanks so much for sharing your techniques. Karen.x

Ros Crawford said...

This is amazing! And what a lovely photo! I can remember a time when I had a waist like that!!

Paper Creations by Shirley said...

Hello Astrid, I LOVE your lay-out, it's gorgeous with all the layers and textures. Your tutorial is fantastic, thank you so much. You are motivating me to get my mixed media 'stash' out today for a play. Thank you! Shirleyxx

Silvia(Barnie) said...

Hallo Astrid, ich bin jetzt den kompletten November nicht mehr auf Blogrundgang gewesen - es gab hier so viele andere Dinge zu erledigen. Jetzt hoffe ich, dass es wieder etwas ruhiger wird. Bei dir gibt es so viele schöne neue Werke zu sehen. Ich bin begeistert.

Marjie Kemper said...

What gorgeous pages, Astrid! Love seeing how you built up this beautiful spread. Off to pin to enjoy again another day... TFS.

Anonymous said...

[playing catch-up because I've been poorly].....

This is just incredible. So beautiful. So perfect. The photograph 'spoke' - but the altered pages made her voice louder, prouder and (kind of) more fragrant).

You do it so perfectly Astrid, and I'm in awe of your talent, abilities and you as a person. I love you to pieces for giving me so much to learn and enjoy.

Oh ... and you could make your posts a gazillion pages and I'd still read every word! :o)

Sending love, and hoping the weather in the North of our Country is better than it is here in the South. Because here in the South, it's bloomin' cold! (and very rainy too). ~ Cobs. x

Sandy said...

How long did it take you to make this Astrid? I wish you would do some video tutorials -- more, more, I want more and we all will hold you to showing us how to make your book. These pages are so glorious and so full of techniques that I do not know. Pretty lady, you are not a craftsman, you are a real live artist!
Sandy xx

Caty said...

Precioso!!!! This is really sublime!! I like very much how you choose all the decoration elements and your methods. Very beautiful pages!, a big hug from Almería, Spain.

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