Happy Valentine's Day!
It's Tracey here to share a special Valentine's project. I created this grungy LOVE Family Mini Album as a gift for my husband starting out with a page of us together then one page each for our four children.
Family Love Album
The backgrounds behind the "Love" cover and throughout my album have several layers of mixed media. I found that the mist I had applied over other mediums stayed quite tacky, even after allowing to dry for a day. Helmar Crystal Kote Gloss spray was the perfect solution. It set the mixed media with a lovely glossy finish that allowed the grungy textures and colors underneath to shine through.
I know I say this all the time, but it bears repeating. I find that most adhesives don't adhere well to a mixed media background. Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive has a strong grip and really holds my elements in place. This is so important to me for a project like this mini album that will be opened and looked at often with photos and embellishments being bumped and jarred. I won't need to worry about the items in my album coming off.
Below you will see a two-page spread of each set of pages followed by close-ups of the details.
Here you can really see the texture I talked about earlier. The Helmar Crystal Kote Gloss spray put a nice protective sheen over the mixed media background and set up beautifully to keep the colors from smudging, yet allowed the gorgeous, grungy texture to show through.
In areas like this with layered elements, I used Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots to raise up the fussy cut sentiment so that I could tuck the gears underneath.
I attached the photos to their paper photo mats using Helmar Premium Craft Glue.
Helmar Products
Other Products
Authentique ~ Smitten Collection
Leaky Shed Studio ~ Love Mini Album and various chipboard pieces
Zutter ~ Donna Salazar Designs - Corrugated Board
Zutter ~ Donna Salazar Designs - Distrezz-it-All
~ Blessings ~