Guest Educator Sarah Groen {from New Zealand} with a Background Technique Tutorial!

Hi everyone!  Today we welcome one of our regular players, Sarah Groen, from Auckland {New Zealand}, 

to share with us a Graphic Gelato Background Tutorial.  Oooooh sounds exciting!!!

"Hi everyone :)   I am thrilled to have been invited as a Guest Educator

 at Scrap Around The World! Thank you so much for the opportunity.

I live in Auckland, New Zealand, with my hubby of 23 years & my 6 gorgeous kids. I am a stay at home mum & since I discovered scrapbooking I have been hopelessly addicted!  I am currently on the design team for the NZ scrapbook store Scottie Crafts, the on-line challenge blogs CSI, Stuck Sketches & 1,2,3 Challenge blog  & the Australian chipboard manufacturers 2 Crafty.  I have been published many times both in NZ & overseas & in 2009 I was chosen as an Elite Team member for Up2Scrap, New Zealand's premiere scrapbooking magazine.

I love participating in challenges as I find that they make me think outside the box & push me out of my comfort zone. My pages have an artsy, whimsical feel to them but I love to try out new techniques & my style changes according to my inspiration, most of which  I find online. {So many amazing artists out there!}"

 You can see more of my work at my blog:

http://scrappinsaraz.blogspot.com/

The technique I'm going to show you was inspired by the amazing Leanne Pearce.
{http://thepaintbrushgoesspottie.blogspot.co.nz/}

1.  Using a compass to draw 2 sets of concentric circles onto a sheet of white cardstock.

2.  Draw several equally spaced radii through the circles with a pencil as shown above.

You will need a protractor for this {mark 90 & 45 degree angles}.

3.  Doodle arrows, triangles & doodles along your previously drawn lines.

4.  Colour in random sections of your circles, using gelatos 

{choosing colours that co-ordinate/complement the photo you plan to use}.

5.  Smudge the colours with your finger, to smooth/blend them together.

6.   Add more colour until you are happy with the result 

then add a few sprays of mist as shown above.

7.  Allow to dry completely before dripping a few blots of black ink randomly around your page. 

This will give depth &contrast to your background. 

8.  Finally build up your layers of patterned paper, stickers 

& embellishments, add your photo & you are DONE!

Thanks for checking out my tutorial.

 I hope that you have been inspired to give this technique a go yourself. 

It really is quite simple to do & can be adapted to suit almost any photo or theme.

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I agree!  THANK YOU Sarah for sharing with us!

Now that I see all the steps it actually looks quite easy!!

I can't wait to try it out for myself soon & get those gelatos to work!!!

THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED OUR BLOG LOVIN' GIVEAWAY ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.  

The WINNER will be announced over the weekend {on Facebook} so sign up by liking our page HERE

 if you haven't done so already.  We always have something exciting going on there - almost daily!

KEEP A LOOK OUT - you never know when we just might be having ANOTHER giveaway :)

You still have ONE FULL WEEK to enter our current challenge HERE .  We have loads of inspiration for you, so scroll back through January & check out our mid-month reveal & our Guest Design Team & Guest Designer inspiration too - the inspiration NEVER ENDS here!

If you love this blog as much as me {okay I guess I am just a little biased LOL} then PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT for Sarah, who put together this tutorial especially for your enjoyment & inspiration.  

Thanks for stopping by today!

{ and special thanks to Leonie Neal-Dawson for her assistance}