More than words April challenge

Hello folks !

I spent the few last days trying to finish a layout for the More than words challenge, but life (and kids) get in the way and I wasn't able to put the finish touch (always the title...) until today !

The challenge this month is to use a mood picture and the word "escape". I had the perfect picture for that, taken during my Istanbul trip two years ago, inside the harem of the Topkapi palace. I enjoyed so much visiting this palace, and read so much about the harem, my imagination was spinning.

This windows inside the harem is a great illustration of the challenge's word and mood. There was no physical escape possible from the harem, only imagination and intricate plans for power allowed women to escape their condition. Seeing the outside is hope to go out, but don't forget there are more walls waiting for you...

Anyway, here is the layout !

Let's start with the background... The base is a Prima Marketing paper from the Vintage Emporium collection. I added coal baseboard paint (Tattered Angels) by spraying and applying with a sponge. Next I use a stencil (Tim Holtz) with black pen (Faber-Castell) to draw the design around the edges. I apply some Gold and Sun Sisters glimmer mists with a brush around this pattern. then I draw the birds with a mask (Prima Marketing) and colored them with gray Copic markers.

With gold ink, I stamped (Prima Marketing) some scriptures on the black zone. Using a brick stencil, I applied Platinum crackle paste (Prima Marketing) on the black areas. The white grid is a rub-on from Sizzix (was on an incredible sale two years ago, so I bought it...never know when you gonna use something...).

And all of that my friends was only for the background...

Let's take a closer look :

The metal embellishments were covered with Antique Gold high impact paint (Tattered Angels). You can see a grunge board die cut (Tim Holtz) covered with gold crackle paste (Prima Marketing). And I scribbled a little bit on the flowers (Prima Marketing) with a black pen (Faber-Castell).

Lace (Hobby Lobby, sewing section) was sprayed with Sun Sisters glimmer mist with few spots of bittersweet baseboard paint (Tattered Angels) before adhering it with Fabri-Tac. The small black flowers were gold (like the tiny one above the lace), but I covered them with black high impact paint (Tattered Angels) and made a center with Perfect Pearls (Ranger). Those too are glued with Fabri-Tac.
The last, the title, was cut in white cardstock and painted with Sun Sisters glimmer mist (Tattered Angels).

I do like the result. It's a great mix of decorum and dark mood, like the harem...

See you soon for another post...