First off, thank you for all the responses to the last post. Many of you have shown interest in a weekly technique tutorial. So, I've decided to move forward with the idea and starting next week, the focus of the first technique tutorial will be "circle punches". I'll demonstrate using photos and written instructions, how to use circle punches in new, fun exciting ways to enhance your layout designs. I'll post the tutorial late next week here at my blog. Thank you again for providing me feedback on this topic.
Lately, I've developed a growing interest for Turquoise & Red. They're a happy medium. One is a bit on the "cool" side of the color wheel and the other hangs out on the warm side of the color wheel. Together, they make the perfect pair. Both colors come alive when used together. They give off a vintage flair and remind me of the quilts my grandmother used to make. So, two nights ago, I took out a new Amy Butler pattern sheet of paper (Red floral circles) and a softly spoken, Jenny Bowlin polka-dotted piece of pattern paper and started working on the layout above. I did a lot of experimenting with this layout and tried on a few new techniques using "circle punches"...go figure.
A K & Company label sticker sits behind the title of this page, "Say Hello To My Little Guy". I distressed the label sticker with a nail file and Ranger Distress Ink (Walnut) before adding it the layout. The label itself sits on top of a small strip of "Vanilla" cardstock. I did this because I needed to extend the length of the label to make room for the title. If you find yourself wanting to use a label on a page/project and it's not large enough for what you need to do, make it bigger by adhering it to a piece of cardstock neutral in color. Going "over" the edge of a sticker with writing or other elements is ok. Not everything should have to fit in a tidy box.
Pieces. Pieces. More Pieces. Never accept the way anything appears. This can be said about any scrapbook product. Whether it be a bold piece of pattern paper or a label sticker, cut it up. You don't have to use these things as "is". Play up your favorite scrapbook product by using the part of the product you love the most. Skip the pressure of using something as a whole and make it your own instead.
You might have noticed the blue scallop frames on the layout. These are "Just Edges" from Bazzill. I was first introduced to them by Studio Calico when working with one of their kits a few months ago. I'm sort of addicted to them now and I've collected quite a few colors since their release. These frames were "cut to size" from two scallop blue edges. When I was putting together the frames, I hand-cut the corners to make them rounded. It was a little tricky, but I didn't want to lose the affect of a nicely shaped corner, so I spent a little extra time on this part of the layout.
A red floral border goes a long way on a layout. This border sort of happened by accident. I was playing around with punches and started cutting out circles from the Amy Butler pattern paper. I then started cutting out circles from the punched circles. Before I knew it, I had circles upon circles to play with and to layer on top of each other. Some of the circles were adhered to Sand color cardstock and "re-punched" out. I adhered the floral pattern circles to the page as shown using a combination of pop-dots and wet adhesive. I then stamped around some of the floral circles using a Fontwerks scallop frame stamp and Sand color ink in an attempt to bring another layer to the already lively border. The border itself serves to keep the viewers eye from falling off the bottom of the page and and it also introduces the title. It's the first thing you notice when looking at the layout.
I'm retiring for the evening. Going to work on the tutorial and some other projects I have going on right now over the weekend. I'll be back to post on Sunday evening. Have a great weekend everyone!
