My friend, Laura, a wonderful and prolific scrapbooker and cardmaker, is also the designer for ScrapMuch? where she posts a sketch every Friday. If you visit their blog today, you'll see a new sketch up, and they've been kind enough to post this layout I made, inspired by this sketch from March 16th. Here's the sketch:
And here is my layout:
I'm working with My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline papers on this one and I love how versatile the line is. The photos aren't perfect, taken at night in our family room, which is 1/2 below ground, with low lighting. I wanted to pick colours that wouldn't emphasize the low lighting and dark furniture, so I chose the floral as a background to pick up the pinkish skin tones in the photos. Then I layered on more patterns for the pennant elements.
I used foam adhesive on the pennants to build up lots of layers. I splattered gesso on the layout and used a sanding block on the papers and photos to give everything a bit of a worn-in feeling. You can see a simple lollipop flower embellishment there, too. To make the handwritten journaling pop a bit, I lightly brushed a coat of gesso on the patterned paper.
If you've not made this kind of embellishment before it's very simple.
1. Gather a variety of circle punches, a circle cutter, or put your die cut machine to work. OR, if you want a more rugged look, skip the tools and cut the circles by hand. I've done this on my Disney layout about a safari.
2. Choose some coordinating papers and then punch 2-3 (or more) circles in escalating sizes.
3. Crinkle the circles up. Scrunch them in your hand, gently.
4. Fold them flat and then apply ink to the creases and edges to give them additional visual texture.
5. Use a paper piercer to create a hole in the centre of each circle.
6. Layer the circles from largest to smallest, lining up the center holes and secure with a brad. Alternately, you could adhere the circles at the center and top with a button, chipboard, small paper flower etc. I have adorned the centers with a small handmade paper rose, too.
7. Attach to your layout or card with adhesive. I used foam adhesive for more dimension.
I hope this tutorial will remind you how simple it is to make your own embellishments, and how much $$ you can save, too!
I'll be back on Sunday with my first reveal for this term at My Sketch World. We're doing a blog hop. You won't want to miss the fun!
