Whitewash

Every once in a while a collection features a product that I fall in love with.  When American Crafts first introduced the Hazelwood collection (designed by 1Canoe2), the 12x12 sheet of wood veneer with the floral pattern caught my eye.  It was beautiful, but I just wasn't sure what I would do with it.

Naturally that didn't slow me down a bit - I got my hands on a piece at my first opportunity. My first thought was that I would use it as the base of a layout.  And honestly, I think that would be beautiful.  But in the end, I tried cutting it.  I used a box cutter in my craft room against a ruler to score it and then found it broke off quite nicely.  And that means I can use it as a unique layering element on my layouts - perfect to add dimension and texture.

But when I tried to use a piece on this layout, I found that the color didn't work well with the yellow patterned paper.  I was setting it aside when I thought about how Joanna Gaines is always treating wood and brick to maintain texture when refurbishing houses. (I am addicted to Fixer Upper lately and wish she would come fix up my house.) So I pulled out a tube of white acrylic paint and an old rag.  By squirting the paint directly on the piece of wood veneer I wanted to use and immediately wiping it off with a rag I created a whitewash look that made the veneer more neutral and a perfect layer for my project.

You still see the pretty floral pattern, but the effect is much softer.  After the paint was dry, I used a soft olive chalk ink on the edges to help add definition to my layers.  Here is the finished layout.

The wood adds all the dimension and texture I was looking for and still works well with the yellow tones in the patterned papers.  I knew all that time I spent watching HGTV would pay off.

I am planning lots of crafty time this afternoon.  I hope you find time to play today too. 

Layers and More Layers

I love the look of clean and simple pages.  But when I start to create a page, I just can't help myself - I want to add lots of layers and details.  And when I started following the Lovely Layers class at Big Picture Classes, I just wanted to create even more layers.

So when I saw this week's sketch at Studio Calico, my first thought was that I would pass.  The inspiration layouts (both the original by Mandie Pierce and the one Maggie Massey created using the sketch) are gorgeous, but they definitely fall within the clean and simple design perspective -- and that's just not my thing right now. 

But the sketch was stuck in my head.  So instead I challenged myself to use the sketch to create a layout that used all those layers I love so much.  I came up with this:

Both the inspiration layouts featured a black and white photo. I chose to use a black and white photo also - it was an easy connection to the inspiration pieces and I am increasingly drawn to the simplicity in black and white photos as a counterpoint to all the color and texture of the layers.  And, as a bonus, a black and white photo can be effective even when photo quality isn't as good as I would like.

Next I focused on the design and pulled out the elements that I liked.  I decided to focus on a relatively large rectangle as a base, building a layered element at the bottom corner, using a horizontal piece at the bottom of my photo bloc and creating an embellishment block to one side of my photo.

I started by creating some patterned paper layers on top of and under the large rectangle base to support my photo.  I tried to vary the colors, patterns and textures while keeping the feel light. The dark strip at the bottom of the page helped to balance all the light colors.

Then I dug into my ephemera stash to add detail.  My favorite thing about the whole layout is probably the embellishment cluster at the bottom of the layout.  Its a mix of some favorites that have been in my stash for a long time.  And I love that the stitched border echos the scallops in the original layout.

This was a great exercise for me - the trick with sketches is to make them your own. 

I'm hoping to spend some scrappy time this weekend.  I hope you find some time to play to........

A New Kit from Citrus Twist

I started playing with the October kits from Citrus Twist Kits this week.  And I have to say that they are probably my favorite ever from any kit club - seriously gorgeous and super versatile.  I have knocked 5 layouts out so far and still am inspired by the products I have left.

This is one of the first layouts I did.  It was for a scraplift challenge at Paper Issues.  The inspiration layout (below) was by Jen Boumis.

I was really taken by the vertical block in the center with two photos layered horizontally over it.  But I only had one photo, so I substituted lots of layers for the second picture.  I used a transparency for the vertical block to keep the layout from feeling heavy.

When I was done playing with layers I realized I couldn't find a good place to add journaling.  I used a label sticker at the bottom of the vertical block.  It served two functions - both a place for journaling and it helped to adhere the transparency.

I am off to play some more - I hope you find some time to scrap this weekend.  Thanks for stopping by

Shades of Blue

I have this picture of the harbor in Ashtabula, the town where I grew up, that I seem to use in layouts over and over.  Its not that I don't have othr pictures printed.  I just am drawn to this photo.  I've used it in color and in black and white.  I think it just goes to show that the things we love are inspiring when we get ready to create.

This time I started with a black and white 4x6 print.  I knew I wanted to play with layering and use a soft color palette.  The first thing I did was choose the Amy Tangerine base paper and soften the pattern at the edges with gesso (boy, have I come a long way).  Then I hit my scrap pile for pieces of paper in blue, gray or white and played with the layers-  I added some project life cards, an SC Sundrifter journal card, some shipping tags, a small envelope and a transparency from Basic Grey.

After I attached the major pieces I added a title using naked chipboard thickers, a piece of Dear Lizzy flair, some arrows, some vellum hearts and sequins.  It still needed something at the bottom to balance the layout so I added a Cosmo Cricket fabric sticker, more vellum hearts and some sequins.

I have more projects from this weekend's festivities to share later this week.  Hope you have a great monday!