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Saturday, April 11, 2015

Making Patterned Paper

So I think I mentioned the 30 minute layout class at Big Picture Classes before.  I finished the class today (it took me exactly a week - and I did all the assignments).  The last lesson was about using a single color of ink and a stamp to make your own patterned paper.

Now I have a lot of stamps from kits, but almost never use them.  So I considered marking the lesson complete and moving on.  But stamps are a big investment and I did "have to have" all the Color Theory ink pads (because that would motivate me to use my stamps - talk about rationalization).  So I rummaged through my stamps to see if one would catch my eye. 

The floral stamp from the Yeats, a September Project Life Add on At Studio Calico caught my eye.  This was strange since I almost never use floral paper, but I went with the impulse.


I started with a sheet of smooth white cardstock and selected the Gray Area Color theory ink.  I like the soft gray and thought it would keep the floral from being too overwhelming.  I stamped the darker images first.  Then I went back through and added the lighter images by stamping off some of the ink on a piece of scrap paper.  I ended up with this - which I loved.


In the class the hand stamped paper served as the base of the layout.  But I had a hard time making that work for me.  So I cut a piece to serve as the base for the large photo block and a strip for the bottom of my page.  I kept the color scheme super simple - working with aqua, gray, black and white - and touches of gold of course.  I added lots of paper layers trying to get a mix of textures and patterns.  I mean we don't have to talk about how long the white corrugated paper might have been living in my scrap room.  And the gold foil heart layer is a project life card from Pinkfresh Studios.


I loved this photo of my daughter (who bought the same shirt for my mother and herself so they could twin - I mean how many teenagers want to "twin" with their grandmother?  The title is from a Valentine my mother sent Elisabeth (several years in a row).  I tried to add embellishments that captured the love and fun I saw in the picture they are mix of studio calico, kit exclusives, sevenpaper, crate paper, freckled fawn and elle's studio.  And lately I don't seem to think a layout is done unless I've added rub on and splatters.

Maybe this will inspire you to dig out those stamps.  Thanks for stopping by.

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