The trouble was, the kit contents this month was a piece of striped paper, a matching rose colored floral, 1 piece of ribbon, three jewels, black and white cardstock. What could I do with that? And remember, no stamping. No altering. No paint. You have to use everything in the bag and nothing more. Eek. I think the matchy-matchyness nearly drove me around the bend. Then I remembered why I signed up in the first place - to challenge myself. Duh! Here's what I ended up with, it's not exactly my style but I'm happy with how it came together.
Click to see it up close
Tips:
* You can add a lot to a scrapbook page by creating layers and texture. This doesn't have to be any more difficult then crumpling the paper, squishing it or roughing up the edges with the blade of your scissors or fingernail. I did all three on this LO and the 'flatness' disappeared.
* Accordion fold flowers are so much fun but they can be a little too girly for boy pages. I find squishing them flat makes them grungy enough to suit masculine pages.
* Don't feel like you can't use scallops on boy pages, just make them larger - it takes the fussiness away. I free-hand cut mine for a slightly off kilter (and I hope charming) look.
* Take advantage of the features on your paper. Often you can cut out an image and use it as an embellishment. In this case, I used some of the striped paper as a large photo mat and then cut the rest of the strips apart to use as desperately needed coordinating solids.
* Things don't always need to be straight. Some off-kilter strips or an angled photo can add playfulness to a page.
* Use your scraps to make your own embellishments. Even small pieces can have big impact on your design. In this case, the piece here completed my visual triangle.
I'll be back later with my art journal post. I've been so busy today that even ten minutes hasn't come easy.
4 comments:
Nicole, I have purchased a few tools to make things easier..like distrezz it all, cropidile, etc..but I always grab my nail file to sand, and white/black pen to doodle. Having three boys...wait 4 (including hubs) I love all the techniques on how to make pages more masculine. Girls..easy peasy...boy/men layouts...no fluff for my men! Thanks for blogging today on all the techniques :) You are appreciated!!!!!!!
Nicole, this looks fab! I love all of the sanding, distressing, and crumpling. They add lots of lovely texture and visual interest. AND...whoa...did my eyes deceive me? No stamping allowed on this page?! You worked miracles with these guidelines. Love the results and that snazzy photo makes it perfect!
Happy New Year!
Cheryl
fab!!! Just Love your page, love the layers, the distressed edges and the scallop detail! Just fabulous!! Hugs Juls
Gorgeous layout! Love those colors together and all your great details!
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