Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Steps to Create Unique Layout

Marlene, here with another page from a road trip I took last fall.   It was an absolutely beautifu fall day and the bright blue sky in the photo deserves it's own kind of blue.  (Speaking of blue, patterned paper manufacturers!!! what happended to BLUE not teal?) To mimic the bright blue sky and windows of that fabulous building I made my own backgrounds.  The dark blue frame is by Pebbles but the inside background was made by me.  I started with white cardstock then sprayed Mr. Huey's Pinstripe evenly over the entire paper.  Next, using that grey background I placed dry wall patch (which is a self-adhesive mesh) and sprayed with October Afternoon Sprinklers "Carbon Copy".  Once dry I removed the patch so I had a grid design which is muted by the dappled grey background.  The triangle was created in a similar way, starting with white, spraying with grey, positioning a Crafter's Workshop tile template, then spraying over that with Mr. Huey's Water Cooler for a different shade of blue.  That piece was finished with a coat of Aleene's Paper Glaze for a shiney finish, like glass, then cut to shape.
Sometimes I like a flat, solid background but that wasn't the look I wanted with these photos.  I buy 12 x 12 white cardstock in bulk which emboldens me when it comes to creating my own colors and textures.  Don't be afraid to experiment, so what if you make a mess or ruin a piece of white cardstock?...you can always use it for cards or mats.
By the way, Cleveland, Ohio is a beautiful little city and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a lot of fun.

6 comments:

  1. Beautiful layout! What an awesome idea to use the mesh as a mask!

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  2. That's quite a transformation from plain white cardstock! Do you have problems wrinkling or curling when misting an entire sheet?

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  3. It depends on how much spray is used whether or how much the paper curls. If curled, you can trim off 1/2 inch, then adhere to a heavy cardstock which also works as a frame. To adhere a large piece I use an Adhesive Tape Gun and apply a couple extra strips.

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  4. Very cool page! I love your custom background (and I agree about the lack of blues in patterned paper)

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  5. I have always wanted to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Marlene! I love the layout you created, and I especially love how you transformed white cardstock into that amazing background! I love to do that, too!

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  6. This is so cool!!! We went to the Rock Hall the previous summer. We really enjoyed it!

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