There are times when you just aren't going to have the right paper for your photos. You can waste time, sorting through your supplies and lamenting this fact, or you can get creative. I hate wasting time and I would much rather challenge myself to find a work around.
One of my favorite solutions is to use packaging. This works especially well when you are documenting a toy or new favorite item. The packaging is often already themed for you. It provides inspiration for patterns, motifs and colors. In this case, I was documenting my cats playing with my son's Hex Bug nano toy.
To use the packaging, you need to gently remove unwanted plastic pieces. You may need to cut the packaging down a little to fit your canvas. If you are concerned with it being acid free, you will need to spray it with an
archival mist prior to adhering the packaging to the canvas. I personally prefer Krylon's mist. It is the most friendly on my budget and does the job well.
Sometimes, even if I am using the packaging, the right color material just isn't in my supplies. I will often use paint, but I used tape in this case, I wanted a navy-ish background.
Navy is a great neutral. I could have used black but it would have been very harsh. Navy also lends to the scientific theme of the layout. To create my navy background, I covered scrap pieces of cardstock with painter's tape. I then ran these covered cards through my embossing machine. The cardstock helps the tape retain the design of the embossing folder.
I wanted the cardstock pieces to look like they had been riveted to the canvas. Snaps are a good solution but they are a pain to snap through the cardstock. I like to use my crop-o-dile to smoosh the backs flat. I then use a liquid adhesive to adhere the snaps onto the layout. This allows me to adhere snaps anywhere on a layout that I desire with a lot less headache.
After I adhere my packaging to the canvas, I strategically place the photos. My goal is to cover any portions of the packaging that I don't want to show. In this case, I also added a little more painter's tape.
When standard embellishments just won't do, think outside the box. This bright orange reflector was the perfect compliment to a layout about little robots. I used a stencil and modeling paste to give it a little more pizzazz.
I wanted a little more texture throughout the layout. Using the stencil with modeling paste helped me to add a tad bit more dimension while staying in tune with the theme.
Many times, the packaging provides a title for your layout. It can feel a little flat. I like to add a little glossy accents to help it pop.
I added a few pops of bright green. I used scraps of packaging to add extra dimension to the flat title. Before discarding extra packaging, look for small pieces that can be cut of to create custom embellishments.
Hexbug: Not Just for Humans
by Christy Strickler | Supplies: Cardstock: Colorbok;Alphas: My Little Shoebox; Embossing Folder: Lifestyle Crafts; Modeling Paste: Liquitex; Snaps: Making Memories; Other: washi tape, painter’s tape, toy packaging,Glossy Accents,bicycle reflector
Stencils are an investment. The same can be said of embossing folders. Choose them wisely and you have a tool which can add texture and pattern to any project. Pair these with packaging, and you can create unique layouts that are perfectly in tune with your story.
P.S. Don't forget!
We're playing Calvinball over at the JBS Mercantile Forum.
My Calvinball total so far this month:Daily Blogging- 5 pointsLayouts- 5Scheming- 1 pointcleaning up after yourself- 1 pointshopping- 1 pointscrapbooking past my bedtime- 1 pointTotal: 14 points
Great idea Christy, and the packaging looks really fab on your page!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome idea and love the photos :)
ReplyDelete