Scrapbooking

'Perfect Day' Layout, Using Bisous PDQ papers

on February 4, 2009

I had lots of fun making this wedding layout and making the PDQ Crave pre-printed design work for me. The most fun element (in my opinion) is the journaling card which is straight out of the PDQ journaling pad which you may recognize from one of my previous posts. I also love to adapt the products I have so that they fit the style and design of my page. For example, by stamping a background stamp onto the white blossom, it gives it a more grungy feel. Also, the fancy parenthesis on the photo was actually part of the patterned paper, but I loved it so much I didn’t want to cover it up with the photograph. So using a craft knife I carefully cut around the mid section of the parenthesis, and slid the photo in underneath. Easy peasy!

Journaling reads:
So long, waiting…worrying. So many factors that could go wrong! I never dreamed it could be such a perfect day!

Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Products Used:
PDQ Crave paper, from Bisous
Black pigment marker from Marvy
Crave chipboard shapes from Bisous
Making memories tiny apha stickers
Making memoriesjumbo blossom
Gem brads from Seven Gypsies
PDQ journaling pad from Bisous
Novel Background rubber stamp from Hampton Art
Green cardstock
Scratchy Circle Rubber stamp from Do Crafts
Dovecraft permanent marker pen from Trimcraft
Black pigment ink pad
Small hole pliers punch from Woodware

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'Angel' Scrapbook Layout, Using Bisous PDQ Paper

on February 2, 2009

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I have to admit that at the start I really struggled with the PDQ patterned paper from Bisous. As mentioned in my previous blog, the papers come with a pre-designed pattern printed onto them, which takes the design mind-block moments out of making layouts. I knew that it was a great idea on behalf of the manufacturer and these products definitely have their place in the craft market, but when I picked out a piece to make a layout with, I stared at it and suddenly felt quite restricted by the design. After a short while, I realised the reason behind this feeling. These papers meant that I had to totally rethink the way I scrapbook, and reconfigure my scrapping process.

For me, I find that the best way to scrap is to pick a photo, think of a title or story to accompany it, and then I choose papers and styles which correspond with them. I know that many others may follow a different procedure, but this is the process that comes naturally to me. Starting with patterned paper and a pre-styled design was completely alien to me, and in truth I found making this first layout frustrating from a psychological point of view. But hey, its always good to challenge yourself, and after making this layout, I was able to overcome those feelings of resistance to scrapping using this new method. After spending ages working on this layout, I am happy to say that the other layouts I have made using these PDQ papers from Bisous were a delight to make. Don’t worry – I will be posting photos of these on the website soon.

Also, I was wrong to think that the pre-printed designs would be limitating and restricting. The more I looked at the designs, turned the paper, lay items on top – it became apparent that there are limitless ways of adapting the design to make it work for you.

Angel
The first thing that jumped out at me in this paper was the faint print of wings in the pink rectangle. I knew that I wanted to accent this and make this a key feature of my page. Taking my Stickles glitter glue I carefully traced the wings and left this to dry over night. I also added a few spots to highlight the stars on the paper.

Because the papers were so bright and funky, I chose to print my photo in black and white, as too much colour can be overwhelming. As I wanted to add a touch of colour to the photo, I printed onto matte card instead of the usual glossy photo paper which I tend to use. This meant that I could use watercolour pencils to tint the flowers in Bethany’s basket. This also gave me the freedom to colour the flowers to match my page, rather than use the colours in the photo which may have clashed with the colour theme I was using. Once I had lightly coloured the flowers using the watercolour pencils, I used a blender pen from marvy to smudge and blend the colours, giving it a more paint-like effect. I used this method to also add extra colour to the design. Purple in the heart shape and some green around the outer edges.

In honesty, there isn’t much else to this layout, except a little chipboard heart also from the PDQ Crave line. These papers really do revolutionize crafting into a quick way of making art. I hope you like this layout, and keep your eyes out for the next few layouts using this range of papers, as I will be putting these up real soon.

Journaling reads:
“It was so exciting bringing you shopping to pick your dress – you knew exactly what you wanted and what you didn’t. It was easy to see the excitment in your eyes, it was like a dream come true for you to play the princess for the day. With your white dress and innocent smile, you looked just like a little angel sent from Heaven to make my wedding day perfect.”

A Hidden Journaling Technique

on January 28, 2009

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One thing I like about scrapbooking and journaling is that you have the opportunity to reflect and write down your thoughts on a particular subject. If nothing else, it is always fun to look back upon the layouts you have made and remember that moment which you have frozen in time. But there are times where you really want to bear your soul, and even though jotting these feelings down unto paper has a real cathartic result, they can sometimes be too personal for public eyes.

Hidden journaling is a great way of both having your cake and eating it, with the added bonus that it adds a little element of interaction to your layout. In my last post, I incorporated into the design a hidden journaling element that I want to share with you today.

I came up with this idea when I was playing with luggage tags one day, and as two tags lay side by side on top of a piece of patterned paper, I really liked the fun way that the pattern peeked through the ‘missing corners’ of the tags. So I started to play and this is what I came up with. Why don’t you give it a try?

The Process
First decide what size you would like the journaling element to be, and measure a length of cardstock to the exact height but twice as long in length. Mark the central point using a pencil and fold the two outer edges towards the middle to make a gate fold card. Where the two gates meet, cut both the upper and lower corner of each flap to create a tag effect.

Next take a piece of cardstock and cut it to a slightly narrower width than the inner panel of the gatefold card, but roughly twice as long. Carefully fold in half upwards and crease using a bone folder so that this folded piece of card sits nicely inside the gatefold card. Using double sided sticky tape, adhere this panel in place.

One issue which I experienced was that the gate fold kept popping open, so in order to make the gatefold card stay put when it was folded shut, I used my Quickutz squeeze to die cut four small tag shapes. I stuck two of the mini tags back to back, overhanging each flap, making sure that they touched each other when the flaps were closed, just as in the photo above.

So there you have it – now you can simply open the gate fold, and fold down the inside panel to reveal an area where you can hide away some secret journalling. So go on, bear your soul…I dare you!

TIP: Why not try this technique for hiding away photos as well as journaling.

Journaling reads:

I am a girl. A pink girl. A purple girl. A sparkly girl. I am a daughter, I am a sister, a little sister! A grand-daughter, an auntie, a niece a godmother. I am a friend, a partner, a companion, a fiancee. I am a hugger, a smiler, A giggler, a trickster. A crafter. A teacher, a learner. A dancer. I am a leader and I am a follower. I am a believer, a history maker, and of course, I am a dreamer!