Fondue | Lisa-Jane Johnson | Sketch

Hello lovelies!  It’s Lisa-Jane from Pretty My Page here with you on the blog today to show how I used one of this month’s sketches.  I actually used both of the sketches and shared the double page layout during the National Scrapbooking day celebrations, which seems ages ago now sadly. 

I love using sketches so I knew I would end up using them both and I fully intend to use them more than once – there are just so many ways you can interpret them and make them your own. 

When I’m using a sketch I tend to print it out and have it in front of me while I’m scrapping or I have a tendency to get side-tracked and veer widely away from the original – of course this is absolutely fine when we are scrapping for ourselves but if you are taking part in a challenge or showing different interpretations like we are here then you do have to kind of be able to see where the original idea fits in…

For this sketch I wanted to keep very close to the original so I didn’t rotate or flip or change the dimensions etc.  Initially I started on a highly patterned background and used a dry brush to apply some white paint as a base for the corner placement.  Then I put it to one side to dry and NSD came along and it got buried and I totally forgot I had started it until I came to tidy up this week!  (Now you see why I will be using this sketch again… ahem…

On my second attempt I used the packaging technique to apply some watercolours to the bottom corner and began layering the different elements on top.  The photo is quite yellow due to the lighting in the restaurant we were in and the fact that it was almost entirely made of highly polished pine!

The collection I am using for this even does have a bit of yellow in it but I wanted to tone down the shade of the photo rather than draw attention to it (that comes in another layout where I discuss the strange décor…)  I used quite a few scraps to layer under the edges and give me some spots where I could add in a pop of yellow rather than ignore it completely.

And that was it done.  But it didn’t feel quite right to me as there seemed too much white space for my normal style.  I didn’t want to add bits to the top right as I was really trying to keep to the sketch as close as possible.  However, I am going through a rather lengthy phase of having a slight border around my pages so I decided this would be a less conspicuous option and trimmed the white cardstock down.  Then I accidentally trimmed it too much and ended up with a wider border than I intended – gah!  With last month’s sewing topic still in my mind, I decided that a simple stitched border would break up the edges and make me feel at peace with the layout once again.
  

I hope that you’re feeling been motivated to use the sketches we’ve been playing with here and please do tag us if you post something inspired by our monthly topics – we love seeing all your layouts and you could be featured on our social media pages. 

Go forth and make pretty pages!

xx

Smile | Roxy Cousins | Sketch

 Hey guys, Roxy here with you today! I'm showing you my take on the lovely Laura's sketch! Here over at the creative team, we had two lovely Sketches to choose from. The other was equally as lovely, which was designed by Susan. So far two page layouts don't seem to appeal to me, so I choose to go with Laura's. I took one look at the layout and knew I had to use the 'Chasing Dreams' collection by Maggie Holmes. 

Here is the sketch, that Laura designed.

Beautiful isn't it? 
Don't forget to check back each day to see what the rest of the creative team came up with! 
There are some pretty awesome layouts coming up!! :)

Looking at the sketch, it includes mixed media and lots of layers.

However, I took my own take on this. My final layout is pictured below. 
Don't forget to check out the UK Scrap Addicts Youtube Channel to see the full process of my layout! 

Instantly, I knew I had just the photo for this layout! It's a photo from my childhood, of my mum and I having a lovely cuddle and giggle. In the photo my mum is wearing a blue patterened top. 'Chasing Dreams' has a couple of perfect papers for this photo! I decided a double background with sewing would be great. 

Texture and pattern all in one!

Instead of using mixed media for my background, I decided to try and recreate the sketch with lots more layers. I feel the paper bag from Hema and the fussy cut flowers did just the trick! You don't always have to stick straight to what the sketch shows. 

Make your own mark on it. It is your layout after all!

 I hope you enjoyed my layout and process video!

Until next time.. 

Roxy :) xo

Bonjour Paris | Sheena Rowlands | Sketch

Hi there x
Sheena here again.
This month the Creative Team were given a choice of sketches to work with for our blog posts & I chose this great sketch by Laura Rumble.

I'm a real fan of sketches particularly when you are feeling like your mojo is non existent, this happens to us all believe me, or when you don't have lots of time to sit and twiddle, a sketch can make a great starting point. 

Bonjour Paris.

For my page I turned the sketch upside down taking the photo cluster up into the right hand corner plus I made my page 9x12in which is a size I really enjoy working with.

I stuck quite closely to the sketch and added inks to my background paper using the packaging technique before layering the photo up on lots of patterned papers.

The majority of the supplies used are from the Dear Lizzy - So Lovely current range. When I saw the background paper covered in French words I had to buy a sheet or two or three so I could scrap my recent trip to Paris with friends Sam & Jackie.

As the background is so busy I followed the sketch & added a tag behind my photo recording details of our trip.
Many thanks for stopping by.

Guest Designer - Denise Holmes

Today we welcome our first guest designer for May...

My name is Denise Holmes and I am a paper-craft  addict. I live in the lovely town of Ware in Hertfordshire. I've been crafting since I was a teenager really, starting off with those old fashioned blotting paper scrapbooks then learning to crochet making those big squares that go on and on until you have a blanket. I began card making in about 2007 then expanded into scrapbooking and  haven't looked back since. I never ever get tired of scrapbooking and I love to document all the things in life and enjoy the process at the same time. I really enjoy going to retreats spending time with like minded people and have made some really lovely friends through scrapbooking. I love to fussy cut and often spend ages just snipping away. I also like to get inky on my projects sometimes. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter as @deeciedee.

 

For my guest design layout I knew I wanted to use the Cocoa Vanilla Wild at Heart Collection as I love the colour combinations. I based it on one of the sketches for this month.We recently went to a very special ball and the colours of our outfits were a perfect match to the papers so I was ready!

I started with plain white card as the background, coating it with gesso first to help absorb the colours I was going to use. 

A popular technique at the moment is the 'packaging ' technique. I used a distress ink pen in an old favourite of mine 'Weathered Wood'. I scribbled onto the plastic packaging from the die cuts in the collection then sprayed this with water. After this I splodged the colour onto the background. I then repeated using 'Worn Lipstick' You can do  this onto a craft sheet but would need to take the card to the sheet so using the packing sheet which is smaller makes it easier.

Once this was done I took some black mist, removed the applicator and flicked it over the layout.

My photo was mounted on to foam pads on top of some of the chipboard elements from the collection to add depth to the layout.

I'm a bit of a sucker for butterflies and hearts so I had to add a few to this layout, together with blue and pink, two of my favourite colours. I've enjoyed making this layout for my guest design spot and thanks ladies for having me !

Thanks for joining us this month Denise!