How To Make a Really Rubbish Scrapbook Page

Hi there everyone,

You know you sometimes get those days where nothing comes out right?  When no matter how hard you try, a page just doesn't look like it did in your head? Even though you have a sweet photo and lots of lovely stash to go with it?

sigh ... well, I had one of those days last Wednesday, so I thought, before the whole thing goes in the bin, I will be brave and share it here, just for the record ... so here goes ... gulp


hehehe ... really bad, right? But what's worse is that altogether I've spent about two whole days making this! It was supposed to be for Case File 109 over at CSI but I haven't uploaded it because I couldn't bear to see it there amongst all the real scrappers - in case they realise that actually I couldn't scrap my way out of a wet paper bag and if I've ever produced anything worth looking at it was just a fluke! :o)

Here's the Case File - full of bright colour and fun ideas, just my cup of tea ... you would think ...


I had all the ingredients - a sweet school photograph of the boys, which I thought would go well with the primary colours in the Case File, some lovely papers and embellies -

  • Kate & Co stickers
  • Simple Stories Daily Grind chipboard stickers 
  • Vintage book pages and ephemera
  • Patterned papers from a school-themed collection by Stampin' Up!
  • Paints, inks and mists in gorgeous bright colours
I was going for a fun, colourful page with a bit of a vintage vibe and wanted it to be reminiscent of the paintings that kids bring home from school ... but it didn't quite work out as I had imagined :o)

This page was remade twice - here is how it looked at one point ...


Before this, it had two more of the MME Chalk Studio frames at the top and bottom of the page. 
If you would like to make a page like mine, this is what you do -
  • Create a drippy, painty, splashy background
  • Doodle around the drips to try and make it look more punchy
  • Layer up all your lovely papers and ephemera over the best bit of the background
  • Keep on adding in the hope that it will suddenly start to look "right"
  • Add some cute chalkboard frames and the sweet photo
  • Add some bunting, because bunting always makes everything look better, but not this time.
  • Stick the title on, then paint over it to tone it down
  • Leave it to fester overnight
  • Sneak in to your workroom early the next morning to see if it looks any better
  • Take the top and bottom frames off
  • Roll the edges of the paper to cover up the mess where you pulled the frames off
  • Stick washi tape everywhere to cover up the dullness of the kraft cardstock
  • TEAR THE WHOLE THING APART IN A FIT OF PIQUE like this ...

.. the next evening have another look at the Case File, add in a few more bits and take stock ...


... turn the page over and start again, with a practice layout ...


... looking at that now, it doesn't look so bad - maybe at this point I should have chosen a different background colour, stuck it all down and called it finished, but no, I had to carry on torturing myself ...

By this stage, it was late Thursday evening and far too late to start again for the Friday reveal, so I gave it up as a bad job and decided it was time to move on.

Do you have days like this? Are you brave enough to share? I could put a linky button at the bottom ...

Ok, I'm going to push the "Publish" button now, before I chicken out! 
Thanks for popping in - I hope this doesn't put you off coming again :o)





Comments

Lizzy Hill said…
TEEHEE...you are one VERY brave chickadee...I think I put up one that was BLERRRGGHHH at one stage...but not the commentary, which had me in STITCHES...awful to laugh at your ummm....attempts at resurrection, I know...good on you! Mostly, I just gesso over the whole bg...bit hard with the middle stuck down though. I am SUCH a fan of gesso it's ridiculous. I have been known to rip around the photo around, then used that on different bg paper, too.....& you should see some disgusting paper I 'made'...but never used, of course. It sits & stares at me belligerently when I open my drawer.....so. Did this get scrapped in the end?????
Val-Belle said…
Ah Annie you are braver than I am... I just chuck the ones I feel like that about... having said that I am not sure why you think it is so bad...
It is a very artsy page and that is one of the reasons you happen to be one of my fave scrappers and NO-ONE over at CSI thinks you can't scrap your way out of a wet bag.... if you wanted to see some really naff layouts I should post some of mine then you could see what horrid layouts are all about... :) I think you are being way to hard on yourself. I love the bright colours and the fun photos and the background. xx
Annie Claxton said…
Thank you kind ladies :o) maybe I SHOULD put that linky button in so I could have a peek at other people's disasters after all! Seriously, though, thankyou , I feel better now - and no it didn't get scrapped yet Lizzy, I can't even look at it for a while, it's been banished to the Punishment Drawer along with a pile of other Dodgy Pages and Complete No-Hopers!
Paula said…
LOL thanks for the morning giggle ;) Seriously Annie, you are most certainly not alone...haha I just don't share mine. It's a shocker when the imagine in your head doesn't match the creation you've just created...I'm sure you feel it's a lot worse than it really is. I think your background is fab.