Live Wire!

Hi Everyone,

It's been a bit quiet on the scrapping front just lately, but I did finish the page I started at a Papermaze workshop last week, under the expert guidance of the lovely Lou Collins who showed us lots of clever techniques and ideas for creating interest and texture on the page without using any ready made embellishments at all - brilliant! :o)

Here's my page all done and dusted ...


... showing a picture of my younger son Tom taken over twenty years ago in Cornwall - probably somewhere like Trebah Garden, where this amazing plant used to grow. We used to call it "Giant Rhubarb" or "Donkey Rhubarb" but its real name is Gunnera and as you can see, it has these maHOOOSive leaves. When you're in amongst it, it feels like you've fallen into a set from "Land of the Giants"!

Of course, more is always more with me and less is hardly ever enough, so I just couldn't resist a bit of tweaking and titivating once I got my page home from the workshop, and once I got started, it was really dificult to stop! Here's how it started out ...


I love Lou's design and we got to try out some new techniques and products to add layers of detail and texture to our pages ...

  • The clear pocket for the photo attaches to the page with an adhesive strip down one edge, so that you can lift it up and add another photo or journaling on the back and behind it - I love how you can add the title or whatever over the top without damaging the original photo. 
  • We diecut cogs and clocks from vellum, used the shapes as masks and then applied them over the top to create a fun background. 
  • Lou showed us how to make the clever stitched elements to add interest and texture - fiddly but fun and well worth the effort!
  • We also learned some handy tips for successful splashing and dripping with ink! 
  • The little stars were punched from patterned paper - punching holes in the centres for extra detail.
  • We added some eyelets to a strip of paper to cover the "hinge" part of the photo sleeve.
So really all I had to do when I got home was to add a photo or two, some journaling and a title - but do you think I could leave it at that? Of course not ...


Firstly, I wasn't very happy with my inking technique, so I got the Black Soot Distress Ink out again and added some random stamping to try and blend it in a bit better. This wasn't overly successful, so I grabbed the gesso and brushed that around the place as well ...


I decided the paper pieces were to tidy for my liking, so tore them off the page, roughed them up a bit and stuck them back on, adding staples here and there for good measure ...



The cogs were cut from scraps using XCut dies, then coloured with Distress Inks in Black Soot and Rusty Hinge.You can see that stitched element Lou showed us here, with the paper rolled back to show a contrasting paper underneath before stitching over the top.


The alphas are Basic Grey (un)dressed "Hip" which I've painted with Distress Paint in Picket Fence and coloured with Rusty Hinge and Black Soot. The yellow Magic Mesh adds some extra interest to the layers behind the photo and I've stuffed in some black fibres too - see? I just couldn't stop!


Lou let us bring the leftovers home, so I used one piece to make a photo mat for a second photo, again roughing it up and adding staples. I also added some stars and arrows from the MME Necessities range, altering them with Distress Paint and Ink to match the rest of the page. Final touch was a good splattering of ink - I used Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Black and Mister Huey in Opaque White - and I was done .... PHEW!!!

Thanks for looking at my page today, see you again soon.

Annie :o)xxx

Comments

Lizzy Hill said…
REALLY enjoyed this read! Loved seeing how you errr 'improved' your LO....actually, being a [normally] more is better kinda gal, I was interested to see how you fussied it all up. Love that photo is a pocket idea & that stitching looks fab - but I would NOT have the patience. That title is superduper...the whole page looks great:):)
WOW Annie! I absolutely LOVE your amazing and creative page. I love how you "tweaked" it with your wonderful extras and touches. So amazing!!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!
Diane said…
What a fun layout Annie, and love all the fun embellishments.

Hugs Diane