Using Vellum and Vellum Quotes on Layouts

This is a post inspired by one of my forum friend, who asked about using vellum and vellum quotes on layouts.

I guess most of us had some vellum and vellum quotes lying around waiting to be used in our stack of supplies. Somehow, most of us get lost of ideas when it comes to vellum. Some of us would think that it is too difficult to attach it to our layouts and the colours aren't attractive enough.

I've used vellum and vellum quotes in some of my layouts and I love them.

~ Just use some small simple looking brads or eyelets to attached them to your layout and they will make your simple layouts looked stylish and adult.

~ I've even journalled on vellum in some of my layouts to add more interest.

~You can also use vellum quotes on tags. This is a quick and easy way to dress up a simple yet stylish tag.

~If you have some left over vellum quotes that are very difficult to use in your layouts, why not cut individual words out of it to paste it in part of your journalling.

~You can even cut part of your vellum quotes to layer over your photographs.

~Tear your vellum to cover part of your background or tags. This is very interesting if you have some pattern vellum to use.

It's not difficult to attach your vellum at all. There are so many kinds of brads, eyelets, holders and even staples out there that could do the job for you. You can also use some double sided tape too to attach them then later cover over them with your embellishments or even your photographs.

To see some of my layouts using vellum quotes, you can refer to "Features" in my baby gallery, "Autumn", "Time for Fun", "Favourite Thing", "Playtime" in my family gallery, "Yosemite", "Sea world", "Japanese Tea Garden" in my Travel-USA section.

Drips Of Nectar

This layout is about Chloe drooling. The inspirations for this layout is from Chloe's photographs above. I've always liked to get inspirations from the photographs that I wanted to scrap on.

She looked so sweet even when she is drooling. It's so sweet and cute until it makes you forget about her drooling. Therefore, I've thought of it as the sweetness of nectar of a flower. With that, I've named the layout "Drips Of Nectar".

I've tried to use crafting foams and some laces in this layout. I've used some crafting foams to create pieces in the layout and even used it to do some detailing on the pattern papers in the layout. You can refer to my topics "Crafting foams on layouts ~ Piecing" and "Crafting foams on layouts ~ detailing" in my tips and tricks section for the step by step how-tos.

For this layout, I've journaled around the stalks. Hope I've successfully, break the negative thoughts of using crafting foams on layouts. Try this technique in your next layout. It's fun any easy.

Crafting Foams on Layouts ~ Piecing

In my layout titled "Drips of Nectar" in my baby gallery, I've also pieced a butterfly using some crafting foams. To create this piecing, just follow the steps below:

1. Cut out your basic shape and then lightly draw your design pattern on the foam using pencil. Stitched the edges of the foam.

2. Punched some holes on the foam to decorate it and using some gel pens to add colours to it.

3. You can used some punched out small circles of foams to stuff into some of the holes to create more detailed look.

4. After decorating the whole piece, cut out pieces of foams for the body and head of the butterfly. Decorate the two pieces separately and then pieced them together using liquid glue or double sided tapes. I've shade the cheeks of the butterfly using some chalks.

5. I've also used some crafting wires to create its antenna.

Therefore, using crafting foams in layouts aren't that bad after all these detailing and piecing work. For more instructions as to detailing of foams, you can refer to "Crafting foams on layouts ~ detailing" in my tips and tricks section.

Crafting Foam on Layouts ~ Detailing

Most of us do not like the textures and look of crafting foams. It's so flat and the colours are just not appealing especially to the eyes of an adult. Therefore, I'm trying to break the thoughts through my latest layout titled "Drips of Nectar" in my baby gallery where I've used lots of crafting foams in creating it.

To avoid the flat look of a crafting foams, what we need to do is to add dimensions and details.

In my layout, I've done some details on the drips or petals of the flowers using the following steps:

1. Cut out a basic shape that you want from a foam and punch out some small circles/dots from various coloured foams.





2. Get a hand puncher, a pair of tweezers and some liquid glue.



3. Lightly, draw your basic pattern or design on the foam itself using pencil.

4. Stitched the sides of the foam to create a sort of more defined look. Then using gel pens to decorate the pattern that you've drawn on the foam.

5. To add more dimension, decorate part of your pattern by punching out holes on the foam.



6. To further add interest to it, using tweezers, arranged some punched out small circles on top of the foam. You can also stack up the foam circles to add another layer of dimension or to create flowers etc.



Finally, you will get some interesting pieces to decorate your layouts. After these process of detailing, I believed that they are no longer boring or flat. The effect of using gel pens also add some great colours to it.

Shading, Sewing, Detailing, 3-D Piecing and Attaching Felts

After posting my latest layout titled "Out Of Shell", some of my forum friends would liked to know more about the technique used. This is actually an extension on my topic "Felt Piecing in Layouts" in my tips and tricks section. Therefore, I've thought of posting it here so that all my blog readers would also get to know more about the technique. I will answer those questions by referring to my felt piecing work in the picture below:





Shading felts:
I've used some fabric markers to shade my felt in my flower felt piecing before sewing or attaching it to the layout. You can also used some permanent art markers as long as they are not water based. This will add depths to the overall look of the flower.

Sewing felts:

I've used embroidery threads (ie. DMC) for almost all my scrapbooking work. It comes in great variety of colours and it is softer and won't tear your paper easily. It is definitely great for sewing very fragile and soft materials such as felts.

Detailing felts:
In my layout, I've used various kinds of stitching technique and colours to add depths in my felt piecing. For the dragonfly piecing and my bee piecing, I've used some vellum to create the wings which can easily be coloured using chalks or even colour pencils and markers to add more details to it.

3-D Piecing:

To do a 3-D felt piecing, you will need to duplicate some of the pieces of your felt cut outs. Then, sew them together using a sealing stitch and stuff some polyester in it before you finished sealing the whole piece.
For example, I've cut out two pieces each of the head and the body of the chick in my 3-D piecing above. I've sealed and stuffed both parts individually before sewing them together.

Attaching felts:
There are various ways to attached your felt pieces to the layout. I've used three different ways to attach my felt pieces in this layout. For bigger felt pieces such as the flower and the chicks, I've stitched it down to the layout. For medium sized felt pieces such as the small flowers and the stalks, I've used some double sided tapes to attached it. For the very small felt pieces, I've used some liquid glue which are able to attach fabric.

I hope that with this post, I've answered all the questions.

Out Of Shell

This is a layout about Chloe's first two teeth. The inspiration for this layout came to me when I looked at her teeth. It's so fresh, new and white as eggs shells. Therefore, I've thought of creating some sort of secret garden with some eggs and fresh newly hatched chicks.

By looking at her smile on the photograph, I wanted to create a layout with lots of happy colours and I've always wanted to try using the felt piecing technique in creating my layouts. You can refer to my topic "Felt Piecing in Layouts" in my tips and tricks section.

The title of this layout, "Out Of Shell" is from the two newly hatched chicks which also resembles Chloe's first two teeth. Therefore, I've pieced two chicks in this layout.

In this layout, I've also dress up my scallop edges paper. You can refer to my topic "Dress Up your Scallop Edges" in my tips and tricks section. I've also create a semi-circle out of pattern papers in sections in this layout. (Refer to my topic "Create your own Circular Template with Sections" in my tips and tricks section.

To add colours to this layout, I've felt pieced some insects and flowers too. I've done my journalling around the semi-circle in this layout and also I've added a flower petal tag which is partially hidden in the semi-circle.

I've lots of fun creating and playing around in this layout.

Felt Piecing in Layouts

I've always wanted to try using felt in creating my layouts. I love the look of felt and the dimensions of it on a layout.

Recently, I've used some self made felt piecing on my latest layout title "Out Of Shell" in my baby gallery.





I've pieced various insects, flowers and also few chicks in my layout. I've 3-D pieced one of the chick by stuffing some polyester into it, to give more dimensions to the layout.

I've used all kinds of materials to create the templates for my felt piecing here. I've used colouring book, drawings and even photographs.

It's fun creating all these felt pieces. Try it!

Dress Up your Scallop Edges

I believed most of us had use scallop papers in our layouts. To create a scallop paper of your own, you can refer to my topic "Create your own Scallop Paper Template" in my tips and tricks section.

Have thought of dressing it up besides chalking, stamping or even inking it? Recently, I've done a differently kind of dressing up on my scallop edges paper for my latest layout titled "Out Of Shell" in my baby gallery.

The steps are as follows:



1. After inking or chalking my scallop edges, used a circular object of the size that's slightly smaller than the size of the scallop shape on your paper, to draw a sort of a semi-circle in the middle of the scallop edges.



2. Use a hand puncher or any puncher that you have, punch holes following the line that you've drawn in the earlier step. (Don't punch the holes too near to each other or the paper will tear)



3. Use a semi hard ribbon or rather a plastic ribbon, cut it into the right size so that it could fit through the holes you've punched earlier. Using a plastic ribbon is easier to make this dress up of the scallop edges. The fabric ribbons would be too soft and difficult to use in this case. However, you still can try using fabric ribbons if you like but try to get the narrow fabric ribbons.



4. Using some black hair pins, clip on the end of the ribbons (this makes it easier for you to do the weaving through the small holes), then start to weave. You can combine as many colours of ribbons you want. In my dress up, I've used two colours alternately, to create a more interesting look.

Don't you think after this dress up, the scallop edges looked more softer and interesting?

Create your own Circular Template with Sections

There are lots of circular cutters in the stores nowadays but unfortunately, I didn't own one. Even with circular cutters, some of us might still have problems cutting out a circle or semi-circle made out of few pattern papers in sections. Therefore, I've came up with this idea.

To create your own circular template with sections, simply follow the steps below:





1. Cut out a circle using any recycled paper or plain paper. The size of the circle depends on how big you want your circle to be in your layout or any project. You can use any objects or things that you find around your house to trace this circle.



2. Fold your circle in half and then in quarters and so on, until you get the number of sections you need.



3. Open up the folds and then you will get your circular template with sections.

4. To trace it to your pattern paper, simply fold up the circle again to the section you want and trace it down.

This circular template will allow quite a number of flexibility as to how big you want your sections to be (you can also create various sizes section of pattern papers that need not be the same as each other. For example, your first pattern paper can be a quarter, second paper can be in 1/8 and third paper in 1/8, in a semi-circle) and how big you want your circle to be. Try it today and create your own circular section template.

Create your own Scallop Paper Template

Recently, in one of the forums that I'm in, someone posted a question about getting the right size scallop shape cutter. I know that there are some very good cutters out there for this purpose and there are also pre-cut scallop papers in the scrapbooking stores. Do you think you could make different sizes of scallop edges papers with one cutter or you could get any pre-cut scallop papers in any size you want?

Therefore, I've came up with this idea that I hope would be of any help to others and I've answered her question. With that, I was thinking why not include it in my tips and tricks section in my blog to share it with my fellow blog readers.

To create your own scallop templates, just follow the steps below:

1. Fold a normal paper or a recycle paper into strips. The width of the strips depends on how big or wide you want your scallop shape to be.

2. Find a suitable round shaped medium to create your scallop shape at the edge of the paper. ( You can refer to my topic on "Using Things Around the House as Templates" in my tips and tricks section)

3. Cut the scallop shape by following the line you've drawn earlier.

4. Open up the folds to reveal your template and put it down against your card stock or paper to trace the scallop shape down. Remember to leave the space which is equivalent to the height of the rounded edge on the sides of your card stock or paper before you start to trace.

5. From the picture above, you will understand why I've asked you to leave a space at the side of the card stock or paper. After tracing it, just cut it out and you will have your own custom made scallop paper on any sizes you want.

Hope this technique will be of any help to you all.

Using Things Around the House as Templates

I guess most of us had met the problem of not having the right template at the right time. I used to go and buy some ready made templates to solve the problem. After much observing around the house, I've realized that there are a lot of stuffs around the house which I can use as templates. From kitchen tools to empty food jars, from stationery wastage to children's toys.

For example those things that you see in the picture above can be used as templates to all kinds of shapes. You can even combined them to create a one of a kind unique shape.

So don't start buying anymore templates before you've checked around the house first. You might be able to save some money for other scrapbooking supplies instead.

First Six Months

This layout is about Chloe's first six months. There are so many photographs that I want to include in this layout. Therefore, I've came up with the idea of resizing all my photographs to multi-sizes before including them in this layout.

In this layout, I've used various techniques. I've used the "Coloured Index Photographs Transfer" , "Enhanced Letters using Tape Transfer" and "Photographs Border". You can refer to all these techniques individually in my tips and tricks section. By using all these techniques, I'm able to include lots of photographs in this layout.

I've journaled along the frame borders to soften the look of the hard edges of the photographs borders. The journalling includes Chloe's development in her first six months in summary.

Try these fun techniques in your next layout.