Hello SCT friends! It's Emily on board today with some ideas on layering.  A few of you posted on our Facebook page a while back that you'd like to learn how to layer without having it look stupid. Now, this is a subjective thing, but I've been experimenting with layers since then and hope that I have come up with a few ideas that might encourage you to try layering on your next project. These ideas work equally well for scrapbook pages as well as for cards.

Here are some tips I learned:

  1. Use smaller prints, there's not as much competition.
  2. Papers don't have to be from the same manufacturer. This is a great time to mix and match.
  3. Papers don't have to match, in fact it's better that they don't.
  4. A few solid (or nearly solid) papers should be part of your design.
  5. Vellum is your friend.
  6. Don't stop with paper, die cuts and embellishments add a lot of dimension.
  7. Circles help to balance out all the angles.
  8. Layers should be a variety of sizes and both square and rectangular.
  9. Foam adhesive is also your friend.
  10. Stitching on the machine adds some nice texture.
  11. Play with the placement.
  12. Don't glue anything down until you are happy.
  13. Take a picture, then start at the bottom and build up.
  14. Tilting should be embraced. 
  15. Overlapping is a good thing.

I've included a few examples of projects I've done over the last few months. How many of the above elements do you see in them?

Baby Plant by Emily Pitts
OnSundayNightsbyEmilyPitts

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And now I'm going to walk you through how I put together a layout with layers. I just started cutting paper and moving it around a lot, seeing how it looked here versus there, on this layer or that. Keep in mind where you'll be including your title and journaling, that's really important to have it planned before you start gluing things down. Once I got my design to where I liked it, I took a quick picture with my phone so I could refer to it, then I pulled everything off the background and started building.

EGP-layers

I first stitched the transparency onto my background. 

EGP-layers1

Then I added layer by layer. Some I stitched, some I added a foam dot on one corner and and glued the rest of it down, others I only used adhesive. For me, the key is to alternate how you attach layers so you get some dimension. 

EGP-layers2

You'll noticed you can see the foam adhesive through the vellum. I'm OK with that because it will get covered up!

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Notice I've got a variety of sizes and styles of rectangles. The dark blue strip is going to act as a shelf for the rest of my design.  

EGP-layers4

Here's where the tilting starts. Don't go TOO crazy with tilting, just a couple of papers will be fine.

EGP-layers5

You don't have to go from big to small in the size of your papers, by offsetting them, you can put larger pieces over smaller ones, it adds interest I think. 

EGP-layers6

Notice none of these papers match. I have a number of manufacturers represented here all ready. Now I'm going to start getting ready to house the photo. I like to use a bold color as the base, in this case, I went with a black and white Project Life card from Cocoa Daisy's Day in the Life: August kit. 

EGP-layers7

At this point, you see that I've got two papers that have a similar color, the dark turquoise. I found that the black and white houndstooth was a little TOO bold, so I made sure the next layer covered two sides of it so it just peeks out instead of being a frame.

EGP-layers8

I decided I needed just a pop of red, so this piece works as a way to draw your eye to the part of the photo I wanted emphasized, me and my husband. 

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I added the photo with dimensional foam.

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The last step was adding die cuts and embellishments. If you look at all my examples, these little extras are what give the design movement and textures. 

EGP-layers11

And that's how I add layers to my designs!  I hope you'll try some of my tips and create your own layered project. 

~  Emily Pitts

GIVEAWAY – DAY 10!!!

Today we are celebrating our friends from BoBunny! Jan, the owner of BoBunny and her son Matt, have been great supporters of SCT since the beginning and Carley, well, she is a dream to work with! We are also excited to have Jeri joining us a Crop & Create Moncton next spring.  Everyone loves Jeri! BoBunny was one of the earliest companies in our industry and have always been a favourite to many.  We have loved seeing them evolve from paper and stickers to a company with a vast range of innovative products enjoyed by papercrafters all around the world.  We could not be more pleased to be celebrating their years of support and in turn they could not be more pleased to celebrate you with this awesome giveaway…

10-bobunny_enchanted_harvest

Rich golds, warm greens and brilliant reds make this line perfect for the upcoming fall season. And what a prize package it is! To be entered to win it, please leave a comment below by Wednesday, September 2nd.  All winners will be announced on September 4th!

After leaving a comment below, please take a moment to give Jan and her team a BIG "SCT thank you!" on their Facebook page HERE. No doubt she will read every comment!

Here are all the places you can be inspired by BoBunny and their incredibly talented team: 

Facebook:    BoBunny

Instagram:    @mybobunny

Blog:           BoBunny

Website:    BoBunny

Pinterest:    BoBunny

YouTube:    BoBunny

Be sure to join us tomorrow for the big reveal of our latest special issue and of course, another giveaway! And if you are brand new to our blog, welcome! To learn more about our celebration this month, be sure to read this post.

~  Catherine, Publisher, Scrapbook & Cards Today

Thanks for joining us today!