Notebook Layouts

I would never have thought of using the Notebook design papers on a wedding layout, but Sarah did an awesome job with these. She printed her journaling, a quotation, on vellum with rounded corners and attached it to the layout with pewter photo hangers.

She used the photo clips from the chocolate medley on the second page of the layout to highlight a picture. At the bottom of the page, she highlighted her letters - cut from a Cricut - with Hollyhock paper and printed out the definition of family to complete her page. This she attached using eyelets at the bottom of that page.

Final Vellum Techniques

For the last example, I made soft folds in the vellum, rather than the hard ones that I used when I made the stained glass look. I rubbed them with a Moonstruck stamp pad on the front of the vellum and stamped the dolphin image on the back of the vellum. After the dolphins were dry, I highlighted them with water-color pencils in gray and blue and smeared them with a water brush pen. I completed the waterish look by tearing the vellum and distressing the edge, also with Moonstruck ink. To complete the artwork, I placed the stamped vellum over a cardstock with the stamped image of the whales.

More Vellum Techniques

Stamping with vellum can lead to perfectly ingenius designs. I flat-out LOVE the dolphin picture in the second example. I did something like it using a snowman on some cards I made this last Christmas. To create this effect, you'll use some appropriate stamp (something that would go with water or ice, or you could even use letters). Stamp the image at the top half of the card - onto the cardstock base. Stamp the image again on the bottom side of the vellum (stamp it and turn the vellum over after it is totally dry) to make the mirror appearance. For the dolphins, I enhanced the vellum by "painting" with the water brush using Outdoor Denim ink on the NON-STAMPED side of the vellum and, after tearing the edge of the vellum, distressing that edge with the same Outdoor Denim inkpad.

Vellum Techniques

I love using vellum on my layouts and on cards and years ago, I even taught a workshop on the techniques that can be used with it. It can be a little tricky, but I have some tricks to working with it.

• Use it as your medium for journaling. You can write on it, allowing plenty of drying time, or just print your journaling out onto it from your computer. Vellum sheets will go in most printers just like regular paper.


• Adhering vellum to your project can be the trickiest of all! If I have paper on my vellum like in the example, I'll adhere the vellum to the base using Mono-adhesive right under the paper. If there isn't any paper on the top of the vellum, I'll use another method of connecting the vellum because I just haven't found an adhesive that doesn't show through. I often use brads or eyelets in the corners or use something of the same in the middle and incorporate it into my design. As a last resort, I'll use the tiniest of dots of Liquid Glass to adhere the vellum and then put another on the top of the vellum as decoration.
  


• Make sharp random folds in it to give your artwork a stained glass effect like you can see in the example. You can even color the different sections with markers, intensifying the effect. Chalk or "paint" with a water pen dipped in ink for a more transparent look to the color. CTMH sells several stamps with a stained glass feel too them. Stamping them in black on the top of the vellum after coloring the bottom of the vellum completes the stained glass picture.

Blessing Book

Some friends at our church are moving away and I was torn as to what to do for them. One of our mutual friends suggested a blessing book like she had seen at a shower. Well, that really jazzed me! I got online and began looking up all sorts of quotation websites. I found some great ones - mainly when I "Googled" inspiration and quotation. I also found some great scriptures when I added that word to my search.

Some of them I printed directly off of my computer, but some of them I just wrote up myself using a calligraphy marker. This booklet wasn't hard to make, with 9-inch flaps. I created it by using 4 12x6 inch pieces. I scored 2 of the pieces at 3 inches and again at 9 inches. These 2 pieces I adhered to a 6 x 6 square (which makes up the back of the booklet) so that they were side by side.
Once those two pages are created, make two more exactly the same way. Adhere them directly on top of the first two pages sticking down only the 3-inch flap, side-by-side, just like before. You can see in the picture with the flowers how the flap on the back page, covered with the pink and green plaid, is sticking out on the side.

Once your book is finished, it will have 4 pages, 2 on each side of a 6 x 6 base. Each page is 6 x 6 with a 3 x 6 flap that folds out.

At this point, your 6x6 base has a back cardstock cover and two layers of side-by-side cardstocks (3 x 6 flaps). Use another 6 x 12 piece, scored at 3 and 9, to cover the base. The flaps are folded in, like the picture below and connected with ribbon, a paper strap, or cut stamps like mine shows.


Inside my base flaps, I put yet another 12 x 4 cardstock - this time scored at 4 and 8 in an accordion fold. In this last "locked" booklet, I wrote my regards as well as the poem by Robert Frost called The Road not Taken in this section.

I've seen this type of project done in Christmas paper with little elves all through it. I think it would be great for a baby book using the CTMH paper pack called "Sweet Pea" or a kid book using the new "Animal Cookies" paper pack. For mine, I used a CTMH limited edition called Key to My Heart. I never miss out on the limited editions - especially those with stamp sets included like this one. I LOVE that key and keyhole set! These papers are some of my favorites, and I wish they were still available. BUT, they are very similar to the CTMH Perfect Day papers. Woohoo!

Father's Day Gift Album

I made this up for a workshop coming up this weekend. I got the idea from our newest Idea Book.

I decorated the new 4 x 6 binder first with inks. I sponged it all over with Garden Green, then edged it and distressed the sides of it using Barn Red ink. I distressed the B&T's (from the Back Country Paper pack) with Barn Red as well.

I stamped the letters in Outdoor Denim on Barn Red cardstock and added brass brads and a piece from the new Color Dimensional Elements "Adventure" set to finish off the cover.

This is an example of the inside pages. They are all similar, although each has its own, unique layout. I sponged both sides of each page with Bamboo and edged it with Garden Green. I used both Garden Green cardstock and Back Country B&T paper to matte the pages and added pictures and note.

Each double layout holds a picture of one of my kids and a letter they wrote to their dad. I used more of the "Adventure" Color Dimensional Elements throughout the book, too. Also, to protect the pictures, I put them into envelopes from Clearbags.com. I folded them up behind the picture and adhered them using 3D sponge squares.

Even though it doesn't show, the inside of the front and back covers were set up just like the front cover. I sponged them with Garden Green and distressed them with Barn Red. I used the green B&T that looks like a wood grain for the inside decor. For the back cover, I used the tree paper, centered, over the distressing.