There is great satisfaction gained from trying a technique and discovering that it is something that either you are very good at, or that you really enjoy the look of. There are dozens of different techniques available to scrapbookers and other paper crafter’s, but here are five fun techniques to try on your latest scrapbooking projects.
1. Use Brads to decorate or add some festive touches on your layouts. Playing with brads on a scrapbook layout is fun. The two most common uses are to secure a photo or other element in place or to serve as the center of a flower. Try using brads in other ways too. Create designs on your page with brads in flourishes and other doodles. Use brads as bullet points for list journaling. Another fun technique is to hammer the brad on a manly page. A brad looks like the head of nails if you pound it down with a hammer, giving a more masculine look.
2. Try some paper weaving. People have been weaving for centuries, try using your cardstock or patterned paper (why not both) and create a weaved background for a photograph or other item on your page.
3. Use a sewing machine to add some dimension or flair. Sewing can secure elements and photographs to the page, but it can also be used as a design element. Sew a button on a layout, sew a border inside your photograph to highlight a certain aspect, use a fun design with the sewing machine to give your page a little pizazz. The sewing machine is a lot of fun to use on your scrapbook layouts, and can help you create amazing backgrounds by securing pieces together or acting as designs and doodles.
4. Ribbon is always a favorite. I think I have more ribbon in my stash than I do paper which is pretty scary since I am an absolute paper hoarder. Try stitching or securing the ribbon to your cardstock to create your own background papers. Another fun way to use ribbon is to create your own patterned paper and then cut out shapes or letters. It looks great.
5. Play around with Buttons – Don’t just use them as is, try some new things with them. Paint them, ink them, sand them, distress them or alter them. It gives the button a new look. A really fun way to add some dimension with a button, is to sand the top of the button and then sponge them with some ink over the top. It gives them an aged look, that simply cannot be had any other way. It looks fantastic while adding that dimension you crave.
Nicole Humphrey writes articles for the Scrapbooking Blog and for the Frugal Blog. She also guest blogs on a variety of topics. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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