In the last article we listed some great embellishments including stickers, die cuts, frames, punchies, and patterned paper. This article will deal with several other clever accents you can include on a page to add that pizzazz and vivacity to your layouts!
Punch Art. Use your punchies to make art! You can use a heart punch to make flowers. You can use a square and a flower and a circle punch to make a pretty, layered decoration to put on a frame. You can get as specialized and unconventional as you like! Whatever you can envision, you can do! Just punch out different shapes, figures and colors then arrange them to make beautiful designs, images, and accents.
Dimensional Items. (Mixed media, or “lumpy, bumpy” effects.) Dimensional items are things such as buttons, thread, eyelets, ribbon, material, and basically anything that is not a paper product, and that gives dimension to your scrapbook page. Using mixed media is becoming a very popular trend in scrapbooking. It is especially appealing because it can draw attention to your layouts.
There is one concern - if you use dimensional items on your scrapbook layouts, it is best not to have them touching your pictures, because some of these things may contain acid. Dimensional effects can make your page complete, and also really bring out the theme of your page, and look awesome. BUT…you can never be too careful about your pictures. One of the main reasons to put pictures in a scrapbook is to keep them from decaying as rapidly as they would in an acidic environment. So it is always best to be cautious about the items that go in right next to your pictures.
Borders. You know how people wallpaper their walls and put their pictures up, and it is still not enough? Then they add a border and it is perfect! Well, this situation is exactly comparable to a scrapbook page or layout! If your page requires that little something extra to spice it up, a border may be just what it needs! There are so many different ways to create a border that you can use your imagination and make it truly ideal for your layout. A simple border might be just a strip of patterned paper matted on a solid cardstock, perhaps with some stickers on it. A more complex border may be something with punch art or dimensional items on it.
There are many, many ways to spice up your pages. Next time we will go into greater detail on some other specific techniques that are trendy and attractive and still enduring enough to gild your memories.
