I love incorporating classic influences in my pages. I have always loved the graphic art from the 1920's, the Arts & Craft's movement and just old architecture and buildings from that time period. I love the strong lines of old buildings, with the fine details of finials & flourishes and finishes stone work or iron. I love the clean lines, but yet how they were able to still include the fine details. My passion has been to find ways to translate this love of the classics into my craft.
All of my pages focus around a specific message. The first thing I do when planning a page, is determine what 'message' I want to convey to my viewer. Then I make sure that the pictures I use as well as title and journaling all convey this. After that I focus on general layout or design, the color or pattern selections, choosing an interesting technique to include (if appropriate) and any other embellishments that convey my message. Sometimes I can do this in about 2-3 minutes with one quick sketch and a simple gathering of tools. Other times I'll working on a concept for a couple of days.
It doesn't matter how long I do this, I still get a huge thrill every time I finish a design and it works. When I achieve the balance & harmony that I was looking for and am still able to convey my message. <sigh> Nothing beats that feeling!
I want my scrapbooking to be a legacy of me. I consider my scrapbooking or paper crafting to be a visual journal of who i am and what I'm feeling. Someone once told me that a complete project shouldn't require any verbal explanation from the artist - that the entire message is included in the journaling, title pictures or just the art. I want my art to out last me, so that my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will know ME through the art I leave behind.
Cardstock is definitely my favorite product! I love working with multiple tones and textures and creating monochromatic tonal patterns, to layer papers and create my own patterns just with cardstock. The Cricut(tm) by Provo Craft(r) is great for this. I'll use it to cut 20-30 of the same icon or word and create a tonal background for my project. I love to create a strong focal element by cutting my title out of cardstock in different fonts in multiple sizes. I also love to add texture to cardstock. Embossing it is so easy with our new Cuttlebug(tm) machine. You can easily create a textile or bubble texture and then brush the edges with paint or ink. Or to do fun techniques with a crimper or even wetting the paper with water. I think what I love most about cardstock is its versatility.
Record all your ideas in a safe place. There are so many little things that you learn or pick up from an article or a friend. The biggest challenge is keeping track of them. I found that the best way for me is to create a personal idea book. It's just a simple spiral notebook that I record ideas in. When I learn of a new technique or concept, I'll experiment with it on some blank tags. Then I'll take the best of the tags and staple them into my book along with writing a detailed description of what I did to achieve that look. Sometimes when I'm stumped for an idea, I'll just page through this notebook looking for the right concept. |
