Sweet Scrappin' - Vellum to the Rescue!

Hey everyone, Michele here - are you guys ready for some more Sweet Scrappin'?

I used the Dream Ocean stamp set today. This set is so perfect for all of your summer beach photos. I tried something a little different for me, I didn't use any patterned paper at all on my layout, and relied on stamps, embellies and washi tape to give my layout color and pattern.

Check it out:

So... this is not quite how I envisioned the stamping on my layout when I started, and halfway through I was about ready to toss it out! I'm not kidding. Let me show you what happened.

Here's how I started, some coordinating washi and letter stickers to complement the photos, and my plan was to do some tone on tone stamping. I set my pictures up in a vertical line, and drew a pencil line to help me align the ship's wheel border stamp. And then I started stamping....border looks good.... keep stamping...

...nice images in the corners, nice balance, but the layout seems empty around the title and embellies. (In retrospect, the left side of the layout looks great, I just need to add something more to the right side.) But I don't see this at the time, so I keep on stamping...

...and I fill in all that empty 'white' space... I did finally figure out some washi on the right would help balance that side of the layout. But now the left side has too much going on. The stamps, embellies and title are all competing with each other, your eye can't figure out where to look!

 

I considered re-stamping everything onto a new kraft background, and leaving more white space, like I started off with. But then a wonderful thought came to me -- VELLUM! Oh yes. Such an easy fix, and I am loving the results. Vellum perfectly softens the stamped images, and now my journaling, embellies and title stand out, along with the photos. The stamping just has a soft background feel.

 

Whew! Vellum to the rescue, indeed!

Stamping Layout Tips:

1. Stamps are a great way to add pattern to solid cardstock.
2. Draw a pencil line on your paper before stamping, to easily create straight borders. 
3. Pay attention to the 'white' space on your layout, don't feel like you have to fill in every empty space.
4. Use vellum to soften your stamped images.

I used the Dream Ocean stamp set today:

Thanks for coming by today! We love it when you link up your Sweet Stamp Shop projects to our Facebook page or Flickr gallery! Can you guys link up some of your layouts using Sweet stamps for me? I would love to see them. I'm always looking for more stamped layout inspriation!

-Michele



Remember that every week we've got a challenge going on. Join in and share with your crafty friends!
This week's challenge can be found HERE.

And did you see that the Fall Design Team Call is up?  I know that Nicole would love to see some fresh faces so get that application in pronto!

Applications due Aug. 15th

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