Note to self layout ...

Welcome to Week 2 of “Boys with Ngaire” :)
and we are again playing with some Rose Moka – the Equinoxe range this time.

Of the two ranges, this is my favourite – the colours work really well together and suit a range of ages and layout themes. Just a note – not sure about your computer screen, but mine shows this in the shop photo as being very ‘red’ with the blues and blacks – where in real life it is much more a reddish brown.

A ‘rust’ colour. It’s not as bright as it appears.

I’ve used them for another grungy style teen layout (after all – I have grungy style teens) – but this time the grunge factor comes more from the distressed nature of the pattern on the papers and the finishing effects on the chipboard, rather than from techniques associated with the paper. Bear with me – I usually get asked to explain what I was thinking when I create a layout – so grab a cuppa for the following – or just skip it and look at the photos.

Other than inking the edges and a bit of border punching here and there, I’ve not done anything to the paper itself.

The patterns on these papers are already distressed and grungy looking. Of the papers I have used here, only the stripe has a defined, regular pattern, the others are blotchy and irregular – which is something you can make use of to make really individual layouts.

Each time I went to cut a section of the paper I looked for the area that would give me the most interesting ‘edges’ and I covered up any sections that were fairly plain and less interesting.

So you can see that for the base paper of the layout – Journal Intime – I’ve only left the interesting script sections around the outside edges showing. Pied de Poule – the central square and second layer of the layout – was cut so that the non-striped corner was included (just above the chippy notebook) – making the 4 corners of the square quite visually different. Baroque was cut to give the main section of it that white corner on the top right – and also so that it left me that lovely mottled white pattern that is the strip above the photo and the horizontal strip that has been border punched (which has the interesting white blotches on either end).

It can take a bit of practice looking at the papers to work out how best to cut them, but when you do this, it often then saves you time, because the layout just flows from there.

Putting those layers together gives you the basis for your layout and the rest is simply embellishing.

I am a bit of a pack-rat when it comes to scrapping. I hate to waste anything.

One of the things I have noticed with using border punches, is that you get these cool little ‘offcuts’ from using them – and I love to add these to my layouts.

Here you can see the black strip has been punched using the Bracket border punch from Fiskars and I have used the offcut (reverse side) a little further down.

It also helps to define the border punch area if you contrast against it somehow. Here, I have added a thin strip of Pied de Poule to do that. It also helps to give a horizontal line across the page that draws your eye between the two sets of cog embellishments.

For me, one of the things that draws my attention on the layout is the Scrapware Chipboard Notepad. I saw them in the store a couple of months ago and had to have one for something else I was planning – but I realised it would be perfect for this layout. To get the effect you see on it, I have inked it with an ochre/buff coloured chalk ink and then wiped the edges with an old semi-dry Pine Cone Versa Color ink. Then I also lightly ‘smooshed’ it about the top of the notepad. Using an old ink pad like this gives you a very soft application of colour – great for when you want just a touch of it and not a heavy coat.

If your ink pad is new – simply add a little to your thumb and forefinger – rub them together – and then lightly wipe over the chipboard.

Small make-up sponges work well for this too.

The journaling I did on an acetate sheet through my printer. There was a fair bit I wanted to say and using the computer to print it meant that it would fit and still be readable.

It’s also difficult to use a pen over chalk ink – even my good Signo chokes.

The cogs on the layout provide the needed variety in texture. Some of them are chipboard ones from my stash (no idea whose – I just have a little plastic drawer full of all the loose chipboard cogs I have bought) and some I made from Grungepaper using my Tim Holtz Cog Die. These dies run fine through your Cuttlebug – you don’t need to buy a Sizzix for them.

The textured surface of the Grungepaper allows you to make some awesome inking effects. The cog on the top right of the layout – and the one here under the dark reddish one – have simply been inked with a variety of inks and then dried with a heat gun. I’ve used a mixture of Aged Mahogany, Black Soot (both Tim Holtz Distress Inks) and Versa Color Baby Blue Ink.

To get the mottled effect, simply wipe the distress ink pads across the Grungepaper – only pressing down lightly. Because of the texture on the paper it only ‘grabs’ the ink in spots – leaving a partially inked surface. Always use the lightest ink first, applying the darker inks over it.

To get the glittery appearance of the key (and the blue chipboard cog here) and the top reddish cog in the previous photo – you need to add some Distress Stickles and again dry with a heat gun.

The red key/cog has Fired Brick on it and the other cogs have Walnut Stain. Distress Stickles have the added bonus of having small solid particles in the mix that are left behind when the glue dries. You can leave them to dry naturally, but I am inpatient and using a heat gun reduces the glitter a little – which I prefer on a masculine layout like this.

I tied the Scrapware chipboard key to the cog with some twine and included one of the gorgeous little Heart Locket charms that Tracy has in the store. It was silver – but I applied a little Pitch Black Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink to it to shabby it up a bit. The matching key to it – also altered - is on the title and there is a Follow your Heart charm on one of the cogs. (Tracy said she has altered the colour of charms by using Tim Holtz Inks, leave for a bit, wipe then apply more ink if need to ... so maybe try that if you don't have the Alcohol Inks)

Both the large letters in the title and the earlier cog with the twine on it – are chipboard – and have been inked to get the pattern you see.

The smaller alphas have some Walnut Stain Distress Stickles as well as ink.

The alphas are the fabulous Scrapware Antique alphas – I’ve used a mix of the normal size and the mini.

The chipboard is smoother than the Grungepaper – so you get a much softer look to the inking. For this reason I like to go around the outside edges with a darker colour to help define them a little more clearly. Here I have used the Pine Cone to do that.

The buff coloured ink was my base and then the blue went over the top of that – to get the strong blue on the cog I first dried it with my heat gun and then applied the blue with my fingertip. The inking around the edges is the last thing.

The large alphas were a little boring with their soft colours – so to add interest I wrapped some twine about them and tied one of the Key charms to the ‘l’. The twine alone wasn’t quite dark enough, so I inked over it with a little Pine Cone to darken it.

And there we have it, another grungy boy layout, but with nary a ripped paper in sight. The design lines on this one are much stronger – straight lines and lots of blocks and angles. This really suits masculine layouts. The softer colours though, tone down some of the harshness of the lines, as do the embellishments.

If you’ve managed to make it all the way through this – thanks – I hope there was something there that is of use to you.

Next week we move onto multi-photo layouts and a new patterned paper manufacturer.

See you then…

Ngaire