9{11} 2009

Recently I participated in a challenge at one of my scrapbook forums Scrapjazz.com - this month's Use It Up Challenge included the following:

• Chipboard
• 3 Buttons
• a punched image
• Mist spray or paint
• Transparency 

I took this opportunity to begin working on an album that will contain all the letters, photos, and ephemera that was collected by myself and my husband while he was deployed - this is the first page of that album.  And this is what my finished product looks like:

 I cannot tell you how much fun I had making this layout.  This has been a project that I have been dreading to start for a while just because of a lack of direction in how to do it!  But this challenge and the new technique that I tried had really inspired me to get a leg up on this long awaiting project.

The background of this layout was done using clear glue, reinkers, and a transparency.  This is generally a technique that is done in cardmaking and is known as the Acetate and Tissue Paper technique.  You can find a tutorial for it here.  It was such a fun technique and definitely made using my transparencies more appealing and fun. The technique generally only uses one color of reinker, but I used two to create more of a mixed and distressed look.  Before I did the technique, I stamped the underlying cardstock using a glass to make watermarks. I did the same thing for my journaling card. 

Here are some closeups of some of the details:

Thanks for stopping in today and have a happy crafty creativity inspired day!

Supplies: (Inks) Walnut Stain Distress Reinker, Antique Linen Distress Reinker, Gathered Twigs Distress Ink, Ranger Acrylic Paint Black; (Paper) Stampin' Up! Vanilla Cardstock, Tim Holtz Paper Pack, K&Company, Bazzill, Teressa Collins World Traveler Transparency; (Stamps) Unity Stamp Co Postcard; (Embellishments) Tattered Angels, Buttons from Stash, Mon Ami Gabby Burlap, Mon Ami Gabby trim; (Letters) American Crafts, Pink Paislee