Today we’re sharing a new scrapbook layout. We’ve named it “New Beginnings” in an ode to Spring and all things new, including sweet baby Molly, who’s featured on this layout.
Let’s start with a list of the supplies we used, then we’ll show you how we made it.
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Cardstock- Core’Dinations
Paper- My Minds Eye “Sky’s The Limit”,
Paint- Delta Creative Ceramcoat “Oyster White”
Modeling Cream- Viva Decor “Pearl”
Flowers- Prima Marketing Rosebuds; Prima Alabaster Collection Alissa; Petaloo Mulberry Street Wild Roses; Paper Flowers “Spring Blossoms” from Michaels; Mulberry Paper Flowers “Pale Green Puffy Semi Rosebuds”
Ribbon- 1.5″ light ivory wired satin ribbon from Hobby Lobby
Random- Wooden clock hands from Sa Crafters, Clock Charm Embellishment from Outside The Box Papers, Decorative Accents Sand from The Dollar Tree, Pop Dots
Tools: Paper distresser, Fiskars paper trimmer, E6000 Craft Adhesive, Heat Tool, Glue Gun, Scissors, Spatula, Paint Brush
First we found a cardstock and scrapbook paper in coordinating colors that we liked. We distressed the edges of our cardstock with a paper distresser, then used VersaMagic Aquatic Splash Ink to add some additional color to the edges. (Our tutorial on how to distress paper is here).
Next, we cut approximately half an inch off one side, and off of the bottom of our scrapbook paper with a Fiskars paper trimmer. We wanted our paper to be slightly smaller than the cardstock. (Both the cardstock and paper were 12×12 prior to cutting). We then distressed our scrapbook paper with the paper distresser and inked it with VersaMagic Oasis Green Ink.
Once we were done distressing, we glued the scrapbook paper to the cardstock using hot glue.
We used our “Best Friends” stencil from Sa Crafters to create the script on our page. We mixed Americana Acrylic “Bahama Blue” paint with Viva Decor Modeling Cream to give the paint a thicker consistency, so the script would be raised. Can you see in the picture below how the words have some dimension and are raised off the page a bit? That’s what you get when you mix the modeling cream with your paint. We mixed equal parts modeling cream and paint (approximately 2 teaspoons each for this project). To apply the modeling cream/paint, we first placed our stencil on the paper, then used a painters spatula to gently spread the paint over the stencil. Carefully lift the stencil (and wash it right away) and let the paint dry thoroughly or use your heat tool.
Next we glued a piece of light ivory 1.5″ wide wired satin ribbon using our hot glue gun. We also folded the ends of our ribbon under so it wouldn’t have a raw edge. Then we hot glued the lace on top of the ribbon. We used small dabs of glue on sections of the lace that were a bit thicker so the glue wouldn’t show through.
Next up are the flowers. We always lay our flowers out and play around with the arrangement prior to gluing anything down. When we’re ready to glue, we start with the flower in the center of the arrangement, then build out from there. We glued the three biggest flowers first, and we used pop dots to give those flowers some added height. We stacked three pop dots under the center flower, because we really wanted a lot of height in the center.
Once we added the pop dots to the back of the flowers, we surrounded the pop dots with E6000 craft adhesive. Then we added a bit of hot glue on top of the E6000, and adhered it to the page. (Tip: We almost always use hot glue in addition to another glue or adhesive when gluing embellishments. We do this because the hot glue dries very quickly, but doesn’t have a strong hold. If you use hot glue alone, your embellishments may fall off later. Other adhesives are much stronger, but take a long time to dry, and your embellishments may not stay put unless you hold them in place for several minutes while you wait for the glue to dry. By using both hot glue and another adhesive, you get the quick drying instant hold of the hot glue, and the long term stronger hold of your other adhesive).
We then started adding our smaller flowers, working out from the center, until our arrangement was the size we wanted. (Tip: We tend to use flowers in odd numbers. Most professional florists will tell you that using odd numbers in a floral arrangement is more pleasing to the eye, and we usually follow this technique when adding flowers to any craft).
Next we poured a little Delta Creative Ceramcoat Paint in “Oyster White” into a bowl. We added craft sand (purchased from the Dollar Tree) a little at a time until we had the amount of sand we needed. This added another element of texture to the layout, and gave the impression of wet sand. When you add the sand to the paint, the sand doesn’t thicken or really change the consistency of the paint, so there’s no right or wrong amount of sand to add. If you want mostly paint with a little grit, just add a little sand. If you want thicker clumps of sand like we have on our paper, add more sand. Play around with it a bit until you get the texture you want. We used a small paint brush to scoop up clumps of the sand/paint and smear it onto the paper.
We also used a Clock Charm embellishment and two Clock Hand embellishments, and painted them with our sand/paint mixture. To paint them, we just dropped them into our bowl of sand/paint and used the paint brush to make sure they were totally covered in paint and sand. Then we dried them with our heat tool, hot glued the clock hands together, then glued the hands onto the clock charm with hot glue and E6000. We then tucked the clock into the flower arrangement, attaching it with hot glue and E6000. We love how the clock turned out after the paint/sand treatment. To us, it’s reminiscent of something that was lost in the sea for a long time.
And that’s our finished layout.
Except, of course, for our final touch. A picture of sweet Molly.
If you make a version of this craft, we’d love to see it! Please share with us in our comment section or upload a picture to our Facebook page and we may highlight your craft in a future post!
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I love it! So creative! Does the sand/paint mixture stick to the paper on its own? I will be trying that technique. 🙂
Becky, it does. Just let the project lay flat till dry. Be sure to share your layout with us!