Design Team: Melanie's Monday Column 10-05-2009

Using beautiful pattern paper to your advantage. I admit, I'm not one to keep a piece of pattern paper a full 12x12 piece. I'm always cutting them apart and layering. After seeing the awesome 7 Gypsies paper I didn't want to cut it, it was so full of detail and had an awesome distressed color. Instead, I wanted to bring out the features.

This is layout #3 from the Shining Madonna kit, called "today." I was inspired by the script on the transparency, which read "seize the day." It's fun to pick a picture and use the date as the title.

I pattern on the paper is so pretty as it was and I didn't want to cut it apart. After turning it in every direction I wanted to get the vines to flow in a nicely to accompany my picture.

Here's a close-up of the transparency, I printed my photo extra big and stapled them together, using the Tim Holtz tiny attacher, this tool is awesome and the perfect size for everything!

To bring out some details in the paper, I used little drops of glossy accents and sprinkled glitter on them, but stickles will work better and it will be one easy step. Another way, I thought of to bring out some of the the details in the pattern paper would be to take the embossing pens, color the images and heat emboss them.

For the scrolls, I inked them using distress inks that matched my page and of course using the must have applicator tool! To bring out some detailing apply liquid pearls. They come in a variety of colors and are simple to use.

The chipboard letters included in the kit are awesome, but on this layout they seemed to get lost. I painted them using some Tim Holtz crackle paint. After they were dried, I applied Broken China distress ink with the applicator tool to make them pop off the page. Plus just look at the detail and texture! I also used some loose glitter and a dry paint brush to get into the crackles for some sparkle on my page.

Check out the butterflies... I used my embossing heat tool on the underside of the wings to make the glittery transparency bend up. Once they cool they stay like that. This is a fun technique to try and it only takes seconds.