ROMANCE LAYOUT
This layout has a striking high contrast, yet is elegant. It has a wonderful vintage feel to it. It looks very professional if done well.
You will need:
Black and White photo(s) featuring the lovers (roses are an excellent touch)
Black cardstock
Bright red cardstock
Bright red textured, hand-made paper or tissue
White cardstock
Adhesive– glue sticks or photo-mounting tape
Red photo oil color paints
Cotton swabs
Cotton balls
Toothpicks
Eraser
Decorative edge scissors
Valentine/Romance border punch
To keep this high contrast layout from becoming too cluttered, use only one or two very striking photos. If you have never used photo oil color paints before, have several copies of each photo on hand so that you can practice and perfect the simple technique. Choose just a few elements of the photo(s) that will be colored red, such as roses, the woman’s lips, a hat, the man’s tie, etc. Don’t choose too many or too large an area; just a few sporadic bursts of bright color will create visual interest without overpowering the black-and-white photograph.
Squirt a small amount of paint onto a paper plate or piece of wax paper. Dip your cotton swab into the paint and dab excess on a napkin once or twice. Carefully color the elements on the photo that you have decided will be red. If they are very small spaces, just wrap a bit of cotton around the tip of a toothpick. Do not over-blot the paint, or rub it until it begins fading; you want the color to jump out at you.
If you should go “outside the lines” with the paint, use the edge of a rubber eraser while it is still wet to clean the spot. Between eraser strokes, be sure to wipe the eraser clean on a napkin.
Once you are satisfied with the look of your photo, it aside to dry. When dry, create a white matte for each photo, using a decorative edged scissor with an elegant design. Mount the photo on the white matte with glue or tape. Then, place the matted photo onto the red hand-made or tissue paper. Measure the paper so that it is about a half inch larger than the white matte on all sides. Then, carefully, tear the edges of the paper to give a natural look. Mount the white matted photo onto the red matte with glue or tape.
Take the black cardstock. Around the entire perimeter of the cardstock, create a border with the border punch. Place the black cardstock over the bright red cardstock so that the red can be seen through the punched out border. Use tape or glue to affix the pages together.
Lay the matted photo(s) onto the black cardstock background and arrange them until satisfied with their placement. Affix them to the page. If you like, you can use fancy red letter stickers or die cuts to title your page, or you can add a white, decorative-edge tag for journaling (use bright red ink).
LOVE BUG
This is a great layout for featuring our youngest Valentines.
One enlarged photo of your child
2 sheets of (light to medium) pink cardstock
Black Cardstock
Red Cardstock
Green paper
Medium leaf shaped paper punch
Hole puncher
Ruler
Scissors or craft knife
Adhesive- glue stick or double-sided tape
A compass for measuring and drawing circles
Alphabet stickers or die cuts (red and white color scheme)
Flower die cuts or stickers
Cut the subject of your photo out in a large circle (5-8" diameter for a 12X12 page). You can use the compass to draw a guide line first if it has a rubber tip. If your compass has a pinpoint end, it will damage your picture, so it may be best to use a small plate as a template to trace the guideline.
Take a sheet of pink cardstock. Using the compass, make a circle in the same diameter as the photo. Then, make another circle in the center of the first, approximately 1/4 inch smaller. Cut out both circles along the line and you will be left with a pink ring.
The next element you make will be large ladybug embellishments to decorate the ring like a wreath. To do this, take your black and red cardstock and your 2" circle template. Make several circles on each color and cut them out.
Take the red circles and divide them in half vertically with a ruler and pencil. Then, turning the ruler horizontal and moving it up until it is just a 1/4 inch from the top, make another pencil mark. Cut along the top, horizontal line and discard the small clipping. Cut up the vertical line and save each half. These are the “wings.”
Place the black circles on the pink ring, separating them slightly. You can make them uniformly spaced, or make it a bit more random. Adhere the black circles to the pink ring with tape or glue. Then, take the two halves of a red circle (the wing) and place them over the black circle. You can arrange some with the wings slightly open, and others completely closed, varying on each ladybug. The ladybug’s face will be the place where the top of the red circle was clipped.
Take the black cardstock scraps and punch out a lot of little circles with your hole puncher. Use a glue stick to affix them to the ladybug’s wings to give it spots. Then, punch some leaves from green paper and glue them randomly around the ladybugs on the pink ring.
Set the ladybug wreath you have made directly onto the circle photograph to frame it and affix it with glue or tape. Then, paste the framed photo on the center of the second sheet of pink cardstock. Use the alphabet stickers or die cut letters to spell out the words, “Love Bug,” across the top of the page. Use the flower die cuts or stickers to embellish the corners of the page, grouping them in odd numbers.
LOVE STINKS! LAYOUT
No date this Valentine’s day? Sick of all the mushy romance scenes? Take photos on valentines day anyway and make an anti-romance page.
You will need:
Photos of you and your friend’s dateless Valentines day
Cardstock in your choice of colors for background and mattes
Heart die cuts, medium to large
Black “NO” symbol die cuts (circle with a slash through it)
Alphabet letter stickers or die cuts (Color of your choice)
Usual scrapbooking supplies (scissors, adhesives, etc)
Matte your photos on whatever colors you prefer, in your usual way. Arrange and mount them on the page.
Use the letter stickers or die cuts across the page to spell out anti-Valentine sayings, such as, “Love Stinks!” “Death To Cupid!” or, “The Anti-Valentine’s Day Party.”
Use the hearts with a big black “No” symbol placed over them to embellish the page.
