Techneek of the Week - Ransom Title

Now, this may not seem like a technique to you, but it's a good way to shake up your scrapbooking, and try something new! Start small...you never know where it will take you!!

I for one always have bits and pieces leftover from my sticker letter sets that aren't enough to make my title...on their own! But when you combine letter sets, not only can you stretch your supplies, but you can create a really fun and funky layout as well!!

You will need:

• Three to four sets of same-coloured sticker letters - you can use leftovers from your stash


• Your title


• A sheet of paper, and a pen or pencil


• Your layout ready to go, in need of a title!

Step One: Get all of your same-coloured letter stickers together. I have five white sets: American Crafts Thickers, Heidi Swapp chipboard and Doodlebug. These aren't the same fonts or materials (there's foam, chipboard and cardstock), but that's the point! You might not even use all of these fonts, but have them all out none-the-less. We'll need them all for the next step.

Step Two: Write your title on a sheet of scrap paper. Not only does this help you check your spelling before you get it wrong on the page - this happens to the best of us - it also helps you to make sure you have all the letters you will need BEFORE you start sticking them down and realize you're missing an "e" or something goofy!

Step Three: Go through your title letter by letter and make sure you have each letter. That means you need to know if you have three Ds, or two Fs or whatever is in your title. Tick off each letter on your scrap paper as you find them in your sticker letters. Don't worry about taking the letters off the sheets yet, just make sure you have enough!

Step Four: Now when I do my titles I like to start at each side of my page, or against a straight edge so I know I'm getting everything lined up. With this page I eyeballed where my title would sit, and started at each side, ready to meet up in the middle.

Keep putting your letters down, in order (check your scrap paper if you need help spelling backwards!), choosing different fonts as you go. Remember that the whole point of this kind of title is for it to look like a ransom note would...all different fonts and sizes and letters cut from a newspaper. You can have the same font side by side, but maybe avoid three letters in a row that are the same font. This just adds to the "randomness" of the look!

Problem... Once I got to the centre, I ran into a problem with my spacing. So I had to readjust the rest of my letters before finishing my title. A good tip: to make it easier to correct mistakes in spacing as you go, lightly stick down your letters until you're sure of their placement.


And the finished layout...ain't it grand! This is a picture I took in a mall in San Diego of the security guard!

Doesn't the title look cool!! You'll notice how I swapped out the first "I" in my title from what I originally had there. The sparkly one just didn't look right, and since I had only lightly tacked down my letters, it was easy to fix!


You could also try:

• Using the SAME font in different colours. American Crafts Thickers and Doodlebugs fonts are great for this!


• Cutting letters from newspapers or magazines to really get a ransom look on your page! If you're concerned about acid/lignin, spray the letters with an archival mist before you attach them.

Enjoy, and I'll see you back here next week...I've got another treat in store!