Inspired By...a book jacket

This week I was stuck. Just plain stuck for what I would show you today! I always seem to come up with the "best" techneeks when I'm not thinking about it! And I draw a blank as the deadline draws near! So when in doubt, I look for an ordinary item in my life to by "inspired by..." And this week it was one of my giveaway books. I keep a stack of these in front of y bookshelf when I'm done with a book and don't think I will read it again. This book in particular has a great graphic design on the front, as well as a great colour scheme! So I decided to see what I could do with it!

I started with the Heidi Swapp Mega Masks to make my star shape. And instead of using the negative of the mask, I'm tracing the shape directly on my background paper.

Next, I peeled the mask off and painted it the shape with some red to match the colours in the book jacket.

While my star shape was drying, I painted my Riff Raff chipboard. Just with some green paint. Then I added some Key Lime Pie glimmer mist to give it some pizazz!

I wanted to add some pattern paper to my layout, but I also didn't want to distract from the star shape. So I used my Heidi Swapp mask again to cut my pattern paper just perfectly to fit around the red star I had already painted on my layout.

The finished layout:

It's super simple (a new trend for me?) but it looks nice! The star stands out and makes a great background for the title. And the palm tree adds some contrast. Next time you are stuck for an idea, look to your bookshelf (or your CD rack!) for some inspiration.

later,

Inspired By...

This morning I was lurking around some of my fave websites and blogs, and I was inspired by some of the art I found there.


Some of you might remember Elsie Flannigan from all her amazing work with KI Memories a couple of years ago. She has moved on to start her own online store, selling her art and crafts with some good friends! I have always admired her scrapbooking, and now find myself inspired by her art!

These paintings caught my eye, and I knew I could translate their geometric lines to my scrapbooking doodles!

You will need:
- Sharpie or other permanent black marker
- paper

Extras:
- paint
- crayon
- pen or felt marker

Step One: Pick a shape and draw it on your background paper. I like the diamond-type shapes Elsie used in her paintings. It doesn't have to be perfect, just do it!!

Step Two: Draw the shape a couple more times on your paper. I joined them together with a simple line between.

Step Three: Once you have finished drawing your shapes, you can colour them in with some paint or markers, pencil crayons, regular crayons, etc. etc. I used some basic craft paint watered down to add some colour to my shapes.
I used less water where I wanted the colour to be brighter.

And the finished doodle. With colour. Bright and nice!!

And the finished layout. Simple, but stunning!

I doodled the title and added some red paint and felt marker to add some extra colour.

photos of Elsie's art found on abeautifulmess.typepad.com and redvelvetart.com

Inspired By...COMICS

Watching all those amazing Watchmen commercials the past couple of weeks has made me really want to check out the original graphic novel. And after I went out and bought it, it got me thinking about graphic novels and comics and how beautiful and inspiring they are! They have great design elements on every page and with every line of text, and the colours and characters...well it's a gold mine really!! So I decided to do a little page up using my new favourite Watchmen novel as my starting point!

Things to look for:
- Graphic novels and comics are usually set up in a grid pattern, which translates really well into scrapbooking. Copy a page layout from a comic book and slot your pictures and pattern paper into the squares and rectangles.

- Text and dialogue in graphic novels are usually in small boxes or quote bubbles. Breaking up your journaling into smaller bits and pieces makes it easier to tell your story, especially if you're not a strong journaler!

- The white borders around the illustrations in a graphic novel allow for easy reading and while each box stands alone, they also have power as a group. Now don't pull out your rulers for this, but try adding some white space around your photos or pattern paper on the next layout you do.
- Take inspiration from the bright (or muted) colours within a graphic novel or comic book. The colours are chosen to set the mood of the story...just as the colours you choose for your layout help tell the story behind your photos.

In my layout, I kept things very simple and monochromatic. I loved the large chapter title that stretched across the entire page in my Watchmen novel, but I didn't have a large photo to put beside it. So I flipped my layout and mimicked the small grid on the facing page using pattern paper and my smaller photo. I also used the standard comic book tactic of sticking my text in precious little white boxes (which I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE). And keeping my sentences short and to the point I think I get my point across without overwhelming the page with writing!

So let something other than another scrapbooking layout inspire you this week. Try flipping through your favourite non-scrapbooking magazine or looking through your children's picture books. Inspiration is everywhere!

Happy Creating!

Inspired By...

Here are some beautiful spring colours to get you out of the February doldrums!

See you back here on Thursday for a new Techneek inspired by these colours!

Until then...