Scrapbooking Made Simple

It's very simple. I've used one piece of cardstock and left over pieces of patterned paper and chipboard letters. I mixed up my fonts and the use of the outside of the letters as well as the punched out centres for more contrast. The faux metal pieces were a gift and come on a sheet that you cut out the bits you want. I really felt that this layout needed to be rather simple as the photo was so beautiful it needed to take centre stage. Also as the photo is so large (A4) I had very little page left so I added the two little rub-ons onto the photo. So if you like it feel free to leave me a comment. Alternatively I'm open to suggestions on how I could improve it. I think I have save money here by using off cuts of patterned paper to cover my chipboard rather than buying premade ones. Also I cut my own chipboard letters to save money whenever possible.

One of the things I love to do with my layouts is to have elements that match perfectly. I don't like having one element not match in well with the rest of the layout. This creates a focus on the page that isn't my photo. At the end of the day my layouts are done to compliment my photos but the photo is still the main focus. So when a paper or embellishment isn't in the right colour shade or the pattern doesn't match... it will stand out like you know what to me! Also I hate it when I know what paper I want and I can't have it cause it doesn't exist. So in these cases I'l paint the pattern myself. In theabove examples I've used some foam stamps from Making Memories to create two papers that will co-ordinate with my layouts. I also use only scrapbooking paints such as Making Memories brand when I do this as I know they are acid and lignin free. I think this is a very cheap way to get a unique look to your layouts. I buy the plain coloured paper in ...