This layout started off as a challenge to create. I had taken pictures on Stone Island in Mazatlan, Mexico. It was a beautiful there and the pictures were a great representation of the island and its culture. However, there was a lot of sand, coconut trees, decorated coconut shells, etc. so there wasn't much color to work with in the layout.
When I began to plan my pages, I had a few different colors of card stock that matched the colors in the photos perfectly. Unfortunately, they were such subtle colors that the layout lacked interest when I used them by themselves. I also couldn't add many accents to these pages for fear of distracting from the photos. Besides, what type of an accent do you put with an Iguana anyway?
I needed to create something that added interest so that the pages weren't just pictures on card stock in the same tones. Then it hit me. I thought that it might be nice to try to combine a bunch of the subtle colors together to hopefully add more interest to my layout. I decided to play around with a technique to create my own background and see how that looked. I used Close to Cocoa, Sahara Sand and Sage Shadow reinkers with a baby wipe to create this background on a sheet of Very Vanilla card stock. I liked the way that the colors created interest without distracting the attention from the photos. I then tore the card stock to create a page border and then add brads to the crossed over corners to add another subtle element and complete the page. In the end, I think that this page turned out very well. There is interest on the page without creating a distraction from the photos.
If you would like to learn more about his technique, and others, you can join us at one of our Mini Stamp and Scrap University nights held at my house every Tuesday or have your own class with a group of your friends in the convenience of your own home. You can click on My Stampin' Up! Website to see my calendar of events or contact me directly to set up your own Technique Night or class.
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