Friday 16 September 2016

A New Adventure: My Process, My Way

I climb up the stairs, thinking about what I'm going to find at the top. I have a lot of paper to put away. I know that much. I sit down in the middle of a scattered selection of scrapbook kit contents, on the floor, where the frenzy of the beginning of the month page making usually begins.

I start slipping pieces back into packaging and, underneath a sheaf of sheets of patterned paper, I find a photo. It has browns, greens: a picture of me taking a picture of a view of the Scottish Highlands. It was meant for use with my Gossamer Blue August kits, the colours were perfect. Distracted, now, I pull out the bag of August bits again and within minutes I have a layout planned. I post my progress on instagram, because I'm pleased with it. Then I go back downstairs.



Days later, when I return, I pull apart the bones of my layout. It's not what I wanted. I start again. I swipe gesso over my background cardstock and wait. I have spotted the sewing machine, threaded to hem curtains; and because I'm loving a sewn-over-paint-y look right now, I start thinking about stitching. I paint part of my page with October Afternoon Mary Mary blue ink. That leaves an uncovered gesso part, but I'm going to let it stay. It adds texture.

I spot a Life Pages card, flowered, grey, pink, mustard, so I grab my papercutting scissors and trim each tiny flower away from the next. I lay my photo on the painted part of my background and begin arranging the flowers to hold it down. On my desk I see different flowers, pink and grey, cut from a Paige Taylor Evans sheet in this month's kit. I don't need the pink flowers, just the branches; but I don't cut them off. Instead I tuck them away, hidden under my photo, where they will add another layer, lift the photo slightly without being seen. Then I take everything back off the cardstock again, because I haven't stitched yet.

 I sew. I lay it all out again. I trim another Life Pages card, a survivor from my original layout plan, into a banner. Now I need a grounding piece: again, a Life Pages card, navy, contrasting enough to pull your eye right across the page whilst bringing out the smoky blue mountains in the photo. I use navy alphas, then, to lead your gaze back to the left again, so you can read the journaling. I balance those two with a couple of navy enamel dots to create a triangle. How about another one? A second triangle to get you moving right round the page? I like the idea of something natural, so I tip an entire jar of wood veneers onto the floor. I pull out cows, little horses, but I settle on birds to draw attention to that sky.

Am I nearly done? I want to add a little map paper, so I trim an extra banner. Maybe that's enough? I take a photo. I post it to instagram



then I think again. I add inky black splashes. I take another photo. I see some little stars scattered on my desk and I lift three and arrange them along the top and more weight there seems to make the banner hang more successfully. I like how the stars hint at the reaching sky in the picture. I reckon I'm finished.



I make it all up as I go along....

12 comments:

Patio Postcards said...

I like your finished layout. This is the very reason I leave layouts on the desk for several days - sometimes there is something missing & I cannot see it until I give it a few days of living ... ah then sometimes the magic just pops in - yes that trim will do it. You have captured the page creation perfectly ...

Lizzy Hill said...

Brilliant post! I find it endlessly fascinating learning about others' scrap processes...... I'm soooo the opposite. Photo. Choose paper. Grab whatever's at hand, or comes to mind [gotta listen to that Muse]...whack it down. Or staple. Whichever is fastest. Journal. Sometimes journal BEFORE the page is finished. That then dictates where the embellies go. Photograph. Store. Hahaaa! I RARELY leave a page once started, til finished. I'm scrapping quicker than ever. So 2 hours max, it seems, is me these days. Sorry.....your posts ALWAYS get me thinking.... OH! And it's a BRILL LO. Adore the colours especially and the design in particular :):)

Karen said...

It'a all the bits and pieces that make you layouts so extraordinary. Little things, like your banner from map paper, and the not so little things like the painted background and the stitching. I love to read about your process, especially since mine is so different. Always makes me think about how little embellishing I do, and how a few small pocket cards with thoughtful embellishments might make my pages more personal and artistic.

alexa said...

It's always fascinating to read how you put your pages together, and this one is no exception. I do like all your little additions and bits, and the way it grows organically. A lovely restful page ...

Ali said...

Such a great post x

Jo said...

I love reading your process posts and this is a great one with a lovely layout x

alexandra s.m. said...

Such a gorgeous layout Sian!
Thank you for your post!

Ruth said...

I love seeing the processes involved behind the finished page! And I must dust off my sewing machine and learn how to use it properly!

Melissa said...

So FUN to see your process. I typically work on one project, beginning to end. I make changes, but it's usually all in the same day or crafting time. A lovely page!

Lisa said...

If this is making it up as you go along, I want to learn! Beautiful layout. Each of them! But that final one is just lovely. I need to come by and watch you make these types of layouts....

Susanne said...

Glad to see I'm not the only one that will pull it all apart even after I have taken the photo. Lovely page - so much thought going into the natural seeming way you always keep it light and fresh.

Missus Wookie said...

I like the progress shots, and the sewing looks good. I like adding that touch around my pages - although it tends to be digi or faux rather than involve thread.

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