Scrapbooking Australia: Scrapbooking Basics: Part 3 How to Embellish a scrapbook layout

Hi again, thanks for joining with me for part 3 of our series on Scrapbooking Basics. This time we are going to look at the icing on the cake so to speak, the embellishments. You can see the other two parts here.
Part 1: How to layout a scrapbook page.
Part 2: What are the best photos to use for scrapbooking.

So onto part 3, the fun bits, the embellishments.

What are scrapbooking embellishments?

Once you have the basics, the background paper or cardstock to hold the photos, the photos and the journalling. Everything else is embellishment. Each extra bit of paper. Every sticker, or stamp. Every rub on counts, it all counts as embellishment.

What kind of embellishment should you use on a scrapbook layout?

This question is a bit like, how long is a piece of string. Embellishments come in an array of different types, all sorts of styles. Different thicknesses, different shines and different acid content.

The acid free debated goes around and around in the scrapbooking cycles. I know that when you are first starting out this can be all consuming and this post is not going into the facts about acid free in scrapbooking. My take on acid free is that I use specially made scrapbooking products that I know will be acid free whenever I can. I do what I can to ensure that my scrapbook albums will be around for the next generation. In my project life albums I will often put things that are not specifically acid free, I do this because each little pocket is self contained. I also do this because if it is in my project life album and it is important to me, then I will have also made a scrapbook layout for it.

There are a great array of different types of embellishments. Try them all. Really try them all as you start out. You will quickly find the embellishments that you go back to time and again. There are also fads in the types of scrapbooking embellishments that are around. It used to be that every scrapbook layout you looked at had chipboard. Then it was tissue paper. Now I seem to reach for washi tape and flair badges.

How much should you embellish a scrapbook page?

Part of this is defining your scrapbooking style, this is something that will come with time. Again I would say when starting out, try everything. If you see a layout that you like, copy it, change it, see what 'talks' to you in the layout.

There are some great minimalist scrapbookers out there. My style is more layered, but I am not a lumpy bumpy ie I do not like huge amounts of dimensional product on my layouts. Below I am going to show you a couple of layouts that I changed around, they started simple and then I layered them up a bit so that they fit more with the other layouts in my albums.

As you can hopefully see from these two photos, this two page baby scrapbook layout was quite nice, very simple with minimal embellishment. This is my gorgeous grand daughter Tiana and her parents, my daughter and son in law. Tiana is now 3 and these layouts were made 3 years ago to show colour combinations, which we will cover in the next part of this series.

So before I put these layouts in Tianas album I had a look at the layouts around where these would go and knew that I needed to bring them more into my style of layers.

To give the layout layers without bulk I started with a rub on ruler up the side. This worked perfectly with the theme of the photos. I balanced the 20 cents on her little foot to show how little she was and again near her hand. (she has grown so much since then!). I added a layer of paper under the card and a little quote tag. These were the big things, then I filled in the spaces. A bit of washi tape, a transparent printed heart and a sticker. To finish it off I wanted to bring a bit of yellow to this side of the layout, not much just a touch, the 'hello' adds just a tiny bit of yellow to help tie the pages together.

Having started on the other side, this side of the layout came together quite quickly. Looking at what I had brought in on the other side. A quote card, a few more of the flowers that were already on the other page. Another scrap of paper to layer, this time behind the photo, two more of the little green stickers and a transparent printed heart. At the last moment I decided to add in the black and white 'blessed' sticker as I felt it helped to bookend the black rub on from the other side.
All in all this is much more my style.

The embellishments run on a horizontal line which will help to draw your eye across the layout. By adding embellishments to the main photo it helps to add visual weight to that part of the layout, which gives the photo the importance it deserves. The little journal card has been surrounded by embellishment, again this will make it important on the layout and draw your eye in. (journaling still to be done.)

This next series of photos shows another double layout from the same day. Again it was originally made about 3 years ago and before it goes into the album I want to bring it more to my style.

Originally there were three little rub ons to make a visual triangle on one page and the a strip of 3 landscape photos to anchor the other page.

It did not worry me that I was actually covering the rub on, I wanted to bring this colour into this corner but did not want the words on the card, layer on another flower :)

This corner started off with three sweet little flowers....

Now I have a spot to journal on, the rub on is still peeking out from behind.

This side of the layout was quite simple, I really wanted a title and to pull both sides together.

With the addition of flowers, title card and washi tape, this could have been left here. But I added back in those little flowers that I took from the other side, a couple of enamel dots and some butterflies.

This little bit of detail on the top of the facing layout completed the two pages. Just a little note Colours in computers and even photos can be misleading. All of the Our Story layout is on top of a purple / grape coloured cardstock.

What about if it is one single page, and one photo, how can you keep it simple while still layering it up?

This is a page out of the travel album I am currently working on. This is just a 4x6 photo so I knew that I did not want to let the photo get lost. The photo does not have a visual impact, for example there are no eyes looking at you to draw you in so it would be easy for the embellishments to overtake the photo.

So the first thing for this layout was to contain it on the page. By matting the patterned paper and making it smaller than the 12x12 kraft cardstock, it gave the photo, journaling and embellishments somewhere to live. The title, journal card and embellishments all over lap the photo slightly, helping to draw them together and not leave them 'floating' on the page.

By keeping the embellishments to the one main colour, it helps to not overwhelm the page. There are a range of embellishments on this one page. Stickers, stamps, wood veneer, velum shapes and even bakers twine. Lots of embellishment without lots of contrast. The final touch on this layout was the addition of the bakers twine which bridged the patterned paper and the kraft cardstock.

And finally two layouts that demonstrate the way I usually embellish my layouts. with a visual triangle made from embellishment clusters. The thing to remember with embellishment clusters is to start with the larges piece and then fill in with the little things. By using a range of textures, wood veneer, stickers, bakers twine etc you will make the visual element more interesting to the eye.

First lets look at the 80s day layout that we looked at in part one.

one embellishment cluster with the title

Another with the photos

And the third to complete the visual triangle with the date.

This layout uses a visual triangle, embellishment cluster as well.

I am hoping this has given you food for thought (sorry with the above layout I could not resist putting that in).

If you are not sure where to start in picking out some embellishments, try a collection pack that will have paper and embellishments included. you can find those here
or grab a heap of things to try out by checking the clearance section here.

See you next week when we look at part 4 How to use colour in your scrapbook layout.

In this series we have already looked at