Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Loud Backgrounds: How Do You Use Them?

Hello crafters! 


Today I wanted to talk about backgrounds. I love techniques. Love, love, LOVE them. In the beginning I would make them, they were beautiful, and bold and . . . too much. 
Often times I felt completely overwhelmed by the boldness of them. I really love CAS and it did feel like CAS at all.
Then I learned it was all in moderation. :) I didn't need to use the whole piece as a background. I could break it up and it would still be awesome. 

Today I made a background for you using the hammock from comfy. If you want to see how I made it I have a photo tutorial on my blog here
Here is the background before I started hacking it up. ha!


First up: Die Cut


I decided I wanted to do an inlay die cut. I used the Twirled Heart die from Memory Box. It was kind of difficult to line up the black and white papers so I had to do a little trimming :) It happens right?
I felt like the lone sentiment really needing something. I tried a bunch of stuff but didn't like any of it. I finally settled on making dots with my Versamark pen that I was going to emboss except I reeeaally liked just the darker dots. Unfortunately, they didn't photograph at all. Guess that sentiment just wanted to be alone, jerk. 

Second: Die Cut to Create a Background with a Background


I die cut several circles from both my panel and my background. Combining them both gives me a background that is fun and interesting but not over powering. 

Third: Use a Piece of Your Background as Your Focal Point


I rounded one edge of my background to make it more interesting. i don't have any of those fancy edge dies. I traced a plate here people. It works, Don't judge me ;) I also rounded my sentiment to follow the curve. 

These are the two sets I used today. They are both in stock in the store

      


There are so many ways you can use your bold backgrounds in a CAS way. You could paper piece with them or just use strips or trim out portions to create an edge. This one would have created a cute scallop for sure. 
How do you use your bold backgrounds? We'd love to see!

Thanks for dropping in

XoXo

Kelly 





8 comments:

  1. This is so inspiring Kelly love it.

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  2. Wow Kelly, you have this idea down pat. What a beautiful collection and such clever ideas without anything fancy. So love the colours.

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  3. Absolutely amazing cards ..thank you so much for sharing the techniques :)..Love them !!

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