Posted in Projects to Make, Newspaper, Frames, Photos |
Framed Scrapbooking
September 23rd, 2006
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I discovered scrapbooking this year. My significant other gave me digital scrapbooking software for Christmas last year, and I have DEFINITELY gotten his money’s worth out of it. 
To date, I have made almost a dozen scrapbooks for family and friends. One of these scrapbooks was so cherished that it led to my first “off the page” scrapbooking project - a framed collage of photos, using scrapbook supplies, given as a 50th birthday gift.
It was requested that the frame be a bit rustic. A brown wooden frame with a gold line of trim along the inside edge, was chosen to be “distressed”. I rubbed candles at random places along the frame, then painted the whole thing with black acrylic paint. Using a blow dryer, the black paint was heated where the candle wax was. This caused the paint to wrinkle and crack. We liked that!
Next, newspaper was wadded up into balls, and gold spray paint was sprayed onto the newspaper. It was then dabbed here and there along the frame’s edge. The same was done with silver paint - sometimes over-lapping the gold - sometimes over-lapping the wrinkled black paint. The end result was a classy rustic look - perfect for black and white photos (which had also been requested).
The photos were supplied digitally, and I used my software to make them black and white instead of color, resize and crop them, pick backgrounds for them, and lay them all out for printing. I always print photos using a laser printer. That way, glue, or other “liquids” I might use in designing, don’t ruin the pictures. I printed them on photo paper, then seperated them all. I was working with 36 pictures for this project.
I wanted to make a three-level collage. I had chosen which pictures would be the base level. Those were glued (using acid-free glue sticks) to the frame’s interior, which had also been painted with black spray paint. They were staggered here and there, leaving openings for the second and third levels.
Those levels were made by stacking double-sided sticky squares, one on top of the other. The second level was three “squares” high and the third level was four “squares” high. These “squares” can be found in stores selling scrapbook supplies. Your main concern when doing these levels is to place them so they don’t overlap important parts of photos lying underneath them.
The last things added were metal accents in gold and silver. Those included phrase plaques, eyelets, squares, circles and metal buttons. Those were attached using hot glue. A small card was mounted in the center, with a dedication from the giver, along with the date of the special day and the recipient’s name.
The recipient of this gift was ecstatic! My girlfriend, who had ordered this from me to give as the gift, got me on the line for her, so she could share her sentiments with me. I think the following pictures really express how she felt:
Your Frugal Decorating Diva,
Nancy
Bulletin News on 23 Sep 2007 at 9:38 pm: 1
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Daniel on 24 Nov 2007 at 6:16 pm: 2
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Deb1 on 24 Apr 2008 at 6:04 pm: 3
This looks like a wonderful project! It makes me want to be more imaginative!