All the papers...

In the Simple Sketches supplement this time there's a sketch idea to use all the papers to create a background. When I'm putting together kits I'm all the time trying to find a balance between looking at what's trending, looking at what's new and looking at what could be mixed together to give all that a different twist while still all coordinating so you can pull out anything from your kit and it'll go together. So you can totally take advantage of that with your kit layouts and use a bit of everything!
Back to the sketch and the idea was to use all the papers in strips to build up a background.

I started off with one of the white cardstock sheets, which are perfect for doing this style of building up patterns on top of. I cut out the strips of papers all at two inches to start off with then some of them I trimmed down a bit thinner as I went along building up the background. To get the lengths of the strips I laid them out nicked a mark with my thumb nail, (rule of thumb ha!) and then used that mark to cut the length. 

I was following the sketch pretty closely for the position of the strips but you could do them more evenly if your brain eye is one that needs everything perfect. My brain eye is one that if it was equal but a bit off then it'd do my head in more so I needed to make them higgledy so that I'm not looking for any one bit that's 'off' it's all off so it doesn't matter! :)

At this stage none of this is stuck down, in fact this is the really quick photo I did to remind myself where everything is before it all gets moved off so I can add the sticky tape to the backs. I've started to add some of the embellishments here too. This is a top tip if you like playing around with your papers first then can't get them the same when it comes to sticking down, (used to do that loads before I this master brain wave!). OK so not that big of a brain wave but taking a quick snap to remind yourself does work to help you, (or maybe it's just me and my rubbish sieve brain!).

I did use some foam pads on some of the Simple Stories die-cut pieces just to give them a bit of something extra. I think it works because it gives them a natural shadow and it helps them to stand up against the papers.

Here's the finished layout all stuck down with more embellishments from the pack of Heidi Swapp puffy stickers. Everything used is from the Austen Quirky Kit Main.

 You know how I was talking about my eye brain earlier on? Well my eye brain is flaring up with the plaid paper bit at the top. I totally want to put that underneath the bottom of the photo area now looking at the full layout picture. A scrapbooker's work is never done!

xx Leo