Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Mixing It Up with Sherry Cartwright

Let's paint the scenario....

You're in the aisle of your favorite scrapbook store, staring at all the CUTE paper in a rainbow of colors. Though, it is the colors and patterns of Doodlebug Design that catch your eye among all the other papers.

Quickly, you think to yourself as you examine the paper in your hand, "That is cute, but maybe too cutesy. Will it work with my artsy style?"

And you put it back, still contemplating the purchase.

Stop!

Pick up that paper and buy it. Take it home and use that seemingly cute patterned paper as the canvas for your next masterpiece.  You'll find that Doodlebug cardstock is a nice surface to build upon. The core is sturdy, the colors are rich and the patterns are very versatile.

You'll see in the detail image above that I added a few layers to this layout -- painted stencil, paper, stitching, tulle and paper frills.  The tulle might not be visible at first glance, but it adds so much depth without overpowering the layout.

I also used a postage stamp sticker.  I loved the pink heart background, but wanted it a bit more bold, so I scribbled some words on top, then embellished with a sticker and a heart jewel.

Add an artsy flair to your layout doesn't always require a lot of stuff, but just something that is more your style and personality. 
 
Here are a few examples of ways I add to products. They are simple ideas that make them fit more my style, but retain the cuteness of Doodlebug [which I *love*]!


pumpkin }  I painted portions of the background with white paint and white gesso, then smudged some off.  I then added some white paint drops, followed by orange ink droplets.  I also pulled the backing from an old sheet of alphabet stickers to use as a mask and traced the letters. I love the imperfection!


you & you }  This layout was accomplished in much the same manner, except I only used white paint to give the letters a solid background.  I hand cut each letter from a variety of patterned papers, then traced them with a black pen. 


thankful }  I am noticing a trend here -- I seem to add paint to alot of layouts.  Paint is a long lost love that took backseat to pretty papers.  I'm glad to be adding it back into my creative projects.  In this layout, I watered down the  paint, but be sure not to add too much water or the paper will buckle. I wanted the background quarterfoil pattern to show, but didn't want it screaming Halloween.  I used the backing of an alphabet sticker sheet to trace the letters onto the painted background and added the alphabet sticker title.   I cut leaf shapes form a variety of papers, then doodled a leaf pattern onto them. Fold in half and only glue center to add dimension. 


beach treasure hunt }   I embossed circles in clear powder for a subtle effect, but to mimick the bubbles of the ocean and sand dollars.  The dot paper was too stark, so I added a white paint wash over it, wiping with paper towel. The inked words on the label [by the photo] and the scalloped border at the bottom were achieved by stamping with watered down re-inker.   I also used white paper medical tape to make my own washi tape [stamped clouds].  

Enjoying the process of creating your scrapbook layout is so joyous!  

Other ideas to try:
  • Add paint or gesso.
  • Splatter paint or ink.
  • Use stencils.
  • Doodle directly onto paper.
  • Add layers --- tulle, tissue paper, pom poms, tape.
  • Emboss stamped images.
  • Mix lots of patterns and colors.
  • Stamp with watered down re-inker/ink refill.
  • Crinkle paper.
  • Distress edges with ink, scissors, paint.
If you alter Doodlebug products in any way to suit your artsy style, please share with us here or on our facebook page. We'd love to see your creations!

9 comments:

  1. I second and third what Monique and Kathy say...pure awesomeness my friend :)

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  2. Awesome. I love your style....These are more of my kinda thing.

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  3. And she's one of us, a Fiskateer! She does us proud! :o)

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  4. These are great I love them all. I so want to go try some of these out and see what I can come up with.

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  5. All beautiful! I will definitely be trying the medical tape trick.

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  6. I love this post.... It is perfect for me. I love the Doodlebug products and what others can do with them - but I have never knew really how to incorporate them into my own work and style. This was so inspirational. Thanks for sharing.

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