There are paper templates, with and without layers. You can simply pop a premade paper over the JPG template and use a Blending mode – and you have a new paper! The same goes for any other method of coloring a ScrapSimple piece – paint bucket, gradients, styles, etc. You can use the PSD template, put something different on each layer, and build up your paper, adjusting opacities, and Blending modes as you go.
The same applies for the borders and the embellishments. By now, we know how ScrapSimple works, and we all could probably explain a different method of coloring the templates.
But then what? You have a great paper, an artsy border, some pretty embellishments… do you throw it all together and hope for the best? Well, you can. The pieces in this kit give plenty of options to do just that – and get fantastic results.
This tutorial, however, aims to go a little deeper than that. I’ll give you some ideas to try different pieces from each of the templates and to mix and match. You might love that frame, but the mask is wrong for your photo. The mask on that frame is just right, but the word art doesn’t work. That word art works, but the background is all wrong. What to do, what to do?
Not to fear! Be brave, be creative, and be daring! Pull the pieces you like from each template and delete the rest! No one will come round to check. No one will tell you off if you swap out something that just doesn’t work. Digital scrapbooking is built on the very idea of being able to try things until they fit “just right” with minimal fuss and maximum impact.
Come with me as I put together some of my ideas on which pieces work together to create wonderful new templates that suit ME. It won’t be a step-by-step “how to” but more of a “this is what I would do” inspiration booklet. Let’s get started!
Let’s start with something simple.
These are the originals I selected:
SNU_ SSEmb_ArtMix-Blended_Brave
SNU_ SSPaper_ArtMix-Layered
I opted to keep the lace element going, so I used the smaller paper and lace layers from ArtMix_Layered and dropped them straight into ArtMix_Borders_Lace. I simply pressed Shift when I was dragging these layers in, and it dropped them in the same spot as Syndee originally had them. Simple, huh? To add a little something extra, I used the ArtMix-Blended_Brave frame. The layering draws attention to the frame and just gives it a little something more. Here is how the end product looks:
SNU_ SSPaper_ArtMix-Masked
SNU_ SSPaper_ArtMixBorders-Chevy
SNU_ ScrapSimpleEmb_ArtMix-Painted-2
For this option, I paired the SNU_ SSPaper_ArtMix-Masked right back, keeping only the base layer – a grungy newsprint. Again, using the Shift key, I dragged the SNU_ SSPaper_ArtMixBorders-Chevy border on, and this centered it perfectly. Finally, I decided the word art wasn’t quite right for my page and opted to remove it and rotate the frame and layers. Dropping it in the center of my page gives it a sense of drama. This is how it turned out:
SNU_SSPaper_ArtMix-Masked
SNU_SSEmb_ArtMix-Painted-Dreams
I really like the gesso Syndee used here! So I kept the gesso and white paint layers from the SNU_SSSPaper_ArtMix-Masked page. This is where the texture is. The background from SNU_SSPaper_ArtMixGessoMessy has all the texture so I had to keep that! And finally, to keep the texture going, I opted for the SNU_SSEmb_ArtMix-Painted-Dreams frame. I stripped it right back, keeping only the frame and the masks. The end result was this:
SNU_SSEmb_ArtMix-Blended_Heart
Removing all the word art and the frame and shadows from SNU_SSEmb_ArtMix-Blended_Heart allowed me to place the watercolor mask on the SNU_SSPaper_ArtMix-Torn_Sample page. This would make a great Art Journal background as well as a standard scrapbooking page. Here is how it turned out:
In this first example, I used:
SNU_SSEmb_ArtMix-OldPaper
I wanted a plain background but still some visual interest and texture, so I used SNU_SSEmb_ArtMix-OldPaper as a photo mat and shrunk the SNU_SSPaper_ArtMixBorders-Stitched border down as a “frame” of sorts. I like the grungy look it gives against a clean background!
SNU_SSEmb_ArtMix-Blended_Everyday
I wanted a page that looked like it wasn’t set up as a page, just a scrunchy-looking background with a frame thrown on – very simple and non-contrived. I took the background and removed everything else but the texture layer on SNU_SSPaper_ArtMix-Masked. Then I simply dragged the scrunched-up paper layer and frame from SNU_SSEmb_ArtMix-Blended_Everyday, removed most of the word art, and placed it where the texture was. I think it gives a great casual feel, suitable for anything from a Sunday brunch spread to Christmas Day.
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