Full of Fun!

Whenever we introduce new paper packets in an idea book, one of my favorite things to do is to start mixing and matching—picking and pulling different papers and colors to create entirely new looks. Today, I’ve used a lot of paper from the new “Splendor” kit, including the Goldrush houndstooth design and the Heavenly Blue cloud pattern. But instead of Splendor’s dominant Topiary look, I’ve chosen to take it an entirely new direction simply by incorporating Twilight and Chocolate instead of the other kit colors.

The result is fabulous, wonderfully boyish (see my “Jonah” layout!), and a completely fresh take on the Splendor kit. Splendid, indeed! My Background and Texture papers are really the stars of this artwork, because there’s so many creative things you can do with it—here, you’ll notice that I’ve covered my Dimensional Elements chipboard shapes and brackets in it, I’ve stamped a butterfly on B&T and trimmed it out for my card, and I even created my own embellishment shape using B&T—see that cute half-circle on my layout? That’s made with B&T, as is the fun embellishment “spinner” created for the facing page.

For a rustic look, I distressed the paper edges (and even the felt edges!) using Chocolate reinker and a flat brush. Then, I tied the look together using plenty of brads and hinges in my felt shapes and papers. And you’d never guess that this art is made from that very-Topiary Splendor kit! To create art that’s fresh and fun on your own, pick one to two of the most “flexible” or “neutral” papers from any paper pack, then experiment with a bold different color that will completely reinterpret the feel of the papers. I love the result of my experiment, and just like Jonah (son of Nicole, a member of our marketing team), this layout is full of fun!