michelle shefveland. photo by melinda ver meer
We just released our largest Nature’s Sketchbook Collection: Love Grows.
Including Scrap.Words, Click.Masks, layered papers, Scrap.Frame clusters, vintage journals, and oodles of botanical collage papers, this series seems to have something for everyone. With its vintage damask patterns, soft plum and cyan hues, worn chicken wire, torn and tattered papers, we celebrate our love of nature, gardening, and vintage. Not all shown above.
The team spent some time playing with the collection and below are just a few of our creations. See our Love Grows gallery for all of them, plus layout details and creation tips from the team.
Note: in our gallery we always try to let you know in the description if we used a more advanced technique, such as blending of two papers together, etc.
rachel shefveland
For example, one of the tips Rachel gives in the gallery of her Easter egg page (above) is how she achieved the aged photo look on the lower photo.
michelle shefveland. Canon 7D and Canon 35mm/1.4 lens
She dragged the image onto the mat cluster, sized it to preferred size with the Move tool, and set the blend mode to multiply at 85% opacity, picking up the tone and texture of the inner mat beneath it. Using a soft edged round eraser brush, she removed the photo where it overlapped the top journaling mat. Voila!
FYI…using brown eggs and vinegar in the dye made them so warm and vibrant!
Below, creating a lifted drop shadow on its own layer, the photo appears to be hanging from the chicken wire. See our realistic drop shadow tutorial for details on how to create your own lifted drop shadows.
rachel shefveland
The branch frame cluster and all other frame/mat clusters in this collection come with their own lifted drop shadows, saving you time!
For another creative idea, Tonya added two hand-cut images side by side inside a frame dangly (from Get it Framed Danglies 4) for a unique twist.
tonya regular
Beth is a master at layering frames and other elements, further bringing focus to the photo. Layering papers in different shapes and cuts is also a fun technique to use.
beth ervin
Feel free to contact us, as many have always done, if you have any questions about any technique! Simply send us the link to the layout in question and ask what you’d like to know about. 🙂
Our What’s New newsletter with two-day sale details and subscriber coupon went out Sunday morning. Enjoy!
Happy creating! Michelle and team