Where are the days when simple less complicated layouts with a focus on photos approach were made? It seems like a lifetime ago. That was until I saw the Happy Days collection. My immediate thought was white on white. It’s a beautiful range of patterned papers with a mostly crisp white background placing the emphasis on the beautiful colours and design. Simple and uncomplicated – and perfect!

At first it may seem intimidating but once you let go of the fear of white space, you are more than likely to embrace the beauty of the range of products and see the endless possibilities it provides.

How I went about creating my layout.

The inspiration for this layout was really the fact that I wanted to use the papers in a way that wouldn’t take away attention from my photos. I love playing with my photos so I put them through an editing program with an orange tint to it. A bit funky and unusual but I love it. Then I used a Word document to create different shapes and sizes of triangles (download the template here). I simply drew the triangles and printed them onto a sheet of cardstock to use as a template. These come in very handy. So I set about tracing the triangles onto a couple of the sheets from the docrafts Happy Days range. There was really no method to my going about it – the only criteria was to spread the colours evenly across my layout so that the orange colour would feature all over and lead the viewers’ eye from the background to the photos and vice versa. I then adhered my matted photos all along the bottom edge of my layout. Next followed the very therapeutic process of adhering the triangles across the layout staring at the top left hand corner working my way across to the right hand aide and then down and back across again.

 

Shattered glass technique

The triangles lend itself perfectly to a technique commonly referred to as shattered glass – for obvious reasons that is. To add some texture in between my patterned papers I used Anita’s 3D Glaze to adhere a layer of glitter in between my pieces of paper. This is such an easy but very effective look.

 

• Step 1

Cut triangles out of different patterned papers and adhere to your background.

• Step 2

Add a thin layer of glaze using Anita’s 3D glaze.

• Step 3

Sprinkle glitter all over the glaze and let it set for a few minutes. Then shake off the excess glitter and return it to your container.

The glitter forms a beautiful dimensional effect resembling the cracks formed by thick glass when it shatters. So go on and have some fun using the beautiful and happy range of Happy Days. It will definitely brighten your day – it did mine!

 

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Products Used

• docrafts – Happy Days 12×12 Designstax [DPMA160124]
• docrafts – Anita’s 3D Clear Gloss Finish [D25401]
• American Crafts WOW! Glitter Extra Fine – White [AC 27326]
• AC Cardstock – Black [AC 71082]
• AC Cardstock – White [AC 71081]
• Glue Dots Pop Up [GD12296-75]
• Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue [TB 62191]

Post by The Wholesaler’s Designer Jowilna Nolte.

We are very proud to introduce you to our first designer, Jowilna Nolte. Jowilna is a true creative and she will be sharing some of her passion and creativity with you.

Read more about Jowilna here.