Class Idea

During our crop the other day, one of my friends (hello Lisa!) used the gorgeous City Park collection by American Crafts.  I got to thinking about using the last few pieces of my own collection so I thought I share a layout.

The papers are just gorgeous with cute designs in my favourite colours.  My design is a fantastic way to stretch a collection to one more layout.  Here's how I did it (apologies for my step photos - taken on my compact camera).

Firstly, I created a 'stencil' to ink through.  Cut out some circles in stiff card (an old cereal box will be perfect).  I used various circle dies that I have.

After adding a 2" border to the top of the page I positioned my stencil ready for inking.  I always use a cut and dry sponge or applicator to get even coverage.  

Just pick up some ink (Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass) and apply gently in circular motion.  Build up the colour.  Take your time to get the colour that you're after.  I repositioned my stencil and drew a dotted line.  

Offset the lines for a really cool effect.  Repeat these steps to give your layout a ground on which to add your circles later.

  

Now die-cut circles in various sizes from your patterned papers.  Also cut out some mats in coordinating cardstock.  Of course, American Crafts have the perfect colour on the back!

I made a little scene on one of my circles using the City Park stamps

Experiment with your circles going across the page so that some are above or below one another.  Mount some on foam tape for more dimension.  Add another hand drawn circle (using your stencil as a guide).

Finally, to add a very whimsical touch, I cut out the tiny hot air balloons.  If you notice from the main photo, the balloons lead from the title up to the top of the page.

I hope that you might try my layout for yourself!  Thanks for popping in.