April Guest Designer- Emma Stafrace

Hi everyone, Em here again with another of my  guest designer projects. This one was a tonne of fun to create and I hope you enjoy the  3 very easy peasy techniques I'm sharing with you today!   Below is my hybrid version of todays layout and incorporates  the 2 Crafty chipboards listed below.  

  '100%Boy' 2 Crafty Products used: 100% Boy Word Art Film Strip Small Chevron Bits 2012's Chipboards 12X12 Alpha Dainty Sheet   Often before creating a traditional page I design it digitally first.  This process is particularly useful when I know I am going to use some  more involved techniques that require the dimensions to be formatted  correctly. In this post I am going to share a few cool tips starting with the hero  element of my design....a handmade retro film negative, which will work  perfectly with the  2 Crafty   Film Strip Small chipboard. I  drafted a digital page first so I could work out all the dimensions for my  traditional page, in particular for all the elements and the film strip.  

Digital Credits:

Sissy Sparrows

Just My Type Mini Art Journal Kit

Dear Darling Mini Art Journal Kit

Technique 1:

Creating a negative film strip using transparent paper.

Step 1:

Create a digital image of your photo's and adjust them so they are inverted
to create the negative image. When your happy with the contrast and
saturation isolate the photo strip layer in your photo editing program,
cut and save as a new seperate .jpeg file. Reverse the image so that
when it is printed out on the transparency film it will print the right way up.

Step 2:

Upload the newly created file into a word document. Before printing make

 sure you set the printer to Transparency so as not to flood the film

 with too much ink. Once printed, set the transparency aside to allow the

 ink to dry completely before mounting the chipboard frame.

Step 3:

Prepare the frame by giving it a light sand, then paint or ink it black.

 Set aside and allow drying time. Once dry flood it with dimensional magic

 to give it a sheen not unlike the old film negatives. Lastly mount the

 printed transparency under the chipboard frame. 

Set aside until ready to incorporate into your project.

Technique 2:

Don't throw the off cuts away USE them!

Step 1:

Place the negative off cut from the 12X12 Alpha Sheet on top of your base 

cardstock  or cardboard so as it acts as a stencil. Tape the top and

 bottom edges to your craft table to ensure it doesn't move.

 Then spread some Texture Paste over the surface using a palette knife.

 Carefully remove the stencil  and set aside to dry.

Step 2:

After the paste has dried give the surface a sanding to smooth

 it out in preparation for painting.

Step 3:

Paint the surface using gesso. Depending on how opaque you want your

 surface you may need to do a few coats. Allow each layer 

to dry before painting.

Technique 3:

Twinklify your chipboards.

Step 1:

Paint or ink the accent chipboards. Inking is a quick and easy way 

to re-colour your chipboards.

Step 2:

Add some sparkle to your accents using stickles. Set aside to dry.

So there you have it 3 simple techniques to create a page using those fabulous

 2 Crafty Chipboards you have in your stash. Hope you enjoyed them and

 can't wait to see some retro film negatives in your projects tee hee.

 If you would like to see more hybrid/digital  projects you can check out my blog 

Just A Girl With Ideas and say hello.

Ooh and I should say a big thank you to Vanessa and Di for welcoming me

 to the 2 Crafty crew, its been heaps of fun and a nice change to get

 my hands inky again and can not wait to share my next project with you!

Em xo