Fresh Idea Friday - Paint Your Story!

 It’s Fresh Idea Friday again, and we’d love to share with you the fabulous ideas from Birgit Huffman. If you’ve been in the store, you might have seen the handmade crochet flowers and borders that we sell from Birgit, like the one she used in the page above. We’ve used them in the Scrappinista Club and in many layouts in the store! Well, Birgit has many more ideas and we’re highlighting one of those today.

Birgit says, “Sometimes I can’t find a specific sticker I want, so I just paint it!”

Say what?

That’s right, she PAINTS her own embellishments. From simple flowers to intricate scenes. They always have something to do with the individual(s) in the photos, or the memories associated with the photos.

She starts with watercolor paper (already acid free) or a heavier scrapbooking cardstock. She uses either the Making Memories Scrapbooking paints (we have these in stock!) or she might use regular craft acrylic paints. She thins the paints with acrylic gel thinner and uses bristle brushes. She will often “build up” layers of paint to achieve the look she wants. 

Simple items she might paint freehand, more complicated scenes she may sketch out in advance. She definitely likes to look at a photo before getting started, just to get a good idea of what she is creating.

Birgit says that creating her own embellishments allows her to customize her pages, especially when she can’t find specific embellishments to tell the story she wants to tell.

Birgit says that a simple painted embellishment like a 7” tall spray of flowers and cattails might take her as little as 10-15 minutes. The paintings of her father in the two-page layout above might take her 30-90 minutes, depending on details. This last layout with the detailed tree took her nearly 3 hours.

Birgit also mixes her embellishments, combining her painting with other stickers, flowers, brads and more.  This allows her to customize even more!

You don’t have to be an artist to try your hand at paints. Start simple, make a little spray of flowers or a child’s simple toy, or paint your own title! Try altering a sticker with paint… the little house sticker isn’t the right color? Change it!  Don’t worry about being lifelike! This is your story, imagine taking your pages to the next level with the kind of customization that you can do with a little paint, a brush and a world of inspiration!