Be Yourself. Soaking it up with Sandra

Hi everyone!
Sandra here again with a layout and a few tips on what to do..
and even a few on what NOT to do! ;-)

I had so much fun playing along with the Soaking it Up kit!
From the fun and bright papers, to the wire, to the fun and funky stickers, to the metallic melts, stencil and alphas and washi sheets
well it just goes on doesn’t it??

As you have probably seen by the gorgeous layouts Heather, Renee and Beck have created.. this kit has the  potential and scope for so many different styles of layouts!
Truly a fun and inspiring kit.

This is the layout I created using the Soaking it Up kit.

When I saw these papers I knew immediately that I would use these carefree photos of my daughter.

Now.. first tip on what NOT to do..
I am stingy when it comes to paper.. and I encourage everyone to cut out a square from any patterned paper that  will be used for matting.. BUT I highly recommend that you leave a big enough border .. because if you don’t that sucker is hard to stick down straight and sooo hard to get off again!!

Layout picture has been removed for publication

as you can see by my photo..

I didn’t leave much room..

and I had a devil of a time putting the next layer on top straight.

so tip number one..

 leave a generous border if cutting the middle out of your backing paper.

I added my black cardstock on top of this .
BEFORE adding my patterned paper to the cardstock I
fussy cut some of the feathers down one side to create the illusion of shadow when it is laid on the black cardstock.

Next I added the wire highlights.. NEXT TIP!! Stick down your patterned paper to the cardstock BEFORE you start sewing with your wire.
I found that the patterned paper was not quite robust enough for this technique and tore a bit.  


I used the stencil for my outline of the leaf.

then I placed a foam mouse pad behind my paper and with a needle pushed holes at regular intervals.



NEXT TIP!
Rub out the pencil marks BEFORE you start sewing.. (I found out the hard way that it is hard to rub it out once the wire has been sewn on! :-/ )

When I started sewing I attached it to the back with sticky tape.. no knots

and no threading it through later on. ;-)

 then I just randomly started sewing the wire from hole to hole.. no needle required. ;-)

NEXT TIP!!
You do not need to lick the wire when you are sewing with it

(again I found out the hard way! ouch!)

Its a terrible photo, sorry,  but as you can see.. without that sturdy backing of the cardstock, or another piece of patterned paper,  it is quite easy to tear.

The finished leaf. .. note the gel pen trying to hide the  tears and pencil marks.. I still think it looks okay.. but I think I would of preferred it without. J

Here is the other stitching I did on the layout to create interest and highlights to the layout.

and AFTER I attached it to the cardstock.. so much easier. ;-)

I do hope you enjoyed my “do’s and dont’s” post.

As I said before I LOVED the Soaking it Up kit  and I am sure to use it on future projects as
the kits are very generous.
Check out all the details HERE for more details on the kit.
 and don't forget that the kit come with videos on how to create THREE of the very talented Beck Beattie's amazing layouts using the kit. 

So that's it from me for now...

 Thanks for stopping by and Happy Scrapping!