Happy Tuesday!
Quite often I find myself adding the title to a layout at the end of my page-making process, fitting it in wherever I can find room. Today's tutorial, however, gives the much-neglected title some tender loving care. The title of this two-pager not only has a page to itself, but it has also been dressed up with an assortment of October Afternoon washi tape and stitched to create a charming, homespun feel.
The focus of the layout is on "real" love, which is perfectly imperfect, and the title reinforces that.
Here's how I approached the title:
Step 1. Gather your supplies, including washi tape, a sheet of cardstock (or subtly patterned paper), a ruler, a pencil, a scissors, and a sewing machine (or a needle and thread).
Step 2. Using a ruler and pencil, lightly draw lines across the page to serve as guides for your letters, and then write your title by hand. If you are wary about adding your handwriitng to the page, don't fret. You'll be covering it up soon enough with tape and stitching. I made each of my guides 3" in height.
Step 3. Replace at least one of the straight lines in each letter (where applicable) with washi tape, working through the title letter by letter. I erased each line as I added the tape, and trimmed the edges of the tape to ensure that it remained within the 3" height (though you need not be precise).
Step 4. Complete each letter by adding stitching, running over the area multiple times. I confess that I am terrible at stitching precise rounded shapes, so embracing a roughly structured (a.k.a. gloriously messy) stitch was ideal. Just tell yourself what I tell myself: it adds to the charm!
Step 5. Trim the ends of the thread (or leave them on, if you wish -- no judgments here!).
Step 6. Complete the layout, additing stamping and stiching -- oh, and that second page! I used a variety of papers from the Daily Flash 2 "Girl Talk" collection as well as a heart stampand "Love" sentiments stamp from the "Homemade" stamp set and the stamped word "Found" from the "Inspiration" Daily Flash roller stamp. I also worked in a few Pop Drop hearts ('tis the season, after all).
If you happen to try this approach to the title (or any other technique that gives your title some extra love), be sure to post your project in the October Afternoon Flickr gallery and link me up in the comments below.
Thanks for stopping by today!
-- Jill