Just Scrolling Along

I really love the current wave of chipboard embellishments to hit scrapbooking. The Maya Road products in particular appeal to me because as much as I love the product, I love the metal cases they come in too! These are really sweet just as they are or they can be decorated with papers, ribbons, paint or alcohol inks. So you really do get value for money.

Chipboard currently comes in grey or white. My favourite shapes at the moment are the scroll designs but there are other designs available such as flowers, frames and alphabets. Here I've got an undressed (plain) scroll on the left, the middle one is painted blue and decorated with flowers and beads, the one on the right is covered in accent beads and the gold one at the bottom has been inked and embossed with gold powder. They can be covered with paper, material, inked, distressed, used as a template, used to hang things from, and embellished further with ribbons, gems, buttons - the list is endless!

So with all these things that can be done to your shapes to customise them, is there any other way of using them? They can be used with various mediums in order to change or make your own background paper.

A scroll has been coated with Versamark ink and then pressed onto plain paper. The image left behind is like a watermark. It doesn't matter that the image looks a little faded in places; that is part of its' charm. Dot your background paper with images like this to tie up with the decorated chipboard embellishment on your LO.






Here the scroll has been coated in embossing ink, pressed onto the paper and then embossing powder quickly sprinkled on before being heated. The result is delicate, a bit like the versamark pad but raised and shiny. A different coloured powder would produce a bolder pattern.





This time the scroll has been dipped in a bleach solution (eek!) and pressed onto the paper. It leaves quite a chunky image, depending on how strong the solution is and how long you press it onto the paper. I think this would look great on LOs of the Meditteranean on terracotta paper. It reminds me of a Grecian tile. I'm sure I don't need to point out that bleach is not acid free so this decoration would need to be kept away from your precious photos. To paint or decorate with bleach mix household bleach with water - just a few spoonsful - in a flat bottomed dish. Fold some kitchen paper and lay this ontop of the solution so that it soaks up the liquid and use the kitchen paper as you would an ink pad.

Here the scroll has been used as a mask and chalk applied around it. Stick the shape to your paper using repositional glue and chalk around it. Pull the shape off and you are left with a 'negative'. I've done this quite dark so you can see it; it's very pretty when done with pastel shades. You can also paint over the mask but you have to make sure it's glued down well as the chipboard will soak up some of the paint and could transfer it to the area you want blank. It's best to use a thin paint as you have more control over it and can build up the colour with another coat if you wish.

If you're still looking for ways of using chipboard, scatter the shapes in front of you and look at them with new eyes. The scroll covered in accent beads in the first picture looked like a funky 'S' to me so could be used as part of the alphabet. It's mirror image that I covered in gold embossing powder reminded me of a question mark.


The only limit with chipboard

is your imagination.

I'd love to see what

you do with it!