Today is such a gloomy day outside today that I wanted to work on something cheerful that focused on my greyhound Josei. She is just the sweetest girl and wins over everyone she meets. I guess you could call this a hybrid page as I sized my own photos, printed my own journaling and combined them with patterned paper enhanced with a little stitching. It was quick and easy to do and proves that most anything used on Grid Paper produces such a pretty effect.
To begin, you will need to resize your photos in a photo editing program. I used Photoshop Elements 5 to size my main photo to 4 3/8 x 4 3/8 and the four corner photos to 3 2/8 x 2 1/8.
I chose a patterned paper that matched the background of my main photo. This one is from DCWV glitter stack. I love how the color pops off the Black Grid Paper. You can trim your patterned paper into squares with either the Paper Shapers 1” Square Punch or, as I did, cut the entire sheet by placing it on the Mosaic Moments Self-healing 14X14 Cutting Mat and cutting along the lines with the Fiskars Craft Knife. Once you have your squares cut, adhere your main photo directly into the center of the grid and fill in the page with the patterned paper squares, leaving room for the corner photos.
To bring even more focus to the main photo, I decided to stitch a daisy chain around the photo.
I used a Bazzill In Stitch’z template to create a circle centered around my main photo. Simply place the template over the photo and tape it in place with masking tape.
The masking tape will not tear the papers underneath it when removed. Now use a paper piercer to punch the holes.
Gently remove the template and you are ready to being stitching.
The pre-punched circle makes it is easy to stitch through the layers. First, bring your needle up from the back of your Grid Paper through any hole and leave a small tail; tape this down on the back.
On the front, skip a hole and bring your needle back down the second hole.
Now on the back, bring your needle up through the hole you skipped.
Continue in this manner until you have chain stitched around the entire circle. When you need to change threads, always start from the back and tape down the ends.
I highlighted the circle with some small flowers adhered with Mini Glue Dots. At this point you can adhere your small photos into the corners.
I completed my page by printing my journaling on the computer and layering the strips of journaling over the photo. The result is a cheerful, pretty page that honors our family pet.
Give hybrid scrapbooking a try on your Grid Paper. You'll love the results!
