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Using Overlays
Projects designed by Susan Cobb

Last month we brought you the latest trend in scrapbooking: Scrapping with clear materials. This month, Susan gives you her three latest layouts featuring clear Paper Pizazz® Overlays™ to continue with this hot trend. Overlays add quick and easy titles and borders on your scrapbook pages–and the creative possibilities don’t end there! Whether you have just minutes to complete a page or you have some extra time to devote to your layout, read on to see how to embellish your overlays to add personal flair to your scrapbook pages.

 


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Julie and David’s Wedding

“This monochromatic layout carries such a sleek, classy look–and it can be created in minutes!” Susan raves. “I added interest to the printed border on the overlay by placing it over the printed border on the background paper. Silver brads accent specific areas of the page while acting to hold the overlay in place. Here’s a tip: When using overlays, flat elements like photos, journaling and paper embellishments can be layered underneath or on top of the overlay. When using 3-D materials like brads, eyelets, ribbons and more, be sure to layer these on top of the overlay so the page doesn’t buckle when it’s placed into a page protector.”

Supplies:

Instructions:

  1. Use the tan bordered paper as the background, orienting the paper so the border runs along the top edge. Mat a 5”x7” photo on solid tan paper, trimming the mat to 1/8”. Mat again on tan vellum, trimming the mat to 1/8”. Glue in the bottom left corner of the page, about 1” in from the left edge to leave room for journaling. Use a black pen to journal the names and date vertically along the left edge of the matted photo.
  2. Cut out the “love” tag and glue it to the bottom of the photo that’s printed on the far right end of the border.
  3. Computer journal onto tan vellum and crop into a vertical rectangle, leaving extra space along the top edge. Wrap a length of ivory woven ribbon around the top edge of the journaling, wrapping the ends around the edges to secure on the back. Cut out one of the circular roses from the artwork and glue it centered on the ribbon length. Add glue to the back of the vellum (only behind the rose artwork and ribbon length so the glue will not be visible through the vellum), then secure to the right of the photo.
  4. Lay the overlay over the page so the printed border runs along the top edge. Punch 1/16” holes through both the overlay and the page underneath: Punch one at each end of the printed ribbon length that runs through the background paper’s border, punch one in the tab on the end of the “love” tag and punch one over each bottom corner of the vellum journaling block. Add one silver mini brad to each hole to secure the overlay to the page.

 

Tim & Reggie


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“Using overlays as is is a great way to create gorgeous layouts in very little time,” Susan says. “But if you have a little extra time and want to add some fun, personal flair to your page, try accenting the overlay with embellishments. On this “Tim and Reggie” layout, I used an X-acto® knife to cut shapes out of gold glimmer paper, then glued them behind the coordinating shapes on the border of the overlay to fill in some of the cute dog-themed images. I also added fun primary brads to the overlay to accent the letter “o” found throughout the border and to secure the overlay on the page. I layered the photo and journaling under the overlay, then added brads and a cute coordinating tag on top of the overlay for visual dimension.”

Supplies:

Instructions:

  1. Use a light table or a window to trace the images from the overlay onto gold glimmer paper, then cut out and glue to the back of the overlay behind each image.
  2. Use the teal circles paper as the background of the layout. Mat a 5”x7” photo on gold glimmer paper, trimming the mat to 1/4”. Mat again on black glimmer paper, then red cardstock, trimming each mat to 1/32”. Glue the matted photo in the bottom left corner of the page, about 1 1/2” in from the left edge and 3/4” up from the bottom edge.
  3. Computer journal onto gold glimmer paper, then crop and mat on black glimmer paper, trimming the mat to 1/32”. Glue the matted journaling to the right of the photo.
  4. Cut a 1/4”x12” strip of gold glimmer paper. Mat on black glimmer paper, trimming the top and bottom edges of the mat to 1/32”. Glue the horizontally across the page, 2 1/2” down from the top edge.
  5. Lay the overlay over the page so the printed border runs along the top edge. Punch 1/16” holes in the middle of various “o”s on the overlay border, then add yellow, red and blue mini brads to the holes to secure the overlay to the page. Punch one 1/16” hole in each corner of the gold journaling block and add red and blue mini brads.\
  6. Cut out the coordinating teal circles tag and mat on black glimmer paper, trimming the mat to 1/32”. Use a black pen to write the names onto the tag. Computer journal the year onto gold glimmer paper, then mat on black glimmer paper and trim the mat to 1/32”. Glue the date to the bottom of the tag and add one red mini brad to the tab on the tag. Glue the tag at an angle on the bottom right side of the photo, on top of the overlay.

 


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Baby Brynn

“The filmstrip overlay creates four great places to add photos, journaling or artwork to your layouts,” Susan says. “On this ‘Baby Brynn’ layout, the pattern along the top and bottom edges of the filmstrip overlay coordinates with the gingham pattern found on the photo mat and along the border of the background paper. Rather than using brads to attach this overlay to the page, I mounted the strip on a coordinating paper, then glued the mounted overlay strip along the bottom of the page. Tip: Don’t add glue all over the back of the overlay when mounting onto another paper. Since overlays are translucent, the glue will show through the overlay when you press it onto the paper. Instead, lightly add glue behind the dark printed portions of the overlay to mount it and place the completed page in a page protector to hold it in place.”

Supplies:

Instructions

  1. Use the green with floral border paper as the background, orienting the paper so the border runs along the top edge. Cut one filmstrip from the overlay. Cut out two of the nursery rhymes artwork and lightly glue one piece behind each of the two center frames on the overlay.
  2. Cut out the buttons/flowers ribbon border from the artwork. Place the overlay on a cutting mat, then use an X-acto® knife to cut slits in the overlay, cutting one slit down the left and right side of each of the artwork pieces that is the width of the ribbon border. Weave the ribbon border through the slits: Run the border down through the first slit, then behind the artwork and up through the second slit, then down through the third slit, behind the artwork and up through the fourth slit. Position the border so that one pink flower lies on top of each of the dividing lines on the filmstrip, then trim the excess off the ribbon border. Glue the ribbon border in place and reserve the excess for later.
  3. Crop two photos to fit in the remaining windows on the filmstrip. Lay the filmstrip piece on pink texture paper, trimming the edges even with the edges of the filmstrip. Glue the photos to the pink texture paper, underneath the two open frames on the ends of the filmstrip, then glue the filmstrip in place on top of the pink texture paper. Glue the finished, mounted overlay flush against the bottom edge of the page. Cut a 6” length of pink grosgrain ribbon and tie it into a shoestring bow. Use a Glue Dot™ to secure it on the center dividing line on the filmstrip overlay
  4. Mat the photo on green texture paper, trimming the mat to 1/16”. Mat again on pink gingham paper, trimming the mat to 1/2”. Recall a piece of the ribbon border that was reserved in step 1. Glue a piece of the border containing one button and one pink flower in the bottom left corner of the photo, flush against the edge of the pink gingham mat. Glue the photo in the left portion of the page. Cut out the small pink coordinating tag and journal onto it with a black pen, then glue it at an angle over the right edge of the pink gingham photo mat. Cut a 6” length of pink grosgrain ribbon and tie it into a shoestring bow. Use a Glue Dot™ to secure the ribbon to the top of the tag.
  5. Cut out the birth certificate artwork and journal onto it with a black pen. Recall a piece of the ribbon border that was reserved in step 1 and contains a green flower. Fold it in half so the green flower appears on the front, then glue it behind the top of the birth certificate artwork to create a tab. Glue the artwork slightly above center on the right portion of the page.
  6. Cut out the “precious little girl” artwork and glue it beneath the birth certificate artwork. Cut a 4 1/2” length of pink grosgrain ribbon, then tie a knot in the center and trim the tails at an angle. Use a Glue Dot™ to attach the knot to the top edge of the “precious little girl” artwork.

Love these 3 overlays? Click here to check out all 15 themes of 12”x12” overlays, or click here to see the newest innovation in Paper Pizazz® Overlays™: 8”x8” overlays for your mini albums!