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Black and White β and Great All Over!
by Tiffany Roberts
(Feb 27, 2008)
Do you go through artistic phases? I surely do. It seems that I have a form of Scrapper Mania, and my current passion is always changing. What I loved last month will bore me this month. These days I seem to be drawn to black and white embellishments. Perhaps it's the strong visual line, or the bold contrast. Everywhere I look I seem to find an amazing assortment of black and white materials just begging to go home with me! The types of embellishments I've found easily are ribbons, chipboard clocks, paper or silk flowers, brads, eyelets and other metal accents, crystals, rub-ons, patterned papers, letters, photo corners, tags, buttons, and die cuts, not to mention all of the stamped images you can use with any black or white archival ink! There are so many possibilities. If you're more the hand-crafted type of scrapper you can use shrink plastic, fabric or felt, patterned papers, painted canvas, or any other favorite medium to create your own unique embellishments. If you've never tried creating your own embellishments I encourage you to pick up a paint brush and channel your inner Elsie Flannigan - it's so rewarding to embellish your work with original pieces of art! Using black-and-white photography has been popular for many years; however I rarely see layouts that are exclusively created using black and white as a color scheme. Often I see small doses of black and/or white embellishments on boldly colored layouts with lots of other visual filler - but again, seldom do I see a layout on white background with black embellishments or vice versa. I've heard a lot of paper artists say that a large white background intimidates them, and if you are in agreement then I think the best way to tackle that fear is to jump in with both feet and try something new. Don't look at the empty white space as a negative thing; instead try to see all the possibility in that space and create a layout that reflects who you are as an artist. I really enjoy the look of colored photos mixed with a bold black and white palette. In the layout entitled The Boo Crew the colored photos really take center stage, because there are no other bold colors competing for attention. Black and white are perfect colors to use when working with Halloween or holiday photos that have a lot of contrasting color combinations.
Supplies:
Black and white papers and accents work wonderfully in combination with black-and-white photography as well. Heritage-style photos, sports-themed photos, baby pictures, and family portraits all look excellent in black-and-white. When mixed with papers and accents of the same colors you get a very dynamic layout, especially if you pay attention to texture and dimension. When creating a monochromatic layout it's very important to remember to keep your photos and embellishments in proper proportion. Since everything is the same color you want to keep your photos nice and large and your embellishments smaller and strategically placed so that they help bring the focus towards your photos and not away from them. The same rules apply when adding texture and dimension, both of which are a valuable asset to the monochromatic layout, but if used with a heavy hand can detract rather than enhance your photos. On the layout entitled Sparkle Forever I kept embellishments to a minimum, and placed them around the photo to bring your eye towards my focal point. Basic embellishments such as inking, stamped swirls and a few clear crystals were all this layout needed.
Supplies:
While digging through my old supply of black and white papers I found some great textured cardstocks. These long-forgotten papers were exactly what I wanted to coordinate with the dotted floral paper on my Cherish Lulu layout, and they have me thinking of all the other great layouts I could create with them! As many of these papers are now discontinued, I'll be on the lookout for similar papers at my favorite shopping spots, and I encourage you to do the same.
Supplies:
I hope I've rubbed off a little bit of my Scrapper Mania for black and white accents on you. It's just so fun to see what kind of layout you can create with basic supplies and your own imagination. While using black and white accents may be something you haven't done very often, I really encourage you to give it a try. I think you'll be happy with the dynamic and budget-friendly layouts you can create with materials you already have on hand. If you are interested in purchasing black and white papers or embellishments you can visit our online store at Scrapbook.com for lots of great options.  Shop at the Scrapbook.com Superstore for all your Scrapbooking Supplies!Enjoy 5-Star service, HUGE selection and LOW prices! Click here to start shopping! Featured Scrapbooking Supplies (from Scrapbook.com):
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