Flourishes

The dictionary defines the verb, "flourish," as "to decorate or embellish (writing, a page of script, etc.) with sweeping or fanciful curves or lines." That definition has the art of scrapbooking written all over it. In recent months, the flourish design has become as popular as fireworks on the fourth of July. It is a versatile element that can be used with almost any theme, depending on the style of the flourish.

The paper craft industry has answered the needs of scrapbookers and cardmakers everywhere by manufacturing the flourish in a plethora of designs and materials. Here are the most common types of flourish product:

• chipboard
• stamps
• digital elements
• die cuts
• patterned paper
• rub-ons
• fonts/dingbats

A flourish may be used in many different ways, depending on the type of material and the design of the flourish.

• edging on pages
• photo corners
• backgrounds
• title embellishments
• paragraph dividers
• photo enhancements , added directly with photo-editing software.

Flourishes can be used in part or in whole. They look fabulous at the edge of an element or the edge of the page. Equally, they look wonderful tucked under an element or enhanced with flowers, brads, glitter or eyelets.

Here are a few samples of projects with flourishes that I found in the Scrapjazz gallery:

• In this layout, Shelley Burkett used flourish stamps beautifully to accent her title block and created a balance with another flourish stamped as a photo corner.
  

• On this card by NC Scrap Addict, the flourish is decorated and used as one of the main design elements.

• On this digital page, Libby Weifenbach layered flourishes under the photo for a very whimsical feel. Also note that the dark blue patterned paper uses flourishes in its design.

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