Shapely Scrapbook Pages!

I love adding big shapes as backgrounds or borders on my layouts. Giant circles, jumbo scallops, zig-zagged edged ledger paper…I am drawn to it all, but watch those prices. Those die-cut papers do not come cheap & I am still learning this the hard way! Last Friday I bought my sister an adorable scallop circle with pink and orange polka dots. It was so fun and just her style, but you can imagine my surprise when it rang up at $2.49!! Really how cute could ONE piece of paper be????

Want a trick to make your scrapping money go further? Cut that die-cut in half, use one piece on your layout as a border, and stash the other half in your scraps for use on a future layout. You can also trace each shape onto chipboard and save as a template for future use. Then you can always make your own out of paper you already have, rather than spending a few dollars each time you'd like to add a jumbo shape.

My assignment for Scrap Play this week was to create a layout using a jumbo shape. Below is my “Smile” layout which has a jumbo circle. I traced and cut out the circle from a sheet of pattern paper using a dinner plate, and then sanded the edges to "rough it up" a bit before adhering to the page. I also ran it through my sewing machine, adding a texture to the outside edge as well.

My “Anna’s First” is an example of making that pricey die-cut go further. By cutting it in half and using only a portion as a boarder, you can save the other half for other layout- 2 fun die-cuts for the price of 1!!! =)T