Dream, wish, be — heat embossing with chipboard

"I started scrapping just over 18 months ago and became completely addicted in three minutes flat. I had no idea that I was capable of producing anything with such sentimental value.

My layouts are almost always inspired by photos — and I especially love this one of my son resting his head on his bicycle. Because of the unusual angle at which it was taken, though, I had a lot of trouble trying to scrap it without it looking a bit strange! When I saw this beautiful Rouge de Garance patterned paper, I knew I had finally found just the right background for the photo. It just seemed to have the same ‘flow’ as the picture. As painful as it was for me to actually cut into such beautiful paper, I am so glad that I took the plunge — I love the results. Sometimes just a few simple, yet beautiful additions to a page can really make a strong statement.”

Dream, wish, be
By Jill Geraghty-Groves
Materials
Paper: Rouge de Garance
Other: Buzz and Bloom chipboard letters, Buzz and Bloom swirl frame, Cactus Pink ribbon, Opals embossing powder, VersaMark embossing ink

Step one
Carefully arrange your photo on the page. When you are happy with its position, use pencil to mark on the paper where you want to start and where you want to finish cutting.

Step two
Using a craft knife, carefully cut along the lines of the pattern on the paper.

Step three
When you are happy with the cuts you’ve made, attach your photo to the layout. Make sure that it sits perfectly behind the cuts.

Step four
Select chipboard letters for your layout title. Then, one at a time, cover each letter completely in embossing ink, place it on a piece of scrap paper and gently sprinkle a layer of Opals embossing powder over it. Again, make sure each letter is well covered in the powder. Place the letters on a metal tray to get them ready for embossing (I keep an old oven tray just for this purpose).

Step five
Hold a heat gun over each letter until the embossing powder has melted to form a beautiful enamelled surface.

Step six
Repeat steps four to five with your chipboard flourish frame, using a contrasting colour of Opals powder.

Step seven
Attach a small piece of ribbon to the bottom left-hand corner of your layout.