Scrapbooking: Tips and Tricks for Texture

You love to scrapbook, and you're tired of creating flat, boring pages and bulky, heavy textured pages. How can you have a textured, interesting page without a tremendous amount of bulk? Here are a few tricks to creating a lot of texture without a lot of bulk. - Paper tearing. You can use multiple layers of torn patterned paper to not only create texture, but difference in the layers. Since patterned paper is relatively thin, compared to cardstock, this creates very little bulk and can make beautiful layouts. - Chalking or inking. Using chalk or ink on the edges of paper add dimension by separating the different layers without adding a lot of distraction. You can also add a distressed effect to paper by inking or chalking it all over. Combine this technique with paper tearing for an even more interesting look. - Stamping. Creating stamped images, then mounting them to your layout with dimensional adhesive (like Zots Dots) adds a three dimensional effect to your layout without adding a lot of bulk. You can also stamp letters and punch them out to make a dimensional title. - Paper crinkling. Wadding your paper up into a ball isn't just something you do when you're going to throw it away. By wrinkling your paper, you're adding texture. You can additionally distress the paper by sanding it and then adding ink to bring out the creases. - Paper crimping. Instead of mounting that photo on a flat piece of paper, try crimping it. Crimping tools are generally affordable, and come in many different patterns. This will allow your photo to literally stand out on the page, as crimped paper adds a three dimensional effect to your page and increases the weight minimally. - Sewing. Adding stitch work to your layout adds a quilted, homemade feel. If you already have a sewing machine, use a separate needle to paper stitch than you do to stitch on fabric. Try adding several styles of stitch to your page to see what kind of texture and interest it adds. - Sanding. Colored cardstock or patterned paper that is white core is a great supply to use this technique on. By sanding the paper, you're distressing it and causing the white core to be shown. Additionally, you can ink or chalk the sanded spots to add further distressed appearance and dimension. These are just a few techniques you can employ to add texture and variety to your page without adding a lot of bulk or weight. The best way to determine if a style is for you is to try it and see what results you can come up with. Good luck and happy scrapbooking!