Deceiving the Eye

We took a short trip to Biloxi, Mississippi on the Gulf coast last year, and I went absolutely crazy taking photos at the Jefferson Davis home. This home sits on a small knoll overlooking the Gulf, with a nice, wide verandah and lots of rocking chairs. While we waited for our tour guide, I snapped lots of pics of the view from the porch as well as a lot of the surrounding flowers. I was almost sad when we had to follow our group into the house, but I had no idea of the treasure trove I would find inside.

This home has been restored to it's former grandeur, after surviving several hurricanes, including Camille and Katrina. The furnishings are fabulous, but the trompe l'oeil decor on the walls and ceilings is a show-stopper!

Trompe l'oeil translates as deceiving the eye, and this representation definitely does it. The scrolls and flourishes as well as the recessed areas look like cast plaster, but those walls are definitely flat. I wanted to create a scrapbook page that would showcase this beautiful work. I knew I wanted to use large photos with hidden journaling, muted colors and one of my new Spellbinders dies. While searching through my paper stash for the perfect prints, I happened across a small sheet of pale blue/green mulberry paper and knew I had to use it. I wanted torn edges, but keeping everything straight with not one, but three pieces of torn paper is a challenge. The KellyCraft Get-it-Straight Laser Square saved the day.

Mulberry paper does not tear in a straight line, so alignment is chancy at best, and if you aren't going to tear it to show off the beautiful fibers, there's no sense in going to the extra expense. The solution is to line up the edges of the layered photos with the edge, of the printed paper, not the mulberry paper.

Here's how I did it:

Materials
KellyCraft Get-it-Straight Laser Square
Printed paper or card stock, 2 complimentary sheets, 12" x 12" (Cosmo Cricket and Anna Griffin)
Brown cardstock, 12" x 12", (Stampin'Up!® Chocolate Chip)
Oval die cut (Spellbinders Nestabilities 'Floral Ovals' Metal Dies )
Die Cutting Machine (Spellbinders Grand Calibur)
Pearl Pen, Light Green (Viva Décor)
Ink, Chestnut Roan, (Colorbox Chalk Ink)
Lavender ink pad (Tim Holtz Distress Ink pad, Milled Lavender)
Punches, Corner Rounder and Scalloped Oval (Stampin'Up!®)
Scissors
Double sided adhesive (Kool Tak Premium Extreme, 3/8")

Instructions

-->  1. Begin by cutting the center from the background paper, leaving a 1 1/2" border all around.(The center portion will be used for the headlines, subhead and journaling tag.) Ink all outer edges with  Chestnut Roan ink.

2. Trim the second sheet of  printed paper to 11 1/4" x 11 1/4" and ink the outer edges with Chestnut Roan ink. Since the second background paper had very little lavender color, I swiped the Milled Lavender Distress Ink in a circular motion all over the page.

3. Print your photos and layer them onto brown card stock. Ink edges of both photos and card stock with Chestnut Roan ink.

Wet edges with clear water.

Pull paper at a 90° angle from the edges.

5. Print headlines and sub heads on the paper that was left in step 1. You may have to split it into two pieces to get the alignment you need:

• Print your heads and subheads onto white copy paper. Line the printed paper up onto the copy paper, placing it so that it covers the print area. Be sure to leave some extra space around the words. Tape the leading edge (the one that goes into the printer) down. Replace the taped paper in your printer and print again. Your heads and subheads will print out onto the printed paper, ready for trimming.
• If you have trouble lining up the printed words and don't have a light box, hold the papers up against a window pane. You should be able to see through the printed paper enough to get the proper alignment.

6. Line up your oval Spellbinders die over the top subhead and cut. Cut an additional piece from brown card stock. Trim the printed paper along the dotted impression and layer it onto the brown cutout.

7. Trim the headline and place it onto a layer of brown card stock with a 3/16" border all around. Adhere the oval die cut subhead to the right side.

8. Place the KellyCraft Get-it-Straight Laser Square on your work surface. Line up the lower background piece in the corner of the Laser Square. Turn on the laser light and attach the top background paper 3/8" from the edge all around.

9. Place the headline piece approximately 3/8" from the top of the upper background piece.

10. Align the largest photo approximately 3/4"below the headline block. Align one of the small photos horizontally with the largest photo and adhere in place. Align the second small vertically with the other small photo.

11. Trim subtitle block. Trim a piece of brown card stock 3/8" larger on both sides than the subtitle block and use corner rounder on both pieces. Align with the KellyCraft Get-it-Straight Laser Square and adhere in place.

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12. Print journaling on matching card stock, Use a scrap of one of your printed papers to cut a piece of the small scalloped edged oval punch. Ink edges and adhere to journaling block. Slip it between the photo/card stock layer and the mulberry papers.

13. Apply Viva Décor Pearl Pen to title block.

 Now, instead of a stack of photos that are shoved in a drawer, just waiting for someone to dump them when I'm gone, they are showcased on this page with an explanation of why I love them so much. This will go into my "...a few of my favorite things..." album. I think my next entry in that album will be a page about why I love my KellyCraft Get-it-Straight Laser Square!

Maybe today is the day for you to begin recording your favorite things.