You & Me: Confessions of a Mat-a-holic

Here's an article I wrote for the latest edition of the A Walk Down Memory Lane newsletter!  You can subscribere HERE to receive weekly newsletters chock full of tutorials, product and manufacturer features, inspiration and of course, the weekly sale!

 

Hello. My name is Nicole and I am a matting addict. I love to mat everything and I'm admitting it! The good news is that this is NOT a problem I need to stop! It's not bad for my health and (in my opinion) it's GREAT for my layouts!

 I have created a rather simple layout today to illustrate my point. First, here's the basic layout where I did not mat the major parts of my layout (the layers of patterned paper, the journaling and my photo). Please excuse that things are a little crooked here... nothing is glued down. I realy feel that the layout looks washed out and that it needs some POP!

 

One of my favorite ways to make the different elements of my page POP is to add mats! Lots of people mat their photos... but I like to mat EVERYTHING! Here's my layout again with the major elements matted.  Everything just feels more focused to me!

See how your attention is drawn to each element, but doesn't take away from the photo? You may notice that i also colored the title-- I love to color the corrugated alphas with my copics! I also ditched the banner pieces from the first draft of my layout and added the little clothesline sticker. I also added some other elements, most of which are popped up with foam tape to add dimension-- another great way to add some POP to your projects!

 

**Note- I achieved the matching color for the alphas by first coloring with the BG45 and then coloring over it with the B93. Combining Copic colors (do the darker color first) is a great way to customize your colors for any project you're working on!

So try catching the matting fever and see were it takes you! Do you like to use journaling strips? Try matting those and see what you think! Nearly any page element can be matted for a little extra pop! Try it-- you'll like it!

Products Used:

Patterned Paper and Stickers: Echo Park Perfect Summer Collection

Cardstock: Bazzil

Alphas: Jillibean Corrugated Alphas

Adhesive: ATG Gun and Scotch Quick Dry

Copic Markers: B93- Light Crockery Blue and BG45 Nile Blue

 

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!  I hope you come again soon!