Homemade lace cardstock...

When I found this patterned cardstock in my latest DT package, the poppy designs immediately made me think of remembrance day and I decided to create a layout to commemorate the services this year which were especially poignant to me.

I started off by creating a collage of torn book paper and other vintage images on the base of a piece of brown cardstock. I then went about creating my own lace cardstock, by carefully cutting around all of the flower designs on the patterned paper.

I adhered foam pads to the back of the patterned paper, and then positioned it over the top of the brown cardstock. The raised foam pads create a layered effect and add depth to the layout.

(This photo shows the layout on its die - the collage should show through at the bottom of the page)

The next stage was to tear another piece of book paper to act as a photo mat - I adhered this to the bottom right hand corner of the layout using foam pads, and then place my photo at a slight angle on top of this.

My title was created by sticking American Crafts chipboard thickers to a torn strip of book paper and sticking this to one side of the photo using foam pads. The journalling was written on strips of Kraft cardstock, and then arranged around the title.

To create an embellishment cluster, I threaded neutral coloured buttons with cream thread and adhered them to the right hand side of the photo, along with some Scenic Route Sonoma cardstock stickers which I also raised with foam pads.

he final layout has a very layered effect, with each layer peeking through and drawing the eye into the page.

You could try creating homemade lace cardstock from any paper with a strong design which interlinks across the page (so it can all be cut out as one design). It is best however to use cardstock weight paper as it could become too flimsy if thin paper was used. The key to cutting out the paper is a sharp craft knife, a steady hand and a bit of patience!