Loud Backgrounds: How Do You Use Them?

Hello crafters! 

Today I wanted to talk about backgrounds. I love techniques. Love, love, LOVE them. In the beginning I would make them, they were beautiful, and bold and . . . too much. 

Often times I felt completely overwhelmed by the boldness of them. I really love CAS and it did feel like CAS at all.

Then I learned it was all in moderation. :) I didn't need to use the whole piece as a background. I could break it up and it would still be awesome. 

Today I made a background for you using the hammock from comfy. If you want to see how I made it I have a photo tutorial on my blog here. 

Here is the background before I started hacking it up. ha!

First up: Die Cut

I decided I wanted to do an inlay die cut. I used the Twirled Heart die from Memory Box. It was kind of difficult to line up the black and white papers so I had to do a little trimming :) It happens right?

I felt like the lone sentiment really needing something. I tried a bunch of stuff but didn't like any of it. I finally settled on making dots with my Versamark pen that I was going to emboss except I reeeaally liked just the darker dots. Unfortunately, they didn't photograph at all. Guess that sentiment just wanted to be alone, jerk. 

Second: Die Cut to Create a Background with a Background

I die cut several circles from both my panel and my background. Combining them both gives me a background that is fun and interesting but not over powering. 

Third: Use a Piece of Your Background as Your Focal Point

I rounded one edge of my background to make it more interesting. i don't have any of those fancy edge dies. I traced a plate here people. It works, Don't judge me ;) I also rounded my sentiment to follow the curve. 

These are the two sets I used today. They are both in stock in the store! 

      

There are so many ways you can use your bold backgrounds in a CAS way. You could paper piece with them or just use strips or trim out portions to create an edge. This one would have created a cute scallop for sure. 

How do you use your bold backgrounds? We'd love to see!

Thanks for dropping in

XoXo

Kelly