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Serendipity Squares are a wonderful way to
embellish your scrapbooking pages and cards. They are extremely
versatile and can be adapted to any theme. And best of all, they
are simple to make and are great for using up all those scrap
bits of paper you have lying around. |
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To make serendipity squares, all you need is
some cardstock and scraps of patterned paper. When choosing your
cardstock I suggest using one that you either have too much of
or don't like. In the end it will be completely covered up so
you won't be able to tell what colour it was anyway. |
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Look through the pile scrap paper you have
collected as leftovers from other pages. Do any themes or colour
combinations stand out to you? Match up various colours and
patterns. Try to select at least five different designs. You can
also use different coloured cardstock to complement your
choices. Usually when I am making serendipity squares, I like to
follow a mono-chromatic theme so choose about six patterns from
the same colour group. This time I have decided to go for
something more colourful so have selected various patterns in
pink, purple, blue and orange. |
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Before you begin, decide how many squares you
want and how big you want them to be. This will indicate what
size piece of cardstock you need. This will be your base. For
this demonstration, I cut a piece of cardstock 16cm by 16cm so
that I would end up with 16 squares measuring 4cm x 4cm. |
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You are are now ready for the
fun. Take your pieces of scrap paper and rip
them into squares and rectangles. Glue them
haphazardly all over your base cardstock. Make
sure you overlap them as the idea is to
eventually cover the whole piece. |
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When gluing them down, make
sure you cover the entire underside with glue.
This will be important when you later cut your
squares. |
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As you progress, you will see
your design starting to take shape. Try to mix
up the colours so each piece doesn't overlap
with another piece of the same pattern. Vary the
shape and size of your pieces to add interest. |
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big. Remember, you are making small squares and
you don't want to loose the effect when you cut
them. |
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When you have finished
covering your cardstock, you can sit back and
enjoy your new design. But not for long! You
still have to cut your squares! |
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Be very careful when cutting and
make sure you have a sharp blade. You are
cutting through a lot of paper, and many cutters
will not handle the thickness or the fragile
nature of your object. I use a metal ruler and a
craft knife. I still have to go over the cut
several times to make it clean.
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| When cutting, also make sure you keep your glue
on hand so you can stick down any stray pieces that come loose. |
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It's now up to you what you do with your
squares. You can matt them for immediate use on your layouts, or
you can further embellish them. |
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These squares were embellished with Sandylion
Shiny Perfume Bottles stickers, ladder fibre and metallic
brads. After adding the stickers and brads, I just wrapped the
fibre around the squares in different ways. The squares were
then matted on white cardstock, ready for use on my layouts. |
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Serendipity squares offer so much versatility
to inspire scappers of all levels. Try incorporating some in
your next layout! |
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If you would
like to have any of your designs included in our resource
centre, please email them to us at rc@stickersnfun.com
(please make sure all files are .jpg or .gif). |
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