Ways with Overlays 1

Hello :) It's Natasha here with the first in a series of posts looking at creative ideas with Lynne's beautiful kits. Today it is all about overlays and ways of using them. I have to say that I love an overlay or two and I often use them in my layouts. They are great for just adding a finishing touch or for using as the main part of a page. In this post I am going to share how I created the layout above.

I used the following beautiful kits by Lynne Anzelc Designs to create my page:

• A Single Seed
• A Single Seed WordArt and Brushes
• Scruffy Overlays
• On the Edge Overlays

I started with a background from A Single Seed that had texture and also brushes in two corners. Next I added one of the border overlays from Scruffy Overlays.This really complemented the background and gave the perfect start to the page.

Underneath the border overlay I started building up with the overlays from the kit, On the Edge Overlays, tucking them in behind the border and setting the transparency to 75%, so that they became part of the background. I also included a musical note overlay from A Single Seed in the centre of the page also with a transparency of 75%. I then chose one of the word art stamps from A Single Seed Word Art and Brushes to be the main feature of the page, leaving this bold, with no transparency set.

This is how the background looks without the border overlay:

And with the border overlay:

Next it was time to layer up with a few embellishments. For these I kept to a limited palette of colours and added shadows. I didn't want to overdo the embellishments as I had created an interesting canvas with the overlays. The embellishments were to add to and not draw attention away from this.

Lastly I experimented with and without a shadow on the border overlay. It actually changes the look and feel of the page with just one small change. Layout without the shadow on the border overlay:

Layout with the shadow on the border overlay:

When adding overlays don't be afraid to experiment. Just keep adding and taking away until you find the right combination. Make several versions so that you can compare them to see the different effects you have created. Just remember, sometimes you don't know what you want until you see it on the page!

If you'd like to share your own layouts with us, partly or fully created with Lynne's kits please feel free to add a comment with a link at the end of this post. It would be great to see what you are creating :)

Bye for now, catch up again soon, Natasha :)