Talking Point

Hello gorgeous! How are you ? It is Ifa with you today, enjoying a rare sunny interlude.

Did any of you buy any Valentine's range this year ? I usually do because I love the pink and the blues but more often than not, I use it for something else. Not this time. Today, I am going to share with you a late Valentine's layout.

Motifs come and go. We've had a few enduring ones such as birds and butterflies. We have also had, in my opinion, downright weird with moustache. One of the motifs that is currently very popular is the speech bubble. Here is a selection from Sarah's Cards :

 

I love them all especially that 12x12 mask that I am earmarking for a future purchase. In the mean time,  I wanted to see how I could make speech bubbles a feature in my layout.

 

I would normally hand draw a variety of speech bubbles but this time, I have used an EK Success Punch. You could also easily draw speech bubbles in MS Word.

 

I wanted to have a couple of love birds having a conversation so I started by sketching some branches on the background cardstock.

I added some stamped XOXO applied using foam thickers.  As X and O are symmetrical, I didn't have to worry about reversing the letters. I simply stuck them down on a block, applied ink and stamped.

I went over the branches with a permanent black pen before colouring them in with some spray ink, applied with a brush. I added a couple of birds, cut out of patterned paper.

 

I typed up my dialogue on my trusted typewriter. You need to leave out a lot of space around each section text! Then I punched them out with the speech bubble punch.  I also coloured them using spray ink spplied with a brush.

 

 

I also scattered some small hearts and wood veneer on the tree.

 

This is my finished layout, a tribute to my dearest on the occasion of our 22nd wedding anniversary.

 

 

It was refreshing to use pen, paint and punches to make my speech bubbles but that mask is still calling out to me.  Maybe a speech bubble mask will make an appearance next month ? 

 

Do you think the speech bubble will be popular ? What is your favourite motif ?

 

Blogged by Ifa Zainon