In a recent article in "Better Homes and Garden" Magazine (July, 2005,) style experts agreed that "everything" must have texture and dimension, from clothing to furniture to dimensional walls! Scrapbook pages are not different and scrapbookers have expressed their love for dimension on their pages through a myriad of art forms. One of the newest forms to hit the market is chipboard.

Chipboard is an inexpensive single ply paperboard manufactured from mixed waste papers to a low density, used whenever durability or appearance are not important factors. The fact that its original appearance is unimportant makes its cost almost negligible – a great selling point for the average scrapbooker. It’s also a wonderful reason it has become the most altered, painted, inked, and dyed embellishment on the scrapbooking market today. There are chipboard alphabets, flowers, words, albums, even chipboard purses! Its durability, easily altered exterior, and inexpensive value make it a wonderful treasure for even a beginner scrapbooker! Making your own Creative Chipboard embellishments and altered items couldn’t be more wonderful.

You will need:

• Chipboard, letters, shapes, flowers, words, item or whatever it is with which you prefer to work
  
• Scissors
  
• Cutting or X-acto knife
  
• Sandpaper or a buffer board
  
• Adhesives, including adhesive spray and/or glue or tabs
  
• Embellishments of your choice, including but not limited to: papers, acrylic paint, Krylon acid-free faux paints, Pearl-X powders and anything else that you might want to use to decorate your chipboard

  

  There are many pre-cut shapes on the market. Making Memories and Heidi Swapp both have a great selection of alphabet letters and flowers. Heidi Swapp and Bazzill’s lines also include shapes such as circles, diamonds and squares. There are even drink coasters made by several manufacturers, including Lil Davis and SEI. All of these can be altered or you can make items similar to these yourself!

  1.Decide if you will be altering a pre-cut shape or if you will be cutting your own. If you will be cutting your own, first cut your large chipboard down into a manageable size, such as a quarter sheet. Trace the shape you wish to cut and, using a very sharp cutting or X-acto knife, cut out the shape.

  2.Because chipboard is made from pressed particles of paper, the edges will be very rough and uneven, regardless of how hard you try to make them nice and smooth and straight. Using your sandpaper or buffer, sand them down into the nice smooth sides that you prefer. 3.At this point, you will need to decide how you will decorate your chipboard. In the example below, I have traced the chipboard piece onto paper and adhered the paper using Krylon’s Spray Adhesive.

  

  4.I finished the edges with acrylic paint and used them as journaling blocks for this All About Me layout. It gives the layout dimension and completes the needed thirds started by the wooden frame.

  

  5.In the example below, I have continued with the chipboard block, but this time rather than covering the block with paper, I have chosen to use both paint and a marble effect instead. You can use any type of paint on the boards, from acrylics to spray paints to watercolors. For variety, mix the acrylics with textured mediums or use Krylon’s faux sprays, such as Faux Leather or Faux Stone.

  

  6. For this board, I have also altered pre-cut letters and flowers from various manufacturers. In fact, one of the flowers and some of the letters were various colors other than the basic chipboard grey. Because they didn’t match the layout, I simply chose to paint or ink over them.

  

  This is what altered chipboard might look like on a final page.

  

  6.Lastly, you might consider altering the chipboard for something other than for your pages. There are many chipboard items available to alter or you can make some of your own. In the example below, I have taken the same shape that we’ve been working with and created a bookmark for a friend. The second is a tiny chipboard journal that was BRIGHT NEON PINK when I received it!

  

  and

  

  With this same process and your own supplies, you can make any type of embellishment you choose. Chipboard – an inexpensive, yet fun way to add dimension to your pages and art into your life

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