Create a Pearlized Asian Scrapbooking Page

These simple steps can help you make a beautiful scrapbook page using Asian-themed stamps and embellishments.

By Julia Andrus • More from Carol Duvall Show
Filed under: Scrapbooking, Asian Style, Stamping, How To, Crafts, Design Style

Materials and Tools:

12" x 12" and 8-1/2" x 11" red card stock
12" x 12" black card stock
8-1/2" x 11" green or tan card stock
Perfect Pearls in gold and kiwi
Perfect Medium pad
Asian coin or small Asian rubber stamp
bamboo or Asian border rubber stamp
Asian writing or motif rubber stamps
alphabet rubber stamps
Asian pagoda die cut
Kanji friend die cut
black and green or tan die-cut tags
Asian coin
glue stick
decorative "postage stamp" scissors
journal/album

Figure B

Steps:

1. Randomly stamp the 12" x 12" red paper with the Asian coin, using Perfect Medium.

2. Cut a 2-1/2-inch strip from the 12" x 12" black paper and stamp with the bamboo or Asian border motif stamp using Perfect Medium.

3. Apply gold Perfect Pearl with a small brush over the coin stamped images and dust off the excess with a soft larger brush. This is called dusting. Don't be afraid to really whisk the excess powder away. The image is quite stable and will not need fixatives.

Figure C

4. Apply kiwi and gold Perfect Pearl to the bamboo or border image in the same way as step 3.

5. Stamp Asian writing on the pagoda die-cut using Perfect Medium. Apply gold Perfect Pearl in the same dusting method as steps 3 and 4.

Figure E

6. Depending on the size of the alphabet stamp you are using, cut squares in black for each of the title letters. Cut red and green or tan squares slightly larger than the black and glue to layer.

7. Cut a strip of black paper about 2-1/2 inches wide. Mix gold Perfect Pearl with water to form a creamy paint. Paint the black paper gold. Allow to dry; cut in squares to make the bottom layer for the title letters. Glue to the other squares. Stroke some gold paint randomly on the Kanji die cut.

Figure F

8. Stamp the letters on the title tiles using Perfect Medium and apply gold Perfect Pearls using the dusting method.

9. Glue the black bamboo-stamped strip in the center of your paper. Glue the pagoda on the bottom of the strip and glue the title tiles in place.

10. Glue the tags in place. Glue the Kanji die cut in place.

Tips:

When gluing items to your page, avoid smearing the stamped images by turning the page over to apply pressure to create adherence. Also, be sure your hands are clean of Perfect Medium when handling your page. The Perfect Pearls images will set themselves in a few minutes, but they can take light handling right away, so you can continue working on your project.

Practice mixing Perfect Pearls with water to get a consistency you like. They can be mixed to form paints or calligraphy inks and glazes.