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Tips for stretching your stash?

LivyBug

LivyBug

I should be considered yarned and dangerous.
Joined
Jul 2, 2010
Messages
1,096
I'm feeling a bit stumped. I'm sure we've all been there when you want new supplies, but no budget.

How do you make a previous kit feel new again? Or use a themed kit not for its intended purpose?

Would love to hear your thoughts.
 
  • Mixing and matching your kits.
  • Blending papers. The less used modes near the bottom of the dropdown list can give some really dramatic changes, e.g the difference blending mode.
  • Recolouring elements
  • cut-outs and custom shapes
  • layering elements
  • Using elements as brushes.
  • Stickers can be blended into papers
  • flat elements could be turned into vellum by reducing the opacity.
  • I have a number of CU overlays/textures/simple elements that I often use to stretch kits or add what I find is missing.
 
In addition to the ideas Angela suggested, I look at the colors and non themed elements when I’m scrapping with a themed kit and want to make it stretch for other themes.
 
I'm really bad at not checking my (older) stash, so I do that. I go back and look at kits that I haven't used for awhile and they're all new again! I forget about some of them (sadly) so it's fun to pull them out again - my collabs are fun to go to, as well. They're a great source of inspiration because there are so many different designers in them.
 
I've never been a kit scrapper anyway, always mixing kits. I use the search function of my computer files to find what I want, so I'm looking through a bunch of ribbons, for example, or tags, or whatever comes up for "love," or for "cookie" -- not looking at kits. Maybe that would help, looking at your stash as a bunch of elements, categorizing them via search terms instead of looking at kits. I hope I explained that well. If you take a look at my credits for most of my layouts in the gallery, I think it will clarify what I mean. I usually have at least 10 items to list because everything on my page is from a bunch of different kits.
 
When I want to mix kits, I do it one of 2 ways. One is to use papers from 1 kit, then search (or use my favorites folders) for elements. The second way is to pick 2-3 kits that have similar colors. Maybe it's the entire color scheme that's similar, or maybe both kits just have the same shades of purple and blue. Then I can mix and match everything from those few kits. The other ways that I get new looks from existing kits are to use actions to make or transform elements and paper templates to make new papers. I see from your siggie that you're on Mommyish's team. If so, you should have easy access to both.

When I say paper templates, I really mean commercial paper making tools like these:


and these:



and these:

 
I always make 2 layouts with a new kit, this makes me feel like I got my moneys worth for it, in a way. One following the kit's theme & one going away from the theme. It's a bit of an extra challenge to me, to look at a kit and immediately start thinking out of the box.

One thing I've started with recently, that I think I like & will continue doing, is to make an extra layer above the background layer & and play around with brushes & blend modes. Maybe make a texture to the background? Or a distressed border? A new pattern to the paper?

Also, I love to stretch templates by rotating them or rearranging them. Once I even made a "new" templates of my own by just starting a new document and then layer png-files from a bunch of templates.
 
I mix kits usually ,( 2 or 3 ,not often 10 but that can happen ) I use papers a lot, example For BYOC if I am only buying 3 kits 2 will be papers, 1 elements .
I do not always use them as papers,but to fill shapes, overlay elements, add texture to a "dull " element . I love adding brushes and paints, and I was first in line when " clip to " was handed out :giggleI use it a lot. and like Michelle I use the search function on the computer to look for specific elements.
EDIT; oh and I use PSE and very often use the custom shapes, or brushes built into the program, lots of fun clipping to them ( after simplify )
 
Most of the above. Mix and match is always the best option for me! I started an MOC with two kits and a mega paper pack. I picked up one or two more kits during the month, but the majority of those pages were done with two kits.

The big one I do is use more papers. I layer more papers, cut shapes out, etc. I'll also use more brushwork since Adobe has that included.

The next is to pull out a big store collab to start. They always have so much in them that I've never touched, I can always make a bunch of pages from the collabs without feeling limited.
 
I love the tips above and use a lot!

thinking about challenges or CT work, most times I need to work with kits or themes that I don't have in my life like school,halloween or the different seasons, let's say: a snowy winter kit and here is hot like hell summer...so I focus on photos, I pick clothes or other things captured to match the color palette from the kits, I scrap old photos...

Most kits nowadays have wordarts that can be used for any style of page, like : fun, love, captured - so even if it's a let's say, halloween, I can use for other themes. Or you can slightely alter wordarts, there's a post at the Learning Pad, I think Dalis talks about ways to do this!
and I always try to buy some cool alphas and other things like styles, actions, ripped templates, so they help creating new looks with the same kits!!
 
[QUOTE="Ferdy, post: 1376175, member: 1414"
thinking about challenges or CT work, most times I need to work with kits or themes that I don't have in my life like school,halloween or the different seasons, let's say: a snowy winter kit and here is hot like hell summer...so I focus on photos, I pick clothes or other things captured to match the color palette from the kits, I scrap old photos...
[/QUOTE]

Worst month to be on a CT is July. As a non-American - there isn't much to do with red/white/blue. LOL
 
I like to use a lot of products so combining kits works best for me. Recolouring/resizing and rotating is an easy way to change the look of an element. Combining papers using blend modes and overlays can completely change the look.
 
Thank you all SO much! I'm definitely a one-kit scrapper, so mixing kits would definitely help!!

I could definitely stretch a kit with papers, now that y'all mention it. I usually just use a couple on a page, and there's sometimes 20+ in a kit!

Angela Toucan said:
Using elements as brushes.
Click to expand...
Do you have a tutorial for this? I'm intrigued!
 
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