I love the look of a preprinted background, but I always struggle with using them to create a layout. Today we are going to take a preprinted background and liven it up with some simple ideas that will add interest and dimension. For my layout today I am using the Flower Child collection, and I started with some of the digital elements from the collection to create my own printed background. I chose some mixed media for my first layer and then added the banner element to cascade down the page. I also printed a second paper from the collection to frame the layout.

With my background paper printed it is time to add some interest and dimension. To start, we are going to add some stitching along the banner all the way down the page. You can choose to do this with a sewing machine or hand stitching. I am going to hand stitch my banner because I want the stitching to stand out and with hand stitching I can use multiple strands of embroidery thread to really make the stitching pop. To start I poked holes along the top of the banner and using my embroidery thread I did a simple back stitch along the top of each banner all the way down the page. Adding the stitching will immediately add dimension and makes a flat background stand out.

With the stitching complete we are going to add some additional interest to our background by popping up some of the banner flags. To do this I brought in my photos to determine placement and marked lightly where the photos would be located with a craft knife and a cutting mat, I cut along some of the banners throughout the page. This will not only add dimension but will also allow me to tuck items under the banners, when I go to finish the page

Now that we have added some interest to our background all that is left is to finish creating the layout. I backed the photos with some additional pattern papers from the Flower Child collection, added some embellishment clusters using items from the sticker set and digital collections. For my title I chose one of the premade titles and to finish off the layout I added some enamel dots to finish things off.

I hope this layout has inspired you to Liven up your preprinted backgrounds by adding your own dimension. Be sure to tag #TRD so we can see how you liven up your backgrounds. If you want to see this layout come together be sure to check out the process video below. Happy Scrapping everyone!