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Quick Strips and Borders
by Janet KhashabScrapping Deck Crewmember
With the holiday season going into full gear this month, I find myself with less time to scrap, but tons of pictures on hand. What’s a scrapbooker to do? Well, I for one find myself making and using more quick strips. Quick strips are border and title blocks I make ahead of time (usually themed) to use on layouts where I just need a little something on the page, but don’t want to invest a whole lot of time in getting the layout done. Quick strips can be any size to fit the layouts you are most comfortable working with. I usually make 12” strips, but you can make them in all sizes, including 6, 8, 9, or 11”. Quick strips can also be bought premade, but then you might be limited by color and design choice. Quick strips come together quickly (hence the name ?), and are very functional as borders, embellishments, titles and mats for small photos. Make one for a single page layout, or make two for those double page spreads.
I find that when I make quick strips, I like to keep the amount of supplies I use to a minimum. This simplifies the design and makes the production of these strips that much quicker. I usually only use cardstock, rubber stamps, inks and 1 type of embellishment—like a brad or a bit of ribbon—on each strip. The best part about it is that I can sit down with my folders full of scraps and put them to good use in designing quick strips. If you have to break down and use a full sheet of cardstock, then you’ll be glad to know you can make several from just one strip. My strips are usually between 2 ½-3 ½” wide. Sometimes, if I design a quick strip with the intention of making it a title block, I’ll throw some sticker letters into the mix, or leave it blank until I sit down to make the layout. This works well for me and when I have a little time to do something scrap related, but not enough to finish a layout, I’ll make a few quick strips to pass the time!
Aside from being an effective way to use scraps, quick strips come in handy because you can simply put one down on a layout, add similarly themed photos, a little journaling, and your done! And once you’ve worked out a design for a quick strip, you can scraplift your design and make matching tags, cards and other embellishments to your hearts content. I just love when minimal effort results in maximum output. I hope you’ll decide to try your hand at making one of these fun accents on your next layout!
Anchors Away,
Janet Khashab
janetkhashab@ssreflections.com
Scrapping Deck Crewmember
Reflections Publishing Group, LLC
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