Crossword Puzzle Inspired Scrapbook Layout by Kerry Engel

Hello everyone! Kerry Engel here today on the Creative Scrapbooker Magazine blog with a super fun crossword puzzle inspired layout that I really enjoyed creating. For my daughter’s birthday, we created a goofy crossword puzzle full of questions that spotlight her at 21. It was fun to listen to everyone trying to guess the answers and find my spelling mistake. (It wouldn’t be a Kerry creation if it didn’t have a spelling mistake.)

How to Create a Crossword Puzzle Inspired Layout
To build the crossword I used this free website https://www.puzzle-maker.com/CW.

I transferred the crossword to a piece of Creative Scrapbooker Super Stock using a sketch pen and my Silhouette Cameo. If you don’t have a cutting system you could easily print the crossword and adhere it to your layout.
I used the March 2019 sketchy challenge for layout inspiration.-Be sure to join our monthly challenge. I would love to see your take on our sketches!

NEXT – Build A Mixed Media Base
To create the watercolor base I covered a piece of Creative Scrapbooker Super Stocker with clear Ranger Dina Wakley Media gesso. This allowed me to cover both the crossword and the white space on my paper with the gesso. I let it dry. Using the ‘smoosh’ method I added Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks to the gesso. I smudged my inks on a mat, spritzed the smudged ink with water and then I simply smooshed my paper onto the wet ink.

Pull a Color Scheme
I wanted to coordinate my ink with the photo so I used Adobe Capture to pull a color scheme from my photo. I use this app often to identify color schemes for my projects.
This app identified 5 colors within the image. I used my Distress Oxide ink swatches to find the ‘perfect’ ink to match the color scheme…which by the way, coordinated beautifully with the Midnight Garden Collection by Prima Marketing.

Here is the photo I added to Adobe Capture App. And here is the Adobe color scheme it shared with me. Cool right?!?!?

Get FUSSY
I fussy cut images from 2 different papers in the Midnight Garden Collection by Prima Marketing. One sheet has a mix of small tags and the other has a cute mix of feathers. The entire collection is peppered with copper-colored foil. Create a Feather Cluster
To make the feather cluster I fussy cut the feathers then I bent each feather down the spine. I rubbed the edges of the feathers and the bent spine on my Black Soot Distress Oxide ink pad. I used Glue Dots Pop-Up Dots to adhere the feathers in a cluster. To fill in the letters on my crossword I used the Brea Reese fine liner pens.