To splatter or not splatter on layout...and why?

I've been doing it for years, and I love it. I use it as a way to add visual interest and a bit of physical texture to the background. A way to layer and add interest without adding physical layers (ie, more paper). Sometimes a layout just needs something, and some drops/splatters/watercolour works well to fill in that space without "blocking up" the layout. I also prefer to use drops and splatters under stamping and other small embellishments to ground them a little -- sometimes a small embellishment works fine on its own, but sometimes it looks lost and floaty. Drops/paint can also add some energy and direction to a page, helps with the overall design.

It's not for everyone (nothing is!).

I love the look but every time I try it just looks messy or misplaced, Ive ruined layouts trying to do it! Im splatter challenged lol

It's a look. No more, no less. If you don't like it, then don't do it. There are lots of looks for scrapbooking that I've managed to avoid over the years. This one, I enjoy and I'm using up all these mists that have mysteriously multiplied in my stash...

Sometimes I use enamel dots AND splatters! I know! Splatters are way cheaper than enamel dots as well.

I hope no one minds if I give a few examples.

On this layout, the camera stamp looked completely lost and free-floating on the bottom right corner, so I added some watercolour splashes. I added a bit on the top middle and top right of the layout, too, to balance the colour on the bottom right of the page:



On this page, I added a lot of black misting and black splatters behind the photo, to help draw attention to it. I also added in small black embellishments over top. On their own, they were completely lost on the busy floral paper, but on the black they stood out -- and also looked completely at home because they helped mimic the black splattering.



OK, and one last page. This one I also used black on (I've been on a black kick lately, I've used it more in the past three months than I have in the entire 10 years I've been scrapping!). I added some heavy, big drop splatters to "fill in" an empty spot. The black splatters helped fill in that block, because it needed *something* but when I added paper, tags, etc, they were too heavy and block-y looking. Then I added just a tiny bit of light blue-grey on the top left of the page to help add some continuity and balance to the heavy black splatters.

I never understood it until a had a friend challenge me to do it and now I love it! It think it helps pull things together for me. I don't do it in ever LO though.
I have used a marble and covered it in paint or ink and rolled it around on white 12x12 CS I loved the way it turned out.

ashley - love the LOs you posted!

I don't do it often, but when it turns out OK (which isn't every time for me) I do like the look.  I prefer the opaque white (especially on kraft) to the glimmer mists.

I put my 12x12 CS in a old priority mail box flat and the top half was cut off...it was so much easier to roll marble around on the CS like that..all I did was tilt box. Hope that made sense lol!

Wow thanks....might have to try splatters now.....always been too afraid of ruining a layout .....

OK...we need to see some of the marble pages! What a neat idea...anyone have some they could share?

I haven't successfully splattered, but it's on my list of things to practice more.

I almost always "splatter" on a layout. Here are a few of my layouts with splatters.

I find I tend to splatter on layouts with a masculine look. Like my son is a bass player in a rock band and I splatter with black a lot on his pages to give it a "rough" look.
Oh ya, and I marble paint a lot with my daycare children…..lol Never thought to do it on a layout, will have to try that! Love all the layouts above.

I am not an artsy scrapbooker, so splattering on a page doesn't happen a lot for me. I will add splatters only when it feels like it would add to the layout, almost like thinking of it as an embellishment.

I'd like to see some of the marble pages too! I don't use ink splatters on every page but sometimes it just helps to tie everything together and adds a little texture.

It just does not fit my very clean style. I think it fits more with the more artsy pages.