Blending with Mixed Media Elements

One of the things that drew me to Rachel’s kits were her amazing and unique mixed media elements. I love opening that folder and seeing all the different scraps, marking and paint she includes. She will often include a blendable mixed media element as well, and I have to say, I was stumped on how to use these at first.

Today I want to show you a simple way to include that mixed media element in your layout, and blend it with any background you are using.

When I started my layout with Rachel’s latest new release, This is the Place: Mixed Media Monthly Add-On, I was drawn to the rich, textured background.

As my layout progressed I wanted to add a bit of balance to the left side of my page by adding some texture and I thought the blendable included with the elements would be a perfect addition. Once I added the blendable element “straight out of the box'“ I realized quickly that it would need a bit of tweaking.

As you can see below the element covers a seam in the textured paper and the white clashes in some spots with the background.

Blendable element

I knew I definitely wanted to keep the seam and texture of the paper, but love the markings and stitches in the blendable. To do this I simply set the layer blend mode to Multiply.

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Once the layer is set to Multiply, the colors and textures of the paper blend through the element.

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I often do this with paint and markings on my pages as well. Adding just a touch of the paper blended through adds more depth to your page.

In the left image the layers are all set to normal, and a lot of the paper is covered. In the right image the paint, markings and blendable layers are set to Multiply and the texture of the paper underneath comes through.

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Hopefully this gives you an idea on how to use the blendable elements like the ones included in Rachel’s latest kit on any textured and colored backgrounds and papers!

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There is special pricing on Rachel’s bundle this New Release weekend - save 40% when you grab the money saving bundle during New Release Weekend (normally 25% off) or individual packs are 20% off.

The New Release sale runs through Sunday 28th June 2020.