Mix up your titlework with these scrapbooking ideas for ransom titles. Ransom titles are inspired by the look of a stereotypical ransom note in which the message is made with letters or even words cut from a magazine or newspaper so that the author’s handwriting cannot be identified.
On scrapbook layouts, they can represent fun, random occurrences and even scavenger hunts. See how the Get It Scrapped Creative Team has put them to work on paper and digital scrapbook layouts.
Marcia Fortunato says, “Inspired by my son to look for the tiny things in nature, this layout shows photos I took on a recent hike.”
“I made my ransom title using letters from a variety of older sets of letter stickers. The ransom title works well with the page because of the random nature of my photos. The title is “On a Scavenger Hunt,” and I went on a bit of a scavenger hunt through my stash for letters of the right sizes and colors to compliment the photos. This was a great way to use letters from sets that were almost used up or that I’d had for a long time but never used.”
On a Scavenger Hunt by Marcia Fortunato | Supplies: Cardstock: American Crafts; Patterned paper: Creative Imaginations, Pink Paislee, Basic Grey; Alphabets: American Crafts (Thickers), Jillibean Soup, Cosmo Cricket, Fancy Pants Designs, Making Memories, Heidi Swapp; Embellishments: Basic Grey, Freckled Fawn, Studio Calico, October Afternoon, Echo Park, Simple Stories; Pen/Markers: Sharpie; Adhesive: American Crafts.
Anja de Dobbelaere says, “I took this picture of my nephew Arne on a terrace one summer evening during our trip to France. He and my daughter were playing ‘cool’ and pulling funny faces.”
“The ransom titlework goes with the page theme and the word it renders: ‘randomness.’ I used a ‘ransom’ font For the One Hundreth Time because it’s playfulness was perfect for the photo. To emphasize the ransom-title effect, I rendered the letters in different colors.”
Randomness by Anja de Dobbelaere | Mye de Leon : About a Boy.
Michelle Houghton says, “My girls can be two ‘Silly Billies,’ and this day at the park was no exception.”
“I created my ransom title by pulling out all of my letter stickers out and looking for variety and contrast that echoed the raucous mood of the photo. The title itself reminds me of them and the silliness of the situation. They were laughing so hard it was tough to get back out of the rocker they had squeezed into. The composition was inspired by the Criss Cross Scrapbook Coach class.
2 Wild and Crazy Girls by Michelle Houghton | Supplies: cardstock; Bazzill Basics, patterned paper; Echo Park and My Mind’s Eye, buttons; Button’s Galore, ink; Sharpie, letters; Pink Paisley, American Crafts, Heidi Swapp, Creative Imaginations, Basic Grey and Sandylion Essentials
Deborah Wagner says, “For us, summer means a pool full of family and friends.”
“I made the fun ransom title to match my photo and its fun crop using alphas from several kits. I changed the color of some letters and clipped brightly patterned papers to others. The R is turned upside down, to echo the extracted foot in the photo that extends out of the frame.”
Summer by Deborah Wagner. Supplies: Katie Pertiet Surf Lagoon Solids, Fading Woods No. 2, Watery Photo Masks No. 2, Inked Twists No. 1, Watery Chevrons No. 1, Whimsy Words No. 1, Classic Curled Photo Frames No. 4, Anchors Away Kit, Sun Porch Kit, Groceria Alpha No. 1, Gator Crossing Kit, Littlest Farmer Kit, Color My Love Kit, Delmar Shores Kit, Swimmies Kit, Journaling Inspiration 6-15-13; Pattie Knox Dipped Chip Buttons, In The Swim Kit; Lynn Grieveson Summer Sunset Papers, Sunshine Ahead Kit; Maplebrook Studios Carlie Papers, Studio Sherrie Ransom Blues
Sue Althouse says, “This page is about my husband putting up a ceiling in our basement.”
“I made the ransom title with an assortment of American Crafts Thickers alphas mounted on card stock. I cut the card stock pieces all to the same height, but varied the width to match the letters. I kept my hand-cutting uneven. The “messy” look of a ransom title goes well with a messy remodeling project. I even managed to word my title like a mystery or detective story!”
The Great Ceiling Coverup by Sue Althouse | Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill, Core’dinations; Patterned Paper, Stickers: Webster’s Pages; Alphabets: American Crafts; Wood Veneer: Freckled Fawn
Ronnie Crowley says, “This page is about the night my daughter’s friends dropped in without warning. My daughter had avoided going to a party, but since the party was in walking distance of our home, they came over en masse. If they had sent a ransom note prior to coming over I’m sure it would of read something like “You can’t hide from us!”
“I was lucky I had the perfect ransom alpha in my digi catalog. When I looked through my supplies, I found more than one but given the nature of the page I wanted a bright and colorful alpha to match the mood of these teenagers who are all about fun. The whole artsy look to works because my daughter attends a fine arts school, and many of her friends are talented artists in their own right. If they had made such a note they would have gone to town in its creation.
You Can’t Hide From Us by Ronnie Crowley | Supplies – Anna Aspnes – ArtPlayPaletteAblaze | Kristin Aagard – Sunshine Rain | Tracey Martin – Daydream | Weeds and Wildflowers – Ransom Note Alpha | Amy Martin – Spacey Templates | Chelle Creations – Slam Dunk | Captivated Visions – Yes you Can | Dream Big Designs – Smarty | Just Jaimee – Story Syarter April | Lauren Grier – Super Geek Glasses | Mye De Leon – Framed Up | Paula Kesselring – Black and White Only | Tracey Reed – Hello Goodbye
Rosann Santos-Elliott says, “I usually take my son to the beach alone, but I have recently become friendly with a neighbor whose daughter is my son’s age. We decided to hit the beach together and played hooky on a Friday.”
“I used colorful and playfully-styled alphas for my ‘fun’ title. I embellished with flip flop.
Fun in the Sun by Rosann Santos-Elliott | Supplies: Simple Stories: I {Heart} Summer Collection, 100 Days of Summer,Take A Hike Alphabet Stickers; Basic Grey: Sweet Threads Alphabet; Carta Bella: Beautiful Moments Alphabet.
Susanne Brauer says, “This page is about my daughter’s first day of school this year. It’s her senior year, and I’m focused on how quickly it has come and how quickly it will go by. She’ll be leaving for college this time next year.”
For a happy, fun, teenage vibe and chose colorful papers and leftover alphas from my many half-used American Crafts Thickers sets. To unify the various letters, I inked them all black, and mounted them (a bit askew) on randomly cut pieces of cardstock. I inked the cardstock edges with blue/grey ink, again to unify, and, also, to ground them to the canvas. The hash tag was made by hand cutting strips of cardstock and covering them with washi tape.
#Senior by Susanne Brauer | Supplies: Stampin Up Cardstock, SEI Mayberry Papers, Simple Stories School Words printable, Sassafras stickers, A Flair for Buttons, Maya Road chipboard, Tag, Buttons, brads and washi tape from Stash (I wish I remembered who made the black houndstooth washi, but I don’t).
Andrea says, “I rendered the word ‘Big’ in a ransom style to give it emphasis. Each letter is rendered with a different font and size. The composition was inspired by the Criss Cross Scrapbook Coach class.
Big Changes by Andrea | Supplies: Anna Aspnes, OScraps Novel paper, Art Play Palette Bask, Art Play water spots, Art Play Golden Glory, OScraps Novel Viki Stegall paper; Shannon McNab Deco Trims, Krystal Wilkerson journaling strips; Katie Pertiet Monarch solids ribbon.
Terry Billman says, “My husband loves golf. He lives for golf. There is no other place he would rather be than on the golf course.”
“I looked through my alpha stash and challenged myself to use a mixture of items that I have never or infrequently used. The beads on the string accentuate the cart path winding through the layout. I like how the H in “His”dips down to the cart path/road and the word ends with a manly looking alpha. The hearts were used in place of the actual word and clustered above “golf”. I kept the hearts and the word golf close together and fastened to represent how Craig holds golfing close to his heart.”
The Road to His Heart- Golf created by Terry Billman| Supplies: Anna Aspnes: Art Play Palette Ocean Cove, Warm Glows No. 6, Abstract FotoBlendz No. 2, Art Play Palette Smooch, Art Play Palette 2, Artsy Template 109, Artist Edge No. 6, Artist Edge No. 2; Patti Knox: Christmas Pennants, Banner Alpha; Katie Pertiet: Hanna Breeze, Terra Botanica; Ziggle Designs: Alpha Beads; Lynn Grieveson: Paper Bag Alpha; JEdwards: Wildflowers
Katie Scott says, “We live 5 minutes from St. Pete Beach but we rarely get over there, so this page is a little reminder to get to the beach more often.”
“I had intended to use magazine words to create the title, but I couldn’t figure out a good way to incorporate the long title quote without covering up too much of the photos. Then I had the idea to use the negative spaces from used up pages of letter stickers. I like the idea of being thrifty with my supplies, so it felt good to use something I would otherwise throw away.”
Life is Short… by Katie Scoot | Supplies: Glitz patterned papers; American Crafts, October Afternoon, Jenni Bowlin letter sticker sheets, bling and metal bird from Recollections.
Debbie Hodge says, “My mom enjoys working on her gardens and yard in the summer, and it’s always beautiful there, with pretty vignettes and lots and lots of freshly-mown, lush, green lawn. The area she’s mowing in these photos was a hayfield when I was growing up, but now it’s an extension of her yard.”
“When I came across the ‘play’ wordart in the Paisley Press Make Believe kit, I loved the ransom styling and I knew my title: Work is Play. I contrasted the mixed-up ‘play’ with an oversized stamped alpha for ‘work.'”
Work is Play by Debbie Hodge | Supplies: Make Believe by Paislee Press and Valerie Wibbins, Easy Livin, Happiness Lies Within by Mye De Leon; Maggie Holmes Collection; Feedsack, Snail Mail by Splendid Fiins; Itty Bitty Alpha by Amy Wolff; Industrial Stamped Alpha by Just Jaimee; Walt’s Park Frontier, Walt’s Park Adventure by Scotty Girl.
