Hi everyone! It’s Angie here again, this time with some hybrid fun using Meredith’s digital scrapbook kits – yay! I do a lot of wooden craft, mostly wooden letters for kids rooms. In the past I’ve used my paper scrapping supplies to decorate them, however I was curious to see how well digital supplies would work with the same concept. The awesome thing about Meredith’s products is that they’re always so bright, fun and cheery – perfect to brighten up any room in your house! I was so happy with how my project turned out thanks to her gorgeous products!

In this instance I have decided to make a wooden scrapbook organizer for my new crafting space in my office. However this process can be applied to any wooden crafting project, so pick out a wooden shape, object or build something along with me. Let’s get started!

Pick out your digital products and assemble them as necessary in your image editing program of choice. I used the following products from Meredith:

Now you will need the following supplies:

- Printed digital supplies (when you’re printing your digital supplies, you don’t have to be exact with your measurements – we’ll make everything precise further down the track)

- Wooden item

- Gesso (or any other primer)

- Acrylic paint
- Craft glue

- Brushes (minimum of three – a thicker brush, a thinner brush and a thicker brush for applying glue)

- Craft knife

- Cutting mat

- Scissors or paper guillotine

- Side cutters (if you need to pull apart wood)
- Craft file (they look exactly like nail files – will be needed if you’re putting multiple pieces of wood together)

- Sand paper (optional)

Firstly, you might need to break apart wooden shapes if you’re building something which has been pre-cut and unassembled. I could do this easily using a pair of side cutters, then filing down the tags with a craft file. If the edges of your shape are a bit rough, use some sandpaper to make it nice and smooth. Then we’re going to prime the wooden surface; it allows for a better application of the paint. I used Gesso to cover the entire surface. Obviously you’ll have to wait for one side to dry before priming the other, however it doesn’t take long. Once the primer is dry, you can start painting! It’s easiest to just paint the entire surface instead of only where the paint will be showing; it allows you a bit of leniency with placing your paper and will prevent any wood or primer from showing. Use a thicker brush for your big areas and a thinner brush for your sides or any holes. I give my wood two coats, minimum. Any more than that is dependent on the shade I’m wanting to achieve. Once you’re done painting, I recommend leaving it overnight to dry fully. We’ll touch up any blemishes in the morning.

The following day, the first thing to do is cut out all of your printed digital supplies with a pair of scissors or paper guillotine. Again, it does not have to be precise – we’re going to scale it down to size later on. It’s just so you’re not dealing with as much paper when you’re gluing. Once you’re done cutting everything out, grab your glue and a thicker paint brush. If you’re using craft glue, you can apply it to the brush and it should wash out perfectly fine later on. I also find it easier to just use your fingers for smaller things such as wooden letters. Hybrid is all about getting a bit messy, and it will mostly stop the glue from going where you don’t want it to on the wood. Either way, make sure you apply the glue right to the edges then place the printed digital supplies on to your wood, face up. We’ll trim the extra paper off soon.

Now, this step is really important… wait for the glue to dry completely!!! Otherwise the paper will just pull, scrunch up and rip on the following step, and you’ll be doing the previous step all over again (and you won’t get a smooth surface due to all the remnant glue and paper, from where you pull the ruined paper off). Usually about an hour is fine. Now get your cutting mat and your craft knife. Put the wood down on the cutting mat with the paper facing down on the bottom. Now carefully cut the edges of the paper off from the glued section. It’s just as if you were tracing the outline of the wood, just with a knife instead of a pencil!

If you’re doing a wooden letter or shape which does not require assembly, you’re pretty much finished! If you’re making a bigger object like me, put it all together and glue where necessary to hold it together. Touch up your item with any paper scrapping supplies as necessary (eg rhinestones, ribbon), then get your paints again and touch up any areas that may need it (sometimes when you’re cutting the paper away from the wood you may accidentally chip away the paint too, exposing the primer).

And you’re done, yay! Here is my finished product: