Got Wallets?

I don't know about you, but I always take tons of pictures at birthday parties and then I want to use them all on my layouts to help me remember the events of the day.

Question: How do you get 8 pictures on 2 pages and not have it look too crowded?

Answer: Wallet sized photos!

Most photo processing services offer the option of printing wallets - approximately 2"x3" in size. I use Photoshop to layout 2 pictures on a 4"x6" before I send them to print and then just cut them in half when I get them home. (I recommend this if you have photo-editing software as it saves money and keeps you from having extra wallets laying around.)

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My 2 page layout is very easy to put together. I used 2 sheets of red cardstock as a base and then split a sheet of patterned paper in half and positioned it to create a center block in the middle of the 2 pages. I grabbed the Bo Bunny paper with the large polka dots all lined up in neat rows and cut 4 strips. I used 2 of them to frame the center block and the other 2 were used to create a border on the outside edges of the layout. Surprise! The space in between is exactly the right size for wallet sized pics! The focal image is a 5"x7" and it "jumps the gutter" between the 2 pages. I also added a 4"x6" on the left side of the center block. Final photo count - 8 pictures and still plenty of room for a very large title!

Details: Red Candy Dots and red buttons repeat the pattern found in the polka dot border strips.

I cut out a present from the KI paper and used it as a photo corner/accent.

The trusty Dymo label maker came out again along with the CLEAR tape, which I love because it makes it so easy to color coordinate!

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Thanks to everyone who participated in our Design Team Challenge this month. Entries were due on the 21st. We will announce the winner of the gift certificate to Scrapbooks Plus soon!

"Make A Wish!"

I couldn't believe it when I saw the papers Leah chose this month. My daughter celebrated her 11th birthday in November with a cupcake themed party and I had not gotten around to scrapping it yet. The cupcake themed papers from Doodlebug gave me the perfect opportunity!

Like Erin, I also decided to include an accordian album on my page this month. I absolutely love the Jenni Bowlin birthday mini-bingo card (mine said "Wish") so I ended up incorporating it into the title of the layout (loved the girly design of the pink canvas thickers!) and used it as the front of the accordian album.

You can see here that Erin and I were on the same wavelength again, because I also used velcro to attach it - That will make it easier for my daughter to take it out in the future and be able to access journaling on the back.

Here's a look at the book when it is open...

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the sheer dot ribbon is used to hold it closed and is sandwiched between the back cover and the last panel of the inner accordian fold. I used red-line tape to attach the front and back covers - I have found that anything that is going to be manipulated needs to have very strong adhesive.

Some other details...I started out intending to machine stitch on this layout, but I think my machine needs a trip to the doctor, because it kept skipping stitches! No worries though as I decided I liked the look - so I pulled out the thread and just ran the entire edge of the brown paper through the machine.

Another fun detail is the journaling, which I created with my Dymo labelmaker. It came with pink and blue tape, and my new favorite - CLEAR tape - which I was able to put on a piece of coordinating green cardstock and trim out.

I also cut out some of the cute presents from the KI paper to use as an embellishment on the lower right corner of the picture. One of them was already glittered. I fancied up the other two by adding some Glossy Accents to give them dimensional polka dots. I think they may be a little too subtle so the next time I will make the polka dots with markers and then add the Glossy Accents.

Finally, never underestimate the value of a simple swirl!

The page just didn't seem balanced - color or weight - so I used a bit of the BoBunny coordinating Double Dot paper in blue and a quick trip to the Accu-Cut machine in the crop room and voila - when placed in the bottom left - perfect!