Christmas Flora by Esther

This layout was highlighting flowers that were sent to two aunts last year for Christmas. Each aunt took pictures as the amaryllis bulbs grew to produce large red blooms for the holidays. The pictures were different sizes & orientations and were not fitting the layout.

I attempted to get balance and unity by cropping the picutres and mounting them on solid cardstock. All of the corners were rounded. They were then placed on a patterned paper.

The letters for Flora are fabric letters by American Crafts that were made green with a copic marker. A red & green Copic markers were used to color in the rubber stamped poinseittia at bottom left. At the top of the layout, I used Sticles to give gold lettering on a transparent sheet. It was attaced to solid cardstock with brads. This was like writing with cake frosting. The Stickles had to flow onto the transparency. The hardest part was waiting for it ot dry.

When you have pictures that are different in size to combine on a layout, look for ways to unify them to fit the theme.Recording the memory was more important than having all the pictures the same size.

Memphis Quick Stop by Esther

The My Mind's Eye Ooh La La papers seemed right for this layout with colors of decades from the past—gold and green. I started with a solid green color cardstock and built layers that accommodated the four photos that I had on the subject. In order to lend some pizzazz to the layout, I cut a circle using the outline drawn with a skillet lid. A third of the biege circle was used on the left side in order to balance the lightness of the map on the right side. Journaling with transparent materials is best done by planning the page first, then printing a whole sheet of journaling to fit the spaces. I print a black & white copy on paper to test the size first. After cutting the size to fit, I do the final printing in color on the transparency.

I used Microsoft Publisher (or Word) with Britannic Bold in 18 point being shaped to align with the arc. It was printed on a transparency sheet. When placed over the beige cardstock arc, the green print is clearly readable. The title was also printed on the transparency in size 44 in Bodoni MT. Scrapbooks Plus sells a transparent sheet by Graffix. I would have used that if it had not been midnight when this was being printed. Those sheets are smooth on both sides. The transparencies are to be printed on the textured side. Adhering clear papers and transparencies present a challenge. After planning layers, the clear printing is adhered under other elements or holes were punched with the Crop-A-Dile & Big Bite (center of page) to insert green brads. Some edges are beneath the photos , like the title. In order to place the brads on the gold cardstock mats for the photo captions, I measured & marked placement on the back of the gold cardstock. That way the clear journaling piece is attached to the gold cardstock with brads. Double stick tape was used beneath the brads to adhere to the sheet.

The additional museum information was found on their website. The map was printed on photo paper. This was a fun way to present a memory of a place I plan to see in its entirety in the future. We only made a quick stop to see the building before it was opened that day.

Memphis Quick Stop by Esther

The My Mind's Eye Ooh La La papers seemed right for this layout with colors of decades from the past—gold and green. I started with a solid green color cardstock and built layers that accommodated the four photos that I had on the subject. In order to lend some pizzazz to the layout, I cut a circle using the outline drawn with a skillet lid. A third of the biege circle was used on the left side in order to balance the lightness of the map on the right side.

Journaling with transparent materials is best done with planning the page befpre printing a whole sheet of journaling to fit the spaces. I print a black & white copy on paper to test the size first. After cutting the size to fit, I do the final printing.

I used Microsoft Publisher (or Word) with Britannic Bold in 18 point being shaped to align with the arc. It was printed on a transparency sheet. When placed over the beige cardstock arc, the green print is clearly readable. The title was also printed on the transparency in size 44 in Bodoni MT. Scrapbooks Plus sells a transparent sheet by Graffix. I would have used that if it had not been midnight when this was being printed. Those sheets are smooth on both sides. The transparencies are to be printed on the textured side.


Adhering clear papers and transparencies present a challenge. After planning layers, the clear printing is adhered under other elements or holes were punched with the Crop-A-Dile to insert green brads. Some edges are beneath the photos, while others are beneath the biege arc (shown in the second and third photos). In order to place the brads on the gold cardstock mats for the photo captions, I measured placement on the back. That way the clear journaling piece is attached to the gold cardstock. Double stick tape was used beneath the brads to adhere to the sheet.

The museum information was found on their website. The map was printed on photo paper. This was a fun way to present a memory of a place I plan to see in its entirety in the future. We only made a quick stop to see the building before it was opened that day.

Goin' for the Grid

I really liked all the patterns in the Bo Bunny collection this month. A great way to highlight different papers is to use them as a background grid. Using a little bit of each pattern with a lot of solid cardstock lets you show it off without it looking too busy.

For this layout, I used 3 x 3 blocks of patterned paper in a grid behind my photo. To help the photo stand out I mounted it on a piece of Hambly transparency and backed it with a slightly larger piece of cardstock on the back of the transparency and peeking out around the photo. The three layers were then added to the layout with 3M adhesive squares. A few flowers, circles, brads, and some Bo Bunny cream chipboard elements (coated with Glimmer Mist) finish it off!

thanks for stopping by!

erin

A Little "Gilt" Never Hurt Anyone!

When I opened my kit this month, after drooling over all of the gorgeous Anna Griffin papers, I found that Sharon had thrown in a bit of whimsey for us to play with - mine happened to be a little golden butterfly...and it really affected my choices for my one page layout.

I started by matting the picture...the first mat is only 1/8" bigger than the pic on each edge. The thin line of solid teal cardstock (from Chantilly Lace) is just enough to visually lift the picture from the next layer I had planned. The floral paper for the second mat had such wonderful colors and golden tones that I cut it so there was a generous 3/4" showing on each edge. I added the corrugated Anna Griffin photo corners and then, using pop dots, I set it all on top of one more mat layer of the teal cardstock. Knowing I was going to use the butterfly on the page, I pulled out a gold ink stamp pad and swiped a layer of gilt over the photo corners. It really highlighted the texture!
Next, I selected a blue-grey paper with a subtle plant pattern for the background . I trimmed it to an 11-1/2" square and adhered it to another sheet of the teal cardstock. I dragged the stamp pad around the outer edge of the entire page, and then mounted the photo on the left hand side. I added some clear overlays from Wild Asparagus (the spinner display is in the front of Scrapbooks Plus) above and below the picture. I hand cut a flower from the patterned paper and placed it in the lower right corner.

For the title, I mixed some letters which I cut with my Cricut, with the really cool

wooden letters Sharon had put in the kit. I brushed on some gold metallic

paint and lined them up on the right edge - who says a title has to be horizontal?!? I love the look these dimensional letters give the page.

Finally, the butterfly, which started the whole page. It is on a pop dot and I made the antennae out of some golden ric-rac from the kit. For my journaling, I used a word processor to print on vellum - I know I could have handwritten it, but I just don't like my handwriting! Anyway, I created an incomplete list of adjectives to describe my daughter, my Pride & Joy...and they became the meandering "path" of the butterfly.

When I look at the finished page, I smile. It is a completely different layout than I would have created if Sharon had not included that little golden butterfly from Anna Griffin. I encourage you all to challenge yourselves - there is certainly enough "Gilt" to go around!!! (sorry, I couldn't help myself!)