It Happens

I love PageMaps! Ever since my friend Natalie introduced me to the site, I've used their sketches as inspiration for my layouts. I really like the layouts from the 2012 PageMaps calendar...except for September's. Yeah, I'm saying it out loud: I did not like the September sketch. But I marched forward anyway and created this layout:

The collection used to create this layout is Hello Fall! by Little Yellow Bicycle, aka my favourite scrapbooking company. I used a die cut available with the collection and cut 2 more circles and placed them on the page slightly overlapped. I added the orange transparency on the right side of the page. Transparency pieces are usually available with every LYB collections. I love them because they aren't your typical embellishment.

I cropped my pictures and sanded the edges with a file.  I also create a journalling piece by using a piece of chipboard and covering it with yellow cardstock. The cardstock was a bit too yellow so I used Old Paper Distress Ink to tone it down. I added a piece of brown rickrack ribbon and some buttons.

 

The technique this month was to create our own title. I followed the instruction in the PageMaps calendar for the month of September. It was an easy technique and worked pretty well. I cheated a bit by using a transparency available with the collection.

I'm going to say something a little controversial: I don't really like my layout. Yeah, I said it. Maybe it was inevitable because I wasn't a fan of the sketch. I usually like everything I create because, as I've said many times, scrapbooking for me is about the memories. Art has very little to do with scrapbooking for me.

I used to be bothered when I created a layout that I wasn't pleased with. I've been guilty of redoing more than a few layouts because I didn't like the end result. Now, I see things a little differently. A while ago, I went to a crop and my friend Andréanne was there. Another friend made a comment that she didn't like her layout. Andréanne's reply: "It happens." I loved her nonchalant response! Really, she was right, it does happen. No big deal. You need to move on.

It was a great scrapbooking lesson to learn!

Happy scrappin'!

 

Double Trouble

I love the look of a well planned and balanced double page layout.  However most of the double page sketches that are out there have too many photos for my liking.  This months pagemap challenge had just two photos on it, which is great.  But I had three photos that I wanted to use. So... I stretched the sketch into a double page.  And using a technique that I saw on "Live With Prima" a few weeks ago, of building your double pages at the same time (can't believe I've never done that before) I thought I would give it a try.  Well I must say it came together very quickly and it does hold it's balance and continuity well.

I didn't put a title on my page (I may later) but I have dubbed it Cake Face.  These are photos of my son at his first birthday party and the next day when we were just hanging out at the local garage getting the oil changed in the car - he wanted to climb in those stacked tires so bad!

Using the Little Yellow Bicycle collection called Saturday's made it so easy to make a boy layout (or two) and the theme of this month's challenge is to use stamping on your layout to create your own embellishments.  I did just that with the previously naked chipboard circles and stars, and I also stamped and fussy cut (I know what were you thinking Lorena?!) a 'little yellow bicycle' .... psst it's actually a Prima stamp!  On some of the chipboard I did three layers of stamping - see the first photo where I did stamping and embossing on top of embossed background on top of a brick wall stamp.


You too can participate in this challenge, simply bring your layout based on the sketch to Auntie Em's scrapbooking by the end of the month and make sure you use stamping somewhere on your layout to enter!  There's going to be prizes!!!


Hope you enjoyed,


~Lorena~