A Peek into my Scrappy Brain!

(My photo links in my first attempt at this post failed, so re-posting with photos this time...)

This is an article that I wrote that appeared in last week's newsletter from A Walk Down Memory Lane. Just go HERE to subscribe to these fabulous weekly newsletters!

Whenever I'm asked to describe my scrapping style, I usually respond with "Clean & Simply Detailed." Often my layouts have a very clean and simple look to them, but upon further inspection actually have a lot of detail to them. I want to share some of the techniwues that I like to use with you and how they impact the overall look of my layout.

First of all, here's the layout:

It looks pretty simple, but there's actually quite a bit going on here....

Grounding: One technique that I used throughout the layout is somethng called grounding. One way to think of grounding is that every element on the page, from the photo to the title to the journaling is always touching something else. Every element is linked in some way and nothing is just left "floating. Just a few ways that I used grounding here are:

• The photo comes into contact with the background paper, the patterned paper strips, the title and the flower element.
• The title is touching the photo and the paper strips.
• The small "tape" embellishment in the upper right hand corner is grounded to the edge of the paper.
• Tucking the word "JUST" into the negative space of the "b" for the title helps to connect the small word to the larger word without them actually touching.

Focus: As a scrapper, you have to decide what you want the person looking at your work to see first. I love this photo of my daughter, so I wanted the eye to be drawn to it. By grounding the the photo with so many elements, it keeps the eye focused on the photo. I always find that putting a mat on my photo in a coordinating color helps to draw the eye, as well. Also, little things like having the scallops on the border sticker pointing toward the photo help, too.

 

Journaling: I hate to journal. Hate it. Most of my layouts consist of journaling that includes the basics about the photo or event. I often use song lyrics or poems. Here, though I used the word stickers included with the paper collection to make a line of words that describe my daughter.

Dimension: There are several things on the page that give dimension, or at least the illusion of dimension. One thing I did was to mat my photo. Adding a mat to a photo using a contrasting, but coordinating color helps to not only bring the eye to the photo, but it helps to "pop" it off the page. I also used a corrugated alpha for my title that adds texture and dimension. The small flower element has quite a bit of dimension. I punched two small flowers and used a petal roller to cause the petals to curl up. Then, I added foam tape to the back of the "jar" as well as the flower to raise them off the page. I also cut a "stem" for the flower and made a cut in it to give the illusion that it is coming out of the jar. Adding a sticker over the jar with words on it creates just one more layer of "pop."

 

 

Color: There's lots to say about color, but here I just want to point out how I color to bring the page accents together. Many of the small details such as the photo mat, the scallop on the flower accent, the main title letters and the dots around the page are all the same color. I used a copic marker to color the letters and to create the dots around the page (to give the illusion of a mat). I find that using the same (or coordinating colors) for this helps to tie the elements of the page together

 

These are just some of the techniques that I use on a regular basis to create the look I'm going for. Another favorite is the "visual triangle" and I'll be sharing more about that in an upcoming blogpost.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into how my mind works and how my layouts come together!

You can find all of the products used on this layout at A Walk Down Memory Lane!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Come back soon!

It's Sketch Time!!

During this busy (ok...totally INSANE) week, I almost forgot to share the October Card Sketch from My Sketch World!  The fabulously talented Lucy Chesna has done it again and designed a beautiful sketch for us to play...ahem... I mean WORK with!

 

And, here's the card I came up with....

 

 

All of the papers, ribbon, chipboard and brads came from the October Birds of a Feather kit!

Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to swing by the MSW Blog to see what the rest of the design team did with the sketch.  And, be sure to stop back here tomorrow.  I've been a blogging slacker and have quite a few projects to share with you!

Live, Laugh, Love

These are words to live by. These are words I need to be reminded of and words that I hope my children take with them when they go off to live their own lives.

This layout uses the fantastic October Birds of a Feather kit and a photo from my cousin's wedding last August. I wanted to keep it simple and to the point and I also wanted to focus two specific design concepts: creating a visual triangle and keeping all of the page elements grounded. I purposely didn't add any journaling because I wanted the title and the photo to speak for itself.

 

Here's a closeup of the title, banner and one of the pieces of my visual triangle. I loved using the chipboard pieces from the kit and I just LOVE the embossed cardstock! It pained me to cut it-- it's definitely something I would have otherwise hoarded! I used some of the chipboard buttons to anchor the banner along with some twine from the kit, as well.

And, next comes a super simple card that I plan to send to my grandmother. She's been in a nursing home since a fall at Easter that broke her hip. She loves to get mail, and we've been making a special effort to send her cards at least once a week. So, the majority of the cards I've made lately have been with her in mind.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! This October Kit has been a dream to work with! The papers and embellishements are all so beautiful and thoughtfully put together!  If you have an opportunity to check out the BOAF Kits, you should!  I can tell you that the next kit is TO-DIE-FOR and you are definitley not going to want to miss it!

CAKE!!!

That's right-- CAKE!!  Now that I have your attention, let me tell you a little about the layout I'd like to share with you today.  My mom's birthday is in July and my daughter's birthday is in August.  With the family schedule, we couldn't get everyone together for my mom's birthday until August 4th.  Since my daughter's birthday was the following weekend, we had the bright idea of doing a "double" party so that the family wouldn't have to travel two weekends in a row.

Once the party plans were in place, we decided that these two special ladies needed an extra special cake!  My daughter LOVES to watch the cake shows on TV.  So, we found an amazing cake decorator in the area and shared the idea of a two sided cake!  If you looked at the cake from one side, it was "Elizabeth's cake" and represented the things she loves:  bright colors, PURPLE and peace signs.  And, if you looked at the other side of the cake, it was "Mom's Cake" decorated with things she loves: her garden and her Yorkie, Gizmo!

And, of course, this extra special cake needed a layout all to itself!  I used the Jillibean Soup Coconut Lime Soup collection (available at A Walk Down Memory Lane)!

I really wanted to include a photo taken from the top of the cake, but the size of the photo that I had printed didn't work with the layout that I had put together.  So, I decided to hide the photo!  I used one of the journaling spots as a pull tab so that you can just pull the photo out to see it!

And, here's a photo of the layering, the journaling and the title! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  We LOVED the cake and hope you like it, too!