Summer Layouts

One afternoon I sorted through pictures seeing what I would put in a mini album and what I would add to layouts.  I wanted to try to make a few quick layouts that incorporated multiple photos.  I had several from events during memorial day weekend that seemed like they would work well.  I also had just received the latest scrapbook kit from Studio Calico.  So why not work with the two!

On a side note, I've been printing all my photos at 3x4 inches lately.  It sometimes gets a little boring but I have some photo credits to use up and I find the size generally works well.  I add the white border in my photo editing program before printing.

Back to layouts.

 A helicopter had been flying over our home all weekend long giving rides to vets in the area.  It would get so SO close to our house and the boys loved it!  So after the Memorial Day parade we saw that they had landed on a little league field and were letting kiddos climb aboard.  Well, oh happy day for little boys!  Although my older son took right to that fighter gun like he knew just what to do.  And that was a bit scary. :)  I used a grid pattern to group my photos together and layed down some contrasting pattern papers - see the patriotic theme here?  Yeah, some stars finished it off well.  I had acrylic, cork, and sequin stars to add.  Simple, but cute.

That same weekend we had a backyard BBQ with friends and the kids had a fun time playing together.  I love these happy shots of them just being silly.  I kept this one SUPER simple but I love how soft and summery it turned out.  That cloud paper is a but cutesy for me but I did like the portions peeking out and the words "what a lovely day" because that is just what it was.   These kids had been couped up for such a long, cold, cold winter that days like this seem so much more special!

Mother's Day Mini

I have to admit I do feel a bit behind on photos lately.  Perhaps I am just wanting to print too many!  That was one thing I loved about digital.  You didn't have to decide on the size of your photo and have it printed.  You just put it on the layout and adjusted it/cropped it right there to the perfect fit.  It might also be that I'm having some fun experimenting with new techniques too.  Either way, I had a lot of fun putting together this mini album for my Mother's Day photos.

I almost exclusively used Heidi Swapp's Favorite Things collection.  I remember when I got this collection I thought it was bright and pretty but wasn't sure how I would go about using it.  Specifically, there was one paper with a word jumble in the shape of a heart that I thought was cool but was unsure how I would use it.  Well, I looked at it with fresh eyes amid my Mother's Day photos and had an idea.  I used a craft knife to cut about two thirds of it apart.  I kept some of the outer paper in certain areas (such as on the side).  That seems like a lot of work but it was actually pretty easy to do.  I used that bit and some other embellishment for the cover.  I created the cover using chipboard and covered it with papers.  I first put down the pink triangle paper and then the portion of the word jumble heart I wanted to use.

To create some additional interest I used a diagonal stripe stencil and clear magic medium on the pink triangle portion.  I then spritzed it with pink color shine.   Next I mixed some white acrylic paint with cherry color shine and dabbed it around the edge. I then used the plain color shine and dabbed the corners a bit.  Some embellishment and stamping in the corner and my cover was set!

The inside cover utilizes the rest of that heart word jumble.

I decided to put all my journaling into these little pocket pages.  It's a piece of paper folder over and then the holes punched.  Inside is a journal card which is attached to the small tags and ribbon.  Those hang over to hold it into the pocket.

On the backside, I tucked a photo into some ephemera. 

For this picture with my husband I started with a plain background and used a similar color color shine along with a chevron stencil to create a soft pattern.

I made sure to get a picture of just me with my parents.  I mean, how often does that happen now that I have kids?  Here I did some stamping on the plain paper to give it a soft background.

Another journal tag is hidden within this pocket.  It's a bit hard to see but on the tag I used some word stamps and then filled some of them in using my watercolor pen and some color shine.

 I decided to add a pocket page to include a few more photos and a journal card.  Not all my photos fitted the orientation of the page so I just created a mat for them and attached them to the top of the plastic.

And here I found another use for that heart paper!  This time from the 6x6 paper pad with a chipboard word on top.  That's most of the album.  It really was a lot of fun to create.  I used lots of pink!

Layouts

I've continued to experiment with making 12x12 layouts and have two more to share.

The first layout came together as a way to experiment with some of the mixed media techniques I've been learning.  I did some stenciling, some misting, some stamping, and even used a watercolor brush.  Th papers and elements came from the Studio Calico June Kit.

I joined Studio Calico's scrapbook kit club a few months back as a way to get some different products in to work with.  I have mixed feelings about it, but I think that's the point.  I wanted to see some new things and stretch myself to use some new items. 

This second layout uses mostly Maggie Holmes.  I did add a few elements from Heidi Swapp.  In this layout I actually used three journal cards and it was fun to look at them in a new way.  One I cut to make the tab behind the photo. For additional layering I slide that cut excess under it a bit.  The tag was cut from a journal card and I even hid some of that excess under another layer too.  It was a great way to add depth without using more product.