... just Laura

Kerri Bradford Studio: Framed Collage Project

Happy Monday everyone! I had such a productive weekend, and got a TON of scrapping work done. More than I even thought I would, and what's even more surprising is that most of it isn't even due for another week. Anyone that knows me, knows that I never work ahead. Lol.

In case you haven't heard yet, there is a brand new photo template kit up over at Kerri Bradford Studio today! I know how much I love working with Kerri's storyboard templates. I love a good photo collage when it comes to scrapping lots and lots of photos. 

I had been kicking this idea around in my head for a few months now. Well, not this exact idea. The photos I had in mind were of Alyssa's band friends that she's collected this past school year. She did send me copies of all of her photos so that I could try my idea out, but there's a lot more photos to work with (100+), so I thought I would start smaller and go from there.

So I decided to use photos of my daycare kids. Not just the ones that are here now, but a photo of every single child that I have watched over the years. I have created a few layouts that contain a good amount of these kids in one place, but I thought it would be nice to create something that could be displayed out in the open for everyone to see. I think that would help convince any prospective parents to bring their children to me, right ;)

When I first saw Kerri's Storyboard: Instagram Style kit, I knew it would be perfect for this type of project. I chose the template that held 16 photos. I then did a quick count of how many kids I have watched over the years. This was actually fairly easy, since I'm required to keep a "roster" of sorts for the state, which I have been filling out and adding to for the last eleven years. I counted out 35 kids. Which seems like a lot, and yet at the same time, I thought would be a higher number.

Then came the hardest part. Finding a photo for each child. For some of these kids, it wasn't so much finding a photo, but picking just ONE photo. Some of these kids were with me for one year, two years, three+ years. How do you chose just one photo, and from what age to you chose it. What about the ones that came as newborns? Did I chose a baby photo, or one from when they were older?

Then there were the kids from the very beginning. I took tons of photos of them too, but that was before the digital days. I have all of my negatives organized and can easily find what I need. But that's still a lot of digging around, taking the negatives to Costo for reprints, and then they're still not an actual digital file to work with. My scanner only works when it wants to work, so I didn't want to mess with that. Some of those earlier kids I was able to find photos of when they were older, since I've taken family photos for some of them. So even though they might not be the same young faces that I took care of at the time, I'm ok with using a slightly older version of them for this project.

There are three photos on here (the first collage I showed) where I actually took a photo of a photo, from one of my layouts. It didn't work perfectly, but it will do. And sadly, I had four kids that I just couldn't find photos of. I feel bad leaving them out.

I had picked up a poster sized frame that was 12"x36", so my plan was to create three 12"x12" photo collages to fill the frame. Since I ended up with 31 photos, I decided to fill the first template completely, and fill the top two rows of the second template, and the bottom two rows of the third template. I was bummed that I had that one empty square the bottom. And about a week after I finished this project, I got a new little daycare baby. I'll have to add her in there at some point.

    

Just to give you an idea of what my plan was, I created a 12"x36" canvas in Photoshop and copied each of the collages over, one on top of the other. Because I only used the top part of the second template and the bottom part of the third template, once I stacked them up, that left me a 12"x12" section to fill. My plan was to just create something to lay on top of those using cardstock and patterned paper. Keep in mind, I had each template printed seperately. But if you found a spot that would print something 12"x36", you could print something just like this all on one large photo.

This is a terrible photo of the completed project, but it's honestly the best I could get. I even took out the plexiglass, thinking that would help. But I was still getting lot of glare anywhere I went in the house. Hanging it on the wall didn't help. So you'll just have to trust me that it really looks good in person.

I adhered all three of the printed photo collages to the paper that actually came in the frame, just to hold everything in place. I had my collages printed at Costco, and each were $2.99, so $10 for all three of them.

I wanted to keep the paper area of this project pretty simple, since this is going to hang in the playroom (which is really our living room/dining room, so it's right when you walk in the door). I added a sheet of white cardstock that I very lightly misted with pink spray mist. I chose the "If you're happy and you know it ... clap your hands" phrase from Kerri's Happy kit. I wanted something fairly large and I think it kind of ties in with the whole daycare/kids thing. It's a song that plays on about 38% of these toys too, so I find myself singing it quite a bit!

To finish it off, I simply dug out a really old piece of heart patterned paper, a few aqua cardstock border strips, and a piece of brown polka dot ribbon. Easy and not too busy looking. When I get new kids here, and am ready to add a few more to the frame, I can add them right into the templates, since I saved them all as working files. All of the kids are in the order of which they started coming to me, so I would most likely just shift everyone up to make room at the bottom for the new ones. I can always make that paper area smaller as well. 

Next on my list is to find a spot to hang this. I had a spot in mind, and when I hung it up there, it just looked too small, oddly enough. So for now, it's propped in my scraproom. And with the school year coming to an end soon, I need to get working on one for Alyssa with all of her band photos from the year.

A Couple Of Digital Boy Layouts

Computers. I don't know about you all, but I have this love/hate relationship with my laptop. I love it to death. When it works and does all of the stuff I want it to do. I hate it with a passion. When it gives me problems, and won't let me do the things that I normally do. And lately, I'm definately leaning more on the "hate" side of our relationship. So frustrating.

I've been in this funk lately. I havn't done any actual scrapping in almost 2 full weeks. So weird for me to go that long without cutting paper and gluing stuff. The craziness of life is wearing on me. Girls back in school. Soccer in full swing. Daycare kids running me wild. Scrapping jobs sucking down my creative energy. Just been really, really tired lately, which makes me avoid my scraproom. So last night, I thought I would make a few quick digital layouts, just to do something creative.

Meet Mateo. He's been with me for about six months now, and he's just about 10 months old. He is unbelievably adorable! And such a great baby. I really love this age, where they are developing such strong personalities. I love that he is more mobile, crawling around, pulling himself up, cruising around the furniture. But that also means he can get to where he wants to go. And that's usually straight to me. Lol. He loves to hang on me, and have me sit and play with him. Which is all good. Except that sometimes, I do actually have to get stuff done around here. But it's so hard to resist that cute little face!

As for the layout. I have used this digital template before for another layout (seen HERE). I love this template, and figured I would just use it again, for both of these new layouts. It's not like these layouts will be side by side in my albums, so it's totally fine with me to use the same basic design.

I've already introduced you to Zachary. He's getting so big. He's two and a half now, and he's a real character. While we tell Mateo how adorable he is all day, we tell Zachary how hilarious he is all day. On days when he's not here, it's so quiet and sometimes a bit boring. He definitely livens up this joint, and keeps us laughing. He's even funny when he's trying to be all serious. He gives us these straight faces, with the pouty lips and one raised eyebrow, and we just bust up laughing because he's so funny.

And if Photoshop had let me finish this layout, and add my journaling, it would have said something to that effect. How he makes us laugh all the time. BUT. Photoshop kicked me out last night.

As in, it literally kicked me out and apparently decided to un-do my layout that I had saved and re-saved about 10 times as I created it. When I went to open it this morning, my file showed nothing but a red line on it. Lovely (said sarcastically, in case you didn't pick up on that).

So I pulled up everything I had picked out for this layout last night, and re-created it this morning. However, I cannot get into my folder that has all of my digital journaling stuff. That's the same folder that started locking up my computer last night. So I gave up on the journaling for now. Just imagine that I have journaling strips on that blue diagonal striped paper. If I can get it all working later, I'll swap out the finished layout.

Supplies Used:

Kerri Bradford Studio: Every Picture Tells A Story

I have a new layout up over at Kerri Bradford Studio today. It's quite a bit different than my normal style, but I kind of like it.

I have no idea why, but I was randomly thinking about these photos of two of my previous daycare kids, Miranda and Nikolas, last week. I have used these photos on a layout before. But it was using a kit that I was doing some package samples for, and the products I had to use didn't do much for me. So I pulled up the photos and decided to scrap them again.

Now, I am really loving the look of Instagram photos. However, I don't have an iPhone, or a cell phone with a decent camera, or anything special device with a camera. So my personal way of using Instagram is a bit involved. I find the photos that I want to share (or this case, add a filter and print), and email them to myself. Then I take my older hand-me-down iPod Touch, and pull up that email. I save the photos to my iPod, and then from there, I can load them into Instagram. I add the filters that I want, and turn them into the cute square images. They automatically save themselves, and then I email them back to myself. Then I go back to the laptop, pull up that new email, and download the Instagram photos. Lastly, I pull them up in Photoshop and get them ready to print. Time consuming? Yes. LOL.

All of the papers I chose for this layout are from Echo Park. I am in love with using grid patterned papers lately, for my backgrounds, and this one here is from the Note To Self collection. The green, pink, and yellow papers are all from the This & That collections. When I dig around for titles to cut on my Silhouette, I love to look for ones that have a fun mix of fonts. The mix of a more block-ish font, along with a cursive font, is my favorite.  

Since my photos were all squares, I thought it would be fun to use a few more square pieces on the page, and just fit them all together randomly on the page. I'm such a linear scrapper, and love to line up my photos, that I wanted to be a little more random in design for this layout. I found these sunburst shapes in the This & That Freedom kit, which is geared towards Independance Day. While this would look awesome on a full 12x12 (sadly, I don't have a Cameo yet), I just cut them into smaller squares to use.  

Lastly, I set out to find some embellishments to add to the centers of the sunbursts. Normally, I would go straight to my buttons, but I decided to try and stay away from them on this layout. I came across these tissue paper flowers from Studio Calico, which for whatever reason, I have never used. There are three different sets, and the colors all matched my papers perfectly. Such a simple way to finish the page.

Supplies Used:

suddenly a boy: a bella blvd layout

i have a new layout up today, on the bella blvd blog.

i look forward to our "free-for-all" layout days, which our designers have once a month. it's a chance to scrap about whatever we want to scrap about. no rules or restrictions to what collections or products we use. it's a great way to create some layouts that i've been wanting to do, just for fun.

it started when i took this photo of him last week. 26 months, going on 27 months. 2+ years, if you will.

and it made me think back to this photo of him. 7 months old. just a little thing.

time really does fly by so fast these days. it sort of seems like he magically became a full-fledged boy out of no where. he still had a few of those "baby" qualities about him. and then one day, he didn't. he was suddenly a boy.

i'll be honest. it bugs me just a teensy-tiny bit that my journaling printed a little crooked on the ruled pattern paper. lol! i'm sure no one would notice that except me. and i'm sure i'm weird for feeling the need to point it out to you all.

all of bella's new products started shipping out last week. so keep your eyes out for them, at your LSS's and online retailers. i know you can find them HERE at 2peas ;)

four foto friday

i'm short on time this week. i'm not short on words, but just don't have time to share them here on the blog. too much going on. so i'm taking the easy way out, but still getting something cute up here to look at. it's four foto friday.

seems like zachary was just a baby not too long ago. apparently, when i had my head turned, he went and grew into a full fledged boy. a little dude. 2 years and almost 3 months old.

and still quite attached to me. literally.

which is all good to me, since i find him quite entertaining and super adorable.

he's one of the funniest little dudes i've had the pleasure of taking care of. we all love him to pieces!

hello - a layout share

the this & that charming collection, from echo park, was one of my favorite new collections at CHA. i already managed to pick up a lot of my favorites from the show, and have started to play with all of them. i put this layout together over the weekend. it's pretty simple in design. but sometimes, simple is a nice change ;)

so, here's the story behind this layout. a few weeks ago, on a day i didn't have any daycare kids, i got a phone call. turns out, it was zachary, who had gotten a hold of grandma's cell phone and managed to call me. i was the last person she had called, and he must have just hit a button to re-dial me. he was talking a mile a minute. i didn't understand a lot of it, being that he just turned 2 years old at the end of december. there's a ton that i DO understand though, which is fun. after about 10 minutes of yapping away to me, grandma realized that he was actually talking to someone, and not just pretending. she was trying to get the phone back from him, and they ended up hanging up on me.

but zachary wasn't done talking to me, i guess. because he called back. at one point, i heard grandma say "laura. i can't get the phone from him, so just hang up whenever you have to go". lol! i finally told zachary that i had to go, and that i would see him the next day, and i hung up. well, he ended up calling me back two more times. it was all pretty funny. apparently, he had a TON to say to me.

later, grandma then sent me an email, "from" zachary, thanking me for talking to him. i thought it was so cute, so i saved the email. i thought it would be fun to scrap the story. well, when i was digging for photos last week for some other layouts, i came across these photos of zachary from a few months ago. he was talking on our old-school playskool phone. the one with the rotary dial. lol! i decided these photos would be perfect, to go with the story about his phone calls to me.

i copied and pasted part of zachary's email to me, and used it for my part of my journaling. click on the photo, to see it larger, if you can't read it here. feels kind of nice to have an idea for something, and get the story scrapped within a matter of weeks.

what i am doing - a creating keepsakes layout

i wanted to share a layout that i did for july/august issue of creating keepsakes, about 10 months ago (i seriously had to do the math on this. that seems like forever ago). i was asked to create a layout for the "peekaboo, i see you" article, written by mou saha. a few of the layouts, along with mine, ended up in the online section of this article, which can be seen HERE.

 
as seen in an online article for the July/August 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

i was asked to create an accordian style element on my layout, that would allow you to include lots of photos, but not overwhelm the layout. when i got this assignment, zachary was about 10 months old. he had this one week period, where he started to do a lot of things at once. crawling and standing up, being the biggest things. i had taken a ton of photos of him one day, and i thought they'd be perfect for this idea.

 

so this layout is about what he was doing. right then and there. at 10 months old. i used some of my favorite foam letter stickers from american crafts for my title, and then added some smaller letter stickers from making memories to finish off the title. if you see this in the online article, you'll see the green letter stickers outlined with a thin brown marker. they wanted them to stand out more. i used a fun mix of star embellishments (lots of old product) to embellish that upper corner.

 

the papers and stickers are all from pebbles. this was an older boy collection, that i had always loved, and was glad i had the perfect chance to use it. i'm a huge fan of blue, green, orange, and brown for boy layouts.

 

i decided to print out my focal photo as a 4x6, and then print all my other photos in the 2x3 size. i wanted to make my accordian style book to go the entire 12 inch height of the layout. the actual width of the book is 2.5 inches, so it doesn't take up a lot of room.

 

i started with a sheet of 12x12 green pattern paper. and then i scored it (top to bottom) every 2.5 inches. that allowed me to have a nice, clean fold. i would fold it over one way, and then the opposite way on the next fold. like when we used to make paper fans as kids ;)

i did end up wanting an extra fold in there. with the extra half inch on all my folds, the paper wasn't quite wide enough to get as many folds as i wanted. so i just took an extra sheet of paper, and adhered it to the last fold, to extend it out. not sure that makes sense. but i'm not sure how to explain it. lol! i basically just added paper, to make it the size i needed.

 

then i adhered the backside of my last fold, to where i wanted it on my layout. i have a total of 12 photos on this accordian booklet. 3 on the front. and then 3 photos, in each of the 3 folds. i adhered the 3 photos, top to bottom of the paper, adding in a block of 2x3 pattern paper.

 

and then i added some letter stickers, to describe what zachary was doing. playing. standing. crawling. i also added a few stickers. i kept all flat papers and stickers, since the accordian book already adds some bulk to the layout.

 

i forgot to add, that before i adhered my accordian booklet to the layout, i figured out where i wanted my ribbon to go on the book. i used a few glue dots to adhere it to the back of the book, and then adhered the book to the layout. when i had the book all completed, with photos and stickers, i tied the ribbon on the front to keep it closed. i also added a small metal clip up at the top of the book, and dangled a cute little felt star from it with a beaded metal chain.

hard to believe i created this a full 10 months ago. now, this same little boy, is running in circles all over this house. it's hard to picture a time when he just stood next to the table, holding on for dear life ;)

can i do buttons?

i think i mentioned that haley has been back with me for the summer, while she's on break from preschool. one of the things that she asks to do the most, is buttons. "can i do buttons, laura?". i don't mind sharing my buttons with her (except my good ones. i hide those). i used to teach classes at a LSS years ago, and had bought like a kazillion buttons for class kits at one point. so i have a good stash of them.

 

she started making this request quite a while back. i tend to work on a few projects here and there, during the day, while the kids are eating or running around. and when i would take out a jar of buttons, she would always ask to "do buttons". at some point, i came up with a way for her to do just that.

we usually make a card base, since it's something smaller in size, and she can take it home with her to give her mom, dad, or her grandma. i cut a piece of cardstock (this one shows kraft cardstock), slightly smaller than the white card base. then i run that piece of cardstock through my zyron, so that the entire thing is covered in really sticky adhesive. before peeling off the backing, i use regular adhesive on the other side and stick it down on the card base. then when i peel off the backing, the zyron adhesive part of the cardstock is on the top. so the entire front of the card is now sticky.

 

and then i give miss haley a big bowl of buttons. she loves green buttons, although i did get her to do red buttons once. she will sit and pick out the perfect buttons, and she starts pushing them onto the sticky cardstock. she keeps going, until she gets the entire thing filled up. and she's really good about making sure to press them all down, really well, so that they don't fall off. she's always so proud of her button card.

 

and what is zachary doing, while haley is "doing buttons"? he's got his potato head glasses on, and his plastic pretend keys. and then he proceeds to try and blow this joint ;)

look at me, i'm crawling - a little yellow bicycle layout

bonus post today! this is my second layout share of the day. so if you missed the first one, scroll down to see it. as the may guest designer, i have my next project up on the little yellow bicycle blog today, along with part three of my Q&A session. it's a layout, using their new baby saurus collection.

 

this collection was perfect to scrap some photos of little zachary from last year. when i saw the chipboard sticker slider embellishment, i knew i wanted to scrap these photos of zachary from the first time he crawled.

the base of the layout came together very quickly. i choose 2 of the pattern papers, added in the little dino border strip i cut from another pattern paper, and picked out the blue and orange canvas border sticker. i arranged them all from top to bottom, and added my photos, and the "bones" of the layout was complete.

 

then i added the chipboard sticker slider piece, in between my photos. you can move the slider up and down, so that it points to whatever you're scrapping about. i could have done quite a few of those, but these photos of him crawling matched the collection so well.

i had some empty room up in that top corner, so i used my circle cutters on a few pattern papers. that cute little dino chipboard sticker looked like he had something to say. so i added the little word bubble sticker, and added "zachary" with tiny alpha stickers, so that it says "zachary says rawwwr!".

 

it seems so long ago that he was just learning to crawl. although he waited until he was 9 months old to finally do it. seemed like forever, until he moved around on his own. now, he's 17 months old, and i love to chase the little dude all over the house. it's a game we play. i scream like a crazy person and chase him, and he giggles his head off and runs from me. we do it over and over, until i make him take a break to catch his breath. he's lots of fun :)

keep your eye on the little yellow bicycle blog, as i have two more projects coming up before the end of the month.

i love you kiddos - a pebbles layout

this week on the pebbles blog, it's all about scraplifting. i took this definition of "scraplifting" from the pebbles blog, since it's so well worded. "Scraplifting is the the act of "lifting" or copying ideas and/or designs from another person’s scrapbook page to use in your own pages.  Designs or ideas can be copied in whole or in part.  And most importantly be sure to give credit where credit is due.  If you do "lift" someone else's idea be sure to mention where the idea originated."

 

we were asked to choose a layout or project by a fellow design team member to lift. i choose this layout, by eva pizarro. the grid pattern and all the small squares of pattern paper and photos really caught my eye, and i knew it was perfect for my style.

 

and here is my take on eva's layout. i started, by picking out a few photos of the daycare kiddos. haley hasn't been around as much, since she started preschool. but i had a few from when she came back to visit over the holiday. i pulled the oranges and pinks from molly and haley's shirts. then i added in some greens and yellows. i machine stitched around each of the squares of pattern paper, before adhering them to my white cardstock. i trimmed my white cardstock to 10.5 x 10.5 inches, and adhered it to the center of my green cardstock background. i used a scalloped border punch along some white cardstock scraps, and then slipped them under the edges of the white cardstock.

 

i loved how eva added a fun assortment of embellishments to each of her pattern paper squares. i choose a handful of different embellishments to fill my squares. some paper flowers, some chipboard pieces, brads and flair, and a sticker. to keep the embellishments easy on the eye, i choose to color coodinate them with the paper. pink chipboard heart, on the pink pattern paper. yellow paper flower and brad, on the yellow pattern paper.

i added a strip of yellow dotted ribbon underneath the photo and paper grid. i combined some letter stickers and a rub on phrase for my title, and added a tree sticker to the side. i didn't feel like this layout really needed any journaling. "i love you kiddos" seemed to sum up my thoughts perfectly :)

we love you - a creating keepsakes layout

remember THIS BOOK that i made for haley, back when she left for preschool? i had created a few last minute layouts to add to the book, before having it printed. and this is the final layout, that was at the end of the book.

 
as seen in the February 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

i originally created this layout for one of my jillibean soup monthly assignments. then it got picked up by creating keepsakes so quickly, that it was never shown on their blog. and i had to hold off sharing it, when i shared her book.

for the photos, i went through my files and found sixteen of my favorite photos of haley that spanned her three and a half years with us. they are all in order by age, left to right, top to bottom.  so fun to see her growing up through these photos. because i had so many colors going on in these photos, i changed them all to black and white, to simplify things.

 

i printed each photo as a 3x3 inch square. sometimes, when i print at home, they actually come out a little smaller. no idea why. i print as a borderless 8.5x11, but it still shrinks everything just a teeny tiny bit. this makes a difference, when i'm lining up my photos from one side of the page to the other. so i was left with a little gap on one side. just worked it into my design. but i had wanted the photos to go all the way across, just like the filmstrip patterned paper.

 

i printed out the dates when haley started coming to us and when she left, along with her ages. i was going to hand journal it onto the journaling sprout. but everytime i use my own handwriting, i feel like i ruin my layouts. lol! i know that's not the case, but it's how i see it. yes, i'm my worse critic.

 

i kept this layout pretty simple. it's mainly photos and paper. one of my "flatter" layouts, if you will. with the exception of some pop dots behind a few of the journaling sprouts.

 

i loved having this as the ending to her book.

just arrived - a pebbles layout

last week, on the pebbles blog, it was all about the new arrival girl collection. this week is all about the new arrival boy collection. i have a layout up on the blog today, featuring that collection.

 

recognize this little dude? that's zachary, when he was just one month old. even the girls saw this layout sitting out, and said "is that him?". they were convinced it was some other little baby boy. lol! i've taken some photos of him and his parents a few times, since he was born. and these were from his one-month shoot.

 

i think my favorite part of this collection is the embossed papers. i used 2 of them on this layout. the blue dot, and the brown with white dots. you really have to see these in person, to truely appreciate them. the raised dots on both of these papers are amazing, and add a TON of texture to your projects. and i love that they're neutral and not just for baby boy layouts. i can see these papers on a lot of projects :)

 

i just love the 3D felt stars embellishments. they're thick and layered and all the work is done for you. just peel and stick to your layout. and the moneky? well, i created him with a new making memories slice design card, that will be out in december. the cool thing about it, is that it will cut your shapes in pieces, that you then assemble together. this will actually allow a lot of the shapes to become larger than the standard 4 inch size that the current design cards will cut. will share more, once it's officially announced. i cut the monkey from a few of the different pattern papers, even using the brown embossed dot paper for his body. i added some stitched buttons for his eyes, and "hung" him from the photo collage. isn't he cute :)

supplies:
new arrival boy little angel pattern paper by pebbles, new arrival boy brand new pattern paper by pebbles, new arrival boy expecting you pattern paper by pebbles, new arrival boy congrats pattern paper by pebbles, new arrival boy everything sweet pattern paper by pebbles, new arrival boy felt embellishments by pebbles, new arrival boy words stickers by pebbles, new arrival boy rubons by pebbles, slice design card by making memories, rubon stitches by doodlebug, buttons by basic grey

all smiles - three takes on one layout

i wanted to share one of my recent assignments with you. the following three layouts were featured in the october issue of creating keepsakes magazine. the challenge issued to me, was to create a 10 minute layout. and then to step it up, to a 15 minute layout. and then again, to a 20 minute layout.

 
as seen in the October 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

you might think a 10 minute layout is impossible. but it's not. granted, i may have put more than 10 minutes into creating this layout, given that i was creating it for publication and wanted it to be just right. the truth is, my layouts and my process DO take me more time to come up with and put together. but at the same time, i think my layouts come off very do-able. i've been told that by numerous people, and i know exactly what they're saying. i'm not an overly complicated scrapper. sure, i have my moments where i like to do some techniques or use a bunch of goodies on one page. but i think my layouts are easy enough to duplicate, with your own photos and supplies that you have on hand.

you can totally create this layout in 10 minutes.  don't believe me? try it and see. take out 2 4x6 photos, a piece of cardstock, 2 strips of pattern paper or die cut paper, a journaling page, a piece of ribbon, 2 stickers, and a pen. what's that? you want instructions? no problem, they're right HERE. throw it all down, and it just might end up looking like my layout above. and then high-tail it back here, and show it to me ;)

 
as seen in the October 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

maybe you have more than 10 minutes. if you do, i'm extremely jealous. lol! maybe you have 15 minutes, and want to step up the layout a little bit. in addition to what i listed above, you also need one more sheet of cardstock, a few jewels, another sticker, and a stapler. instructions? sure, they're right HERE.

 
as seen in the October 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

say you're just all full of time, and have 20 whole minutes, and want to step it up even more than the last version. then simply add a full strand of jewels, an epoxy sticker, and some letter stickers. instructions are HERE.

if you do try out this little challenge, and find that it takes you a bit longer than 10, 15, or 20 minutes, then please don't hold it against me. lol! i really do believe that layouts can be quick and simple. and still look really cute. and i honestly believe these can be done in that amount of time. and if designers can do a little bit of the thinking part for you, use it to your advantage. take a layout, or an idea, or an element. and use it to create your own layout, with whatever you have on hand, and personalize it however you want :)

supplies: free spirit sunshine/purple peace dots pattern paper by little yellow bicycle, free spirit lace cut cardstock by little yellow bicycle ,free spirit journal tablet by little yellow bicycle, free spirit fabric favorite embellishments by little yellow bicycle, free spirit alpha & numbers cardstock stickers, free spirit fresh verse cardstock stickers, free spirit epoxy stickers by little yellow bicycle, 5 color polka ribbon by jillibean soup, pink crystals by zva creative

amanda - a pebbles layout

this week really got away from me. and my blog paid the price for it, unfortunately. but i'm getting back on track, and have things scheduled and planned out. plenty to share, just a matter of making time to share it. for today, i have a layout up on the pebbles blog.

 

i used the pebbles twitterpated collection for my layout about amanda. i've been missing having amanda around the house lately. she was one of my very first daycare kids, nine years ago. she's one of the girls best friend's. they call her their "sister", and i call her my "third daughter". she's a part of this family, and is welcome here anytime. but as the girls get older, they tend to get busier with different activities. and the last few months, they havn't gotten together as much as they used to. luckily, amanda has made a few stops by this way in the last week or two. been nice to see her again :) 

 

i've been getting a bit back into distressing my papers. i remember years ago, i was addicted to inking the edges of every single piece of paper on a layout. and then i got away from doing it. no idea why. however, i have reaching for my edge scraper more and more these days. you simply run it over the edges of your papers, whether it's cardstock or pattern paper. sometimes, i'll ink the edges as well. or sometimes, i just leave them as is. but i love the extra texture it adds to my layouts.

i'm hoping to get another post on here this weekend. tonight we're headed to the high school football game. it's homecoming, and the band will be in full uniform for the game. i LOVE hearing them play throughout the game. just love it! then saturday, we have three soccer games. starting bright and early at 7:30, and going straight through for about five hours. hopefully, it's not too hot out.

lil spunk - a layout

i was planning on sharing how i scrapbooked the trip i took to utah 2 years ago. finished the layouts, printed the pages of journaling, took photos of everything. and then the power went out tonight. it was only about 30 minutes. but that never happens to us, and it threw us off the rest of the evening. lol! so i'll be sharing that on wednesday. instead, i'll share a two page layout with you. i know a lot of you asked to see more 2 page layouts. and lucky for you, creating keepsakes magazine has really been focusing on 2 pagers for quite a while now, because they know it's what their readers want. so the majority of my assignments for them are 2 page layouts :)

as seen in the July/August 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

i got asked to do this assignment last january. the magazine knew that i was attending the winter CHA show that month. they were going to choose their top picks of the show, and then have a few designers create projects with those products. on the last day of the show, i kept asking the editors if they had chosen their top picks yet. i was anxious to see what i was going to work with. but i had to wait until i got home from the show, and a few weeks later, the new queen bee collection from pink paislee showed up on my doorstep.  

when i first saw this collection at CHA, i thought it was gorgeous. and the decor for that part of their booth was incredible. the flowerbed, and display area, for this collection was one of my favorite parts of the show. but. i wasn't sure it was my style. i can appreciate something being gorgeous and pretty. but i also know what comes naturally to me. and i wasn't sure what i would do with this collection. 

then i remembered these photos i had taken of michaela. michaela was my very first daycare baby. she was only about 4 weeks old when i started watching her. i also watched her older sister, alison, who was about 2.5 years old at the time. there's just something about babies that gets me. some more than others (sorry, is that bad to say?). and she was one that just stuck on me. i could eat her up, loved taking care of her, kissed and snuggled on her baby rolls (and she had TONS of rolls. lol!), and just truely bonded with her from day one. even though they've been gone from our daycare for years, they're still a part of our lives. we don't see them often, even though we live super close to each other. but when i do see them, it takes me right back to why michaela was a special one to me.  

once i had these photos picked out and printed, the rest of the layout just fell together. and i was able to play with all the gorgeous product in the collection, without thinking twice about any of it. i think i managed to use a little bit of everything they sent me. the pattern papers, die cut paper, glitter chipboard alphas, ribbon pleats, flip notes journal, bella brads, cork buttons, punch out die cuts, the press ons, and even the 6x6 pattern paper pad. i was pretty proud of myself for working so much fun stuff on these two pages. 

for the flowers, i used the ribbon pleats. they come in a long strip, 12 inches in length. but you can easily shape them into a circle, or how ever you want to work them. once i got it in a circle, i added a bella brad to the center of a cork button, and added that as the center of the flower. for the stems, i used the parenthesis from the chipboard alphas, and just trimmed them into a stem and leaves.

just because - a pebbles layout

i have another pebbles layout to share, from my design team submission. i started making this about two weeks before haley was leaving, and tried my best to finish in time to get it in her book. but i ran short on time. so this is new to her parents and to all of you.

last night, we had haley and her mom over for dinner. dad had to stay home since he wasn't feeling well, but we did send some yummy food back for him. it's been a few weeks now, since haley left us to start pre-school. i think it's been quite the adjustment for all of us. we miss her more than ever. i miss having someone to talk too during the day. she was such a great story teller and talked non-stop. we miss her smiling face and bouncy way of running all over. i miss seeing her mom (and her dad every now and then) drop her off and pick her up. she was always wide awake and chatting in the mornings, when i was half asleep still. and i was wide awake and chatting in the afternoons, when she was half asleep. lol! i know that haley misses us. her mom said that she's liking pre-school, and learning a lot. she's making friends and getting settled. but she also says that she still asks to come to my house every morning. which in some ways, makes me feel just a little good inside. just knowing that we were that important to her.

i used the twitterpated collection for this layout. this is why i have loved pebbles pattern paper for years. look at all the fun patterns. this might be a collection geared towards love. but the pattern papers are always so versitile, and can be used for so many different things. hearts, dots, stripes. these are patterns i'll use over and over. for my title, i cut out one of the blocks from the perforated 3x3 sheet (it's a 12x12 sheet, but the blocks are all 3x3). there was a doodley flower in the middle that i didn't care for. so i wrapped some string around the card, adhered some paper flowers and a button with brads in the middle, and pop dotted the entire thing on the page.

supplies:
pattern paper - pebbles
die cut border - doodlebug designs
flowers - pebbles
button - making memories
brads - making memories
other - string

we'll miss you haley

three and a half years, and this baby girl has grown into a spunky little girl. and i've been there through it all.

for three and a half years, we have had the pleasure of enjoying this girl 3 days a week. we all love haley and she is honestly just part of our family now. we think of her as one of our own, and treat her like our own. and she returns the favor, by acting just like one of our own. lol! but now it's time for haley to move on to new adventures. preschool, to be exact. it's been the plan for a while now, so this isn't new info to me. i've had plenty of time to get used to the idea, and to get ready for today. it's her last day with us today. 

and while we're sad to see her go, and we will miss her like crazy. we also know that it's her time to move on, and the change will be so great for her. haley is ready for a new setting, with new friends to be made, and to learn all sorts of new things in preparation for kindergarten. and i'm not worried about not seeing miss haley again, because i know she'll be around. i already have a list of the weeks that her preschool is closed, and she will always have a spot here when she needs a place to hang out. i think all of that makes it easier for me to see her move on.

i have a special gift for haley's mom and dad that i want to share, because i really think it was a great idea and i'm so proud of how it came out. but i'm going to share that next week, since i havn't given it to them yet and don't want to spoil the surprise. and i have a few more layouts of haley, but i can't share those yet either. so there's definately more haley to come around this blog ;)

so, haley. from all of us. joe, alyssa, sarah, and myself. from the other kids you see around here. and even from grammy, papa, and jenny. we all love you like crazy. we will miss you like crazy. and we are just so thankful for all that you have brought to our lives. you and your spunky attitude will be missed around this house. so make sure and come back real soon ;)

bugs - a layout

wanted to share another layout that i did over the weekend. another one of miss haley. she appeared on quite a few of my layouts this weekend. i was working on another project (more on that another day), and realized that i hadn't scrapped much of her lately. so i was making up for it with this last batch of layouts :)

a few weeks ago, i saw this pack of felt bug embellishments from sassafrass while out shopping. it caught my eye, and i thought it was the cutest thing. but what would i do with it, was the question. then i thought of haley, and her love of bugs. so i bought the package and put it to the side of my desk to eventually use on a layout. this weekend, i finally got around to working on this. i remembered this photos of haley from over a year, and she happened to be picking a snail off the fence. seemed to fit the theme.  i went with black and white photos, since she was wearing red in the pics.

 

seriously. how cute are they! i stuck a few in the jar, and scattered a few around the rest of the page.

the part about "she has been known to put bugs in her backpack, and bring them to my house in the morning". that is a true story. she once came with a live moth in her backpack. i avoided that backpack all day. wouldn't let her near it, or to open it. she's also brought little bug keepers, with random bugs and insects inside. and i make her keep it outside on the porch, and then take it home when her mom comes to get her. and everyday, when she goes home, she will pick up any bug she sees in my front yard. or she'll start digging around in the dirt of them. it really grosses me out. lol!

 

refreshing H2O - a layout

this weekend, i had a creative marathon. and i loved every minute of it. it's been a long time since i have scrapped just for fun. meaning, no deadline, no assignment, no specific requirements. just scrapping for fun, with whatever i wanted to use. actually, i checked my blog and the last time i had a "just because" layout, was back in the beginning of may. it was time. and for once, i had a free weekend with nothing big going on. so i devoted saturday and sunday to creating. i came out of it with 9 layout (5 of which are totally done, and 4 are almost done), 1 card, and 5 projects (4 of which WERE assignments). here's one of those layouts.

i had the new boardwalk collection from little yellow bicycle sitting out, waiting for me to find the time to create with it. i was digging around for photos, and came across these ones of haley from last summer that were perfect. this collection is definately geared toward the beach and the sand a bit more than regular water play. but there are so many great pieces to choose from, that you can still make a fun water page with it. 

these canvas border stickers are so cool. the large red circle border is the one that started this whole page. i liked that it pulled out haley's red shirt. but i had to use the wave border too. even though there were no waves on the slip-n-slide. it still meant water to me. lol! and how fun is that puffy "photo op" accent sticker. so cute.

i love this sun decorative edged paper. at first, i was going to use yellow cardstock on the top of the layout. but then i saw the sun paper, and it was perfect. i added some fun embossed cardstock sticker clouds at the last minute. i used my making memories slice and the summer design card to cut the word "refreshing" from one of the red pattern papers, and then added some clear stickers to spell "H2O" for the rest of the title.

 

here's a close up shot of the journaling. sort of close up. i should have zoomed in a little more, now that i see this. click on it to read it larger. the journaling strips weren't standing out enough against the pattern paper. so i inked the edges with a red ink pad.

supplies:
LYB boardwalk - double sided paper, twister
LYB boardwalk - decorative edged paper
LYB boardwalk - canvas stickers, borders
LYB boardwalk - embossed cardstock stickers
LYB boardwalk - clear stickers with foil accents, words
MM slice - summer design card

cherish the little things - a layout

i have a layout share today, from a recent issue of creating keepsakes magazine.

as seen in the May/June 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

the journaling reads: "these photos capture the stuff i love the most. the everyday moments, where the girls and their friends are doing normal girl things. hanging out around the house. playing and singing and dancing. being silly and laughing about everything. they have this easy way of turning ordinary days, into wonderfully fun days. i love that they don't always have to go places or do fancy things. they are at their happiest just doing everyday things and just being together."

we've had a lot of those ordinary days around here lately. being that i work at home, with the daycare kids, we don't have a lot of freedom to come and go whenever we'd like. and it limits the things that we can do with the girls, when they're not in school. it can be hard sometimes, and they definately get bored a lot. especially now that they're a bit older. but they are also pretty good about being content at home. they've always had great imaginations, and it's always amazing at what they come up with to pass the time and enjoy the days. since we're not able to always go places and do things, i like that they don't need to always go places and do things. kwim?

this layout was featured in the "CK shows you how: to use rub-ons" column. my assignment was to show a technique for embellishing rub-ons. i choose to use these creative imaginations flower rub-ons. i have had them forever, and had always loved the ones with the letters all inside the flower design. i started by rubbing the flower onto white cardstock, and then cutting the flower out. i outlined the flower with pink puffy paint, and then covered the entire flower in diamond glaze. it dries clear, and gives off an epoxy look. then i added a button, with mini brads to the center of the flower.

i also added some diamond glaze to my title. it's a rub-on title, from carolee's creations. another oldie, but goodie. i rubbed it directly onto my layout, and then added the glaze. it adds a nice, subtle touch.

eta: dawn emailed me a great question about this layout, and i wanted to share it here. "i would never know what colors to pick, because all the kids are wearing different colors. so how did you pick the colors and what else to put on it, like the flower? i would have never thought to put a flower on there."

here's my secret, for what it's worth. my assignment was to embellish rub-ons. so i started with just finding a rub-on that i could embellish ... and i came across these flowers and thought they'd be fun to work with. then i was trying to find a rub-on title, and found this long one (it's all one rub-on). so i just pulled the colors from the title for my pattern papers, since it had so many colors. the photos just sort of happen to work with it. i think i had the photos picked out before the papers, from what i remember. if i had scrapped those photos without a specific plan .. i would have choose totally different colors, i'm quite sure of it. but flowers? i think flowers can work on any given layout, about any given subject. even boys ;)

what we do - a layout

so, most of you know that i work at home, doing daycare and taking care of little ones. i also work in my scrapbooking job when i have free moments here and there. it's nice when the two jobs mix, and something cute comes out of it. this is one of those things.

as seen in the march/april 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative craft groups. posted with prior permission from the publisher

i was asked to do a layout about daily routines. i loved the idea, and thought it was the perfect opportunity to document what a normal day is like around this joint. i'm a very easy going kind of daycare provider. i'm not strict, and i don't have a ton of rules. but we do still manage to have a routine of sorts. i thrive on routine, and the kids honestly do better when they know what to expect and what comes next.
 
 

i think 12:00 is my favorite part of the day ;)

 

i thought these little bumble bees were so cute, and adhered them using pop dots for some extra lift off the page. this rub-on was all one piece, but i wanted to spread it out and fit the curve of the pattern paper. so i simply cut the words apart and worked them in between the bumble bees.

this little, simple technique was featured in the magazine. layering letter stickers together, to make them stand out more on the page. i choose the same letter stickers, in two different colors, and offset them just a tad bit for my title.

curious - a layout

i was digging around in my files today, and realized i never shared this layout.

i think the new pitter pattern collection from making memories is adorable. honestly, i wanted to dig around for photos of my girls when they were babies or ittie bitties. and i'm sure i will at some point. but that was back in my film days, so i found it was much quicker and easier to dig out some digital photos of one of the daycare kids. lol! miss miranda was the lucky winner for this layout.

i printed one 4x6 photo, and a few 2x3 photos. i really wanted to use this shaped paper as my background, but also wanted to keep my linear style. i think adding the strip of pattern paper across the bottom of the page really helped ground everything and keep the majority of the layout very clean and linear. to get the sides of that paper strip to fit the curved line of the background paper, i just lightly sketched the curve with a pencil and then cut it out to fit.

this is one of my favorite photos of miranda. just an everyday photo, of her and her stuff. her blanket, her baby, and her sippy cup. standard girlie stuff. i was standing on the table, looking down at her for a photo. gets their attention every time. never mind that it occasionally teaches them some bad habits along the way. lol! she's looking up at me with that "ohhhhh, what are you doing" look.

i added that little birdie epoxy sticker at the last minue, and felt like it needed something. i wanted to give the feel of him flying across the layout, not just stuck there in thin air. so i hand stitched a little trail, using some of the thread in the trims and treats package.

aren't these felt and fabric embellishments the cutest things? they're both stickers, and i added a jewel sticker to the fabric barn. some chipboard letters, a few brads, and a scrap of trim, and i was done. simple and quick.

love you forever - a layout

i know this is getting a little crazy. sharing another digital page. i promised you that i'm not making some big switch to digital. and i'm totally not. these are just pages that i've been making, while sitting upstairs when the girls go to bed. when i'm not around my supplies, and all i have is my laptop and a comfy chair. trust me, i've been making TONS of paper layouts and projects. i just can't share any of them yet. so bare with me on another digital layout ;)

i used a layered template from cathy zielske to create this layout. it was really simple. just pulled up my photos and plopped them in the template. i changed the color of the stitching and the heart, and added my journaling in the journaling layer. and then i added my digital papers to the template as well.

one of my BFF's, lynn, made a comment to me last night that i had to jot down on my blog. she knew i had assignments to work on. and she knew that i was doing anything BUT working on them this weekend. she said, "you give yourself a window of time to work on assignments and you will find a way to close it shut until you have to squeeze through it". i had to laugh, because she knows me all to well. and she did say it out of love and was laughing about it, since we're totally different in this regard. lol! i'm such a last minute person, and a total procrastinator. but i seem to work the best under pressure. it's just what i do. so today, i did lots of other stuff around the house. tomorrow, i will wake up and kick myself for not working on my projects like i should have. but then i'll get them done. "always on time, but never early". that's my motto :)

i visited the digi side of the world

i have always been very quick to say that i am NOT or ever will be a digital scrapbooker. i understand so little of photoshop. just enough to edit my photos and print some photo collages. i ignore any tutorials on digital scrapbooking i see. i admire the layouts, sure. but i don't pay attention to how they're done. i have a stack of digital scrapbooking idea books also. about five or six of them. but i just look at the layouts. i've never read all the great instructions and tips that are written inside. 

that being said, i have managed to start a small collection of digital kits and elements. and i never use them. but this weekend, i got around to doing some browsing on the scrapgirls site. they were super generous in sending the CK dream team some gift certificates, and i figured it was time i use mine. i loaded up on paper kits. since i always start with paper when i scrap. figured i would do the same with digital scrapping, once i got around to trying it. luckily, getting new kits all downloaded and organized on my computer got me inspired to try and use them.

and here is what i came up with. my very first all digital layout. i actually started out with the idea to just do the paper and photos digital. and then print it out, and add real "stuff" to it. like embellishments, ribbons, title letters. since that is something that i don't have much of. i have just a tiny handful of digital embellishments, and am not patient enough to learn how to make my own. but in the end, i just used what i did have and and made it work.

i created my layout in the 8x8 inch size. my photo printer only prints 8.5x11, and that way i could print at home. or i could order them from costco, and pick them up for $1.49 each. then i can mat that 8x8, onto a 9x9 sheet of cardstock. since i do scrap the 9x9 size, and since i always love a good matted look around my layouts. and another thought that just came to mind. this could very easily be reprinted for haley's mom and dad, and they could have their own copy.

i certainly have no plans of becoming a digital scrapper. or switching over to "the other side". lol! but this was fun to play around with. i created this and printed it all within an hour. i didn't make a mess, i didn't have to cut paper, i didn't have to dig out title letters, i didn't have to go upstairs to print my journaling and then cut it into strips, i didn't have to take photos of my layout and then find my card reader to upload them to the computer, i didn't have to crop and resize that photo of my layout to share on my blog. i literally sat in my chair and scrapped, just by clicking some buttons. kind of a nice change of pace. but i'll be back with my paper and real "stuff" today :)

supplies:
birthday wishes solids paper mini, by sarah batdorf (turquoise paper)
young at heart paper biggie, by angie briggs (orange circles paper)
typesets hello ness brushes and stamps, by cathy zielske (title)
artist in me, by karla dudley designs (stitches)

sweet - a layout

i had another layout and card to share from my crate paper samples that i mentioned yesterday. once again, i simply started with about eight 3x3 squares of pattern paper. this time using the paper doll collection. i picked my favorite six of them, and here's what i did.

awwwww, miranda. such a sweetie. and one of my all around favorite, technically awesome shots of all time. and yes, i've scrapped this photo before. no reason i can't use it again. i was actually looking for another photo on my external hard drive, and came across this one. it just called out to me, to be used.

i trimmed down the papers to fit the area i was working with, and then distressed the edges of them and roughed them up. then on three of them, i found coordinating thread and tied it haphazzardly around the paper and tied a bow on the front. then i adhered the thread-wrapped papers with pop dots. i had shown this to a few friends, and one of them asked if i had bought that thread to match. nope, i didn't. i just happen to have a very large jar of random embroidery threads, in just about every color out there. so i can usually find what i need.

for the journaling, i went and searched her mom's blog. this photo was taken when she was about 8 months old (give or take a little). and now, she is almost 3 years old. i found a post sierra had written a few months back, where she talked about what miranda is into these days. so i wrote my journaling from her parents view point, and if they had any idea back then, that she would be who she is today. at some point, i'm sure this layout will end up in mom's hands ;)

and then another twist on the card i posted yesterday. this time using samples from the pink plum collection. 

cars and trucks, a layout

had this layout go up on the jillibean soup blog today, along with a few more from other design team members.

this was using the new kraft new england chowder collection. i love the little cars in this collection, they're so cute. this would be great for a travel layout, but my first thought was boys. so naturally, i figured i'd do a layout about nikolas. the girls seemed to be concerned that there were no actual cars or trucks in the photo. but i assured them it was fine, and that the point of my layout was to remember how much this boy LOVES his cars and trucks.

edited to add: i have to thank cheryl, for giving me the friendly heads-up that my journaling strips on the bottom are out of order. lol! classic. i'm actually surpised that this doesn't happen to me more often. i'll have to fix those. but i will tell you that i'm too lazy to actually retake the photo of the fixed layout. so just imagine it fixed ;)

i used the new white corrugated alphas, and just inked the edges up a little and adhered them with mini pop dots. used some of the new alphabeans letter stickers. as much as i loved the previous font of the stickers and will miss them, i do love this new font too. i punched a few of the car circles from the pattern paper, and pop dotted them onto some journaling sprouts. then added some of the cool bean buttons.

wrong friday, but found some more jillibean peeks

i know i said i had something fun to share today. something that was scrapbook related. turns out that is scheduled for NEXT friday. lol! my bad. it's understandable that i'd get confused, since there is SO much going on right now. and yet it's totally not understandable, since one of my bff's gave me a planner so that i could finally start keeping track of all my going-ons. lol!

my hope is that you'll see this photo. and their super duper cuteness will make you forget all about whatever you're thinking you came here to see. lol! back later with some more Q&A's, that obviously i did not get around to yesterday :)

wait a minute. i just found two new peeks on the jillibean blog for you. i absolutely loved their alphabeans, the letter stickers. and now, they've come out with a new font, new colors, and even added numbers.

and i LOVE the corrugated alphas. they're amazing. well, check out the new colors!

head on over to the jillibean soup blog, and leave a comment for your chance to win some for yourself. they'll draw a winner on monday morning. 

nikolas's framed collage

stopping by super quick to share nikolas's finished photo collage. the colors look a little wonky in this shot i took. but i have way too much glaring sunlight to get a decent picture right now. will retake it tomorrow if i have time.

everyone at once. awwwwwww! seriously, how cute are these photos of nikolas? i was digging around for some of my favorites over the last 2 years or so. and they were all so cute. he had such a massive amount of hair when he was little, and it was the cutest thing. i was constantly smiling and laughing as i pulled up these photos :) 

just added a strip of ribbon (making memories), a "N" foam letter sticker (american crafts), and a few cute stickers (imaginisce).

and here's a shot of the photoshopped collage that i had printed. gives a better feel for the colors. i have 3 collages left to frame downstairs. all the rest are done and ready to hand out. i even have one displayed in my kitchen right now, and it looks so cool!

and i always love when to see when other's are inspired to try one of my ideas. a blog reader shared her take on the photo collage idea, and i it made me smile to see it. check it out HERE. and let me know if you give it a try too :)

the finished collage

yesterday i showed you the basic sketch i was using for my framed photo collages, and today i'm sharing one of the finished ones with you. and i'm sort of crossing my fingers that haley's mom doesn't see this on my blog. i know she reads it, but i'm not sure how often. it's all for the sake of the blog readers ;) lol!

 

i love how this turned out (click on it to see it a little bigger). i went through all the photos i've taken of haley over the last 3 years, and choose some of my favorites. i love that it shows her over the years, starting when she was just about 3 months old. shows how much she's changed, and yet how much she's stayed the same. i'm so grateful that we've been a part of it all :)

now, for how i got this result. 

the first thing i did was create my canvas at 10.5 x 13.5 inches. this is everything that will show in the opening of my frame. and then when i was totally done, i placed this on an 11x14 canvas to have printed. if you're going to try this, make sure and double check your frame opening. just in case it's different then mine. then i simply pulled up 16 of my favorite photos. a few of these were horizontal, but i was able to crop what i wanted just fine. but most of them were vertical shots. i cropped each one to 2.1 x 2.7 inches, and then copy and pasted them onto my blank canvas. i used the "move" tool to move them around, into a pattern i liked. those four extra spots are going to be for pattern paper, but could easily be filled with more photos. or you could add in some vertical photos that are 4.2 x 2.7 inches (taking up two spots). HERE is a post i did about making photo collages in photoshop.

i knew i wanted to do the photos in black and white. i love color photos, and i'm totally ok with all the color going on in the above collage. but i wanted to keep this simple and clean, since it's going to be hanging on a wall. i could have changed each photo to black and white individually, but i'm all about taking short cuts when i can. i've learned that i can arrange all the photos, flatten the layers, and then turn the entire collage to black and white in one step. genious, i know! i use an action in photoshop cs2 that i got ages ago for all my black and white photos. so i really can't explain how to do that. i simply press my one action button and it's magically done for me. sorry, that was sort of like sticking my tonque out at you, wasn't it? lol!

this shows the digital papers and brush that i added. the black line around the edge is just there to make it stand out on the blog, so that doesn't actually print on the actual photo. keep in mind, i'm not a digital scrapper. so this is super basic. and i'm ok with that. the papers are from jen allyson (who is the digital spotlight artist right now and her stuff is 25% off), the digikit - urban chic boutique solid papers. i'm not very knowledgable about digital products or digital scrapbooking. i think i just happen to see this paper kit on a 2peas newsletter or something. it caught my eye, so i got it. the "looking through the lens" is from the photography hand drawn brushes from ali edwards.

that is the final collage. i flattened all my layers and saved it. then i copied and pasted it onto an 11x14 canvas, placing it right in the middle. i uploaded that to costco to order, and picked it up an hour later.

then i took that printed collage, and added a few real life embellishments to it.

a few flowers (making memories and hero arts). a few rhinestones and pearl accents (michaels, and hero arts). a foam letter sticker (american crafts). a sticker (making memories). some ribbon (adornit). wasn't thought out, but just whatever caught my eye first.

and now that i've made this one for haley, i better get to work on one for nikolas ;)

photo collage sketch

i've mentioned to a few friends, that i was planning on making some framed photo collages this year, for christmas gifts. i have one all put together and finished for some of my family. but i don't want to share that one just yet. don't want to ruin the surprise. i created a new one today, that i can share. first though, i want to show you the basic plan.

here's the sketch that i came up with for this project. this is an 11x14 framed project. i thought 8x10 was just too small for this. and i wanted to fit a lot of photos. 11x14 was the next choice, and you can get frames that size fairly cheap (about $10-12 on sale at michaels). i came up with the 4 rows, of 5 photos each. but then decided to take out 3-4 spots to add some pattern paper and embellishing. so i have 16-17 photos, depending on who i'm doing this for. but it could easily hold 20 photos. or more, if you wanted.

now the actual collage is 10.5 x 13.5 inches. when i took out my 11x14 frames, i realized that the opening for the actual photo is 10.5 x 13.5 inches. it cuts off a little on each side, to hold the photo in the frame. so i created the collage as 10.5 x 13.5, and once i was done, i simply copied and pasted that onto an 11x14 canvas. seemed like the easiest way to do it for me. i did the math, and came up with 2.1 x 2.7 inches for each photo. i wanted enough room at the bottom to add a title of some sort.

the spots on the sketch that have a flower? that's a spot for embellishing. i always put a flower when i sketch things. just my symbol for "embellishment". lol! but it could be anything. you could do this digitally. just like adding a digital pattern paper. or print the photo collage, and then add "real" pattern paper and embellishments on top of the collage. like hybrid scrapbooking. i used both real stuff and digital stuff, depending on the collage.

here are some of my frames all waiting to be filled up. i'm going with oak frames, black frames, and white frames. i choose each, based around how that person decorates their home and what i think they'd like. i'm having my new collage printed, and will pick it up later tonight. so i'll show you the finished collage and the finished framed project tomorrow :)