October Afternoon: September Guest Designer Part 2

I am up on the October Afternoon blog again today, with my second project as the September guest designer. I have been having lots of fun using the new Daily Flash collection, and today I'm focusing on the All Boy mini collection. I was immediately drawn to it when I pulled all of the goodies out of my box. I love a good boy collection, even though I have two daughters. Luckily, as a daycare provider, I have plenty of boy photos to scrap!

While I knew I wanted to use the divided page protectors, I also knew that my plan was to use one as an insert page in between a traditional two page spread. As I was working on this project, I did all of my planning knowing that the divided page protector would be in between the 2 pages of the spread. In the end, I realized that if I simply removed the divided page protector, my two page spread actually looked pretty cohesive on it's own. That was pure luck, since the only time I placed these two pages together was when I added my journaling.

Here's a look at the spread, with the divided page protector mixed in. This is how I had it laid out as I was working. You'll notice that instead of having a full 12x12 divided page protector, mine is a bit smaller. I wanted it to be obvious that there were 2 pages to the spread, with the divided page protector in the middle, so I choose to trim one row off the page protector. So instead of four rows of four 3x3" pockets, I ended up with four rows of three 3x3" pockets.

I LOVE the woodgrain pattern on the No Girls Allowed patterned paper. It's gorgeous! But I knew I wanted to create a die cut background from it, so it was a little less overwhelming on my layout. I used my Cameo to die cut the circle background from the full 12x12" sheet, cut it half to make two pieces, and then adhered a piece to each page of my two page spread. I love a good circle background, as those little openings are really fun to fill up with embellishments.

I added the 3x3" and 2x2" square cards to the top corner of the first page. I knew I had to use the "dude" piece, as I call all of my daycare kids "dude". And I teach them to say "dude" when they're really young!  

I had such fun digging thru my files to find some favorite photos of three of my absolute favorite daycare boys. I knew I had photos of each of them in Mr Potato Head glasses, or random sparkly glasses meant for the girls ;)

The Words & Arrows washi tape was perfect for adding a touch of that darker green to my page. And if you're looking to read my journaling here, and it's not making much sense, it's because I ended up extending the top two lines onto the second page. I needed more room to say what I wanted to say.

I printed out 3x3" photos to add to the pockets in the divided page protector, and filled in the remaining pockets with the 3x3" cards. I added some journaling strips to a few of the cards, but pretty much left them all as-is, without any extra embellishing.

Here's a look at the second part of the spread, after you flip over the divided page protector. I love having the die cut woodgrain paper on the outer edges of each page of the spread, as you still see the darker brown no matter which way the divided page protector is flipped.

This is the backside of the divided page protector. Just like the front side, I filled the pockets with either 3x3" photos or 3x3" cards. I ended up with four photos of each of the three boys, ranging from when they were just little babies, up until they were little boys.

On the first page of the layout spread, I choose photos of the boys in the silly glasses. For the second page, I dug up photos of the boys and myself. Most of the photos I end up capturing just show a child hanging on me or climbing on me. But I still love them!

The Tin Pins and Snap Caps made for perfect little embellishments to add randomly to the circles of the die cut woodgrain paper. And I know I mentioned before how much I love the October Afternoon buttons. And these circles are perfect for adding some buttons too. So I think it's really odd that I never even thought about adding some buttons to this spread. I might need to go back and add some :)

You can check out my project over on the October Afternoon blog as well, as I know they love the visitors. And check back next Friday, when I'll be sharing my last project! I think I might just have to break out this fun mini album. Wish me luck, since I can't remember the last time I've worked on a mini album!

Comments

[Ruth G]

I love it! I never expected to see you break up that circle background, but it is a really nice way to have the 2-page spread work! These are such sweet photos and I'm with you about good "boy" collections. They are priceless and this one has such wonderful elements and papers - I think it's going to need to be on my wish list! Thanks so much for sharing! It was fun to see!

[Brenda]

What a great layout - that circle die cut is terrific!

[Diana Waite]

I really like it Laura! I love the woodgrain cut like that--and the pictures are ADORABLE!!

[Becky Williams]

I've loved seeing your work on the October Afternoon blog! Congrats, Laura!! You did an incredible job.