LAYOUT IDEA | Take an everyday photo and tell a story about your life. Don’t talk about what’s happening in the photo – talk to the person in the photo. What do you want to say to them right now? What love can you spread? What joy can you bring? How can you build them up through your words?
Here’s the photo that inspired this page and the prompt:
JOURNALING | I see you Simon. That’s what I want you to know today. I see you and you are wonderful. I see your heart. I see your love of life. I see your passion for movies and fun. I see your love for your sister, your grandparents, your cousins – all our family. I see how hard you try. I see your joy. I see your frustrations. I see you. I see you learning. I see you – all the amazing parts of you. Thank you for just being you. We see you and we love you.
In Photoshop I added my journaling and used my Life In Pictures Brushes & Stamps as a title/word art on top of the photo.
After printing I got down to the business of creating a home for my photo and journaling. I knew I wanted to do something a little artsy with the background.
I started with a sheet of 12×12 kraft cardstock.
7gypsies recently released this awesome kraft tissue paper with my favorite pattern called Life Collage (they used to offer pattern paper with this pattern – I love it). I was excited to try it out as a background for this layout.
To adhere it I used a glue stick on top of the kraft cardstock, laid the tissue paper on top, used a brayer to flatten it out, and trimmed the excess from around the edges. I ran it through my sewing machine to add a cream stitched border.
Next I applied green spay ink (Mister Huey Pickle). Just a couple sprays here and there and then I used a paper towel to rub it around a bit.
This is a strange photo but what I wanted to show you here is how I added a painted border around the edges of the background. I grabbed a large sheet of scrap paper (this one is packaging from my over-sized photo printer paper) and placed a line of paint right onto the paper. I love using this technique to add paint to any edges – just place your edge in the paint and slide.
This is what the paint looks like after it’s dried.
To allow the paint to dry I just laid it on top of a few punches.
Once the painted edges were dry I was ready to adhere my photo + journaling and get down to business with a few hearts.
To adhere my photo I used foam dots from Scrapbook Adhesives.
In the photo above you can also see where I started to lay out the hearts (large pink Marvy punch was used for those hearts). Pattern papers include We Are Memory Keepers Debonair and Fancy Pants Design Its The Little Things 6X6 Paper Pad. On the other heart I used a set of stamps from Technique Tuesday called Life In Photos.
Instead of going with four punched hearts I decided to make one of the hearts with the negative space and embossing ink + powder. I laid the sheet of paper right where I wanted to place the heart, applied the ink by turning the pad over and stamping directly onto the paper and then I dumped UTEE on top.
I love UTEE.
This is what it looks like before using the heat gun and after the excess UTEE has been removed.
This is what it looks like after melting the UTEE.
I also ended up adding UTEE on top of the stamped heart.
Here’s one more look at the full page:
SUPPLIES
Kraft Cardstock | Bazzill Basics
Pattern Tissue Paper | 7gypsies Life Collage Tissue
Pattern Paper | We Are Memory Keepers Debonair, Fancy Pants Design Its The Little Things 6X6 Paper Pad
“Heart This Photo” Digital Element | Ali Edwards Life In Pictures Brushes & Stamps
Stamps | Technique Tuesday
Embossing Powder | UTEE
Embossing Ink | Versamark
Letter Sticker | American Crafts Black Doll Fabric Chipboard Peachy Keen Thickers
#9 Flag | Jenni Bowlin Numbers Flag Banner Stickers
Spay Ink | Studio Calico Mister Huey Pickle
Cream Paint | Delta
Heart Punch | Marvy Uchida
Love how you play with your layouts!
Need to look and see if 7gypsies makes that tissue in white. . .I missed out on the paper version the first time around. Sweet layout – and I really enjoyed reading Simon’s update yesterday. I worked as a PCA with kids with special needs after I graduated from college and quickly realized it takes a village of committed, caring people in kids’ lives (and adults, too!).
Lovely and way cool…what a powerful message of love for him.
I love what you did with this layout. i love using my stamps and punches on my layouts and cards.
LOVE IT!!!
Great layout! A lot of cool ideas!
Love it!
I think you’re starting to turn a little bit Rebecca Sower – and that’s a COMPLIMENT! Merging her love for romance/nostalgia/hands-on dimension/storytelling with your graphic design/story gathering is a scrapbooking marriage made in heaven. <3
WOW Ali this is great. Need to try this
Ali, you are truly gifted. I love your work! Thank you for sharing and teaching us new techniques.
I wish I knew how to get computerized messages onto my photos. I will continue to surf through your website to see if I can find a tutorial on how to add text to a photo.
Be blessed always.
Oh, Ali! I love this layout — LOVE, the words and the design and the photograph. I almost started crying because I remember thinking as a kid, “I wonder if they even see me?” about my parents. Of course, they did and I know this now. But, how cool for Simon that when he starts to wonder about this question, the answer will be there for him.
So moving.
This a fabulous layout! The heart techniques are really fun and the message in the layout is lovely. Thanks for the inspiration.
This is gorgeous and I loved the tutorial. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing this layout – I love every element you have used to weave such a simple yet meaningful layout for the everyday. For this we are blessed. Thanks for the prompt to remember. .. . . . .
i adore this ali. the techniques and the words… truly something special.
Beautiful layout and story…love the idea of writing words to the person in the photo; very meaningful.
That is oh so cool! I’ve got to try that soon
Thanks for sharing your layouts! They are so inspiring!
the journaling, really special
This is so inspiring! I have a photo on my desk that is begging for attention and now I know what I’m going to do with it. The journalling is so perfect! Thanks for sharing your awesome ideas, Ali!
makes me want to pick up some glue, paper and embossing powder again…I love digital, but this is inspiring!!
LOVE that photo of Simon.
ali,
this is awesome. i love everything about this from the story you told to simon to the story you told to me (your humble reader) to the way you showed how you built this layout. i have been playing with the 7gypsies tissue as well; one super cool thing about it is that elements adhered behind (or beneath) it show up in a shadowy or muted kind of way. i think it might be my favourite new product.
thank you so much for this site and your projects and everything you are trying to accomplish here. i, for one, really appreciate it. and you.
kelly
Muito lindo!! Obrigada pela inspiração…voltarei sempre.
Ali, I love LOVE love this. And such a beautiful, loving message for Simon.
My my my LOVE this layout. You never NEVER stop inspiring me. Where do you come up with this stuff..lol I mean you must eat sleep dream scrapbooking. Your ideas are just amazing. LOVE
These are my favourite kind of pages to do: a photo and a story that don’t match. A photo I love with a story/observation/feelings I want to tell that doesn’t have a photo. I feel that I’ve documented the “opened presents, had cake” to death.
I adore this page, it absolutely fab, and I SO enjoyed the fact that you shared your creative process with us!! Very inspiring
Sending you smiles from South Africa!!
Oh Ali this is such a wonderful page – it is absolutely beautiful how you have merged so much emotion with such great creativity. It’s funny I was just looking at the tissue paper. I definitely want to try your idea of talking to the person. Your children are so truly blessed…and good for them!
Precious, ali! what a great journal prompt, thank you for that!
Love this layout! You really put together the most wonderful layouts – true inspiration!
The LO also reminds me of the possibility of printing photos with the white frame.
OH my goodness I love this layout! Love all the heart techniques. Thanks for sharing!
I love the new 7 gypsies tissue paper. Used it on canvas but now have a whole new use as a background. Thanks Ali.
love this layout… so simple, yet the story is all there. i love the detail in the hearts. thanks for sharing!
Ali! This is a wonderful page. I love it! I also enjoyed the journaling about Anna in your blog. You have two very lucky children!
What a great inspiration! Love this layout.
I love what you did with this photo. The new tissue paper from 7Gypsies is one of my favorites. Great page!
Love this layout! Your inspiration is boundless. That 7 Gypsies tissue paper is a must have, I believe.
love all your layouts. Thanks for posting your process. Ever thought about recording yourself while making a layout? I love to see and hear your thought process.
What a beautiful layout, Ali! I really feel inspired this morning! Thanks!
Thank you for sharing the detailed techniques you used on this layout. I think it’s one of my all-time favorite “Simon” layouts. And I can do all of those techniques with your instructions.
So, today, we all got a “two-fer” from you! A great Simon love layout and some cool, simple ways to make a page. Much obliged!
Lovely ,thanks .
I really love the techniques you used to create this layout. I’m getting a little more “artsy” in my scrapbooking. Thanks for giving us the how-tos so we can try it!
What a cool scrapbook page. I love the idea of using the utee right on the page. I bought Adobe photoshop elements 9 a couple of weeks ago and am having some difficulties. Do you have any tips and tricks for using photoshop? How did you learn all the awesome things photoshop can do? I wished there was an inexpensive course I could take to learn the ins and outs.
I’m in the same boat with Photoshop. I’ve been learning bits and pieces online, but would love to take a course. I may just end up doing a course at the community college in my area with a friend.
The Adobe Photoshop Elements site has tons of tutorials so you can learn oodles of things! Besides that, when I was first learning Photoshop, I joined 1 or 2 digital scrapping sites and participated in ALL the challenges! Each and every challenge was a learning experience, and I have dozens of amazing layouts of life during those years. Basically you learn as you go, and after over 6 years at it, I still learn something new and fantastic EVERY week! Take classes if you can. They are always fun! Get it Scrapped and Jessica Sprague run classes all the time and they are very good – some are especially for beginners!
I loved this picture of Simon in your PL this week, so happy you turned it into a layout. The story is so sweet and your love for him just comes out of everything you make. I love everything about this layout too. Makes my day when you have a new post of each kid at the same time, lots of happy reading.
It’s been almost a year now since I participated in my first ever Week In The Life with you and as that first year is approaching I want to take the time to thank you from the bottom of my heart for showing me a different way to capture my family and our story. That album will forever and ever be my favorite even after I do 10 more it will be the best. What I learned that week from you was:
1. to look more for the little everyday moments
2. it’s ok if the sink is filled with dishes at night and in the photo
3. to use baseball page protectors and other ones to add more story/pictures to an album. I really do like the variety.
4. to take more pictures of myself and me with the kids/hubby
5. to listen more and record the stories
5. to use the self-timer it’s great for me and the little one I watch
6. to play with products, to have fun and to mix things up
7. to stop and really look at the sights I see everyday but just keep going and not really looking.
8. that it is overwhelming but to keep going till the album is done
9. to always always have my camera handy, it never leaves my side now and I have almost tripled the amount of pictures I take since then
10. to remember how much fun it was to journal and document our whole day everyday and how things have changed since last year.
I hope you know how totally amazing and inspiring you are and I love your ideas and how we get to follow along with you on these journey’s. Thank you thank you Ali.
thank you for sharing these learning experiences with all of us, Dawn!
You are so truly inspiring. You come across as so “real” & “down-to-earth” & someone who would be a great friend. I always get misty when I read the things you write to your children & about them. I love what you wrote about Anna, and this page about Simon was so awesome. Thank you for sharing who you are.
CAS
FANTABULOUS ALI!!!!!!
this is so cool! Thanks for sharing how you did the UTEE heart.
FABULOUS layout!!
Oh I absolutely LOVE this layout and like you, that is my favorite 7Gypsies pattern too…now to find that tissue paper!!!
Thank you Ali. We see you too
and love who you are to us here on your blog.
Oh my. I want to do a photo and journaling like that for everyone in my family!