Yes, Anna | Traditional Scrapbook Layout
As I mentioned in my Project Life post this past Tuesday, getting back into the practice of creating layouts has been on my mind.
So I'm making it happen.
Here's the result of my play from yesterday:
A birthday page that doesn't really scream, "Hey! I'm a birthday layout."
And here's a run down of how this one unfolded:
I knew I wanted to use some of Rhonna's new 6x6 papers for My Mind's Eye.
The simplest arrangement was to have 2, 6x6 papers + 2, 6x6 photos in opposite corners.
First up was stamping out a sentiment in the top left quadrant. I used two different Educational Insights stamp sets - the blue one and the green one (jumbo). The blue ones had some red ink left over on them so when I stamped them into the Close To My Heart ink (Bamboo) it came out a mixture of colors (totally fine with that).
Here's what that area ended up looking like:
Under the stamped words I drew lines with a .01 black pen.
The "love" piece is from one of those custom tags from Amy Tangerine & Two Peas.
Here's what it looked like before:
For a little something different I decided to paint it white.
Here's what it looked like with one coat of antique white paint:
I did a second coat before cutting the stitched portion from the tag and adding it to my stamped journaling.
As I was working on that I decided that I wanted to use journaling from this post. The easiest way to add that to my page seemed to be to print out a new photo and add the journaling right onto the photo in Photoshop:
Journaling font is Garamond.
Because of the visual "weight" of this photo (heavier on the left) I decided to move the other photo of Anna up to the top and put this one in the bottom left corner.
My next thing to tackle was the bottom right corner. I started with another sheet from Rhonna's new 6x6 papers for My Mind's Eye.
I decided to play around with using my Silhouette to create a stencil. In the Studio software I created a 6x6 square and added text that said "you are three" using Arial Bold.
Remember the other day when I said that something's up with my machine not making "clean cuts"? It's still not cutting right (even with selecting heavy cardstock, double cut, cleaning out the blade with a pin, and using a new cutting mat).
But because I experimental play-mode anyway I was willing to see what this would look like as a stencil. Here you can see how messy the cut was (which is actually a "look" you could go for):
Here's where I laid it right down on my page and painted on top:
For the sake of experimentation I also wanted to see what it would look like if I used this same idea right on top of a photo. I just grabbed the one I ended up not using on this layout:
Okay, that's kinda cool. Needs a bit of work but with the right photo, hmmmm, I think I'll be playing with that idea a bit more.
Back to the layout.
Here's what it looked like after I removed the stencil:
From there I drew some more lines with a .01 black pen and added more stamped words.
As you can see more clearly here, the cream paint ended up being too light.
When I came back into my office tonight I ended up adding a new of layer of cream paint and then a layer of pink paint using the stencil again to make the words stand out a bit more.
Here's a close up look at the details along the bottom right edge:
On top of a label from Studio Calico I added some of that great love tape from KI Memories.
On top of that I added Anna's initials with little letter stickers from Dear Lizzy and an American Crafts foam 3. The chipboard butterflies are from Sassafras and are available here through Studio Calico.
The final thing I did was add a painted border all the way around the layout. A simple way to do this is to put a little dollop of paint on your work surface and drag each edge of the page through the paint in one motion. Love that.
You can find that "love this" word art as part of a digital set here.
Here's a look at the completed page again:
SUPPLIES
Click on the images to link to the products.
HOORAY FOR A LAYOUT!!! This is sooooo pretty Ali, love love all the pink. What a great idea to stamp on the background with words, it looks great. That picture of you with her is so darling, her sweet smile and happiness glowing from her.
Thanks so much for showing us each step and how you play and try things out also, nice to know your having fun while scrapping.
Keep those layouts coming, please....
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Great layout.
Eveline.
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Beautiful. Love the overall look.
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Beautiful layout Ali! Bet it felt good! I especially love the journaling right on the photo. I got PE10 for Christmas. I've been struggling (a lot!) trying to figure out how it works. Can't wait until I master that step! Thanks again for sharing not only the layout but your process.
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so awesome. i love when you go through the whole process with your traditional pages; it offers much more inspiration than just looking at a page. thanks so much. seems like it was only yesterday that anna was born.
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Well thanks for the techniques and all, but. . .I'm totally sidetracked by that killer smile!!
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Oh I could just stare and stare it this for hours. I simply LOVE all of your work...but your layouts just stand out with uniqueness (not spelled right..lol) BUT they just really do...your style has ALWAYS inspired me...thanks Ali:) OH and that Anna ohhhhhhhhhhh she is just so SO cute.
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This is beautiful! I looks like it took ages to make.
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To sharpen a blade, fold up some aluminum foil and cut it with the blade (don't put on the machine, just do it by hand). Or ... just get a new blade ... sometimes I get a blade that gets dull quickly. Not sure why!
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Well this is just precious!!! Thanks for sharing how you put it all together:)
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I love The way Anna stands so proud and tall in her photos with a big happy smile!
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This is gorgeous!! I love the blocked design and the stamped words! I just added those stamps to my cart, in fact! :)
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Ohhh... I love to see people's process! Thanks so much for sharing. Love the layout, especially, like you said, that it's a birthday layout that doesn't scream "birthday". Lovely!
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I agree that maybe you need to try a new blade? . . . I just got my Cameo for Christmas, so I haven't been using it that long. I have tried doing a test cut with a specific setting...and if the triangle doesn't pop right out, I will turn the blade to one setting higher to see if that works better. Love the layout!
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Two layouts in two weeks! I'm in heaven! This is fantastic Ali! I'm so happy to see you doing more traditional layouts again. I love your project life and everything you do but traditional layouts are my favorite!
I like how you kind of just go with it when maybe something isn't perfect. I'll have to remember that next time I get frustrated with myself.
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Love the layout and you are right it does not scream out "hey I am a birthday layout". I definitely need to get a silhouette as I love how much it adds not only to your layout but to project life as well.
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Love seeing your process Ali. I just adore that picture of you and Anna. It just makes me smile. Well done!
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Thank you for posting this precious layout! I always learn SO much from your step-by-step blog tutorials. I'd buy a book of 'em!
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Beautiful!
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Absolutely LOVE the photo of you & Anna - priceless :)
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This is such a beautiful layout, Ali!! I absolutely adore the photo in the bottom left of you and Anna. The love, her smile . . . . so precious! Great job!
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I don't know if this helps, but one time my machine started to cut like that. I couldn't figure it out. I finally put in a new blade. The old one looked fine, but after taking it out I looked closer and it had a teeny tiny notch in it. The blade I have now has lasted a super long time. I guess it depends on how much you have been cutting and what you have been cutting.
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Love it!
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LOVELY!
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Adorable photos of her. I love capturing those little personality quirks;) I LOVE and appreciate that you are still doing traditional scrapping. As much as I appreciate Project Life, I'm not into using it in the way intended and since I can't find any one do it to supplement their scrapping (not making it their only scrapping or documenting events vs. everyday) I have not jumped on the PL wagon. I am so glad to still have you to inspire me.
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