Hello Baby

Scrapbook Layout  - Hello Baby -

Every time I visit a good friend of the family and her new little boy, I come home with a memory card full of new snapshots of the baby.  So i used one of the latest shots to document his third month of life.  

Using patterned papers from a single collection, ensures that the colors
will complement each other, even when the designs vary significantly.

The "Counting Stars" cut file from The Cut Shoppe was the starting point for this layout.  I used patterned paper from Pink Paislee's  "Hello Sunshine" collection -it is an old collection, but I love to stash beautiful paper-  to back only the larges stars of the cut-out.  Then, i pierced the edge of the stars (with a large needle), and using white embroidery thread proceeded to hand stitch all the edges.

The stitching in the stars create texture on the layout, and highlight
the lines of the cut.

The cut-out was attached to the paper using dimensional glue dots (these were only used behind the large stars).  I used the same paper collection to mat and layer the picture.  Since the cut-out uses a lot of the space on the page, a few stickers, chipboard stickers and ephemera were enough to highlight the picture.

A label with a few journal lines was attached to the top of the layout.
The acetate gold stars ties the decoration to the overall design of the page.

I wanted to carry the star motive of the page a bit further, so i used The Cut Shoppe's "Oh Baby" cut file to create the title.  First I trace the title using the Silhouette Cameo's gold pen onto platinum card stock (the shimmer of the card stock match that of the baby's clothes), and then i cut the design following the same lines.  This marks the edges of the cut, and helps created dimension once the title is attached using foam dots.

A close-up of the title.  The trace lines from the Silhouette are barely visible,
but there is a subtle shade to the edges of the cut.

A few stickers around the stars,  I made sure to add a number 3 to mark his age at the time of or visit, and a few splatters of black color shine were enough to complete the layout.

I really like the light feeling of the page, and i am sure my husband is happy i am using some of the paper that is stashed away...

The Completed Layout

Materials used:

• Patterned Papers,  Hello Sunshine Collection, Pink Paislee
• Cut-out -stars-,  "Counting Stars" cut file, The Cut Shoppe
• Cut- out -title-,  "Oh Baby" cut file,  The Cut Shoppe
• Card stock -title-, Recollections (platinum), Michaels
• Label,  My Mind's Eye
• Chipboard stickers,  Soft Spoken,  Me And My Big Ideas
• Gold acetate star,  Heidi Swapp collection
• Cut -out ticket stub, Silhouette Store
• Cut out #3,  Journey Collection, Pink Paislee
• Black Color Shine, Heidi Swapp

Project Life Layout Week 5 - February -

PL  Week 5 -February-

It is amazing that i am still keeping up with my Project Life Album.  Weekly spreads work better than accumulating pictures and stories for the entire month;  i tried monthly catch-ups last year, and i found that i rushed through the pictures just to come up with a format.  After 5 weeks in 2016, and  i am really enjoying the process, and how easily is coming together. 

As we start February, i thought I would try and keep up with this month's traditional colors -pinks, reds, white, and black-...  The pink tag and the center strip come a cut-up page from We R Memory Keepers' Wildflower collection.  I have added a few sticker from Me And My Big Idea's Soft Spoken collection, Dollar Store and Crate Paper's Hello Love collection.

All these cards come from different Simple Stories Snap collections.

Since I didn't have that many pictures this week.  I went ahead and used a baseball card protector sheet to build the second page spread.  The dimensions for the cards were 2.5 x 3.5 inches, so i used Adobe Lightroom to create a collage of pictures to fit in these spaces.  The cards used come from different pocket card patterned papers from Amy Tangerine, and Dear Lizzy,  the sizes just worked for this format.  The bottom two cards had to be trimmed to fit.

Small pop-up stickers from  Michaels' Recollections were enough to add a pop
of red to the pictures.

Here is what the complete 2 page spread looks like... I hope to keep up with these months color theme and not fall behind on my weekly spreads.  

The many different cards work in this layout since they share a common color palette.

My Week in Pictures #5

The prompt called for delicate and smooth.

Following a Photo-A-Day challenge like Capture Your 365 can be challenging, and very rewarding at the same time.  It makes you take a second look at your every-day, and -if followed sequentially- can provide you with a beautiful body of work... Most of these pictures are from my IG feed, and personal use.

Food Photography is one of my favorites.  Here, the making of a grilled cheese sandwich.

Some days, finding inspiration comes from the mundane, but there is always beauty to be found...

My son's t-shirt drawer.  All shirts are folded using the Mari Kondo Method.

This one will soon be featured in one of my scrapbook layouts.  It is one of my favorite pictures so far.

This picture describes my son's passion for soccer.

And finally,  following daily prompts forces you to go in front of the lens - i am still not completely comfortable with this, but i am slowly getting there-

Part of my Sunday routine, setting up my planner for the upcoming week.

I would highly recommend you look into any photo-a-day challenge if you are interested in improving your photography.  Personally, i am enjoying Capture Your 365 this year.  It is slowly making me look at my every day in a beautiful way, and my photography skills have improved vastly since I started a few months ago.

I hope this give you a glance at last week,  I look  forward to see what my lens will catch the next seven days.