I shared a point to ponder this afternoon about the chalkboard art trend. You've seen all the neat chalkboard signs and things on Pinterest, right? Well, its also taking the scrapbooking world by storm! Surf over HERE to see what Maggie Holmes, over at Creating Keepsakes, has to share about it. Its very inspirational, and I'm thinking its another technique I'd like to try one day. She even shared a website that has fonts available for download! Cool, right?!
There is a lot of negative space in the picture, and I wanted to use some of that up, so I adhered the title right onto the picture using alphas from Carta Bella. To pull the title into the journalling, I used sticker arrows to draw the eye to the title as the journalling is read (or vice versa). I wanted to use bright, vibrant colors in this layout, to highlight the fact that the girls were included in the festivities, since theirs and their grandpa's birthdays are only a day apart. They helped him blow out the candles. They thought that was the greatest thing in the universe!
I also mentioned another point to ponder recently, about doodling on your next project. This is the project I was referring to! Although, I have another layout in mind for a future project, that uses doodling on a grander scale than this. I like the illusion it gives of a journalling mat adhered to the base of the layout, when there really isn't. Cool, huh?
Remember how I said some time ago, that I had saved portions of the cover page of new paper packs, and I planned on using them on a future project? Well, here's one of them! (You can find that post HERE). The bottom patterned paper (striped one) is the cover sheet from Carta Bella's So Noted collection. Works well, doesn't it? So, when you buy a new collection pack, don't throw out the cover sheet! It CAN be used!!
I thought the 'with a cherry on top' sticker embellishment worked so well for this layout. The girls often talk about ice cream and what they'd put on it, and cherries often come up. Not only that, but I like the play on words I created with it within the title. It sounds just like something my kids would say. LOL Both girls were literally drooling over their grandpa's birthday cakes (there were two to accommodate all the guests at his surprise birthday party). It was easy to see they could hardly wait to dig in! I can't blame them- my mouth was watering, too. And, of course, the cake was delish. Says the girl with an incredibly persistent sweet tooth.
The blue patterned paper was also a scrap that was left over from another project. I just trimmed it down to fit the page, punched it with a (Fiskars, I think) scallop border punch, and adhered it slightly below and underneath the striped patterned paper. Notice the small quote and brackets on the upper right side of the picture? Yeah...it was yummy. You can see it written all over sweet Addisons' face.
I just have to interject here, and say how bad I feel that I don't have more pictures of Maren to scrapbook. I'm sure that over time, it'll even out, but I feel like all my layouts always focus around, or somehow relate to Addison. Its just that Maren doesn't sit still long enough for a picture to be taken. She doesn't sit still long enough for anything for that matter. Since she was 3 months old, and she discovered that her legs moved, that was it. She's been a mover ever since. Trying to catch a picture of her is like trying to catch a picture of the Sasquatch. It can barely be done, and when it is, the quality of the picture is blurry and grainy and overall poor. LOL
I think the pictures are perfect to highlight her affection for her daddy, and that to her, he really is her friend. And, for a parent, that's the sweetest compliment in the world. She may not always feel that way, but we feel pretty proud that she does right now. Look at the adoration in her eyes in the middle picture. Eeek!
I loved the colors in Kyle's shirt, so I pulled out some light orange (though its showing up as a reddish/coral color here) and beige card stock. The blue patterned paper I've had in my stash for as long as I can remember. I think that it was some of the first paper I bought when I began scrapbooking. Phew! That was a long time ago! Anyways, it finally got used up, and it feels pretty darn good. It also helps to tie the flowers in Addisons dress into the fray. The brackets were originally cut out for another project, but I decided to use the negatives in part of the title (since I had nothing else to use, without printing more with my cricut. I didn't want to do that, because I often worry the sound will wake the kids up). The doily in the background was originally meant to be used on the previous layout (scroll up), but it preferred to be used on this one, apparently.
To create the title mat (top portion), I cut out the lacy part of another paper doily, and used the inner portion to adhere the alphas too. I took some SU Old Olive ink, and brushed the pad across the paper to color it a bit, then adhered the stickers. For a bit more bling, I pulled out the crocheted flowers (which you'll find at walmart for about $3 per package) and adhered them here and there around the page.