Layout of the Week - Family with Graphic 45 Papers & A Special Annoucement!

This week, as the sun shines outside here in Oregon, I want to share my family with you.  Dave, my wonderful husband,  is a sports fanatic who loves to play with his kids.  He managed to combine those this week...he got Delaney to fill out an NCAA bracket and then had Jake do one too.  Dave used blocks with the first letter of each team and had Jake pick his favorite of the two.  Yes, it took quite a while and Jake's bracket is full of M-named teams (his current favorite letter).  Poor Jake didn't fare well with Montana last night, but he still has a chance to beat his Daddy.  I keep telling Dave that knowing about sports really has nothing to do with winning with these tourney brackets.  On to Delaney, my beautiful, talented, creative daughter, will be 9 on Sunday.  Delaney is so well-rounded, she loves participating in all sorts of sports (those talents come from Dad), creating original, eye-catching art pieces and she's a "bit" of a perfectionist (that, I'm sorry, comes from me!).  She is thoughtful and loving, especially to her little brother.  So that makes Jake last.  Mr. Jake is now two and FULL of ENERGY!  He loves the movie "Cars," any every character in it.  We're missing Sally right now and he asks for "Yaddy" every chance he gets...I'm sure she's around somewhere, probably in one of Delaney's shoes.  We all love to hang out together and are very excited that the weather's warming up here!

So that's a bit of our story!  On to my layout...this design idea came to me a bit backwards.  Usually I have a photo and then come up with a layout.  OK, sometimes I have a paper collection that I love and take photos to go with it.  This time, I was inspired by a pile of mismatched Graphic 45 papers laying all over my counter while I was creating projects for the Graphic 45 design team call.  Seeing these papers, most are the backsides, reminded me of a patchwork quilt.  I thought & thought about how to combine them and came up with using a brown background and my favorite sepia tone photos.  I didn't shoot a new photo for this page, I remembered that my mother-in-law shot some photos of us when she was visiting in early December.  This one was almost our Christmas card photo, but it didn't quite make the cut.  We were very excited at the time, being huge Duck fans and having just attended one of our most exciting games ever...the Civil War win over the dreaded Beavers!  So we decided to have a Duck theme Christmas card.  Even though we didn't use this photo, we found some even more fun Duck photos of all of us.  My trusty sepia tone came into play because dark green and almost neon yellow don't exactly match the Graphic 45 color scheme.

Since I had been thinking of this project as a patchwork quilt, I searched the internet for patchwork quotes.  I found a few that combined the quilt idea with the family idea.  I didn't find one that fit my thoughts exactly so I made up my own.  I didn't want a big wordy journal box or title on this one, so I used photoshop to print my quote right on top of my photo.

For the patches, I cut my papers to 2 1/2" square and then used a ruler to gently fold the edges in 1/4" on each side.  I tore upward along these folds so the white would show on the edges.  Next I inked the edges with brown ink.  I used one little Hermafix square on the back of each square and placed them on the brown background, leaving an area in the bottom right corner for the photo.

This was my very first attempt at machine stitching on a layout.  I'm pretty excited with the results.  I had been planning to give it a try.  Dave put a table in the laundry room for my sewing machine and I dug the poor thing out of one of the "holes" or storage closets in the bonus room.  It had been in there more than 5 years.  I was surprised it worked at all.  I searched the internet for ideas on machine stitching and found tons of them.  So I experimented with an extra sheet of my background paper and extra little squares.  I adjusted the tension, stitch width and lenght, writing each of the number combinations next to that particular stitch on my sample sheet.  When I found one I liked, I used it.  I chose ivory thread for this project.

After sewing around the page twice, I decided to create my own embellishment for my title.  I cut a piece of patterned paper twice as long as my photo, tore it leaving a white edge, inked it with the brown and folded it into pleats.  I used the same straight stitch I used on the whole page to stitch my pleats together.  I went over the pleats twice.  Next I stitched down my brown ball fringe ribbon.  For the title, I inked the edges of the Graphic 45 letters with black and adhered them with pop dots.  To attach my homemade embellishments, I used glue dots.

I was very happy with how this layout turned out.  I loved machine stitching and can't wait to use it again!  Next time you're together with your family, shot a photo and remember to create a layout to celebrate these special people!

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

I want to share some exciting news with my readers!  I am now a featured writer on the Oregon Women's Report website.  I am writing a series of fun, anecdotal stories about scrapbooking.  I'd love it if you'd stop by over there and read my first one!  I'm planning to post each article here also.  I'll post one in both places every two weeks or so.  If you're from Oregon or just interested in all the cool women writers on the site, sign up to receive updates from OWR in your inbox.  Thanks! :)

Don't Forget!  Join me at Ann's tonight for Virtual Girl's Night Out!  Stop by to join in the fun, meet lot's of great women bloggers (and sometimes some male bloggers too!), hop around the internet leaving comments and getting some for yourself too!

Tips

Of course, use sepia tone or black & white to help your photos blend with your chosen papers.

If you're looking for a new way to include journaling in your layouts, give photoshop a try!

Look at the backsides of your papers, they might inspire a layout all by themselves.

Think about creating your own embellishments.

If you've got a sewing machine, try machine stitching!

Supplies

Graphic 45 papers...from all different collections, most are the backsides.

Graphic 45 alphabet letters

Bazzill brown ball fringe ribbon

Dark Brown Ink - Cat's Eye ink pad

Ivory thread for machine stitching

Layout of the Week - Graphic 45 Transatlantique & Grandma's Train Case

Yes, I tried to create some hype last week for this project. But I think it’s worthy! It’s definitely my favorite of all the projects I’ve ever worked on! So maybe I’m not being completely objective (ha!), I did start with my Grandma Muriel’s old train case.

I remember my grandma coming to visit us carrying all her essentials…hair & makeup stuff in this very train case. She never would have left home without being prepared to fix her hair or makeup. And as the years went on, I’m pretty sure most of it was filled with different sorts of medication. But what I remember most about this train case, is that grandma always had little surprises for my brother and I hidden inside, so she could get to them easily as soon as we picked her up at the bus station. Even though she had to switch buses a couple times on her 14 hour journey, she refused to fly. Airplanes just weren’t her thing.

So when my mom gave the train case to me, a few years after grandma passed away, I knew I had to do something special with it. And when the Transatlantique paper collection arrived from Graphic 45 last year, I knew just what that “something” was.

Right when I saw Transatlantique, I knew the blues would match the train case perfectly. And the graphics on the paper drew me to it even more so than the colors. The travel scenes from the early 20th century couldn’t be more fitting for this train case. My grandma grew up in New Jersey, just outside Manhattan. Her father worked for the railroad. Grandma’s family traveled to the Jersey Shore each summer, spending time relaxing at the beach, while my great grandfather took the train to meet them every weekend. Grandma’s parent were from England and Germany. Her German grandmother traveled across the Atlantic by ship to visit her when, as a child, she was stricken with polio. Of course, Grandma survived and later went to school to become a hair stylist. After she married, her husband traveled the world in the Navy during World War II. An independent lady always, Grandma received a letter from her husband that his ship would be coming to port in San Diego, and she set out alone to travel across the country by train. I can’t imagine what determination and bravery it must have taken her to pack her things and get on that train, alone, not knowing where she would stay or what she would do once she arrived in faraway California. Thank goodness, she met a nice family on the train who took her into their home when they arrived in San Diego, for her husband’s ship would not come to port until much later. When the ship finally did come in, in San Francisco, not San Diego, Grandma had fallen in love with another man, who would later become my Grandpa. But that’s a story for another time….

As for the train case, it has also traveled many miles during its lifetime. I thought you might appreciate it and the papers I chose to cover it with, if you knew a little about the travels of my grandmother. So many of the scenes on the Transatlantique papers show trains and ships, while many of the locations mentioned, like New York and Atlantic City, were special to my grandma. I just wish there had been a graphic showing the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. But I’m so happy with how the project turned out, I’ll let it slide!

I’m sure you’re waiting for me to talk about the project, so enough of my grandma’s story. I started by choosing one of each of the papers in the Transatlantique collection, along with the matching die cut tag sheet. I used Modge Podge to attach the papers to the train case.

I started on the bottom of the case, by measuring the distance between the top and bottom trim pieces. I chose a paper with a larger pattern to cover this section, planning to use individual travel “stickers” placed randomly over the top of the paper later in my project. (Many of the papers in this collection show graphics for the travel stickers collected all over the world in times past, and stuck onto the suitcases, trunks and train cases of the travelers.) Once I had cut my paper to the correct height, I folded it around the case, being especially careful to press around the edges of the hardware. I used short tipped, very sharp scissors to cut around the creases the hardware made in my paper. Next, I painted the bottom of the case with Modge Podge and carefully laid my paper in its place. After the paper was laid down, I coated the surface with Modge Podge, using care to avoid getting the Modge Podge on the hardware.

For the strip around the lid, I cut a sheet of paper, covered with travel stamps, in vertical strips and applied it in the same way as I had for the bottom part of the case. Before cutting the strips, I measured the space between the trim pieces on the lid and found that I would not be able to place the stamps in that area laying vertically. I was disappointed, but decided to cut the sheet of stamps in columns and lay them down horizontally. In the end, I think it looks just fine.

Next I looked at the lid and decided to use individual travel “stickers,” cut out of another sheet of paper. I cut out all the “stickers” first, looking to see which ones might have had significance to my grandma. I set these aside. Then I chose large “stickers” to put down first. For the curves in the corners, I carefully pressed the paper pieces down, creating creases to use as cutting lines. I used Modge Podge to apply each layer of “stickers,” putting those I thought my grandma would have liked best on last. After applying all the “stickers,” I applied one more coat of Modge Podge.

For one last touch, I chose some of the tags from the die cut sheet and tied them onto the handle using garden twine and kitchen string. These two items seemed more old fashioned than ribbon. I could see Grandma grabbing them out of the drawer at the last minute before her trip and using them to attach a luggage tag.

I haven’t shared the inside of the case, because I haven’t decided what I should do with it. Right now, it’s a little worn and waiting for a special use. I think I’ll use the case for carrying some of my scrapbooking supplies. It only seems right to use it to carry things that are important to me, just the way Grandma always did.

I hope this project inspires you to create a special memory for yourself! Grab that Modge Podge and a stack of your favorite Graphic 45 papers and get to work!  For more Graphic 45 inspiration, don't forget to check their blog!



Supplies

Graphic 45 – Transatlantique double sided papers and tags
Modge Podge
Garden Twine & Kitchen String

Layout of the Week - Graphic 45's Fashionista & My Mom's Wedding Dress

When I came across these photos, in a stash my mom had given me when my grandmother died, I just knew I had to create a special layout for them.  While I'm not sure of the exact date of the photos, I am sure that I was in high school at the time.  My Grandma Muriel was visiting.  She and my mom had decided to pull my mom's wedding dress and veil out of the hope chest, where they'd been my whole life.  They thought it would be fun for me to try on the dress my mom made herself for her wedding.  It was a fun day and I remember thinking, "Wow, my mom was sure young when she got married!"  She was only 17 years old at the time, barely.  But it was the 60's and people were doing all sorts of things very young back then!  This year my parents will celebrate their 44th wedding anniversary this year, so I guess everything worked out just as it was supposed to!

Looking through Graphic 45's beautiful Fashionista collection made me think of all the beautiful things my mom has sewn over the years, including a few of my prom dresses and most importantly, my wedding dress.  I thought these papers would help tell the story of her creations.  I love the idea of creating a fashion board, like the designers do, and set about creating one for my page.  I stayed with the blacks & ivories of the papers and combined them with white from the wedding dress.  I used odds & ends of ribbons that I felt had a retro feel.  With the neutral palette, I chose papers and ribbons with lot's of different textures.  I love the lacy-ness (not sure if that's a word, but I like it) of the black die cut paper from Creative Imaginations, mixed with the softness of the felt ribbon, combined with the distressed look I gave the papers, tearing and inking them before adhering them to the page.  The little "pop" of black glazed paper is from SEI and helps balance the layout when set opposite the satin ribbon across the bottom of the page.

I love how this layout turned out!  For a finishing touch, I used a 7 Gypsies journal card to tell a little bit about the time I tried on my mom's wedding dress.  I really like how Graphic 45 papers help me tell the stories from my past.  I find that the colors from their collections always combine with my photos and let them stand out.  I can't wait to share another Graphic 45 project with you next week.  I'll give you a little hint and be sure to check back next week, it's a doozy!  I completed my next project back in November and have been waiting for the perfect time to share it with you.  It also has to do with my Grandma Muriel, if you've been in the store, you've probably already seen it, but I've got quite a few photos of the process I used to create it, so see you back here next week for the big unveil....

Tips

Use my "fashion board" idea to create a layout of your wedding or prom dress.  You could also use this idea to document the process you used to redecorate a room, using the fabrics & embellishement pieces in your layout.

Don't be afraid to distress some of your papers, while keeping others crisp & fresh looking.

Not every layout has to be thought of as part of a double page spread, some pages just stand on their own when placed in your album.

Supplies

Patterned Papers - Graphic 45, SEI

Die Cut Paper - Creative Imaginations

Journal Card - 7 Gypsies

Ribbon - Various Manufacturers

Layout of the Week - Christmas Past

Sorry I've been away so long! In the middle of my holiday prep and school holiday party prep that I haven't posted a Layout of the Week yet. I have a couple Christmas projects all ready to go, just haven't written anything about them. Time sure flies by this time of year. And maybe I forgot because my fingers have been too cold to type! It finally "warmed up" this morning...my car said it was 15, for the last few days it's said 12 on the way to school.  I know that many of  you are laughing at me right now, you know who you are...you're from the Midwest, Canada or maybe Antarctica!  But really, I'm in Portland and it doesn't get cold like this here for this long!  OK, we did have snow on the ground for 3 weeks last year, but that was a fluke...or climate change.  Of course just as many of you just ran to get your coats when you read 12, you're from SoCal, Australia or maybe the Sahara!  But I'm tired of pasting my daughter with Burt's Bees Lip Balm & that smelly, but wonderful hemp cream from The Body Shop.  And who wants to wear long johns under their clothes to school everyday?  I'm sure some of your kids do, but they probably also get to play in the snow at recess, we have no snow, just cold and a pond that's frozen over in our backyard.

Well, that's enough of me complaining, it certainly isn't that I'd like rain better, no way!  I just want summer back whenever it's convenient for me!

I think it's time to share one of my recent creations!  I created this layout with Graphic 45's Christmas past collection.  My mom recently gave me an envelope full of photos of me that she saved from photos she had sent my grandma over the years.  Grandma Muriel passed away a few years back and she had saved photos of all her grandchildren from the time when we were born.  I found these photos in my envelope.  They were taken when I was about 2 1/2, a few months before my brother was born and I didn't get all the attention any more! :)  I love how these old photos are square with white borders and the dates stamped on them.  I thought that they went perfectly with Graphic 45's style.  To me their retro papers go perfectly with sepia tone photos and the slight natural yellowing of these photos looks great with them.  I didn't want to crop the photos at all, so I let their shape dictate my layout and how I cut the yellowed catalog page to back them.  It's so fun to see my clothes and little pig tails, but my favorite part is seeing how my dad dressed in 1972!  I guess style really does come around again...check out those sideburns!  I can also see a few ornaments on this tree that I still hang on my tree!

I wanted to keep this layout from being very sparkly...I've been using tons of sparkle lately.  So I used a pack of Little Yellow Bicycle's felt die cuts along with felt ribbon from Creative Cafe and a few red pearls from Kaisercraft.  The next time you're scrapping photos from your childhood, or someone else's, check out Graphic 45's wonderful retro papers.  I've got a great project using their Transatlantique papers to show you soon! (probably after Christmas)

Don't forget to stop by Ann's Virtual Girls' Night Out, to get a few more comments for your blog, meet some new bloggy friends and maybe learn something new!

Tips

If you've got some older, maybe slightly yellowed, photos you want to scrap, check out the beautiful retro papers from Graphic 45.  Sepia tone photos look great with their papers too!

Remember not to crop all the background out of your photos!  Choose a few photos where you will leave in some of the background, especially if it's your home or shows a little slice of how life was at the time.  It's fun to look back & remember what life was like for you as a child or for your kids to see how life was for their grandparents.

Supplies

Graphic 45 Christmas Past paper collection (Graphic 45 Blog)
Creative Cafe red felt ribbon (Creative Cafe's Blog)
Little Yellow Bicycle self adhesive felt die cuts
Kaisercraft red pearls (Kaisercraft's Blog)