scrapbook studio: Scrapping those original photographs...

Hello All,

Scrapping those original photos can sometimes be daunting, especially if we compare the photos we have against all the layouts we see on the internet. When my kids were little I had no interest in scrapping and digital cameras were not an everyday item. The photos of events in their lives tend to either be a single photo, or they were photos given to me by people who attended the event, so some are developed as glossy photos and some matt. It was also before new born babies had photo shoots so the new arrival in the family was snapped by a very excited granny while the kid was held up behind a glass partition by an unknown nurse – enough to make your mojo run and hide in a closet for weeks.

I know we can scan these photos, photo-shop them and have them re-developed but I believe they are part of the story we are telling through our scrapping so I like to use them as they are. If there is a part on the photo you would really like to get rid off like a finger in front of the lens, try to cover that with an embellishment or two.

So today’s layout is of my eldest son's first birthday. He will be 20 this year – boy time flies! I had a lot of photos for this event in his life, and wanted to use them all. This made for a photo-heavy layout, so I decided to go light on the embellishments. A booklet was created for the left side of the lay-out to make more space for photos and some journaling.

Products used:

White card-stock base

Black card-stock – photo matts

Echo Park – A boy's life – Imagination

Dark blue / Orange (red)

Simple Stories – Harvest Lane – Teal dot / Ledger

Black Soot Distress Ink

Corner round punch

Note book punch

Heart ink

Ever favorite Silhouette Machine

Tri-Boss Boofle embossing folder

Embossing pad and embossing powder

Honeycomb stencil – cut with the Silhouette machine

Randomly ink lightly through the honey-comb stencil on the white card-stock with black soot distress ink. I normally don't pick up new ink but just use the leftover ink on my blending foam. Ink around the edges of the white card-stock with black soot distress ink. Using the patterned paper cut them in various sizes, round the corners and ink the edges. Arrange them on the background.

Cut the booklet, round the corners, ink the edges and attach to the lay-out. The top photo shows the booklet open, the clear space is where I will put my journaling. Matt the photographs on the black card-stock and attach them to the lay-out.

The Happy Birthday heading and the number one was cut from off-cut patterned paper with the Silhouette machine, inked and then embossed with embossing powder. Various sizes of hearts was also cut from off-cut patterned paper with the Silhouette machine and inked. Some of them were embossed with the Boofe embossing folder and then some embossing powder was used on it. Arrange these elements on the front cover of the booklet.

Now I know what you are thinking: “A booklet! Yay, but how do I put a page like that in my album?”

Well, let me help you. Place your layout into the plastic sleeve. Mark the position of the booklet on the plastic sleeve. Once you have marked the position on the sleeve, remove the layout and put a craft mat into the sleeve. With a ruler and craft knife slit the plastic between the marks. Now put your layout back into the sleeve but let the flap of the booklet go through the slit in the sleeve. I find it easier to mark the position of the booklet but not to stick the booklet down yet. Then after I complete the layout, slip it into the sleeve and then just slip the booklet through the slit in the plastic and stick it down. Hope this helps!!