SB Layout: Captured (by US Marshals)

For the last couple weeks I haven't done any actual scrapbooking- I've done lots of photo editing and printing, and designed SB page layouts, but hadn't made any actual pages with those photos. (I did make Easter cards, though- last minute, as always, of course- hopefully they made it to their destinations on time!) I've been hanging out on a new scrapbooking forum on the internet, and there's a couple challenges going on right now which got me back to my scrapping desk. The biggest challenge I've signed up for is to make 50 projects (with no time limit)... this layout is #1 of fifty!

This scrapbook page was based on a sketch from Shimelle Laine's blog. (you can see her sketch, and video, here.) Shimelle's sketch focuses on using triangles to draw your attention to the photo... my layout doesn't exactly use triangles, nor does it use an actual photo! The page topic idea came from another scrapbooking challenge (by Kathryn Scraps, from her blog Life on the Scrap Beach: the post is here) to scrap a 'pop culture' topic. My SB page is about our love for the television show Justified-- instead of using a photo, I used the insert flyer from one of the DVD box sets (since we really do love the show, we own every season-- and we've watched every episode more than once). 

My page title is kind of cheesy, but I think it fits with the page topic. The title is "captured by US Marshals" which is a play on the fact that the show really captured our attention when we first started watching it. It's really the only show we make a point of watching every week, and have bought every season when it came out on disk. (the season isn't even over yet, and we're already antsy to buy this season on disk so we can re-watch them all again!) 

For this SB page, I had to work with the colors in the DVD flyer image so I was sort of 'stuck' with the blue and red- but it turned out working pretty good, I think. I used a couple older pieces of SB paper from my stash that have a distressed, 'cowboy' sort of feel to them.  

I stamped some of my Tim Holtz 'Bitty Grunge' stamps (the two styles of stars) onto light blue woodgrain paper, then punched them out. The imperfect stamping adds to the distressed feel of the page, and in addition, I inked the edges of pretty much every piece of paper I used on this layout. (it took forever, but it really looks nice, even if I did maybe over-do it just a little.)

More inking and distressing- I distressed the edge of the light-colored paper using a paper-distressing tool, which sort of chews up the edge of the paper. Then (of course!) I inked the edges to cover up the white paper core. The letter stickers have a fabric look to them, but were a bit too light, so I also colored them with brown ink to match the layout. (this fits in with yet a third challenge on the SB forum, which involves making layouts using a number of different techniques on your pages- all the inking on this page meets one of those requirements.)

 

This layout took forEVER to finish due to all the inking, distressing, and futzy details I included. I even trimmed skinny red and brown stripes (and inked them, of course) to match the look of the rest of the colors. But, as long as it took, I really do like the final product. So: 1 down, 49 to go!! :D

Christmas already?? more scrapbooking

No, I haven't started scrapping Christmas (and if I had, it would be from a few years ago!)... Last month I put together a pre-made Christmas photo album for donation to a charity auction, and thought I would show you those pages (since I don't have anything new and crafty of my own yet). I used an 8 x 8 album from SEI, with a heavy cardboard cover and 10 page protectors... just the right size for someone to showcase a few special photos, and it was actually pretty cheap compared to some albums out there- only $4.99 at my (somewhat) local Hobby Lobby. I made every 2-page layout with space for a photo, and space for journaling and writing memories on the opposite page. The top 2 pics are a 2-page spread using Basic Grey paper- the triangle paper was just perfect for making the little pennant border on the left. The right-hand page is spaces for journaling, with inking around the edges for a bit of distressing. The bottom two pics were both decorated using dimensional adhesive (I think I used Ranger Glossy Accents) for some extra shine. The swirl on the left was cut from chipboard (using the SB store's huge collection of die-cuts!), and painted with a crackle finish. I stuck it down- just on the edges- with glue dots , so the tags can be slipped out for writing. The button designs on the right-hand page were cut from Graphic 45 paper... this company has some wonderful vintage-style patterns (all double-sided for twice the fun)!!

Nothing too spectacular about the top 2 pages-- not exactly a traditional Christmas color palette, but I didn't want the entire album to be red and green. The bottom left page (for journaling) is more Graphic 45 paper (the green holly pattern) with rickrack trim, and the paper on the right-hand (photo) page has a hand-doodled pattern of leaves and berries on it.

The top left pic is the album cover-- the album started out as plain red, but I couldn't leave it that way!! The "Holly Jolly Christmas" is a large sticker that I embellished with glitter... the ornaments are chipboard- one covered with gold glitter, the other covered with patterned paper and a sparkle glaze. They hang from a pine bough made from punched paper. The right-hand pic is the first page; another sticker, a journaling space, and some decorative buttons. The bottom pics, again, aren't exactly traditional colors... more red rickrack, a lime green and turquoise cardstock set off a large Tim Holtz Christmas stamp on the journaling page.

Again, not exactly traditional-- the top 2 pics are using some ultra-cute Christmas paper I found at the SB store... the Merry & Bright line, chock-full of retro 1950s colors and great patterns. The journaling space on the left is actually a library card and pocket-- I just covered the pocket with the polka-dotted paper, and added a chipboard bracked painted with an acrylic pink crackled finish. And don't you just love the pom-pom fringe on the right-hand side?!? (I do!! that's the first time I've used it, and it definitely won't be the last.) The lower 2 pics use another non-traditional color palette, adding the bright pink in with the red and green die-cut paper. The right-hand page is a pocket to save Christmas cards, set of by glittered letter stickers, and some hand stitching around the edge.

These pages all use a very elegant embossed Bazzill cardstock-- both layouts use the cardstock to make pockets for journaling spots, and all the pages use ribbon in some way. The entire album was a lot of fun to make; I hope whoever won the auction likes it, and uses it to record some of their current (or past) holiday memories!!