A Very Special Layout Share: Christmas Tradition

As we are only 2 days away from my favorite day of the year - Christmas Eve - I decided to pull out an older but favorite layout to share today.  This is one of those timeless layouts that has almost no chronology, and says a lot about myself and my faith.

As you can see it's a very simple layout, with little embellishment, and the photo is actually from a Christmas card. But the meaning and the tradition it shares is so deep to me that it is a sentimental favorite. And isn't that the goal we hope to achieve when we create a page anyway? My reason for scrapbooking is to preserve favorite moments in my life, so that years down the road just looking at that page, and reading the journaling, will whoosh me right back as if I were there again.

Because I am an open book, and the journaling is really the focal point of this layout, here it is for you to enjoy if you so desire:

I hope you take some time to stop and smell the poinsettias, and realize which traditions of Christmas - or any other holiday - are most meaningful to you. If they are that important, they are worth some pretty paper and stickers, aren't they?

My husband and I wish you and yours a most blessed and happy Christmas!

Layout Share: Debbie Reynolds

Apologies for the delay in posting, but all good things come to those who wait, right?!

Once again, I am super excited to have gone outside of my normal box to create a page from a VERY recent photo - left to my usual chronological ways, this photo wouldn't have made it out of my computer for at least 5 years, but here I am, trying new things!

The context here is that for Halloween this year, the youth group I volunteer with was encouraged to dress as a favorite movie character.  I LOVE musicals, and "Singin' in the Rain" is one of my favorites, so I launched a thrift search for a great raincoat, and this simple costume was the result.

Let me tell you honestly that creating this layout resulted in some arguments - with myself. I was a little unsure about the color mix that happened as a result of the movie poster on the left side of the page, but I considered it context and didn't let it bother me.

You may ask why I paired this photo with this paper - or perhaps not, but I shall tell you regardless. The color of my raincoat is woven into the paisley print on the right hand side.  I have to admit also that I sometimes think of paisley as really pretty and artistic water droplets.

Allow me also to point out that I used a bit of a design trick in creating a diagonal line with the three flowers, so that your eye naturally moves to the photo.  Even though the right side of the page is perhaps busier than I would like (like I said, arguments with myself), I still wanted the photo dressed up by its surroundings. I also wanted to make sure that the left side movie poster didn't steal the show.

I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that a good portion of the products on this page are indeed Close to My Heart products. The patterned paper, colored card stock, chipboard flowers and bow are all from the Laughing Lola line - I will include links below. While I may be a consultant, it is because their products are beautiful and of superior quality, and I will use their products as well as any other brand as I am inspired to do so.

I also used one of Close To My Heart's sketches for the first time, and settled on this one in the Reflections book - it simplified my process and I was able to easily make it my own.

Thank you for stopping by, and here are the links if you want to get your hands on some Close To My Heart goodies as well!

Laughing Lola Workshop on the Go - http://ticklemescrappy.ctmh.com/Retail/Product.aspx?ItemID=7402&CatalogID=1639

Laughing Lola Paper Pack - http://ticklemescrappy.ctmh.com/Retail/Product.aspx?ItemID=7394&CatalogID=2002

Laughing Lola Complements - http://ticklemescrappy.ctmh.com/Retail/Product.aspx?ItemID=7322&CatalogID=2002

Laughing Lola Assortment - http://ticklemescrappy.ctmh.com/Retail/Product.aspx?ItemID=7336&CatalogID=176

Layout Share: The Book is Always Better

So this first layout share on my blog is exciting for several reasons:

1. I'm usually a slow scrapper, but I pulled this one together in about an hour.

2. I finally got a chance to use the beautiful book patterned paper from the Scholastic collection by Close to my Heart.

3. It's the first 12x12 layout I've done in awhile, as I've been mostly working on finishing an 8.5x11 album lately.

4. It's the first non-chronological layout I've done in . . . maybe ever?? I'm trying new things!

5. It's the first layout completed for what will be an "All About Me" type of album!

So here it is!

I confess, I took the photo of those books for the sake of the layout, with every intention of pairing it with this patterned paper. 

The black letters are from two different sets of Thickers - I'm slowly and finally getting addicted!

And the journaling spot is half of a page from one of those spiral bound journaling books from Making Memories.

The rest is just out of my stash - I apologize, as I won't be able to name a manufacturer for everything I use, it's just not how I roll.

From a "stretching my stash" perspective, I purposely only used that portion of the patterned paper, as I want to use it over and over again!

So I hope you enjoyed this first of many layout shares.  This layout is much simpler than I normally scrap, but I still tend to keep it "clean" and intentional. 

Thanks for stopping by!