For the month of February, we’re going to be doing some intensive scrapbooking. I’m participating in this month’s Layout a Day Challenge, and I thought I could use this month’s challenges to show you how to use the basic principles from The Beginner’s Guide to Scrapbooking that help you get pages done.
Let’s start with the prompt, which was to scrapbook about a book you wanted to live in or a character you wanted to be. As I was listening to the prompt, I remembered a realization I learned when in college.
We are all the heroes of our own stories.
Immediately, I knew that was where I wanted to take today’s prompt. However, I wasn’t sure about which photo to use, if any. How do you illustrate the idea of being the hero of your own story? And then I remembered the photo I took of my niece this past summer of her running with a scarf/cape streaming out behind her. Perfect! I printed out a copy on my home printer. Love when that is working!
Next, I needed to decide how I was going to tell this story, so I wrote out a rough draft on some notepaper.
Then I started pulling supplies. I kept thinking I needed some orange paper for the background, and then I came across this Studio Calico piece of paper with the circle and rays coming off of it. It vaguely reminded me of superhero imagery, and the colors worked with the photo, so that got put on the desk.
I then pulled a couple of scraps from my scrap bin in orange and a darker teal to mat the photo on.
Now, how to add the journaling? Handwritten or computer generated?
I decided I wanted to use the computer. I had a lot to say, and I wanted it legible. Some days, my handwriting is atrocious. I printed on vellum for two reasons. One, my wide-format printer died an ugly death, and two, I wanted to be able to see the patterned paper underneath.
I left a big space for alpha stickers, or die cut letters. I ended up using the Silhouette portrait to cut letters. I got tired of trying to figure out how I could adapt my existing alphabet letters to the letters I needed.
After taping everything down (commitment is the most important part) I decided it looked a little incomplete. Too much whitespace. I knew I didn’t want to add some superhero themed embellishments (I may not even have any!) but the space above the photo was too stark to leave alone.
That’s when I let the paper talk to me, and decided to emphasize the rays coming off the circular element with a few drops of pearl pen gold paint. Totally helps expand on the superhero theme.
A few dots on the title, and the page was complete.
Now, how does this show some of the tips and tricks from the Beginner’s Guide?
First of all, the basic process is the story first process explained in the book. It also uses a bit of the color and design theory to create a page that’s unified and visually complete.
If you’re having trouble creating a scrapbook page, you should definitely try The Beginner’s Guide to Scrapbooking. You have a story to tell, and should tell it!
