Heritage Photo - Familjen

Hello, hello!

Welcome back to the final installment of my friend's heritage photo project series.  If you've missed the first two layouts in the series, you can find them here and here.  Today we're checking out the last layout, which features a fabulous photo of Bertil with a handmade toy bow and arrow, a portrait of him and the family together.  I have to say, I absolutely adore that bow and arrow photo!

Background is again from Webster's Pages.  This teal woodgrain paper has long been a favourite of mine so it's pretty special that I'm giving the last I have of it away but it was just too perfect with these photos to not use.  This LO also used up the last of that cute ruler washi tape but I managed to eek it out across the bottom.

That little gap in the title between the l and j was the perfect opportunity to add a little embellishment.  I unfortunately hadn't brought my heart punch with me and after many failed attempts at drawing a symmetrical heart the right size with which I was happy, I decided to go for a funkier heart style instead.

Embellishment cluster above that awesome bow and arrow photo - just look at the expression on that adorable face!  The cork star on the right had been an embossing attempt that I wasn't thrilled with on another project but I liked the look of for this one - you have to love when that happens.

And a bit of embellishment at the bottom of the photo to tie it all together.

And that's it!  My friend will be giving these to her brother as a belated birthday gift and I'm eager to hear what his reaction to them is.  Birgitta is thrilled with them at any rate.  Next year we'll work on the lock of hair and photos for her sister.

Heritage Photo - Syskon

Hi again!

Today I'm sharing the second layout in my friend's heritage photo project.  If you missed the first LO, you can see it here.

This second LO features photos of the three siblings together.  The original photo of Bertil holding their baby sister was very small, dark and a bit damaged but the photo development company did a lovely job at scanning, enlarging and reprinting it and in such a way that the lighting now helps to draw your eye into the two children.

The background papers are from Webster's Pages by Adrienne Looman.  The embellishment clusters feature arrows and hearts and I purposely put down the washi tape so that it counted up to three to reflect the number of siblings.  I also used some stamping on this LO, even though it's in English it fitted the theme well.  Birgitta may go back and write on the journaling card so I've left it open for her, should she decide to do so.

Pink chevron arrow is from Crate Paper; which I chose because of the aged look and the weathered cello tape accents.

The stamping for the arrows was done on a branding strip, which was the perfect size.  Hearts and rhinestones with gold lame spatters are layered up on the embellishment clusters.

The bottom embellishment cluster features three arrows, again symbolising the three siblings, and a little stamping with a roller stamp that fitted well with the photo of brother and baby sister together.

Thanks for stopping by; be sure to come back for the final LO installment.

Heritage Photos - Bertil

Welcome back!

Earlier this year a friend asked me if I could help her with a special heritage project for her brother and sister.  Having saved for decades some childhood locks of hair from her siblings, my friend Birgitta wanted to preserve them with some photos into a special scrapbooked layout as gifts, but not being a scrapbooker herself, she enlisted my help.

We got the original photos (some of which were a bit damaged) professionally re-printed and the company did a fantastic job resorting them.  Then, not really knowing what supplies I should bring with me, I packed up a hodge podge collection of papers and embellishments and spent a day at hers busily playing with paper.

Luckily, the remaining collection of Webster's Pages papers by Allison Looman I'd brought with me were a perfect choice for the project and breathed new life into the beautiful black and white photography.  They also matched well with one of the papers Birgitta already had and which I decided upon for the background of the first layout.

This first LO features Bertil, aged 1, along with the lock of his hair and a handwritten note from their mother.  All three LOs feature elements of the same papers and gold lame mist spatters for a sense of cohesion, along with brown accents and lettering, twine, wood veneer or cork embellishments for that masculine feel and a narrow ruler washi tape for that hint of vintage.  I had hoped to also use some old fashioned black or cream photo corners but sadly, couldn't find any so opted for a very narrow mounting on dark black/brown patterned paper instead.  It was decided that the embellishing could be a bit more simplistic, as this would likely appeal more to Bertil.

 

Handwritten note from their mother.  Yes, it is the original.  It was a bit nerve-wrecking adding adhesive to such a precious piece of memorabilia but it was important to Birgitta that we use the original and we did take copies.

Small letter stickers for the years, by Glitz Designs.  The twirly twine is always a bit tricky to get right and glue down well but looks fab once it's done and it helps to reinforce the curliness of that lock of hair...

The original tie around the lock of hair wasn't very attractive or sturdy so I wrapped twine over top to help secure the hair further.  I also didn't want to risk applying adhesive to the hair directly so the wrapped twine gave me a good place to attach the lock without damaging the hair itself.

For the frame, we bought open-fronted art canvas frames that are 12" square and they work perfectly for scrapbooking layouts and the black wood make the B&W photograph pop nicely.

Stay tuned for the next two LOs in the series shortly (LO #2 - Syskon).

Happy Birthday to You - Birthday Boy

Welcome back!

Have you ever had a situation where it dawned on you that a friend's birthday was sometime this month - but you weren't sure when - and then Facebook kindly reminds you that the birthday is that very day?  Well, that happened to me recently so I whipped up this quick little card.

I once again turned to my Simple Stories SNAP! birthday kits and it wasn't long before the basic design started to take shape.  I really liked this script 4x6 card and thought it would pop nicely on a black card blank.  I added a white interior inside so that I could easily stamp in black ink.

I layered up some 2x2 cards on top of a numbered washi tape line and popped this cute gumball machine die cut on top with some foam pads and the same with the little speech bubbles.  I also added in the little 'birthday boy' sticker.

Finally, a few cork stars and black rhinestones to balance out the design.  Signed, sealed and delivered!

Cutest Baby Ever Card

Welcome back!

Previously I've mentioned how everyone I know seemed to be having baby girls and so logically, I have a few collections of baby girl kits for making cards and things.  Now, of course, the tides have turned and everyone seems to be having baby boys - and I still have baby girl stash to hand.  Unperturbed by this challenge, I rose to the occasion with this Little One...Hello card and I was so pleased with the results, I decided it was time for a repeat.

This contemporary baby boy card is made entirely with the Simple Stories SNAP! Baby Girl kits.  I really enjoyed using the grey, green and yellow colour palette - so unusual from my normal choices but it really worked nicely together (and even colour-matched the accompanying gifts - more on that soon).

The overall design is pretty simple.  I wanted the sentiment card with its eclectic combination of fonts to really stand out.  I loved the impact that the layered heart die cut gave to the arrow.

The embellishment cluster uses some washi tapes, stickers and pins.  I was so thrilled to find a grey label sticker and thought the 'handle with care' type was perfect for a baby card.  I hemmed and hawed for a while on whether or not to add more to the cluster and in the end decided that less is more.

Mini Album: Sweden - Part V

Welcome back!

If you've been following this mini series, you'll know that I've been sharing a mini album about my friend Adam visiting me over the summer.  You can find the previous chapters here: chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3 and chapter 4.  And now, the final chapter 5: Copenhagen, Denmark.

Chapter 5: Copenhagen

The Little Mermaid

Copenhagen itinerary

Danish royal crown jewels

Leaving our mark on the Happiness Wall

Hop on/hop off bus tour sights

Canal at Nyhavn

Tivoli

At the end of this chapter I also included a few extra random tidbits:

Notes from a random sick day

Goodbye note

Extra photos & keepsakes envelope

And that's it!  Once carefully wrapped, it made its way over the Atlantic to Adam.  He absolutely loved it - worth every ounce of panic and stress getting it done in time.

Thanks for following along!

Mini Album: Sweden - Part IV

Hi again!

Welcome back to my little tour of a mini album I made for my friend, Adam, who visited me over the summer.  If you've missed the previous chapters, you can find them here: chapter 1, chapter 2 and chapter 3.  And now moving on to chapter 4: vikings!

Chapter 3: Vikings

Handmade Viking costume & fittings

And during our day in Simrishamn while paddling in the Baltic, we turn around to find a Viking longship sailing by.  You know, as you do when living in Sweden in the 21st century...  It docked in the harbour.

Longship in Simrishamn

Rune stones

Foteviken historical Viking museum

Viking longhouse and longship

Viking life

Viking ships with the Öresundsbro in the far distance

Viking attack!

Here there be dragons...

Eat your heart out How To Train Your Dragon fans.  ;)

One more installment left - see you soon!

Mini Album: Sweden - Part III

Hello, hello!

If you haven't seen the first two installments of this mini series on my mini album of my friend Adam's visit to Sweden, you can find the first two chapters here: Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.  Today we're moving on to chapter 3: fun and silliness!

Chapter 3: Fun

Selfie time!

Adam is a total gear head so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to tour the technical museum, which features a number of different vehicles and even a cool submarine!

Geeking out in the sub

Photo frame exhibition silliness

More photo frame silliness.

We enjoyed a day at the mini golf course, which features famous historical sights throughout Malmö.

Mini golf

Having fun playing on words in the park.

Playing on words

Accent card

Another little space for Adam to write some notes himself:

Note bubbles & interactive art

It turned out there's a big car museum in Simrishamn and they were even having a rally day so we had to go to it.  We jumped on the train and spent the whole day there and it was great fun.

Autoseum

Creepy mannequins & Ronald Reagan's car

Strangely, there is something about this photo and page that I also really love; perhaps it's the simplicity of it:

Paddling in the Baltic Sea

Random snippets

And that's chapter 3 all wrapped up!  Just two more chapters to go so be sure to come back soon.