stubborn scrapbooking
Yes, you read that correctly - today was an exercise in stubbornness. I had originally considered going to a crop at the local scrapbook store, but after spending a bit more loosely this week than I should have, I decided a trip to Lexington was not the wi$est choise. (Even though the crop itself would have been free, I'd have to factor in gas, lunch, etc.)
So I stayed home to scrapbook. But although scrapbooking at home has its advantages, there's one particular downside that sometimes causes problems. If I haven't prepared or planned well, I occasionally realize that, even with all my supplies, I don't have what I need to finish a page. Such was the case with this two-page layout of Wildcat Guy's 28th birthday:
Picking paper for this layout was made hard enough by the difference in color and brightness between the cake pictures and the dinner and gift pictures. Then, I would have really liked to use either a chalk- or a light blue-colored background for both pages...but that's hard to do when you don't have two pieces of the same color that will coordinate with the patterned circles paper, as well. Grr. "Surely," I thought, "I can find a way to make this layout happen without waiting for my next trip to the store to get more paper.
My stubborn resolve paid off when I came across this warm tan color (which was actually the B-side of a patterned paper leftover from a previous page). As I started playing and moving things around, I realized that not only could I create a good solution to the difference in color and brightness, I could also make this layout work with two different-colored background papers.
Wonderful! I didn't have as much space for journaling as I could have used, but I was happy with how this turned out, and really pleased with myself for making something work that wasn't the first "ideal." I get so stuck on wanting things a certain way sometimes that I forget there are alternatives that will turn out just as nicely.
On to the next layout...with a delightful collection from my favorite company that I was determined to use for the page about adopting Gru.
Seriously - this is adorable paper! So I was just a little bit sad when I realized that the patterned paper I wanted to use was on the other side of this piece. On the other hand, it means this lovely 12x12 piece will always stay just like this - available for my viewing pleasure any time, on the back of the actual layout.
The Max & Whiskers paper turned out to be the perfect complement for these pictures - especially in its colors. The dark yellows of the paper were just right, and I was happy that there were enough letter stickers to make the title I wanted.
My third exercise in stubbornness was the simple act of making myself create a page that, in some ways, I wasn't particularly interested in anymore. The event being documented - a 2009 bachelorette party of a colleague who is no longer a colleague - was something that, today, I look back on and think, "ehh." Mostly because, when we stopped working together, we didn't stay in touch. But at the time, being there and sharing in that experience with her and the others in attendance was something I enjoyed and was happy about. So I decided it was worth having in my album...but yeah, making pages for events you no longer have enthusiasm for can be tough. I kinda just wanted to get it done, yet I didn't want a bad-looking page in my album either. In the end, what I made - it worked.
Sadly, my resolve came to an end when I ran into the same dilemma as I did with the birthday pages. As part of a five-page spread about a 2009 Halloween weekend visiting friends, I decided that pages four and five (focused on trick-or-treating) should have the same general layout as pages two and three (pictured above), using papers from the same collection to have a level of continuity, even though the events were separate.
However, I was out of the solid orange that I used as mats on the previously-completed layout, and I didn't have enough of a coordinating solid green paper. Hmph. No matter how many other ideas I considered, nothing looked even decently as good as the green would. I tried and tried and tried...and ultimately decided to give in on this one and wait until I could get the green I wanted on my next trip to the scrapbook store.
But hey - after scrapbooking through four playlists (i.e. four hours) of music, I knew that my stubbornness had resulted in some great layouts and I was willing to give myself a little bit of slack. It was a productive afternoon, and one that felt delightful to my soul.
Where I am: home
What I'm reading: just finished The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, and still reading A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay
So I stayed home to scrapbook. But although scrapbooking at home has its advantages, there's one particular downside that sometimes causes problems. If I haven't prepared or planned well, I occasionally realize that, even with all my supplies, I don't have what I need to finish a page. Such was the case with this two-page layout of Wildcat Guy's 28th birthday:
Picking paper for this layout was made hard enough by the difference in color and brightness between the cake pictures and the dinner and gift pictures. Then, I would have really liked to use either a chalk- or a light blue-colored background for both pages...but that's hard to do when you don't have two pieces of the same color that will coordinate with the patterned circles paper, as well. Grr. "Surely," I thought, "I can find a way to make this layout happen without waiting for my next trip to the store to get more paper.
My stubborn resolve paid off when I came across this warm tan color (which was actually the B-side of a patterned paper leftover from a previous page). As I started playing and moving things around, I realized that not only could I create a good solution to the difference in color and brightness, I could also make this layout work with two different-colored background papers.
Wonderful! I didn't have as much space for journaling as I could have used, but I was happy with how this turned out, and really pleased with myself for making something work that wasn't the first "ideal." I get so stuck on wanting things a certain way sometimes that I forget there are alternatives that will turn out just as nicely.
On to the next layout...with a delightful collection from my favorite company that I was determined to use for the page about adopting Gru.
Seriously - this is adorable paper! So I was just a little bit sad when I realized that the patterned paper I wanted to use was on the other side of this piece. On the other hand, it means this lovely 12x12 piece will always stay just like this - available for my viewing pleasure any time, on the back of the actual layout.
The Max & Whiskers paper turned out to be the perfect complement for these pictures - especially in its colors. The dark yellows of the paper were just right, and I was happy that there were enough letter stickers to make the title I wanted.
My third exercise in stubbornness was the simple act of making myself create a page that, in some ways, I wasn't particularly interested in anymore. The event being documented - a 2009 bachelorette party of a colleague who is no longer a colleague - was something that, today, I look back on and think, "ehh." Mostly because, when we stopped working together, we didn't stay in touch. But at the time, being there and sharing in that experience with her and the others in attendance was something I enjoyed and was happy about. So I decided it was worth having in my album...but yeah, making pages for events you no longer have enthusiasm for can be tough. I kinda just wanted to get it done, yet I didn't want a bad-looking page in my album either. In the end, what I made - it worked.
Sadly, my resolve came to an end when I ran into the same dilemma as I did with the birthday pages. As part of a five-page spread about a 2009 Halloween weekend visiting friends, I decided that pages four and five (focused on trick-or-treating) should have the same general layout as pages two and three (pictured above), using papers from the same collection to have a level of continuity, even though the events were separate.
However, I was out of the solid orange that I used as mats on the previously-completed layout, and I didn't have enough of a coordinating solid green paper. Hmph. No matter how many other ideas I considered, nothing looked even decently as good as the green would. I tried and tried and tried...and ultimately decided to give in on this one and wait until I could get the green I wanted on my next trip to the scrapbook store.
But hey - after scrapbooking through four playlists (i.e. four hours) of music, I knew that my stubbornness had resulted in some great layouts and I was willing to give myself a little bit of slack. It was a productive afternoon, and one that felt delightful to my soul.
Where I am: home
What I'm reading: just finished The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, and still reading A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay
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