Just Married

Isn't it funny how your favorite photos end up being the ones that aren't the formal posed ones?  I created this layout using the SEI Oasis line which is an older line. I have been really frustrated with my layouts lately because when I finish them I feel satisfied and happy with them.  Then I photograph them and I think they look boring and don't have enough going on.  I know my photography skills are rusty but i didn't think they were that bad. However somehow to me there is a huge difference between how it looks when I feel it's complete and how it looks when it is on a webpage.  I was thrilled with this layout when I completed it but now I look at the photo of it and I don't like it.  I'm thinking maybe it's because you can't really pick out all the details in the photo; like the together rubon on the lefthand side of the photo and the metal corner accent on the bottom left. So my next step (besides buying a better camera) is to attempt to improve the photography of my layouts, found a good tutorial here.

Echo Park Happy Days-Mr. & Mrs.

I found inspiration for this layout from here, there and everywhere.  I am learning that dimension adds so much to my layouts.  I love the new Echo Park line Happy Days.  It's an incredibly fun and surprisingly versatile line. Everything I used was from the collection with the exception of the black string and the red brads.

An attempt at Sketching

I was reading Kelly Goree's blog post on scrapbook.com yesterday outlining the main things she uses for inspiration. She is hands down my favorite scrapper so I took in every little detail.  Last night when I got home from work I decided to try sketching.  I have never approached scrapbooking that way.  I'm the kind of person who picks a photo or two for a layout and I will sit, sometimes for way too long, shuffling photos and paper around trying to make it all come together.  I even have a big "inspiration book" of layouts I admire from many other artists that I refer to often for help.  But sketching worked out for me pretty well.  I was able to get my idea down and execute it pretty quickly.  I definitely changed a couple little things and added elements as I went but the sketching really helped the main layout idea.  Here's my end piece, one of my favorites yet.

The photo of my husband and I kissing on our wedding day is one of my favorites.  My best friend said it "makes her heart happy."

Using Crate Paper's Random collection definitely helped.  I love contrast but often find that my layouts are a little too "matchy matchy."  I tend to stick to collections and have a hard time mixing things up.  But this collection mixed it up for me. Some of the details:

Pearls and Ruffles seem so wedding like.  The ruffled ribbon reminds me of my dress.

Heart/Flourish die cut made using the amazing Silhouette SD machine.

I had these brads forever and never can find the right layout to use them, here it is!

Good old American Crafts Thickers always add awesomeness to a layout

Kelly's post also gave 2 sites with ready made sketches. Page Maps seems particularly helpful as it shows a sketch and an end layout.  I'm loving this sketching thing more and more because even if you use a page map made by another artist your layout will reflect your personal taste and your tweaks on their idea. More to come with sketching.