Over Christmas break I had three days of no interruptions, no plans, no nothin'. I stayed in my PJ's most of the time, drank lots of coffee (and other beverages) and made it thru 4 seasons of Dexter. Oh, and I scrapbooked...alot. I try to finish one book a year for myself, and I was trying finish that up. Mind you, I don't always finish one year before starting on the new year, but I had the time, so I thought why not put a neat little bow on 2011?? And, I almost finished, just 2-3 more layouts to get done. Yeah!
While taking a break from serial killers (because, for real, that show is so wrong.....) I caught up on the past few episodes of the Paperclipping Roundtable. It's probably my #1 favorite podcast, all about scrapbooking. One particular episode was about two page layouts and how the trend in magazines and online is to showcase one page layouts with very few photos and lots of techniques and embellishments. They were debating the pros and cons and discussing the pressure that some people feel to make their scrapbook pages look like what they see in magazines and online. It got me thinking:
-I like doing 2 page layouts. Most of my books are 2 pagers.
-I am also more of an event document than a story based documenter. That is, I ENJOY making layouts about birthdays, Christmas, and I like keeping them....... in chronological order. GASP!! 2 page layouts are more conducive to this method, because I can include more pictures
However, I realize that 2 page layouts do create certain challenges. I thought I would share a few of my recent pages to show you how I deal with some of them.
{LADY GAGA}
{2+2}
Hey, look, another banner!
supplies: cardstock-American Crafts, patterened paper circles Teresa Collins (inspired by Lisa), you're the best-Scenic Route
(Let me just say I miss Scenic Route. I wish they would come back and make more albumsembellishmentsbackgroundpapers....sigh.)
I used leftover scraps to make a third layout of extra pictures I had of my Nephews' birthday weekend. I think that when I flip thru my book in a few years it will be clear that all three pages go together, even though they don't match exactly.
I hope this gives you a few ideas you can use. I am certainly no expert and I am not reinventing the wheel, here. But, the podcast made me think and want to write about it.
Do you use 2 page layouts? Do you use a lot of these new pocket pages? What are your tips or problems with them? Leave a comments, I would love to hear!
Later,
M.
While taking a break from serial killers (because, for real, that show is so wrong.....) I caught up on the past few episodes of the Paperclipping Roundtable. It's probably my #1 favorite podcast, all about scrapbooking. One particular episode was about two page layouts and how the trend in magazines and online is to showcase one page layouts with very few photos and lots of techniques and embellishments. They were debating the pros and cons and discussing the pressure that some people feel to make their scrapbook pages look like what they see in magazines and online. It got me thinking:
-I like doing 2 page layouts. Most of my books are 2 pagers.
-I am also more of an event document than a story based documenter. That is, I ENJOY making layouts about birthdays, Christmas, and I like keeping them....... in chronological order. GASP!! 2 page layouts are more conducive to this method, because I can include more pictures
However, I realize that 2 page layouts do create certain challenges. I thought I would share a few of my recent pages to show you how I deal with some of them.
{LADY GAGA}
supplies: fabric paper-American Crafts, letter stickers-OLD Jenni Bowlin, stars-Studio Calico (embossed in silver)
Don't you dare judge me, you know when Gaga comes on while you are in your car, you dance ; )
In this layout I wanted to include a bunch of pictures from the concert that I had printed online, plus a few of my friend and I. I tried to use the patterned paper to a) highlight my favorite photos on the left pages by matting them and arranging in a grid. and b) tie both pages together by using it across both. I also printed out that purple strip (it has song titles on it) and ran it across both pages, hopefully leading your eye from one page to the other.
{DERBY 2011}
supplies: Studio Calico add-on kit Thimble, pocket page proctector-WeRMemory
Another issue that can come up when you scrapbook like me is having too many pictures I want to put in my books. I like doing 2 page layouts because I can fit more than just a few pictures. In facet, I kind of love this combination of one page layout and pocket page. It lets me create a fun page one-with lots of products and maybe lots of journalling, then I can arrange the rest of my pictures in the pocket page. Sometimes I will fill a few of the pockets with paper or extras that match the other page (like I did here) or I just fill them all with pictures. When you put all these different pages in your album, it looks really good!
Obligatory close up picture of the banner I stitched, because I love the way this page turned out ; ):
{2+2}
supplies: paper, embelishments-Teresa Collins
OK, I'll give you a minute to recover from the double dose of cuteness............ready? Let's proceed.
Sometimes with a lot of photos it can be hard to focus your eye on ny one picture, so the layout looks cluttered. I tried to solve that by printing some larger than others, and by highlighting the left page's picture. I also try to keep my embellishments more streamlined when doing a two pager. By that I mean, I use less and I keep them grouped-for the most part. By doing this I feel like you can look around from one area to another , but it avoids the overcluttered, busy look. Hopefully.
{YOUR ARE THE BEST}
(Let me just say I miss Scenic Route. I wish they would come back and make more albumsembellishmentsbackgroundpapers....sigh.)
I used leftover scraps to make a third layout of extra pictures I had of my Nephews' birthday weekend. I think that when I flip thru my book in a few years it will be clear that all three pages go together, even though they don't match exactly.
I hope this gives you a few ideas you can use. I am certainly no expert and I am not reinventing the wheel, here. But, the podcast made me think and want to write about it.
Do you use 2 page layouts? Do you use a lot of these new pocket pages? What are your tips or problems with them? Leave a comments, I would love to hear!
Later,
M.