Hi everyone..Wednesday afternoons always get a little funny for me because its starting to get close to Thursdays ..and Thursdays/Fridays are the days I work and have done so for a few years now. Don't get me wrong..I love teaching, but I always get the sick feeling in my tummy when Wednesday night comes along..
Every Wednesday I spend the day in our office ..we have our own business which requires a LOT of time spent on paper work etc. SO I have always done this for the last 10-12 years and continued so during my pregnancies and when my children were babies. Now I just hate it! LOL! I wish someone else could do it ..LOL Its just an extra thing I have to do and I really do not have the time to sit here and count numbers. But anyway, just taking a little break now and thought I would show you this layout I created for Scrap Friends. Scrap Friends has an online store HERE and quite a busy blog HERE where you can find challenges to play along at, as well as many other cool things!
I was asked to Guest Design for them in September and I was sent a gorgeous sketch to work with for their monthly sketch challenge HERE
SO here is the sketch (very cool by the way! LOVE their sketches!)
and here is my take on it..
Paper - GCD Studios (Donna Salazer Designs) Botanique
Chipboard- Imaginarium Designs LOVE title
Flowers - Prima Marketing Laraine Pearl White, Charme Rose Nature Garden
Embellishments - Mellissa Frances hinge/keys, Teresa Collins Fabrications Canva Trickets, Prima Marketing Shabby Chic Metal Treasures (gate and frame), Kaisercraft Polaroid Frames (Miss Match collection)
Rub Ons - Kaisercraft Girls and Miss Match
Other: gesso, brown paint, cardboard, gauze, brown ink
I have gone a little messy here again...really loving it at the moment.
I must say though, that last night I pulled out all my old albums with the very first layouts I ever created. Although they were very ...ummm..average to say the least, they were SO SO SO full of everyday stuff, LOTS AND LOTS of journalling, lots of pictures etc etc. Of course, just like every other scrapper out there my style has evolved. But my style took a less personal turn probably about a year ago. I mean, my daughters are almost 4 and 6 now and when they are older its harder to scrap many "firsts". I understand that. But most of my journalling is hidden these days, or written at the back and with all the pages I make I wonder if they will be bothered to pull the tags out when and read what i wrote. Sure I love creating and "throwing" product on paper but ,....seeing them look at their baby photos last night and my eldest trying to read the huge journalling gave me such a warm feeling but at the same time I felt sad that all their pages of the last few months will just be "pretty"pages in their albums. They were giggling and laughing at them selves and were ENTRENCHED in the albums...not caring about the latest product or pretty design.
They just wanted to read the story..and lately there isnt much of a story on my pages.
*Sigh*...I have to reassess things I think..
So anyway, have a great day everyone and if you get a chance drop in at Scrap Friends and play along!
Bye for now
xoxo Nadia
congrats on the guest spot...and this is just so so gorgeous :)
ReplyDeleteso wonderful LO
ReplyDeleteGorgeous page Nadia!! I totally understand what you mean but think about sitting on a rocking chair and telling them the story, wouldn't that be great too?!
ReplyDeletesuch a great work!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a beautiful page Nadia. Of course it is...But your pages are not just about throwing product on a page. They are artworks that convey the love you have for your family. We don't always have a lot to sday about our photographs, but you know what they say about photos, 'A picture can tell more than a thousand words'. I am sure they will love All your pages :-) and I certainly enjoyed this one very much.
ReplyDeleteAnd oh yes, I hear you on the chores bit. Not always fun.....
It is such a gorgeous layout! Absolutely love the piece of cardboard and the artsy touch.
ReplyDeleteI see what you mean. Some time ago I realized that I do lots of pages that are just pretty - there's no story behind them or anything. I felt like I had to change that and decided to from now on use either a creative title or journaling on my layouts. In that way I can stay true to what scrapbooking is about: recording memories. But I totally agree with Jolaine too. You did journal on the backside, so there is always written something down, which you could read them or tell them about. I'm sure hearing the story will make them giggle and laugh too:)
fantastic post and Thanks for sharing this info. It's very helpful.
ReplyDeleteguest house in jaipur
It's funny I was only thinking the other night how my wrapping has kind of come full circle. I started with lots of journallng and that was the basis of my pages then I got more confident and concentrated on product use more and making my pictures "pretty" and now I've come full circle back to making my journallng an important part of the page. I still create for the art but I have brought the focus back to what I really want, the journallng. Funny how your approach changes over time but you still end up where you started.
ReplyDeleteI think it's fabulous hat your girls enjoyed the stories in your albums, I'm not even sure the last time my kids looked at my albums :(.
I love the page you have created for scrap friends, such a creative use of the sketch.
Darn auto correct , that would be scrapping not wrapping lol.
ReplyDeleteHey...so nice to see you doing the Scrap Friends sketch - & Angela does do LOVELY sketches, I reckon, too:):) IKWYM re: the teaching....always the butterflies; always the coming home & thinking what would work better & going to bed & dreaming about it too....aahhhh well, that's life:):):)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous page! I love the coulur scheme and your use of corrugated cardboard <3
ReplyDeleteHI ... This layout is stunning to say the least, and the photos are beautiful.. but when I was reading your post the words about your girls reading the story behind the photo and not caring about the latest product really got to me.. I sometimes feel left behind as I dont have all the latest and greatest product on my layouts, I dont have all the new trends, and I am not worried that I will never be a master or even get published much, but the delight on the faces of those who go back and look through their albums is the reason I scrap.. that is my reward.. so thank you Nadia for reminding and encouraging me with this post.. you really have lifted my spirits.. and your honest sharing really is a pleasure to read, it is homely and feels like a friend talking.. and I hope your school days really are enjoyable this week.. and the weekend is special too...xxlizzy
ReplyDeleteWow! I absolutely love what you've done with the sketch! Just gorgeous Nadia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the GDT spot! I really, really love this page- perfect for those winter photos!
ReplyDeleteI KNOW what you mean about older scrapping vs. recent. I did tons of 2 page layouts, FULL of photos and yep- journaling all there to see. And like you I do mostly hidden journaling now and yes!- I do wonder if people will read it or not. You're lucky you have girls- you can teach them how to scrapbook and appreciate all the prettiness of it and the hidden journaling :D, lol!!! My boys...well, we shall see if they even want to peek inside their albums, let alone read them! Lol!
I say keep doing what you're doing- you're already doing more than the average mom and your children will cherish all the beautiful photos and stories forever- hidden or not :),
xErin
I have a new FAV! I just ADORE this, it just showcases everything I love about your work! And that photo..so so so cute! With personalizing your layouts, let's face it, once you do DT work, producing 10-12 layouts a month, there aren't always that many special moments in our lives to scrap that much. I think you have created the perfect balance of emotion in your work and making it aesthetically beautiful at the same time. Keep up the amazing work gorgeous girl!!
ReplyDeleteLovely page =) love all that paint and such darling pictures =)
ReplyDeleteWell another gorgeous LO. One of the solutions I think is to scrap for the art but then also print pictures and put In an album or make a photo book with journaling. I do that a lot and they like looking at the albums just as much as the scrapbooks. Like you said they don't care about product. Scrapbooking for me is an art now and photos are either on a computer or a photo book.
ReplyDeleteThis layout is beautiful! I think as your girls get older, they will appreciate the beauty of your layouts and the love they were made with. The hidden journaling will make they more special--like pulling out a prize. I know the feeling that you get the night before returning to work. I work three days a week, and I get that same feeling on Sunday evening! I think Sunday is not my favorite day of the week! lol
ReplyDeleteLovely take on the sketch! I've realised over the years that I don't scrap only to preserve memories but foremost as an art form and for myself - preserving the memories is just a happy byproduct. That said I do love journaling and it is quite an art to get it to fit in seamlessly as part of the design rather than looking like an "add-on" - I don't do hidden journaling generally as I don't think people always know it's there or will pull out layouts to look at it. I see there is a huge resurgence in the desire to see meaningful journaling - on challenge blogs (like yours LOL) & others, and publications too, so that's good news as it's more "fashionable" now than it used to be - at one point it looked like it was fizzling out completely on all the "trendy" layouts...
ReplyDeleteTotally chiming in with Georgia and Helen, your pages are never churned-out products void of feeling or beauty. On the contrary, I don't think you could do it any better! More and more frequently, I get asked by relatives and friends if I would like to scrap their special photos. Then the process itself is what gives me pleasure, and the pages are sent off to them. Instead of preserving lots of my own memories, I preserve theirs. I am sure your girls will cherish and appreciate all the love you have poured into the pages you have created. This one is such a beautiful one too! xoxo
ReplyDeleteTotally in love with this layout, the colours and the white on kraft colours go beautifully with the wintery pictures!
ReplyDeleteLove that your girsl have been reading the stories, my boys (17 and 22) don't really look at any of the layouts I have done but I am hoping one day that perhaps they will or even their children might! I know the stories are important to me and I try to include as much journalling as possible on my layouts for that reason.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!
It was just fabulous having you join us at Scrap Friends. Your layout is beautiful of course. I love your arty take on scrapping that you seem to be doing more often lately. I totally echo your thoughts too - as much as I love scrapping for the creative side of it, I know that in time to come my kids are really not going to care less what products or techniques I've used. I'm sure they're most going to treasure the photos, the memories, and the journalled stories. But I'm sure that what's also going to be obvious is that I've spent so much time doing these pages and capturing these memories because I love my family to bits. And even on the pages where journaling ins't a heavy feature they're going to be able to figure that out :-)
ReplyDeleteAmazing layout!!I love every little detail!!
ReplyDelete