ISLA GAIA

ISLA GAIA - May 1, 2010 - South Padre Island, Texas

JOURNALING: Isla Gaia, a female nesting Kemp's Ridley sea turtle was released with a satellite tracker attachment to monitor her movements.  We watched her release from Isla Blanca beach. 

SUPPLIES USED:  Roam papers by K&Co, Happy Trails borders by K&Company, corner rounder by EK Success,

TECHNIQUE TIP:  OK, so I broke my own rule about having white edges exposed on my photographs.  Here I actually decided to make the white edges stand out on my photos by taking a piece of sandpaper from my wonderful hubby's toolbox and sanding the edges of my photos to leave a nice textured white edge that helps them stand out from the beige background that I chose to mat them on.  This technique works well when you have mostly dark photos such as I have here to give an added separation from the background without adding paper and bulk with matting.

Double Page layout

Page 1 Detail

Page 2 Detail

LARGE ANIMAL RESEARCH STATION

LARGE ANIMAL RESEARCH STATION (LARS) - July 10, 2010 - Fairbanks, Alaska

JOURNALING:  We walked around the L.A.R.S. to view all the animals

PHOTOGRAPHS:  Angela Shetzer of Shetzers Photography

SUPPLIES USED:  Bazzill Black cardstock, DCWV World Traveler patterned paper, Bazzill stitch templates, Stampabilities Black Ink, Fiskars Threading water border punch, American Crafts precision pen in Black, Tsukineko Goose Bumps, Sketch by Template Tuesday on JessicaSprague.com, Magnets, Floss

TECHNIQUE NOTES:  I think stitching is a great addition to almost any page and its well worth the increased time it takes to do the layout.  For this layout, I started off with the Bazzill stitch template for the long stitched border on the right.  As much as I love the designs for the Bazzill templates, I always feel that they are a bit blocky and produce an uneven stitch.  To fix this, I start by punching the template onto my paper and then when all done with the template, I go back and punch a hole in the middle of two template holes.  The result is a much smaller stitch and smoother lines especially on curves. 

Don't be afraid to modify your templates and add your own personal touch to your pages.

Here is the original sketch that this layout is based off of.  Please visit JessicaSprague.com for more great templates and great challenges.

LETS GO FLY A KITE

LETS GO FLY A KITE - April 30, 2010 - South Padre Island, Texas

JOURNALING: Ted gets a kite flying lesson from Matt. 

SUPPLIES USED: Font: Lucida Calligraphy, Roam papers by K&Co, K&Company Handmade paper ribbon (buttons), File folder svg shape, Cricut Expression, Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL) software

TECHNIQUE TIP:  Probably my most common comment on scrapbook page layout design is that I hate to see white edges on anything.  You will see that about 95% of the edges of my photos, embellishments and papers have been either inked or painted to give them some dimension and to get rid of those white edges.  In this layout I decided that I didn't want to mat my smaller photos, but a liberal coating of dark brown paint gave them a faux matting and also got rid of those dreadful white edges.  In this example I used a large foam paint brush and dabbed paint all around the edges to soften the hard lines of this linear layout and add some interesting texture.

Snowy Commute

I finally finished my Bald Eagle album from last year in Haines, Alaska.  This is the final page for the album.

SNOWY COMMUTE- November 24, 2010 - Haines, Alaska

JOURNALING: During a snow storm, this Bald Eagle takes flight.

PHOTOS: Bald Eagle images by Shetzers Photography

SUPPLIES USED: Based on June 1 page sketch by SketchSupport.com, Patterned Papers from DCWV's Lodge pack, Diamond Glaze, EZ Dots adhesives, Stampabilities ink (Brown & Black), Brown ric rac ribbon, Dress It Up Tiny Wilderness button, Michaels Stud Embellishments, Epiphany Crafts Bubble Caps, Carolees Creations Tiny Worn retro Alpha, Hero Arts Circular Design Stamp, Studio G Snowflake stamp, Kaiser Craft Grid stamp, Tim Holtz Antique Linen distress ink

TECHNIQUE TIP: When I saw this beautiful paper from DCVW, I knew I had to use it on my last layout of the Haines Bald Eagles. The silver stampiing into the paper with the wing patterns matched the natural woodsy mood that I wanted for this layout. A minimum of embellishments helps both the paper and the wonderful photo stand out to showcase our national bird.

Alaska Pipeline

ALASKA PIPELINE - July 10, 2010 - Fairbanks, Alaska

JOURNALING:  We drove north of Fairbanks to visit an elevated section of pipeline.

PHOTOGRAPHS:  Matt & Angela Shetzer of Shetzers Photography {http://www.shetzers.com}

SUPPLIES USED:  Bazzill Black cardstock, DCWV World Traveler patterned paper, BasicGrey Basics white patterned paper, Cricut Expression with My World and Hey Dude cartridges, SCAL software with svg border cut, CK Deco Font, Recollections Boutique Fleur Gems, Black Diamond Stickles, Ranger Black Enamel, Doodlebug Designs Paper Frills in Black and Ladybug, Stampabilities Black ink

TECHNIQUE NOTES:  I'm not really an "industrial" look scrapper, but the hard cold steel of the pipeline in my photos just called out for that type of a layout.  I started out with a plain sheet of black cardstock for my background and added some grey patterned paper that I cut scalloped edges on to mimic the round pipeline.  I cut out pieces of an informational flyer that I had picked up and "saved" to add some interesting facts about the pipeline.  I then cut a few oil related pieces from some cricut cartridges and added some Black Diamond Stickles and Ranger's Black enamel as some imitation oil drops and I was all finished. 

Don't forget that not all photos have to be in a predetermined size such as 4 x 6.  My larger pipeline worked great as a panoramic as the sky and grass did not add much but a very long pipeline captured the feeling of the seemingly neverending pipeline.