Scrapbooking

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Another fun layout to share with you today – also using papers from the Bisous range, but this layout is also about making the most from those photos which aren’t as crisp as you would like them to be.

Probably due to reasons of poor lighting, it turned out that all the pictures of hubby and I during our first dance as Mr & Mrs Oman were really grainy and dull. At first I was a little disappointed as when I am picking photos to scrapbook, I usually lean towards the photos which are crisp, bright and detailed. However, through the run up to the wedding, and perhaps even admittedly several times prior to even our engagement, I had often thought about being the blushing bride dancing arm in arm with her dashing prince on the most wonderful day of their lives. Yes, okay, I’m being cheesy, but the truth is that (on the most part) little girls do think of their wedding day throughout their childhood. So after a lifetime of waiting and wondering what this moment would be like, I was finally experiencing it – and it would be stupid to let a little thing like a poor quality photo get in my way of documenting this moment.

So I did what I usually do – I started playing.

I decided that I was going to pretend that I actually wanted the photo that way. There are hundreds of different textures available online which photographers and digital scrapbookers add purposefully to their images in order to create a particular grungy or worn feel, so I decided to use this idea to inspire my design.

My photo was already grainy, so I felt that I didn’t need any additional textures, but I wanted to add a grungy frame to the photo to add a distressed look. I was really pleased with this result and printed my picture, and afterwards I even distressed the edges even more using some sandpaper.

I then used some paper and embellishments from Bisous to create a design for the rest of the layaout, first using a large panel the same size as the photo to create an element of symmetry, and to carry the grungy look I inked the edges with an ink pad. To finish I added an anchoring line using some pretty lace trimming that also adds a touch of vintage elegance.

So my tip for you today – if you think that a photo isn’t good enough to scrapbook – why not consider a grungy design?

I hope you like the layout, and don’t forget you can leave me a comment here.

Design Team work for Bisous
See my work published in this months Bisous newsletter here and you can check out my Bisous interview here.

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A lot of people find it difficult to create scrapbook pages about a subject when there are no photos to form part of the design, and in honesty I am no exception. I often think that this is mainly due to my scrapbooking process, as I tend to start with a photo and work my design around it. These Bisous papers were a perfect way for me to challenge my creative process and force me to try to find alternative routes to making layouts. So I set myself a challenge that I would make one without any photos, and I knew exactly what topic I wanted to focus on.

I am 26 and I can’t drive. I don’t find it a problem as we live in a city and have done for many years. I like to walk places, and don’t find this a chore in any way. But you would be surprised how many people nearly fall off their chairs with shock when they discover this truth. Most times the revelation is followed by a conversation of mass exaggeration about how they could never survive without a car, and they don’t understand how anyone can live life and be happy without independent transport options. Usually I just smile and politely listen to their exasperated comments, but sometimes I just want to say to them ‘ Seriously, this is not a big deal’. Sure, not having a car makes things difficult at times, for example we don’t have the luxury of nipping to the grocery store to buy our weekly food shop – but tesco.com does home delivery which actually makes life very easy – plus I don’t have the opportunity to waste money on impulse buys. Yes, there are days or evenings when I think, wouldn’t it be nice to go for a drive or visit the nearest town etc, but we usually just go for a walk instead. Yes, there are times when I think ‘ugh, if we had a car we would be in town within 5 mins instead of having to walk for 20’, but this makes me save up my errands through forward planning and spend my time more effectively. It also means that on the rare occasions that we hire a car, we appreciate it more.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not frustrated or annoyed when people act like this when they find out that I can’t drive, but I do think it is very funny to watch how they can easily overreact and make such a song and dance about something so trivial. Although I suppose I should be used to it, given the fact that for several years I had to put up with all the dumbfounded stares of disbelief when I told everyone that we didn’t have a TV, and even now when I tell people that I don’t drink alcohol.

Perhaps I just like being weird?

I hope you like it, and don’t forget you can leave me a comment here.

Journaling reads:
Everyone is always so shocked when they find out I can’t drive. So I’m 26 and I never learned. Big Deal, it’s hardly headline news. It’s not that I don’t want to, but its never been top of the priority list & i’m lucky enough to have lived in places where the public transport system removed the need to have a car. I do hope to learn soon, but seriously it really isn’t that big of a deal!
Design Team work for Bisous
See my work published in this months Bisous newsletter here and you can check out my Bisous interview here.

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