Throw Back Thursday

It was fun last week to go back and look at layouts from older kits.  So much so that I'm doing it again.  I'll try to remember the kits so, if you should have a sheet or two, or five, left, you can get inspired and create a page or two.

This is actually a layout I did using the Bo Bunny Sunkissed line, which was part of the July '10 Bigger kit.  Bo Bunny has some delicious summer color combos!  This layout holds six photos, but you could get 12 if you used two smaller photos for every one photo show.  One patterned paper to block out the photos - when you have a lot of photos or a lot of action, keep the paper details simple or they compete with each other.

Another Bo Bunny Sunkissed layout.  I really like the oversized title on the right, but scrunch things just a bit and you can get another two or three smaller photos (like those that run in a strip down the middle) along the top or bottom of the title.  The title is also a fun place to use embellishments like stickers, patterned paper blocks and ribbon.

Pink Paislee's 365 Degrees line, found in the July '10 Bigger kit, had a die-cut paper, great colors and various brocade designs.  This layout is a great example of don't over think it.  If you struggle with die-cut papers, but love their look, then just use it - straight up, lay it down and put your photos on it.  Why make it complicated, because this works.

First, confession time.  I picked this layout because it was a one-pager with a decent number of photos - five to be exact.  Then I looked at it again and thought, I know that pool.  Then I realized I knew the kids.  I gave birth to them, after all.  Seriously?  More Pink Paislee's 365 Degrees, and you can see how the patterns are actual theme-neutral and work for a variety of events.  Don't let predispositions toward patterns make you think only one way - brocades may have a formal feel, but they work just fine here for swimming and above for a trip to the farm.

The Smaller July '10 had Graphic 45's On the Boardwalk line, which at the time, may or may not have panicked some designers.  Its vintage feel was a step out of the box from Apron Strings' usual style of bright colors.  But paper is paper, and it's about how it supports your photos and the story you want to tell.  A side note, when I pick papers, I do try to make sure there is a neutral design on the opposite side.  Here, one of the patterns featured vintage postcard prints, which was cut up and used as embellishments.  Two "B Sides" were used (the Tan Polka Dot and the Teal Dot).  Then there's the whole photo layout - love the simplicity and versatility:  bigger photos, more smaller photos, more photos to go across both pages.  Shoot, reduce the photos to just one side or the other for a one-page layout.

And because we've just passed the Fourth, and you might possibly have some photos to mess around with, this Pink Paislee Starlight line was in the Smaller July '10 kit.

Happy Thursday,