I do like my embellishments and papers to fit the theme; much as I love gratuitous butterflies and flowers, I find them hard to use, especially on layouts featuring my son. So I needed sports-themed embellishments for these photos of my children's respective sports days, and I didn't have any. Using a template, I created a silver trophy shape for the title and a ribbon rosette. (the first paper one fell apart). The journalling spot was made up of a selection of stickers.
So far, so good.
My son's house is Red and my daughter's is Yellow so I wanted to use these colours equally and show no bias. A lot of my stash has already been packed into page kits to take away with me and I couldn't find any suitable patterned paper amongst what I had left. So I cut blocks of cardstock and arranged them on a black background. It's been quite a while since I've made a graphic 'blocky' layout and I thought I was on to a winner, but it looked awful. My blocks were all slightly wonky. I remember now - that's why I don't often do Graphic - I don't like measuring stuff!
OK Plan B. I tried another design; mounted the photos on the red and yellow and cut some strips out of what was left to create a border. But then the embellishments looked lost and I hated all that black space.
Time for a radical rethink. I had wasted my cardstock now but I had some handmade paper which I don't use often so I mounted everything onto a 8x8 square of that and layered it onto the black. I punched circles from the leftover red and yellow to make a scallopped border, and to stick with the red/yellow house colours which I'd set my mind on.
I still don't like it much.
Is it that, without patterened paper it looks a bit flat and lifeless? Maybe.
Or is it just that I don't like Sports Days much? I'm beginning to think this may be the real problem. My own memories of school sports are not great (check back here on the next Storytelling Sunday) and I don't actually recall ever having taken part in a sports day - I suspect I may have bunked off or spent the afternoon serving squash. Now, as a Mum, watching R is a bitter-sweet experience at best. Yes, it is a great achievement for a boy, who aged 2 was not guaranteed ever to walk, to complete an egg and spoon race, but watching him limp over the line a full minute behind everyone else always upsets me. At least M's first ever whole school Sports Day was fun, her 3-legged patner was a good head taller than her and they came last too.
I know I should scrap these things as well as the good times, so I have.
But I don't have to like it.
Do you ever have layouts like this?
7 comments:
Don't worry about your little man coming last, he made it which is the important thing and he deserves a good pat on the back! Well done! Keep experimenting and it'll come right in the end! Karen T 92 x
Fab LOs and what a lovely way to keep memories of your special times. What a huge achievement for your little one - something the rest could take for granted but for him was such a challenge. x Jo
I have two sons, one sporty one not. As longs as each child can find something they're good at it doesn't matter. I know my unsporty son is going to be head of a debating team one day as he could talk the hind legs off a donkey! Goodness only knows where he gets that from(!)
As for sports day? Hated them. The only time I ever won a race there were now red winners ribbons left so I got two blue ones. It still hurts 40 years on!
BTE I love the last layout
Jakix
Someone else who doesn't like measuring - whoop whoop! I thought I might be the only one :)
Hugs, LLJ #70 xx
I think your layout came together really well in the end Kirsty - grouping the collages together eliminates the trapped space and the circles and black backround look fabulous! And as for patterned paper, well, I am the wrong person to ask - but, I never think my layouts are lacking soul because it is not there!
Oh, and another thing, I hate measuring too - that is why digital scrapping is so wonderful!
Sometimes when this happens to me, I put them aside and work on something else instead of trying to force myself to finish it and usually when I come back to it, it either doesn't look as bad as I thought or I can see what to do to fix it! We are our own worse critics! waving hi from the hills of North Carolina :) #50
Great idea to create layouts to preserve your precious family memories, even if they are a struggle to get them how you want!
Happy belated WOYWW,
Shoshi #3
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