We’ve got the design team thinking this ‘term’ and one of the themes we’re exploring is comparisons. Comparing old layouts to new ones, one generation to another, one years' photo to the next. We’re starting with one of the easier concepts – taking an old layout and seeing how you would use elements from it in your scrapbooking now.
It never hurts to go through some of your older albums, and even if some of the design elements might be a bit dodgy by todays’ standards, there’s bound to be ideas in there that you still love, that you could incorporate again in a page without having to reinvent the wheel. It’s great to learn the lessons of your earlier albums - to see what you would never do again, what you wish you would do more of, to perhaps note that there are some things that you’ve never changed, or just take to a trip down memory lane and lose yourself in the photographs.
Here are a few of the design teams efforts – let’s see how they fared!
This particular layout is perhaps Louise's all time fave! At the time Louise created this layout she had only just started scrapbooking in 2005 and is about her tenth layout that she had made. Whilst she appreciates that in retrospect it no longer has the same wow factor LOL, she still loves it, as she felt so very proud of herself when she had made it, at the time she thought it looked really good.
With time Louise has developed a style that is far removed from when she first started scrapbooking. Whilst she still has a passion for patterned paper [and still buys and hoards it] she tends to use a lot more mixed media and upcycled products mixed in with traditional scrapbooking products. Her style is a lot simpler with a bigger use of 'white space'
To create this particular layout Louise has lifted elements of the design of her earlier favourite layout and used them as masks for her background.
To create this layout Louise has used some packing board that came with her DT order from Aussie Scrap Source, its like the back you find on a patterned paper pad. Using two different masks Louise has scrapped white gesso over them and the back board in a random thin layer. Whilst the gesso was still wet she then sprayed the entire board with dazzling diamonds glimmer mist and then chalk chalk board mist.
To finish off the background she has used peacock chalk board mist to highlight the bird and flourish patterns left by the mask.
This was one of Carole’s favourite layouts about 4 years ago now and a lot has changed since then, styles, placement of photos and embellishments and design - this is a very full on layout. Carole recalls that when she created this, she was so excited when she finished. She can still look at this layout and realise the time and effort that went into it, and what it meant to her back then.
The changes in this layout are in the frame around the photo instead of the transparency, and the depth of layering, this is more delicate with a little more finer detailing, and Carole also some added misting and masking thrown in. The older layout was one of her favourites at the time, but looking back on this layout she acknowledges there are elements she would change today
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Iris created this colorful whimsical layout using the new BG Lauderdale papers and canvas tags. When she was asked to lift from one of her older pages, Iris decided to lift the style and look she created with the "15 Months" layout. According to Iris, there are many ways to lift a page. You can lift the entire design or you can lift the style and techniques you used on a previous page that you love. In this layout, Iris duplicated the misting, the bottom border design and the use of hand-cut elements.
Next Monday: we bring you ‘then and now’ layouts from Suzanne Tonga, Nic Finlayson and Nic Howard
