Snow Fun

This layout started with the sketch from Ella Publishing's Six Weeks of Sketches: Week 5 challenge by Donna Jannuzzi.  I was excited to see a 2 page layout with a lot of pictures.  I had several events in my "needs to be to be scrapped" list, so I went through my iPhoto folders looking for one that I could do with 7 pictures.  Our recent snow play pics seemed to go best with this layout.

I still couldn't do the layout with just 7 pictures.  :)  So I changed the 5x3 1/2 photo on the left page into 2 2x3 photos.  I just had to include pictures of each of the boys with their dad!  I also shifted the 4x6 on the left page up to balance the largely white photos across the spread.  I wanted the 5x7 photo to stand out a bit because the title is based on this photo, so I matted it with white.

I wasn't sure what else to do on the page, so I went searching for color inspiration online at Scrapbooks Etc.  I found this one page layout.  I loved the patterned paper bars that moved the eye across the page and how the colors were pulled from the child's coat and hat.

I found this paper in my stash and felt like the greens went well with my older son's coat, my younger son's coat was navy, but I didn't want to do another navy background with snow pictures (see Snow Rookies post).  So I decided to mat the photos with a navy blue border to tie in his coat.  When trying to decide on a background color I remembered reading somewhere that gray is the new neutral.  Since my older son's coat also had gray in it, I decided to go with it.

You can see that I mimicked the patterned paper bars from the Scrapbooks Etc layout.  Normally this shade of green would make me think of summer and grass, but the circle pattern reminded me of snowflakes and ice crystals.  When paired with the gray and snow pictures it seemed to fit perfectly.  I found the title on scrapbooks.com.  It went so well with my 5x7 photo that I just had to use it.  I decided to change the o in snow into a snowflake.  When the page was finished I still felt like something was missing.  I remembered the navy snowflake punches I had left over from another snow layout I did recently (see post called Snow Rookies).  I decided to embellish on the large white portion of two of my photos.  I then added a gem to the center of each of the snowflakes.  I love how it turned out.  I think it's really fun to use unusual colors for a layout.  Green, gray and blue were a different choice for this snowy winter page.

I'm having tons of fun with these Ella layout challenges.  I especially love looking at all the layouts people create.  It just exemplifies to me why scraplifting is not stealing, but a true form of creative expression.  No one makes a layout exactly like me, or you, even if we start in the same place!  Join me in coming out of anonymity and into the limelight!