Belinda Jane

Memorykeeper. Mother. Maker

One photo, two layouts

I had this beautiful photo that I’d taken of Jack and Violet when he was just a couple of weeks old. My initial plan was to create just one layout to go into our family album. But I ended up printing out two copies of the photo in different sizes, not sure which one I wanted to use. So rather than let the second go to waste I decided to make a second layout to go into Jack’s album.

Brother & Sister

This is the layout I first created. The papers and vellum all came from a Studio Calico kit, the embellishments from digging through my stash. I’ve had this giant acrylic ampersand sitting in a container on my desk for a very long time. I’m happy to have finally used it.

My embellishment clusters are pretty basic and boring so that’s something I want to work on improving through practice. And I didn’t really think through the placement of my title before sticking everything down. I centred the title by the ampersand which meant that the ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ alphas aren’t even across the page. It’s a little annoying but I’m just leaving it because really, who is going to care?

Some close-up images:

She Loves You

And here we are with the layout to go into Jack’s album. This layout came together after making my way through a couple of big chunks of Victoria Marie’s “Layering Like a Boss” classes (available here) using one of the sketches provided. I think there is a pretty noticeable difference in the overall design from the first layout above, even though they were only created a week or so apart. The other great thing about this one was that I was able to finish the entire thing while both Jack and Violet were having a nap. Winning!

Supplies for this one mostly came from a Gossamer Blue kit with some extra embellishments from my stash.

More detailed images:

Layout Share – Best Girl

 

In between caring for a newborn and taming a toddler over my summer break from uni, I was able to work on quite a few scrapbook layouts which made me so happy. When it’s been a while I forget how much fun it is to play with product and make pretty things.

I’ve been watching LOADS of YouTube videos from various papercrafters and memory keepers around the world and have felt really inspired to do more with my layouts and put my mountains of product to good use. I also signed up to a couple of Victoria Marie’s online classes to pick up some inspiration and tricks for layering. A link to her blog (and classes) is available here .

I put this layout together after getting through a few of the lessons in the Layering Like A Boss classes. And honestly, it took a really long time to come together. Like any new skill, I guess it’s something that will get easier with practice. But I am really happy with the finished product and I can’t wait to try using more layering techniques and clustering of embellishments on future layouts.

The papers for this layout came from a Studio Calico kit. I believe it was the Birds and the Bees scrapbook kit. And most of  the embellishments have come from digging through my stash. There are also a few leaf-y die cuts which I cut out with my silhouette cameo.

Some close-up photos are below.  

I Want to Remember: Part 4

Life with Jack

 
I want to remember how quickly he has found a place in my heart.
 
I want to remember how all the fears and worries that I had about bringing a new baby into the world and having a little boy melted away the moment I laid my eyes on him.
 
I want to remember those precious days that I had to spend with him in the hospital.
Although I so desperately missed being at home, missed Violet and missed Lee, I am so grateful to have had a few days alone with my baby boy.
 
I want to remember how much my heart swells each time I look at him.
 
I want to remember how his sweet little breath smells.
 
I want to remember his hilarious cry with the high pitched girly squeal.
 
I want to remember how small and sweet and fragile he feels in my arms.
 
I want to remember that he is going to grow so quickly and that I will never again have this time again.
 
I want to remember to take every opportunity to slow down and just BE with him while I can.
 
I want to remember how beautiful it is to see how much Violet loves him and how affectionate she is with him.
 
I want to remember that although things are going to get tough over the next few months and there will be times that I will struggle to cope with caring for this newborn soul, it will all be worth it.
 
I want to remember that although I know I will end up wishing the time away when things are difficult, I need to cherish every precious moment that I have with him that I can.
 
I want to remember to make time for him, that he needs me to hold him and love him as much as possible.
 
I want to remember how happy I am to have him here to complete our family.

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