9 happy memories

I adore making elaborate layouts full of layers, distressing, clusters and just a couple of photos. All artistic and time consuming. These are my most favourite types to spend time on and the end results never fail to please me.

But sometimes, I get the need to make something a bit simpler and to use loads of photos all at once. And the end results never fail to please me too!

I decided I wanted to attack the fabric Love Elsie paper I had in my Departing Summer kit as well as to use up several of the paper trims that are so ancient that no two strips are the same colour. But what to do with them?

Then I thought about the Heidi Swapp journalling spots I'd included that feature days of the week and I thought that would be a fun easy way to write some notes about photos that span a few days - of a trip for example. Grabbing my storage binder that was closest to hand, I found the dozens and dozens of photos from the 2008 trip of the Chances to Germany and the layout came together.

I added in a second sheet of blue cardstock so that I could do a double spread and got to work chopping up the papers - the single sheet of Chatterbox was cut in half and both parts used, and the fabric paper was cut into strips and edged with pinking shears just to add some detail, using up half the sheet which in itself felt like an achievement. The paper strips were next. I found a couple that were almost the same shade of faded and two others that I glimmer misted on top and then a last two which I glimmer misted on the back. You'd never know that these trims were originally pea green. Layering everything up gave me a base for my photos.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge layout #2 using Departing Summer kit

I managed to fit on 9 in total, all of which started off as standard 4x6 prints and I cut them all down to 4x4. The journalling spots helped to tell a brief story about each of the three days (will definitely be doing that again) and I even decided to use two of the photo corners to pick up a bit more of the pink from the spots. The biggest problem I have with these types of layouts is the lack of embellishment so I was determined to find a little corner for something and the die cuts seemed ideal, glimmer misted to match the other blue tones, scattered across the two pages.

 I left one of the blocks empty to fill with some sort of embellishment but when I saw the bling frame in my kit (another item I'd never had an idea about how to use) I knew it would be perfect there and the idea of filling it with the title came to mind. (I added in the smaller alphas from my stash.)

Sometimes, these older products just need a different thought process to make them "work" for you.

Don't forget to enter my anniversary giveaway by commenting on this comment (here) - it's open until the end of the month but there's no time like the present to enter!