I have a pretty good memory for detail and remember stories that others in my family have forgotten. That said, there is a limit to my abilities. Life happens at such an alarming rate that it is impossible to retain everything I want to remember.
One of my favorite focuses in scrapbooking is words. As a former linguist, I have a fascination for language. I love to record the things I remember my grandparents saying and how they differ or not, to the world we live in now. I also love to record the funny things my children say and stories in their perspective that are typical of their age and growth. I think it’s fun to document my said and unsaid responses. It will be so neat for them when they get older to see how they perceived the world and a little something for me to hold onto when they have “flown the nest”.
“The Truth about Monsters” layout focuses on a conversation we had at the dinner table one ordinary Monday night. Ella and Luke’s Daddy was working a night shift and so I had them all to my self. With Halloween just days away, monsters were a hot topic of conversation and with a pen and paper never far away, how could I not take note of the following conversation:
Luke: I had a monster in my closet in Alaska when I was 2.
I’m thinking: Wow! He remembers this? He was afraid of his closet. He would refuse to go to bed until we had closed his closet door. No monsters as far as we could tell…Just shadows.
Ella: Monsters don’t exist… Except sometimes… Like in Texas where there are mummies…Where Hailey and Alexis live. Maybe they will see some.
I’m thinking: This girl has a fixation on Texas and where the heck is she getting her info on mummies? Does she even know what a mummy is? Gosh I must be more naive than I thought.
I join in: So what do monsters like to eat?
Luke: They like grass….
Ella: They drink blood…
Luke: They eat poop.
Ella: No they don’t! They eat people. Mummies don’t eat grass. They like sand.
Luke: …And ghosteses like footprints…and garbage…and trash… and cheetah girls…
I’m faster than Ella… YES Sireeeee!
Ella: …And I’m smarter than Luke… Are you going to call me a baby?
Luke: No but you’re not going to be my “chi chi” girlfriend…
…whatever that is, and so the conversation digressed.
The Process
The focus of this layout was the story and so I kept the design simple.
I dragged the image of my children using my Bamboo Fun pen on a layer above FotoBlendz clipping mask. I then “clipped” the image of my children to the FotoBlendz using the clipping mask function in Photoshop. Press Ctrl + ALT + G (Photoshop) and Ctrl + G (Elements) to clip the paper to the mask so that it appears to have been cropped to that shape.
I embellished my page with a ready-made Halloween overlay and kept the palette monochromatic with a punch of color in the title to bring focus to that particular word.
The page was completed with uneven lines of text in varying font sizes.
MonoBlendz “Avalanche” Paperie No. 2, FotoBlendz Clipping Masks No. 9, Freaks N Ghoull Overlays No. 1 by Anna Aspnes from www.designerdigitals.com
Fonts are Uptown, Hans and Carbonated Gothic.
Traditions often make up the holidays. They are what our children will remember when they look back on their childhoods and therefore I feel it’s important to document them. The problem with holidays and traditions, however, is that the subject matter can become stale unless you think outside the box.
Take the Halloween tree tradition that we started last year. While it will be fun to see my children dressing the tree at various ages, already in the second year, I’m thinking “how many pages of this tree do I need?” More importantly how can I remain interested in scrapbooking these photos over the next 5 years.
When dealing with repetitive events, I try to focus on what is different. I bypass the traditional photos which were captured last year, the expected, and find a story to tell that is unique to this current year. This year it was all about the spiders. Living in a new house we had to figure out where all the Halloween décor would go in particular the string of spiders that live some very cute metal packaging that proved irresistible to Luke. We spent a good 10 minutes trying to find a place for them without any satisfactory result. It is what I remember most fondly about dressing our Halloween tree this year.
In creating a “MultiFoto” layout there is always the challenge of fitting all the photos on the page without it looking too cluttered. To combat this problem I will often pick one focal image that dominates the page and fit the others around it either in smaller blocks or blend images into the background for a collage look that is less distracting.
I blend photos into their backgrounds by combining the use of various distressing and soft round brushes, a layer mask and blending modes. The pen that comes with the Bamboo Fun gives me greater control and allows for a more precise finish in creating my photo montages. It can be done with a mouse but with greater frustration.
I also used the pen with the Magic Eraser tool, which again, gave greater precision in erasing the edges of the focal photo so that it fit the frame and the edges of the paper to fit the torn edge.
I added emphasis to the white title by drawing a black line with a soft round brush on the layer beneath. It is only when you have drawn something directly onto a layout that you can truly appreciate the beauty of the pen and tablet.
Layered Tissue Neutrals Paperie, Freaks N Ghouls FotoFrames, Chunky Torn Edges, 12 X 12 Distressed Edge Overlays.
Font is Violation.
As a UK-native and military spouse with the United States Air Force, Anna brings a truly global perspective to digital scrapbooking. Her journey began in 2002 with her husband’s assignment to a remote air base in northern Japan — and the birth of her two children, Ella and Luke.
Intrigued by the combination of art, technology and family, she quickly transitioned into Digital Scrapbooking. The response to her work in the industry was tremendous and she was soon able to turn her artistic talents to successfully designing and marketing her own digital scrapbooking products. She is also a Contributing Editor to Digital Scrapbooking Magazine, an independent designer for Designer Digitals (www.designerdigitals.com), and most recently created a Tribute photo book for Shutterfly.
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“Halloween Tree” is the best. I love the extra graphics you put into it, and the photos are cute.
I am loving what you have done with the background. You really made a black and white page look awesome.