Monday, January 2, 2012

Asking Permission - Echo Park & Webster's

Last month seemed to fly by in a second. I barely had enough time to get all my Christmas shopping done. Between doing some wedding DIY, family dinners, and working, I managed to get this layout done; but I had to wait until it was sunny enough outside to take pictures. I always set my layouts next to a window and use the natural sunlight to get my pictures. (I wish I had enough money to get a light setup for my photos.)

Echo Park Paper - Victoria Gardens - Rose Garden, Webster's Pages - Country Estate - Serenity, Tim Holtz - Distress Ink - Antique Linen, Tim Holtz - Distress Ink - Forest Moss Prima Marketing - Textured Alphabet Stickers - White

This layout is about my fiancĂ© asking my father for permission and is one of the very few layouts I have that doesn't include photos. I almost always have a photo, but this time I wasn't present for the conversation and therefore couldn't bring my camera. However, I think it just adds to the topic. The papers I used were so intricate and I knew they would quickly overwhelm my page. So, I decided to cut them up in strips instead and post them on white cardstock.


To help the give more definition to the strips of paper, I broke out the sewing machine and did a couple of cute stitches in a brown color. I loved the look of it so much that I also decided to stitch a border (or two) as well. The brown stitching also allowed me to bring in some Kraft paper as a solid. Solid papers are a necessity when working with bold patterns. Your eye needs a calm place to rest. Otherwise, it will start looking really busy.


I bought these alphabet stickers a couple of years ago and I love them. They're white fabric so I'm able to color them with whatever inks I want to match my layout. I was able to spritz them with some water and rub them with Tim Holtz's Forest Moss distress ink. The color was just perfect. But I had a happy accident when I was gluing them down. Apparently my letter 'S' was not yet fully dry and when I dropped it on my page it left a small green smear. So I had to do some damage control. I pulled some more kraft paper out and cut out a flourish with my Sizzix. It wasn't what I had originally planned, but I actually like it better that way.

Hopefully I'll have enough time to have another layout up soon. I'm just having so much fun right now and I want to savor it as much as possible. I want to say a huge thank you to all the wonderful comments I've received since my last post. You guys are just so wonderful. If you haven't started following my blog yet, now's a great time! Just click the little button to the right that says "Join this Site". I promise that you won't receive any spam mail from it. Thanks!

10 comments:

Mary Pat Siehl said...

what agreat layout!

Tammy said...

Beautiful page! I love doing pages without photos to change it up once in awhile. This is a great memory to preserve! :)

Unknown said...

I love your layout, Tiffany. What a great reason for no photos! What a story ( I agree your kids will love it) and how sweet that Caleb thought enough of your dad to ask him for your hand. Precious really.

Mary Jo said...

Ummm...this is beautiful! Such a great story and layout despite not having a photo :)

April Michelle said...

Really pretty, I can tell you there are som really cheap ways to mimick some lighting. For example if you have a desk or table lamp, shine it from one side of the layout then take white foam core and put it on the oppositte side of the layout and it will serve as a reflector and you should be able to get some nice inside light.

Danielle said...

I think it is great that you included this story regardless of you having no photos. The page is very pretty!

joscelyne cutchens said...

what a sweet memory to save. I love the stitching!

Johanna said...

A great LO for a great story! What a great way to learn how much you mean to your father :)

Pamela said...

Love this!! Great job! :)

Keshet said...

Love this--what a fabulous example of a photo free layout! And that ring is just stunning--he did good!!