Black, White and Grey

Another rainy here in Ontario but very warm – unseasonably warm in fact. The nights are quite cool with several nights of frost but the daytime temperatures are close to 70F. So odd for this time of the year.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that my Christmas card from this post: https://craftyviolet.blogspot.ca/2016/10/a-snowman-card.html was picked as one of the top three cards submitted at the Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge and I’ve added their badge to my sidebar. You don’t actually win a prize but that’s okay. It’s nice to be picked just the same.

Today I’m posting a scrapbook layout. I seldom ever do one photo only on a layout but this photo deserved its own page.

 

I took this photo of Joe walking along the beach at Point Pelee National Park. It was a very cold and overcast September day but we really wanted to go for hike there so we bundled up and went. For some reason I stopped (I think to tie my shoe) and he didn’t notice and kept walking. When I looked up I grabbed my ever present camera and took the shot.

First the photo was changed to black and white and developed at 5x7 and then the edges were lined in black. This is my trick to add a border without using paper. Just lay an old greeting card with a straight edge over the photo leaving about an 1/8” border and draw a line with an acid free pen. Be sure to cover the photo because if the pen slips and you get a black line across the photo it’s ruined – no need to ask how I know this for sure!

I pulled some grey, black and black and white paper from the stash and started ripping and distressing them all. I wanted many layers and a torn spot in the main background page so it was ripped a bit; turned back and then stitched with thread in a zigzag stitch around it. The thing to remember if doing this is to make sure the end of the rip points at the main subject in the photo or layout. Try it – look t the rip and follow it down – it leads right to Joe. After everything was glued down I added some more zigzag stitches here and there.

Another trick is to have 3 elements the same colour at various points on the layout. This keeps the eye moving around the page. The rip was one; the small little badge to the left is another and then the grey and black flower on the lower left is the third one. This creates an invisible triangle. The long grey label was made using a Spellbinders die. To make the die long enough to fit the sentiment in, I die cut one end only; flipped it around and die cut the other end and then hand cut the area in between. The flower is made up from Sizzix and Die-namites dies with a black button in the centre. To see the layout better, just double click on it to enlarge it.

That’s all for a rainy Wednesday, November 2, 2016,

Cheers

Violet