Best Friends

Still working on making layouts with the pictures from my old scrapbook.  Though this one is different: instead of creating a layout based on the picture, I made the base of the page first and then selected the photo to go with it.  This is because I made this for a challenge on the Filipino Scrapbookers Challenge Blog. I stumbled upon the site and found myself wanting to participate in the first challenge.  I actually did post an entry and you can view it here.  And when I saw that there was a new challenge up on the blog site, I was inspired to try something right away.  Here is my take on challenge #2:

I wouldn't have thought that I'd be doing pages with considerable negative space, but since I've started on these challenges, I must admit that it is growing on me.  My older layouts usually contain multiple pictures and lots of embellishments.  It seemed like I'm trying to cover the entire page with whatever I could cram into it.  But now, I'm starting to appreciate keeping things simple and putting the focus on a few things only.  I guess that's the beauty of doing challenges - you get to try new things every now and then.  I'm so grateful to have found the blog...  it was serendipity!

Journaling:  Best Friends - Maricon, Donna, Me.  "I am pretty sure that I wouldn't have made it through grad school without them.  They kept me sane & grounded, and cheered me up when things got rough.  The kind of friends who will be there always!"  Summer 1999

 

Supplies:  Cardstock (Mint Fancy Papers), flowers (Prima), rub-ons (All About Scrapbooking & UBL), pen (Faber-Castell), distress ink (Ranger), patterned paper, brads, & buttons (All About Scrapbooking), others - lace, cardstock sticker, embroidery floss.

Page Remake: 5th of July

If I remember correctly, this was the first time I watched fireworks to celebrate Independence Day in the US - 07-05-00 / Urbana, IL.

Journaling:  "Why the 5th (and not the 4th)?  We actually turned up on the 4th itself to see the fireworks but it was drizzling, so it was moved to the next evening.  It was fun!  With Maricon, Donna & also Mike (I think).  Though Maricon looks a bit cranky here already.  She might've been a little hungry.  So we headed off to Courier Cafe right after for a post-fireworks treat. :-)"

Supplies:  Cardstock, brad, metal & fabric flowers (All About Scrapbooking), metallic gel pen (Dong-A), others - lace, patterned paper & chipboard letters.

Page Remake: MAC

Another remake of a page from my US scrapbook.  I actually split one page - of some pictures taken in the summer of 2000 - into two layouts.  This is the first of the two, which is all about the son of another grad student (who is also a close friend), and about how they came to name him Mac.  The pictures were taken at his older sister's birthday in May and at his first birthday in July.  I love making the little banners and how they give the layout a summery feel - to remind us of all the picnics and barbecues we had back then.  I also wrote the journaling by hand and incorporated it into the layout as the string from which the banners were hanging, leaving the page looking clean and simple.

Journaling:  "Mac is such a sweet little boy, the second child and only son of Cesar and Arlene.  Cesar has this neat little story of how they came up with the name: in Gaelic, it literally means "son of"... and since he is the one and only son, it's so him."

Supplies:  Cardstock (All About Scrapbooking and Star Paper Corporation), patterned paper (DCWV), paper flowers (Prima), fabric tape (Shallow Grass), felt letter stickers, flower trim, & acrylic flowers (All About Scrapbooking), black pigment ink pen (Uni), others - lace.