Grandparents Layout

 Good morning fellow scrappers!  This page just rec'd a little makeover.  I wasn't 100% happy with the original take on this page.  When I'm not 100%--it nags me until I go back & 'fix' it.  I removed all the splatters of paint & color from this page--it just felt like a bit too much on the eyes.  Every time I looked at it I felt the urge to put on sunglasses!  :-)  So I toned it down a lot.  This simpler look focuses more on the photo which is what I originally wanted.

This page has one of my most recent favorite pictures which is my son with his grandparents (my parents).  My son is their very first grandchild and they're very much in love with him.  Personally, I have a very special place in my heart for grandparents.  I myself was raised alongside my grandmother.  She loved me unconditionally & taught me so many lessons about life in general.  She took care of me, always cooked my favorite meals & I could do no wrong in her eyes.  I still miss her daily even though she's been gone from my side going on 8 years now.  Like it is with all loved ones--you never stop missing them.

So it warms my heart to see history repeat itself with my son.  He loves his 'Ya-Ya' & 'Ya-Yo' which is what he calls them. He's already developed a special bond with them--one that I'm sure he'll cherish as much as I cherished the bond I had with my grandmother.

All papers used are from Authentique's 'Promise' collection.  The collection is geared towards Easter but I wanted to show how versatile these papers are & used them for a completely different theme.  All chipboard used is by Leaky Shed Studio.  I've used the 'Watch Parts' & 'Hot Air Balloon #2' chippies.

 All of the chipboard was treated the same way in order to give them a bit of texture.  I kept them in the raw & decided against painting them since their raw color when perfectly with the colors of my layout.  So I decided to give them a bit of shimmer.  They were all inked with embossing ink & heat embossed with Star Dust Transparent embossing powder by Stampendous.  In person all these chippies have a shimmery effect to them.

TIP: To be able to place your title anywhere on your page & give it a dimensional 'floating' effect.  Try taking the letter stickers & placing them on a piece of acrylic or a transparency.  That's how I created my title for this page.  I placed the letters onto a piece of transparency, cut it out & adhered it to my page over a few of the embellishments with clear dry adhesive.

My cluster is full of all kinds of different flowers.  I have flowers by Prima, Petaloo, Manor House Creation & from my own stash.  The bright green flowers with the white center pearl along with the small yellow & white ribbon flowers are from my own stash.  I have these & a few more in different colors available for sale in my Etsy shop here.  Feel free to visit my shop if interested.  These flowers make for great fillers.  Speaking of fillers--I've also incorporated a bit of Spanish moss into my cluster.  A first for me--but certainly not a last. 

Surfing along the Internet for quotes that would fit this page I ran into this one said by the former mayor of New York.  I felt that it fit my thoughts perfectly.  I printed it directly onto one of the left over scraps from the 'Promise' collection & cut it into the form of a tag--punch a hole, run some tulle through it & voila!  Instant makeshift journaling tag.

 Thanks to all of you who stop by for a visit.  Make sure to visit the Authentique blog where all week long we'll be sharing projects with both Authentique & Leaky Shed Studio products!

Take care & enjoy the rest of the week...