Throwback Thursday: “Be a Squirrel!”

Scrapping Your Collections

It’s Throwback Tuesday once again and this time Scrapping your Collections is the Throwback Tuesday answer to the Design Team Challenge “To Be a Squirrel.”

That title really piqued our interest and had a few of us worried that Tami would be having us climb a tree to take photos! Alas, nothing quite so dramatic. The goal was to share a collection of something we had gathered or saved. For the challenge I completed two layouts, one with my collection of sheep and one with my daughter’s high heeled shoes. The links will take you to the original posts with all the details.

“My Flock”

“…never have too many” 

Today’s layout is one I vowed to do “someday” so it works perfectly as a “re-do” of the original. I’ll take Libby’s “fabulous shoes, you can never have too many” layout and present her 18 month old daughter’s collection of shoes since she was born to the present in “If the Shoe Fits, Wear it…with Style!” She has grown so quickly and out grown so many pairs of shoes!

Both layouts began with a patterned paper that served as inspiration for subject and colors. The same pattern, #191, was used once again.

However this time, all the photos wouldn’t fit on the one page and there were still squares of the patterned paper to include. So a second pattern similar to the first to carry over and continue was chosen. This allowed for a better arrangement of all the pieces.

The Daisy Set cut in white cardstock became the perfect addition, highlighting the flowers on the tiny shoes in the patterned paper and giving the page a real girly feel. On the 2×2 block size tiles the centers made a great place for a tiny button to match each of the background tiles.

The Scallop Dot Mat Die created mats to top the colored tiles, and then the smaller daisy tiles were placed on top. Originally the plan was to use the spot to journal a bit, but after playing around the nice clean look created with the layered tiles made the choice for me.

Expanding to a second page also allowed the inclusion of a second photo of some of the shoes. I had staged some with her toys and books which I thought was a good idea, but in most cases made it difficult to see the shoes as they were so tiny, even though the chair I was using was a small, old wooden kindergarten chair. Using them as filler added extra interest.

On the original layout I included a photo of Libby and I wanted to get one of Emmi to add to her layout too. Last week she had a new skirt that matched her pink heart-print shoes…she was almost leaving when I remembered I hadn’t taken it yet. After quickly grabbing my camera and telling her I wanted a photo of her in her new skirt and shoes, she struck up a pose worthy of the best models…but I was laughing so hard and shaking the camera, the pose was beginning to fade and she was ready to be off…when I snapped the photo.

 

Even though the photo is blurry, and maybe not the best to showcase here, it was a photo with a story I wanted us both to remember. To do that, I added a notch in the mat, used foam mounting tape to elevate the center tile and created a space behind the photo to hide a journal note with the story written on it. The journal card is a 2×4 paper tile to match the mat. It is trimmed slightly to fit behind and blend in at the edge; it is easily removed to read. I hand lettered the title for another personal touch.

Maybe you too have photos that aren’t your best, but it’s the only one of that moment or memory. Don’t hesitate to use it. We don’t always have perfect results, with little kids you don’t always get a second chance, and sometimes, we don’t know what tomorrow holds. Take these memories and make your page memorable in other ways too.

The grid choice came after trying several colors out and not being fully “sold” on any of them. That was until my latest order from the Stay-cation Sale arrived and the Concord Grape was on top of my stack of new colors…it was perfect!!

The Mosaic Moments Paper Tiles used are Medium Pretty Pink, Orchid, Pear Crush and Ocean Breeze. Each color represents the shoes on the patterned paper by Me & My Big Ideas. Additionally white cardstock was used for mats and daisy squares.

Die Set A, Scallop Dot Mat Die and Daisy Set Die were used to create these pages. To aid in removing all the small pieces on the Daisy set I used a layer of wax paper between the die and the paper for quicker release. On the smaller 1” square daisies it helped to protect them from tearing when removing them from the die.

 

I liked the format of Patterns #191 and #152. The squares gave a nice uniformed appearance and helped to tie the collection together. When you are scrapping your collections consider what size photos you want to use and how many you have. If one page will do great! If you are like me and find you need more space you can either try a mirror image of the pattern you have chosen or one very similar. With so many choices in the Pattern Gallery you just might have a hard time making a decision!

Are you ready for scrapping your collections? What might you have that you’d like to remember?

• If your children are small are there special toys, outfits or books they enjoy that might be nice to remember down the road when the originals are long gone?
• If you travel do you pick up anything in particular as you stop in various spots on your journey like postcards, spoons, magnets or photos of signs?
• Does your city have street art that you could take photos of and scrap? I’ve been to OKC when they had Buffaloes and Tulsa had Penguins; in Cherokee, N.C. when it was Bears; and Moose in Michigan’s UP…it can be fun searching them all out.

Why not consider scrapping your collections? Look over your photos and see what collection you already have, or find one to shoot. Join us on our Facebook page and share your treasures!

Andrea Fisher

Remember to visit our Pinterest page for more ideas for all things mosaic and find this pin on the Scrapbooking Ideas and Techniques board.