Monday, April 23, 2012

Sometime It Is Just Black And White




Hello, Happy Scrappers!!!

Welcome to another edition of A Cherry On Top.  This post is all about my first baby boy's book.  I decided to go with a black and white theme.  All of the photos are black and white and infused with just a tad of color on each page.  I was going for a more traditional, simple, timeless kind of look.  I've also seen how scrapbooks can weather over time and I've also learned how quality products survive over the years much better.

Temperature is very important when it comes to your paper and craft projects.  Especially, those with adhesives.  They do not do well with adjustable temperatures.  Putting your cherished books up in the attic may not be the best idea.  In a damp basement won't be the best home for them either.  Try to keep them in a stable temperature. 

I was surprised to see that some of my pages looked faded and a little warped.  Bummer!  All of that work! I share this mistake with you so that you do not make it yourself.  I really put a lot of work into this book, but not a lot of money and over the years, it shows.  Meh, scrap one up on the chart as a lesson learned.

The layout below is super simple and clean.  As you can imagine, hours were not spent on it, but the look is still very pleasing.  Of course, baby blue had to be the color of choice here.  


This alphabet page is still a pleaser.  So much texture and dimension.  It brings on a smile years later.  Who doesn't love to look at the pictures of their babies when they were just that?  Babies!  I must say, scrapping babies and kids stuff has to be my favorite subject.  There are just so many lovely  supplies out there.  A great kit gives a great book or project.


 Everyone has bath time pictures.  Keeping it simple and adding basic embellishments makes the most simple layouts sparkle.  Rub a dub dub...  Am I seeing double?!  Don't let your photos get lost on too busy of a layout.  Especially, when they are special or this cute.


Wow!  Boys are a ball.  Even still!  A circle punch (in various sizes if you can) is a great tool to have in your craft bag.  A Fiskars shape cutter is also an asset.  It is nearly impossible to cut a perfect circle.  Your projects will go quickly and easily with these tools. I suppose you may notice the eco friendly/wallet techniques.  Everything here was scrap.


A Boy Is A Joy.  That's for sure.  Timeless, classical embellishments adorn this page and give it a bit of rugged, tough guy appeal.  Perfect for my little tater tot!  I don't often use corner photo tabs and I'm not sure why.  They look great here.  Check out that border, too!


Tags, tags, tags!  Bring them on!  I love tags.  They have to be one of my favorite embellishments and I love making them, too.  It is a fantastic way to get rid of all of those small odds and ends that are just too nice to throw away.  Simple circles keep going throughout the book as well as some of the primary colors.  This little guy is just too, cute.


More simplicity and blue, blue, blue.  It is still his favorite color.  I wonder if these pages had anything to do with that?  I still dig this blue, wooden, textured paper I got at a scrapbooking workshop in Holland, called Scrap-A-Ganza.  It's such a bummer that they don't do it any more and I can hardly imagine why.  The place was packed.  Every workshop I went to was full to the brim.  Can you image my disappointment when I went to sign up next year and found out they were not doing it any more?


Use words to express what is going on in your pictures.  My little bug nestled up in his nest.  These insect die cuts couldn't be more perfect.  Vellum can be a bit tricky to work with, but it brings something different to your pages.  A little bit of sophistication which is great in a black and white theme.


Well, I didn't have too many pictures of Liam sleeping.  The kid never slept.  I wish I were exaggerating, but we were very lucky if he slept 4 hours straight.  This went on for years and years.  That leaves a lot of time for scrapping after midnight. Hehehe....  I'm digging the border on this layout.  Ribbon, metallic stars and beaded thread.  All hand made and adding a bit of a posh quality to a simple page and all from stuff I nearly threw out.


That's what we want them all to do.  Reach The Stars.  What better way to get there than in  a rocket?  You'll never miss that way.  Make them jump off of the page by adding a contrasting background and thick double sided tape.  More metallic paper to keep a modern look going.  This page is screaming, "BOY!"


Ah, this page brings back many memories.  I wanted to go above and beyond the scrapbooking realm.  Although, I'm pretty sure there are no limits there.  I chose the most fun colors and this paper is so cute and page appropriate, too.  I loved it so much, I went out and bought some more in red.  Make your kikker hop with a spring to send him up and adhesive to keep him on the page. Hehehe...I also put some googly eyes to make him even more realistic.  I still love this little froggy.  I did cut a piece of the page protector out so he could hop into your heart.  Think out side of the page when it comes to your embellishments.  Here I used my original paper (Basic Grey, I think.) and took out elements that would help make this page even cuter still.  The words say it all.


One of my favorite pictures needed a great layout.  I wanted to keep the page simple so that you would focus on the picture itself.  That tie is nearly as big as the babe!  So is the tut! Hehehe...  Adorned with metallic baby charms and sticking to black white leaves it chic and cool.  The modern pattern paper reminds you what century you're really in.  If that is even important.  Ha!


Check out these letters!  Lullaby and good night.  Yes!  Asleep, again!  My mom picked up these letters for me.  At first I was like, "eh", but they grew on me and they certainly are the feature on this page.  Unless, you are familiar with the out of sorts sleeping pattern of the tuckered out tike.  Then you really appreciate the picture.  The letters just kind of sat there on the page and weren't doing much for me until I put the colorful circles in the background.  That did the trick.  Making them an even more special feature.


I'm leaving you with my other favorite page.  It is the first one in the book.  Metallic letters with fun fluff, brads and eyelets.  This is me going all out on a page. Hehehe...A little bit of worded transparency went great with the black and white theme.  As did the matching metallic framed words.  Cohesion to the fullest.  I would definitely try another black and white themed book.  It's a classic.  It's sophisticated and always stylish.  How can you go wrong?

Thank you for stopping by The Cherry On Top.  I hope you enjoyed another edition and that you will be back again to visit soon.  Feel free to comment or send pictures of your stuff.  I would love to see what your diving into today.  Go on now!  Go get your scrap on!