Remember the Moments

Hi everybody!! 

Well, we made it back safely from the Wedding of the Year in Italy and I'm slowly getting back into my routine. The cat has (almost) forgiven me for deserting him and my scrapping desk is calling.

I know, Tracy...it really IS about time!! I can't apologise enough and you have been more than patient. An angel in fact ;) 

On Sunday we finally met our very first Grandson....and he's SUCH a cutie. DH's son has been working overseas for ages and this little man was born in America. They came home for good the day before DH and I took off for Italy, so last weekend was the first opportunity for a face-to-face cuddle. I'm going to love scrapping his gorgeous face, he's so full of smiles and sunshine, and only just three months old.

For this layout I've used Illumination papers & elements by 7 Dots Studio. A sheet of the reverse of Joy on a piece of black cardstock - the cardstock only for added strength.

To that I've added some Gloss Multi Medium pushed through the Twiddleybitz Narrow Arrow Template which adds texture and a bit of shine without complicating the pattern already on the paper.

For finer detail, and to introduce some colour to the background, I used light blue acrylic paint with a Basically Essential template - also in the chevron pattern - and the checkerboard background stamp from Illuminations Clear Stamp Set 1 with various black, white and blue inks. There are also a few random pieces of sticky white plasterer's mesh.

I mounted the photo on three layers of paper - Tolerance, then the reverse of Acceptance, then Diversity. The same papers were cut into thinner strips, punched using a scalloped edge punch and added to the bottom. The three tags on the layout are from the Illumination 12 x 12 Die Cut Tags sheet. All the layers are inked just a little bit using Broken China Distress Ink and an Ink Blending Tool.

To the embellishing.... from the Illuminations Chipboard pack I chose the 'Remember' and 'Moments' tags and the checkerboard border. I painted them with the light blue acrylic paint. The '3', small heart and arrow (bottom left) are from the Illuminations Stickers and making them look prettier are two Glass Cabochons. The heart is popped up on a square of dimensional tape. The skeleton leaves are die cut from Diversity.

Between the two tags there is a length of  Ball and Chain - attached through two Silver Jumprings, but also with a dab or two of Glossy Accents on each end for added stability. Looking very cute dangling from the chain on more Silver Jumprings are four silver charms - ABC Block, Baby Feet, Teddy Bear and LOVE. They look so awesome!!

Tucked in with the skeleton leaves is a my2angels Charming Pin. This one's colour is Pewter, and I have changed the flower charm that was on the top to another ABC Block to match my theme.

Making the top corner of the photo beautiful...besides that cute smile... is an embellishment made with the gorgeous my2angels Mini Sweetheart Baby Blue kit. This time I stuck to the correct colour and only added Inkssentials Crackle Accents to the heart section and a few Crushed Ice Sugar Beads to the centre to lighten up the included Blue Lemonade ones

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At the bottom adding balance is the third tag, with the addition of a small glass bottle filled with Sugar Beads,  Crushed Ice again mixed in with some of the remaining Blue Lemonade from the Mini Sweetheart Baby Blue kit. There are a very generous number of beads included with this kit - plenty for any additional embellishing you may need to do.

I didn't want to add any more clutter to this layout, but felt like it needed something more. My solution was to cut out several of the chevrons from Tolerance and the reverse of Joy, ink their edges with Broken China Distress Ink and pop them onto dimensional squares directly over the top of the chevrons already on the paper. This added another element, but didn't clutter up the layout. I like it :)

Back soon!!