At any given time, you can find ticket stubs in my purse, event photos on my phone, and a stack of maps on my craft desk, all waiting to be incorporated into some grand creation. Or, even into something that allows them to not tear, crinkle, and be stepped on. Anything. Since I'm currently not working, I really don't have any excuses to avoid actually doing something with all of these memories. If I go as far as to collect physical reminders, then I should put some effort into organizing them into something I can enjoy (and free up some purse space).
While attempting to break out of my procrastinator shell by making a collection of ready-to-use gift tags, I paired a blue-hued butterfly image with a piece of yellow and white fabric. There was something about this combo that I really liked, but didn't want to use it on something that might be thrown out with wrapping paper and leftover birthday cake.
I took the butterfly and the yellow tag and layered them on a mini file folder in Pool (blue) color from Paper Source. From there, I channeled all my blogger heroes who layer like champions and did my best to take my embellishments and make them eye-appealing. I tried be a little random but still keep a summery feel. My intention is to use this folder to hold all of the summer paraphernalia that I collect and then take each item and create mini memory pages.
Looking at the photo above, I love each element, but if I could do it again, I would maybe move them all closer to each other; there seems to be a lot of space throughout the layout, but not a lot of overlapping. However, I do not get this feeling when I look at it in-person. It's funny how pictures can give you such a different view of the world you live in every day!
Let's take a close-up look at the items.
On the tab, I was going to label the folder "Summer Memories," but that seemed a little expected and I wasn't sure by what means I would label. I'd originally wanted to type it out on my typewriter, but the font just seemed too small. I went with the red bicycles because they bring out the other red colors and also help to give the folder some movement.
I think what I love most is that this layout is a visual buffet, which is the style that I love so much. Check out my Pinterest boards, the majority of the layouts that I've pinned are like amusement parks for the eye. The blue butterfly from the Engraved Garden ephemera pack by K & Company is plastic and, in-person, adds a new texture and dimension to the overall visual appeal.
***Side Note*** I've put some thought into it, and I've discovered that I'm a little crazy coo-coo about letters, specifically monograms. I don't mean to incorporate them into my projects so often, but I think I do it because it adds a personal touch and give each project a purpose.
Moving on...
I'm very proud of the flower. I actually created the shape in Silhouette Studio all by myself. I then colored it in with Spectrum Noir markers (ADORE). The faded effect was very accidental; it is the result of stacking the two layers before the ink dried. I love it! I also created the center of the flower from a clay mold.
My latest easy go-to embellishment has been to turn flattened bottle caps into mini chalkboards. I like how they have a really sweet little finished frame look to them so that they can be popped onto just about anything. I don't know why I thought it was necessary to include one on this, but it just felt right, right?
And finally, a big thank you to October Afternoon for once again providing adorable adornments to pull the sentiment together. The "A Walk in the Park" banner and rubber camera embellishment fit well with both the theme and the color scheme.
Coming Soon... What's going inside?????
