(This post is part of my Frosty Festivities 2015 Blog Event – see a list of all the posts HERE)
I have another layout to share with you today. I have had these dark photos sitting in a drawer for over 5 years, but couldn’t work out how to use them because they were so black…
I think I pulled it off okay in the end! I took some photos of my process, so you can see how I figured out a way to use the photos.
First I pulled a bunch of stuff from my Christmas stash. I looked for things with a hint of black to start with – I didn’t want things that were all black because the whole page would be too dark, but I wanted a hint so the photos didn’t look too lost or contrast too much with the rest of the page. Once I’d found a few things with a bit of black I noticed my scarf was blue in the photo, so I looked for items of that hue. Then as I was rummaging I came across the My Mind’s Eye Christmas On Market Street gold ephemera and gold glitter sticker pieces, and decided that would make the page feel more special. Kraft and wood went quite well to match the gold too.
Here’s my pile of supplies:
I pulled out the ‘Ready, Set, Snow’ stamp set at the last minute, because I realised none of the supplies had any snowmen on them!
The first thing I did was to cut down the photos to lose some of the black and make it easier to fit them all on one page.
Next I chose which piece to use for my background. I tried it on a plain mint blue piece, but that was too boring. Then I tried it on a Pinkfresh Studio paper with mountains and houses on, but I figured I’d be covering most of the paper up so it seemed a shame to waste it, and the paper was too white – it made the snowman appear yellow! The final piece, again from Christmas On Market Street, was just right – the base colour was off-white and the black trees helped to echo the colours in the photos without being too overwhelming:
I really wanted to use this old Crate Paper journal card on the layout, as the words fitted so well. But it would take up most of the page:
Then I noticed the words that were important to me – ‘Build A Snowman’ and ‘Bundle Up’ – were at the top, so I could just use those at the top of the page:
It was all pretty easy from there. I planned out where the larger elements of the page were going to go:
At this point I knew I wouldn’t bother trying to squeeze on a title – the journal card and the word ‘joy’ were enough for me!
I got them all stuck down, flat on the background:
Then I just needed to finish it off with my usual scattering of pretty bits and pieces, including buttons, little wood hearts, and enamel dots:
I added one of the Happy Scatter ‘Watercolour Words’ flair badges above the big photo:
And I managed to add a stamped snowman next to my journaling:
The journaling says:
‘I am blessed with a sister as childlike as me! Of course we had to bundle up and build a snowman. The biggest I’ve ever built. We were so excited!! 09/01/2010’
Be Inspired:
Cluster everything in the middle of your page or project
Use a word sticker or alpha stickers so they overlap a photo or image
Use a black, mint, teal, and gold colour scheme
Do you have any photos sitting around in a drawer that you’re scared to use because of the colours in them?
Remember that commenting on this post, and any post that goes live during November 2015, will count as another entry into the Grand Giveaway {NOW CLOSED}, but only if you’ve registered your interest in winning that prize right HERE!
I’ll see you again tomorrow!
Jennifer x
I think this background paper is perfect for these photos….and the touches of green makes it all pop.
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Very nice layout,. It was interesting how you played around with different backgrounds until you found the right one and I really like the layered look. I make a scrapbook whenever I take a vacation. They turn out okay but lack some dimension-I will try your techniques when I get the chance.
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This is absolutely beautiful! I love the photos you used and how you arranged them! You are indeed blessed to have a sister! I have yet to do any scrapbooking as I tend to only make cards but you are giving me lots of ideas!
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hehehe! This is so fun! I love it, great tips too!
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Beautiful layout! Great tips on working with dark photos… they really pop against the light background! Love all the layering and embellishments! I like the clustering idea too!
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I think this was a great solution to the dark photo dilemma. I almost feel as if I’m inside in a brightly lit room looking out the window at y’all having a play in the snow! My favorite touch that you didn’t mention – leading me to believe that it could have been accidental – is the curve of the river in the deer paper that completes the snowman shape in your photo! Coincidentally I am scrapping some of my own “Snow Day” photos today 🙂
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Love it! Really enjoyed seeing how the photos sat against the different pp bgs……a,along how you just ‘know’ when you’ve got the right one!!! And that quay looks brill!!!!
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Great tips and layout. Thanks for the ideas.
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Good job getting round to using the photos!! The layout is super!
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This is fabulous!! Love the good contrast with your background with the hints of black here and there and the touches of aqua and gold. Perfect. What a fun memory to have captured!!!
❤ J
jwoolbright at gmail dot com
HerPeacefulGarden.blogspot.com
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probably not the colour of them, more like the busy-ness of them! sigh….
I totally get what you mean about scrapping the dark background. Love your background paper.. it works a treat!
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Thanks for the step-by-step photos and for going through your decision-making process – it’s very helpful. Loved the resulting layout. I had two fun photos of my sister’s stupid dog putting his head through the cat door but one was very much darker than the other. I solved the problem by matting the dark one with a light colour, and the light one with a dark colour; that evened them out enough so I could use them together to make a layout.
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Jennifer, I think these photos look just fabulous on your layout! The deep contrast of these night scenes looks gorgeous with the light tones that you used! Just perfect!
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love the mint colour with the blacj and white and definitely brightens the page with the dark photos
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