Themes, layouts and inspirations
Do you make any of these mistakes? I’m really not a fan of articles or sites that try to make us feel like we’re doing it all wrong, but in this video Sandy explains what she sees are three mindsets that hold paper crafters back from making art they truly love. I especially agree with the last two! What do you think?
Vicki’s darling doggie design uses strips of Fall pattern papers in three sections to spread out the color. In the center are the two photos, hanging die cut leaves and letters to spell out the title along with some pumpkin and mushroom embellishments too. I spotted her idea on the Simple Stories Instagram page.
When you’re creating your Autumn scrapbook layouts for the family don’t forget to include the beloved pets in your life. I’m sure your dog loves taking walks and playing in the fallen leaves and your cat enjoys a late afternoon sunning in the window and maybe they all enjoy a little dress up with Autumn or Halloween outfits too? Let’s take a look at some inspiration today for scrapping our pets during the Fall season.
Wendy’s layout is a great way to use up all those scraps of fall pattern papers, layering rectangles and squares in various sizes, adding distressing to the edges for texture. She tucked a tied tag behind the photo and clustered embellishments behind her “Cozy” title and scattered faux buttons all around. I came across her page on the My Creative Scrapbook Instagram page.
If your pets are cows create a fun Fall down on the farm layout like Michele did. She’s layered a die cut truck, barn, cows and goats near the photo and added a pattern paper border down one side. There’s loads of pretty sunflowers as well with a large scalloped circle in one corner to offset the balance. Take a closer look at the Stampbooker Instagram page.
Jil created a double page spread in her Traveler’s Notebook for Fall with her dog and some dog themed beer. She included two fun flaps that reveal another photo and a space for journaling. The plaid papers and chipboard leaf accents add the perfect touch of Autumn. Find more info at A Cherry on Top blog.
If you don’t have Autumn embellishment no worries, use the colors of Fall instead. Wendy die cut many layers of scalloped pattern papers in green, orange, yellow and red for a beautiful horizontal border. She also stenciled a graphic triangle pattern on the background with die cut stars and hearts with stamped sentiments in the same color combo. Visit the Pretty Little Studio blog for more details.
Juliana’s layout started with a dark red zig zag pattern paper which she layered a wreath of circles die cut from different Fall pattern papers for her sweet dog at the apple orchard page. Over the circle she added her photos, the rectangles over the circles add a nice shape contrast, a tag for journaling, die cut letters for the title and an apple label. Visit the 17 Turtles blog for more info.
Does your kitty enjoy laying in the Halloween decorations? Erin’s cat sure does and she scrapped two of the most adorable layouts with them. I love the orange, black and grey color combination in the pattern paper and borders she created. There’s also a die cut spider web, tags and cute fussy cut kitties. Take a closer peek at the Crafty Concepts with Erin Instagram page.
Giselle used dark Fall colors of pattern papers to cut lots of triangles on her amazing graphic design. The photo is also cut into a triangle and matted on pattern paper and cardstock to draw in the eye. There’s thin strips of washi tape, a thick wooden title and some stamping on the clean white background too. Learn more at the Hey Little Magpie blog.
Nothing is more perfect for a black kitten than a Halloween layout. This sweetie is surrounded by vintage inspired chipboard embellishments and black and orange pattern papers, there’s also typed strips of journaling and some stitching around the edge of the page. Learn more about Jana’s layout at the Jana Eubank blog.
I think dogs love Fall walks as much as their humans do. Use rich dark colors and outdoorsy elements with lots of trees, wild animals and fun woodsy words like Yvette did for her dog layout to create a nature themed design. I came across her idea on the Weber Yvette Instagram page.
I hope you and your pets have a fantastic Fall!
-Heather
I am so glad you brought up good tools. My grandmother taught me to knit and crochet when I was 11. Knitting didn’t make sense to me but crochet did. Over the next 40 years I kept picking up and laying down my efforts though because I would get frustrated. Nothing turned out like the picture. One problem I learned when I tried this last time beginning in 2014 was that I was strangling my yarn but the other big lessons were 1) I was using bad yarn and 2) I was using cheap hooks. When I had to pick up a new F on the way to visit family in VT, we made a stop at WEBS. They only sell good tools. I bought my first addi hook and discovered what a great tool it was. I came home, went online and bought the full set for $65. When I decided to try knitting one more time last year, I started with one of the old pairs of Bates needles I had and quickly understood part of the problem…the finish on the needles is terrible and grabs the yarn. So I invested in my first set of Knitters Pride. They were acrylic and also stuck to the yarn. Over the next 12 or so months I have bought KP steel needles and rosewoods in circulars and straights. Now I love knitting and I am learning which yarns and needles work best together. I still use my steel addi hooks but so far they work well with all kinds of yarns. I do have to resort to acrylics for crocheting bulky weights when I need anything larger than a K but because I have the basic mechanics down now I can “make it work”. By the way, I’m also a papercrafter and have learned this lesson in that art also.
Thanks again.
Thanks for sharing your story Kathleen. You are so right, proper tools and supplies are very important. I also knit and crochet (check my personal blog http://www.callalosoup.com/crafts) and this past year I got rid of all the cheap yarn I had, and now only use good quality stuff. I’m slowly doing the same with my hooks and needles.