Inspiration Elevator June 2012

Welcome to our second Inspiration Elevator challenge!


You may recall from our last challenge that the purpose of this group is to take our scrapbooking to the next level; to stretch our creative process and to grow as artists by embracing challenges that make us think, work and grow. This month's challenge was issued by the very talented Laura Whitaker. Here's a sampling of what Laura asked us to do:

"For my challenge I wanted to get back to the root of scrapbooking a little bit, back to the preserving of memories; to encourage you to look at your photos a little more closely. We all have cute photos of the sweet-faced children and beautiful family members in our lives, that we can scrapbook. But I want to challenge you to choose a photo that tells a story or evokes an emotion, something a little different than our children playing or family members posing. We all have heard that a picture speaks a thousand words. Chose a photo that was taken from behind the subject, preferably one in which you cannot see their face. Maybe you have chosen not to scrap a particular photo in past because you couldn’t see the subject’s face very well, this is the perfect time to use that photo. Then the story will be the focus and not the face. Then tell the story that goes with the photo via your journaling. This way when our families look back at this page years from now, they will truly be reminded of the moment."

What an awesome challenge! I had to search a bit for a photo taken from behind. As I looked through the hundreds of pictures on my computer, I couldn't seem to find one that I wanted to use. But then I saw this picture of my son that was taken a couple of years ago when we visited Myrtle Beach. It instantly brought back some great memories and made me reflect on how wonderful it was to walk along the ocean's edge late in the day, just enjoying the quiet and not even feeling the need to carry on a conversation.

I wanted to try to capture the feeling of solitude, as well as the beach theme, so I combined a number of different papers and elements on my page to do this.

The tan paper behind the photo, by We R Memory Keepers, was already 'pre-splattered' and it reminded me of sand, so I knew I wanted to use it on my page. I also used papers from Authentique and Kaiser Craft, along with white corrugated paper from Jillibean.

I added some extra splatters on the background using Mister Huey's Color Mists in Clay and Opaque White, and I did a small bit of machine stitching in a couple of spots. I also added three seagulls that I cut with my Silhouette and I love the feeling they add to the page!

I really like that Laura challenged us to add some journaling to our page! That is something that I know is important, but that I am often neglectful of. It was a great reminder to me that the story behind the pictures needs be told.

Here's the list of my IE friends, who have been working all month to create gorgeous and inspiring designs. I hope you'll pop by and see what they have created and perhaps take a moment to say a word or two :)

Ann

Audrey

Carolyn

Cathy

Christa

Joanne

Laura

Laurel

Lisa M

Lisa S

Sue

Thanks for looking ~