Inspiration Elevator - June 2013

Welcome to our June Inspiration Elevator challenge.  Each month our group is challenged 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.  Be sure to check out our Inspiration Elevator Blog, to see all of our previous challenges.

This month's challenge is issued by the super talented, Sue Sykes. Here's what she had to say in her own words:

"I have all of my parents' photos stored at my place.  Shortly after I began scrapbooking, my mom and I spent hours removing her photos from those dreadful magnetic albums and documenting dates on the back of them all.  So I will often sift through them and marvel at how much things change - and yet, they also seem to stay the same.

This month, I'd like to challenge you all to create a comparison layout or project - THEN and NOW. It can be any topic; just document the parallels and differences between an event/person/place from the past and a modern likeness.  REMEMBER TO JOURNAL!! :)

Can't wait to see what you all create!"

For my 'Then and Now' layout, I decided to use photos of my niece, Emily, and her best friend, Megan.  These two sweet girls met in first grade and have been the best of friends ever since.  They have also been in the same class at school each year and this year they graduated from High School together.  I have never seen a friendship like theirs at such a young age and I wanted to create a page to document this special relationship.

I started with two photos of Emily and Megan - then and now :)  And then I just had fun creating!

I tried to bring in some techniques and elements that would compliment the fun, girly feel of the photos, without overwhelming the pictures themselves. 

For the background I began with a simple ledger style paper that I layered on top of white cardstock.  I cut out a middle section from the paper, distressed the edges and fit the piece back into place. This gave the background a nice focal point to work my design around.  I then added some ink splatters, did some stencil work and created a thin white border using a glaze pen.

I used a mix of papers, but most of them are from the new Crate Paper line, The Pier. The colors and designs were perfect for the look I wanted to achieve.

 

One of my favorite elements that I used is the cheese cloth behind my photos.  It adds such a wonderfully understated feel of texture to the page!

For my journaling, I decided to print my story on a tag that I then tucked into an embossed glassine bag.  I love how it looks on the page :)

Some twine, hand stitching, small wooden bits and messy machine stitching completed my design and I am really happy with how it all came together.

Thanks for a great challenge Sue!  Now, I hope you will stop by and see what the other designers on this adventure have created:

Sue Sykes
Lisa Moen
Christa Uttley
Cathy Harper

Lisa Spiegel

Joanne Burton

 Laurel Seabrook

Jodi Wilton

Michelle Hernandez

Ann Jobes

Laura Whitaker