Hello, my friends.  Heather Leopard is here and I thought I’d do a bit of a twist on this week’s recipe projects.  All of my family recipes are tucked away in my recipe box so instead of scrapbooking a favorite recipe, I decided to create a recipe to share with you.  A recipe you can use in your every day scrapbooking…

Recipe for a Scrapbooking Layout

This recipe contains all the ingredients I use most often when creating a layout.  Feel free to right click the recipe image below to save a copy to your PC.  This recipe contains:

• Select the perfect cut of photos. I usually use 1 photo but today I mixed 4 photos layered together to make one.
• Blend together 5 coordinating pattern papers
• Add a dash of machine or hand stitching
• Garnish with embellishments (die cuts, wood veneer, cardstock/acetate shapes, chipboard, etc.) to create lots of layers
• Add a dollop of alphas for a title
• Complete the layout with journaling

I used the recipe above to create this scrapbooking layout today. I hope you enjoy it and use it as a guide for your scrapbooking needs.

Select the perfect cut of photos

I usually only use 1 – 2 photos on a page but because I know many Pebbles fans love to use multiple photos on a page, I thought I’d mix the two styles so that I could include multiple photos but only taking up the space of one.  To do this, I used my Fuse tool to create a waterfall photo flip.  I simply printed photos in different sizes and used the fuse tool to make protectors sized to the photo.

I layered the photos over each other so that each of my children’s faces and their word would show, with the last photo only revealing a photo of my husband and I and the last word of the sentence, which also serves as the main title.

Blend together 5 coordinating pattern papers

Next, I wanted to create a background of leaves but I also wanted to add some contrasting color so I trimmed my first pattern paper to 10″x12″ and added a small border using my 2nd pattern paper to the left side. For the right side, I combined those two patterns used on the left with 2 additional pattern papers, overlapping them together to make a larger border on that side.

Add a dash of machine or hand stitching

No layout of mine would be complete without stitching.  For this layout, I stitched the seams of each border, leaving room to lift the paper just a bit.

Garnish with embellishments to create lots of layers

I used a combination of hand cut and die cuts leaves as well as wood veneer to add layers around my photo as well as to create the triangle visual design pattern around the page.

Add a dollop of alphas for a title and complete the layout with journaling

I’ll admit, I almost never have a title in mind when I start creating.  I wouldn’t recommend this but it’s what I do and almost always work out.  Journaling is a key component to a layout that you really shouldn’t go without.  Although you may remember the story as you are creating it, you probably won’t remember those details years or decades from now and those who are looking at the pages in your album certainly won’t remember it or may not have even been a part of the story so please, please add an ounce or two of journling, even if it’s just the who, when and where. You can add journaling directly to the layout in various ways or you can add hidden journaling on the front or back of the page.  You don’t always see it on the layouts I show online but I always add it. Sometimes I like to keep those details private and add them to the layout after photos are taken.

So, while this recipe for a scrapbooking layout is not an official Pebbles challenge, I’d love to see your take on it. You can find me on Facebook and Instagram (@heatherleopard)

Supplies:
Warm & Cozy Tweed Pattern Paper
Warm & Cozy Afternoon Naps Pattern Paper
Warm & Cozy Fall Day Pattern Paper
Warm & Cozy Breezy Pattern Paper
Warm & Cozy Fall Botanical Pattern Paper
Warm & Cozy Ephemera Die-cuts
Warm & Cozy Leaves Chipboard