NEXT ADVENTURE!!

Hi everyone!! I hope you all had a wonderful creative weekend!! I spent my weekend, and most of last week too, suffering from a case of creative block. I can't tell you how many pages I started and threw out, but finally, late Sunday afternoon, I began to get my groove back!! I was just messing around with backgrounds, not really trying to create anything in particular when I realized I that I actually liked what I was doing. As my background began coming together I realized it was a perfect start for a layout based on this month's challenge at Once Upon A Sketch!!

Before I start, for those of you who visit my blog regularly, you will know that I have had quite a bit of trouble with my followers (Google Friend Connect) gadget. The 'join this site' button did not work. You would click it and it would say to try again later, which it has been saying for almost a year, so becoming a member was a little difficult. The good news is, I have managed to get it fixed finally, and all appears to be working as it should, so fingers crossed there will be no more issues there. Please let me know though if you do try to join this site and you experience any difficulty, so I can take another look at it.

Here is this month's sketch:

 

The journaling theme this month is the following quote: 'The best things in life aren't things'.

Most of you know by now that I love to push myself creatively, lately that has been using more than a single photo on a layout, and so far I have managed to create a couple of layouts that use 2 photos. This time I decided to go one better and use 3. I have only ever created 2 layouts in the past with 3 photos, neither of which I really liked and it was more than 7 or 8 months ago.

The 3 photo's I have used this time are all the same, 2 of which are in black and white, whilst the third is in color. I love the effect this gives to a page!!

Here is my take on the sketch:

'Next Adventure Starts Now'

As you can see I have kept to the basic layout of the sketch, the only real change being my three photo's come further down the page taking up heaps more space, and my journaling has been moved to the left a little.
For my journaling I have added a quote on the bottom of the page which I felt suited this theme perfectly. It says: "The best things in life are the people we love, the places we've been, and the memories we have made."
I have also added more journaling hidden on the back of the layout, which was inspired by the theme, and the quote I wrote on the front. It says: "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. My best memories are all the ones of you. There is no place in the world that compares to being with you. I love being your Mommy and even though it can be hard sometimes, your smile, your laugh, your conversation, kisses and cuddles always makes everything worth it. There is nothing so precious to me as you. I love you."

Some details:

 
For the circles and flower at the bottom of the sketch I have added some large epoxy pebbles, which I have painted with watercolors, and a Prima flower.

More Prima flowers and embellies. The little wood veneer vine is from the Princess collection.... It had a little bird on one end which I just broke off, to use on another layout.

I have painted the center of two flowers from Prima's Jute collection with some gesso and watercolors. I really love how this looks. I have always enjoyed altering embellishments, though I haven't really done it since loosing all my supplies when our house burned down a couple of years ago. Not long after I became a single mother and have struggled to make ends meet since, so I don't really have a great deal of supplies and I fear to make a mistake and ruin what I do have. Especially Prima as it is extremely hard to find where I live. Nonetheless I am glad this turned out as I wished!!

I have used some Heidi Swapp chipboard for my title.... It seemed perfect for these photos, and my Son in general. Everyday is an adventure to him!! I considered adding a little fence like in the sketch, but I couldn't make it work for me so I have replaced it with the white frame underneath. It was originally a silver metal bookplate which I have painted with gesso to give it the look of a resin frame. I brushed it with some watercolors to help tie everything together.

This key was also metal and has been given the same treatment as the frame.
As always there are lots of layers beneath the photos, paper, calico, twine.... lots of foam squares!!! I love dimension!! 
One thing I have always liked the look of, but never been able to get a hold of is American Crafts glitter tape. This kind of inspired me to cut a strip of card about 1cm thick and cover it with glue then glitter. Once I added some tape to the back I had my own glitter tape!!!

That's it from me today.... Normally I would be off to spend the rest of the afternoon scrapping, but I don't have a scrap space in the house.... I scrapbook under the patio and we are being buffeted by heavy rains and 125km/h winds, so that is out of the question today. Everything had to be packed away so it didn't get wet or blow away, and its times like this that I am grateful I don't have a great deal of supplies. I can pack it all away and carry it inside in less than 2mins!!! Sadly though I don't really know what to do with the rest of my afternoon, or the rest of the week if the weather doesn't clear up!!! I'm sure I will think of something!! Hope you all have a great week!! Hugs!!