February Blog Hop with Kiwi Lane

Happy Blog Hop Weekend!!  I hope you've been having fun along this hop and have been gathering lots and lots of scrapbooking inspiration.  You should have made your way here through Kristy's blog.  If you happened to wander over from another location, I highly suggest you mosey on back to the Kiwi Lane blog and start from the beginning- I'd hate for you to miss any ideas!  Here's the line-up if you get lost along the way:

1. Kiwi Lane 
2. Charissa Miller 
3. Claire Spielman
4. Lissa Mitchell
5. Kristy MacKeen 
6. Gail Owens (You are HERE!!)
7. Arin Flynn 
8. Holly Gagnon 
9. Jennifer Blomquist
10. Christine Meyer

Don't forget- there's a prize involved in this blog hop!  One random commenter from ONE of the blogs on the hop (including the Kiwi Lane blog) will win a $25 gift certificate to the Kiwi Lane Shop.  You have until Sunday night (February 9, 2014) at 11:59 p.m. MST to comment.  The winner will be announced on the Kiwi Lane blog on Thursday, February 13th.

Alrighty... here's what I came up with for my project:

Supplies:  patterned paper, journaling cards, title, stickers, brads, washi tape (My Mind's Eye); cardstock (craft supply); flower (Doodlebug Design); flower punch (American Crafts); black pen (Staedler); white pen (Signo); ink, glitter glue (Ranger).

These photos were taken at the beach on Tybee Island in Georgia a few years ago.  It was really misty and cool the morning we went, so all my photos turned out gray and tan.  I decided to use the subtle blue, gray and greens of My Mind's Eye's The Sweetest Thing- Bluebell collection.  I layered the border designer templates on the bottom of the layout to echo the water meeting the sand.  I used a navy blue cardstock to mat my photos and really have them pop- did it work?  I think it did! ;)  And I used some accessory templates from both the Paradise and Sweetheart sets to add a few embellishments. 

 I find that sometimes outlining the template shapes helps to add another layer of dimension without adding bulk to a page, so I outlined the blue shapes (the swirl on the left page and the splat on the right) with just a white pen.  I outlined the flower and shell shapes with the same white pen, but I also did an outline with a black pen on top of the white when it dried (not right on top of the white line, but close) and then some "Frosted Lace" Stickles on top of the pen outlines.  Sounds kind of complicated, but it's really a fast and simple way to add some more interest to your pages- give it a try sometime!

Templates used: 

Clara Lane 1A & 1B
Abbie Road 3A & 3B
Aspen Court 3A & 3B
Sweetheart 4
Tiny Sweetheart 1T
1/2" Strips
Paradise 3, 4, 5, 6

I hope you enjoyed my layout today!  Don't forget to leave a comment on my blog before you leave- you could win a $25 gift code to the Kiwi Lane Shop, remember?  And next on your hop is the blog of the ever so talented Arin Flynn!  

How would you like a chance to win another prize?  I have a few sets of templates hanging around my craft table and I would love to give one of those sets away to one random commenter on this blog post.  Just tell me where your favorite vacation spot is, and you'll be entered to win.  That's it- easy peasy!  Your vacation spot comment doesn't have to be a separate comment.  I will choose a random commenter to win their choice of templates from my desk.  You have until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, February 9, 2014 to leave a comment and I will choose a winner on Monday, February 10th.  Don't forget to check back to see if you've won!  Or, better yet, follow my blog!!

Have a great day and happy scrapping!