Finger Pointing – August 19th

Those dog days of August are definitely here!  Wow, is it hot and muggy outside!!  My family is spending the weekend cleaning out and reorganizing bed rooms.  Lucky me…I get to take a break from cleaning to look through the scrapbook galleries to find some amazing layouts to feature today.  I hope all of you are finding ways to stay cool too!

The first pick today is His and Hers by EllenT.  Now I’ve been a fan of Ellen’s scrapping for a long time now. She’s a scrapper that makes every page look incredible. What I really liked about this page was the focus on real, every day life…the things we won’t even know we forgot in five years.  I love how Ellen showed off her morning stuff versus her husband’s.  It’s humorous to see the difference. She complimented these contrasting photos with awesome layering of papers underneath to create a nice foundation.  The flowers help move the colors across the page and keep your eye interested and then the paint.  I just love all the paint and grunge that help fill in the rest of the space, but still keep the look of white space.  It creates a lovely balanced page!

I couldn’t pass up featuring our next page by Lynnette called Summer Faves.  I saw this layout in the Masters of Scrap Challenge in the Geometrist Challenge gallery.  Wow does Lynnette do a fabulous job with using shapes for this challenge or what?  The contrast of the brightly colored papers with the white outline and the graph paper really makes this pop!  I also really like how she was able to stick in some cute little summer themed elements , but it all still has a minimal look.  The stapled labels down the side of the page in a rainbow style just takes the cake!  The use of color with the white is so outstanding.  What a happy and fun page!

Next up I came across this layout titled The Zoo Crew by Jill.  The colors made this stand out in the gallery, but what really did it for me was the extraction of the hippo’s snout in the main photo.  I had to zoom in to see more to believe my eyes.  What an excellent job not only with the extraction but also with the shadowing. It really looks like the hippo is poking out and saying hello.  I also love Jill’s use of the color across the page. She has used a really nice balance of patterned and solid papers that keep your eye interested but it’s not too overwhelming.  The little flower clusters help balance everything out.  I love that she’s even had room to tell her story.  The icing on the top are the cute zoo characters she worked in. Such an adorable and creative page!

This next layout by Anny-Libelle titled Every Summer is a wonderful mix of traditional scrapping with a little artist flair.  I love the way the layout artist used artsy bits with traditional clusters and flowers.  This looks so amazing!  The textured background paper and added paints and stamps really gives the page a nice foundation.  Then the layering of the photos on top is just perfect. I really like the postal stamp outline on the largest photo – it makes this so fun!  Finally the flower clusters bring just the right amount of color and pop to the page bringing it all together beautifully!

This next page is like a little work of art.  Never stop exploring by Ga-l totally caught my eye while browsing the galleries.  I’m sure part of it was the size of the layout, but looking deeper it’s all the shadowing of the smaller layout on a white background, which makes it look as if this piece of art is laying on a table for us to see.  Then the page itself, the beautiful sky, complete with clouds and birds, so nicely blended.  I love how it transitions to the brown “land” paper with a wash of watercolor as if created by an artist.  The photo is nicely shadowed to look as if it’s laying on the page and the minimal elements are just perfect.  What a well put together page!

My final choice is this adorable no photo page by Shunnstergirl titled Star Party.  It really plays in to the eclipse that is about to happen over the US on Monday.  I think all of us are looking forward to seeing this event, even if we only have a partial view.  What I like about this page is the blending.  The cardstock is lighter in the middle and darkens as you move out to the sides.  Same with the lovely stars.  Then  the use of the elements builds a story about what this page is really talking about.  The banner links the two sides together beautifully creating a nice little nook for the journaling – what a great idea!  The shadows in the clusters look awesome and give the whole layout a great sense of depth.  A truly unique page!

I hope you’ve enjoy today’s Gallery Standouts!  I had a great time browsing through the gallery while staying cool.  Now it’s back to cleaning out bedrooms and getting things organized.  Have a great weekend everyone!