Author: Heather Taylor

A long day, out and about from the rainy coast into the autumn color-blasted valley, then back out again. So many beauties in the galleries, too!  (Just click on the images to take you to where I found them.)

First is “Just for Fun” by AshleyMilf. I love this fun background paper and the cohesive “circles” that shape this layout–but I like it even better that she’s let the design slip off the bottom of the page, instead of centering it directly. It’s a super well-balanced page, too, with the thin red circles balancing the heavier, but more pastel word art.

And by Cherry Gutz, a lingering memory of Halloween: I {heart} My Zombie! What a cutie pie surrounded by these wonderful ghoulie girls! A great way to combine totally unrealistic elements with an actual photo.

I also felt so drawn by Beaute’s “City of Shadows.” The brushwork in the trees could be leaves, could be snow or rain (suggested by the umbrella, of course), and there’s all this fading in and out going on. What a dreamy quality to this piece!

Dids’ “Ar Goelick” has some great fading brushwork as well, and then those three little bits of red grabbing your attention. Full of action and cold and water!

Old wagon wheels are always so evocative. Here KateO shares a old world dream with “Ireland 2003”–and a symphony of circles in the background paper, the photo subject, and then all the fun little gears and clock faces lined up against that awesome stone wall. I love how the photo escapes on both sides, even though the frame is clearly shadowed–great way to play between fore- and background.

Finally, I’m sure because my own young man is experimenting with his own facial hair, I was just totally tickled by this fun page by LoveItScrapIt, “The Mustache.” Wonderful photos and fantastic clustering and layering–but best of all this young man on his way forward in time. ♥

Sure hope you have a great week playing around with your own scrapping!!

Hi everybody! The rains have finally arrived, and today was a gloriously misty day. I love it–I’ve been in a super-cocooning mood lately. Here I go a-cruisin’ through the galleries…

The first page I noticed was “Well-Loved” by Cherry Gutz. I love all the different papers, and that fun little snapchat photo hiding in a heart… =)

Chaos Lounge is a favorite scrapper of mine–almost everything she does, including “Enjoy Today” is so elegant. Her layering is fantastic, but I love even more that she managed to include so many elements on a super-busy background paper, and still has it coming out as soft and airy. Just lovely.

I’d spotted Clin d’Oeil’s funny recipe scrap page on Facebook, too! I just love all the cute notes she wrote down on the page to really make the recipe hers (she calls it her personal recipe and a little crazy). Her title is Dried Fruits Winter Cake, but she crossed out the “winter” part and says, “Nope–it’s good any time!” And later, she makes sure to underline that you don’t *have to* taste the brandy in which the dried fruits are marinating, if you don’t want to… 😉

I loved the great messy/straight line contrasts going on in easyeyes4you’s “Swiss Cheese” (I think it was called that because of the peek-through technique on the page).

And jang’s great black and white shot on her “Bricks” page really caught my eye, too (and made me laugh). Oops! Soft ground wins again… Notice how the raffia really ties the grasses in, between the b&w and the color. A well-thought out page!

And lastly, we have WeaselWatchr’s Brave Enough–I don’t usually resonate with a lot of art journaling, but I loved the eye-catching contrasts here of the red and black, and then the flight path delineated by the words. It’s also abstract enough that the viewer can add in a lot of herself and her own story–a very interesting page altogether.

I hope everybody has a fascinating and enjoyable week. Be well! ♥

Cruising through the galleries after another beautiful autumn day… First up is Joyce Korenuk’s BFFs. I just love how the circle is faded out on one side, and the colors are just great!

I also liked Beth’s (bahtoy) stacked borders in her Leaves Are Falling. What a fun way to get those patterns & extra photos in there!

I’m a big fan of Ona’s ( wombat146), and she made me gasp again with her Season of Change… Even though it’s getting to be Spring where she lives! I love how she plays so easily with different depths on the page:

Another splurge of rich colors and darks, from Andastra, Magical Sunset:

I also was captivated by MargelZ’s Love Lives Here for all the different ways she got text on her layout–from the background, to even writing on the photo. Full of homey goodness!

And finally, to burnish it all off, the golden warmth of Glowing Aspens, by jcaruth910… I wish you all a gorgeous day, wherever you are! ♥

Hi everybody! A 2am cruise through the galleries showed me a ton of pretties! Suzanner wowed my socks off with this cool layout, “Lavender Festival“–I love the typography, her sense of color, and the great clean page.

Cinderella2009’s Blue Monday brought me a big smile: fun photo, great interplay between the various lines and scribbles.

Stacia’s page, 1968: Sieglinde Reading, is just so fascinating and mysterious. All that dark with the one little bright glow–it just draws you in, and makes you wonder what other world she’s inhabiting at that moment!

Louso’s Live A Happy Life also really struck me. It’s rare(r) to see triangular-shaped pages, and I just love how the zigzag paper continues the zigzag of the hands. Great photo treatment, too!

This page by LeeAndra, Mine, really caught my eye with its great use of painty bits and the strong striped black and white paper. I love that it celebrates tomboys!

Finally, I happened on this lovely page, Memories, by caapmunro–just loved the 3D feel and the lushness of the “embroidered” paisley motifs. Lovely brushwork and photo, as well:

I know I’ll have sweet dreams after all this gorgeousness–I wish you a beautiful day!

Today is bringing some gray to our Oregon Coast, although the greenery is bright and fresh with drizzle, and the air is spicy with fall aromas. My favorite time of the year! I’m procrastinating on another project, and so I’m very happy to be cruising the gallery to look for layouts that tickle my fancy. =)

First up in Alanna’s Possibilities, a lovely, painterly, photo-less layout. I really appreciate how the page “reads” from left to right, with the end of the visual trail escaping into the unbounded realm of possibility. A great way to underscore her point!

Daisy Do by RJMJ really caught my eye! The way she plays with opacity and the structure of the template really creates a sense of opening, of outward expansion–and the colors are just lovely.

Here’s another really fun page, On Our Way, by Corinn. Isn’t that road so cute? By showing the inside of the car in the first cluster, she really “brings us along” on the trip, and I love how her journaling spans both sides of the curves, too. Great concept and execution!

I loved this simple page by Heidi Nicole, Abe & Us. She linked past and present with a quote about mothers, and I just love that she’s treasuring the moment. For me, that’s what scrapbooking is about in large part!

Then I found Lilavati, by Beauté–what a stunner! It’s not often you find pure art in the galleries–no words, no photos, but still full of meaning. I just love the light and airiness surrounding this kind of surreal montage…

Finally, I was really drawn to AnikA68’s Dream Big, too. Lovely colors on the city fading into the night; the brushwork reminds me of city lights shining into the sky. And again, the sky full of dreams and possibilities! We’ve come round to the beginning of this post…

Hope you have a lovely end of the week! ♥

Hi everybody from the smoky Oregon Coast. Here are the gems I’ve picked up during my gallery cruises:

By Margje, Better With Friends. I love the retro toning of the page, but also the great blending and play with shapes and patterns.

I was also really struck by Gracie Tracy’s Never Give Up, full of art journal-y goodness (the 3D elements always pop so much on this type of layout!):

And to totally switch gears, here’s a super-fun, summery adventure page by Janik, Roughin’ It In Style. I love how all the bright colors tie in with the harness, and also the fun little critters hanging upside-down at the top–good thing that didn’t happen to the guy in the photo! =)

I also love Ona’s Born to Bloom. The background paper is really intriguing: both simple (big dots) and complex (all those petal shapes). It provides a perfectly colored background to that gorgeous, simple photo. Dreamy!

I also really loved Intense Magic’s (Jan) great page “Favorite.” Great depth and lots of tiny little elements, and that very subtle embossed background paper. And such cute, cool children!

Finally, I’ll end up with Geoleoan’s “At Sea“–no smoke here! Love the weathered wood background and the classic red, white, and blue.

A great big thank you to all of you who share your creativity with us! ♥

Time once again to cruise the galleries and spot some cool layouts! I love the bright colors in kabrak1207’s Totally Awesome–all about the neons of the 80’s. Not that I’d remember any of that. 😉 The colors are super-fun, but so is the profusion of patterns! The photos are delightful, and the journaling made me giggle, too.

 

I love neutral colors, really I do… but the bright colors catch my eye every time! That’s what happened with kimkern72’s Letter Home, and then I just really enjoyed her journaling and the way she used typography and color to punctuate her message.

More fun, with geoleoan’s My Art: what a fun way to arrange the doodles, with the little portholes into the child’s real life art–and no doubt the child is a masterpiece as well!

Here an art journalish page, Dreams, by MiekSter that I really love too. Strong colors and intense b&w editing balance each other out, and I love how the dots on the page connect to the leopard-print shirt.

At the Drive-In, by JennNtheBoys, has a totally different feel but again the color drew me in, especially in contrast with all the boys and their dark t-shirts. What a fun family night!

 

And finally, here is some really interesting in-your-face color by Secima, in her layout. I love how subtle the color-work is on the photo, especially contrasted with the really saturated color splashes elsewhere. The fact that the person in the image is wearing sunglasses is almost a metaphorical parallel for the colors outside the photo shining so brightly into it… *goes all nerdy-geek* *lol*

Anyway, please leave some comments for these great layouts, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your week! =)