Sweet Baby | Scrap the Boys

For June, our challenge at Scrap the Boys is called "Sweet Baby Boy," and I used this beautiful photo of my friend's baby to create my layout.

I was having a major case of missing mojo and decided I'd scraplift myself, which is something I often do when I'm stuck staring at a blank page for way too long. Here's the page I lifted, one I made last year for Scrap the Boys. Different colors and papers and a few tweaks made it into a completely different layout.

Here are some details. I used Crate Paper's Little You collection from a bunch of years ago, mainly a 6x6 paper pad and the chipboard pieces, as that's mostly what I had from this collection. I started by cutting strips of various patterns and laid them out. I didn't feel like they had enough definition since the colors are so pale, so I distressed the edges, and when that still didn't do the trick, I matted the strips on dark gray cardstock. 

I decided to use kraft cardstock because almost all my layouts are on white and I just thought these pale colors would look nice against the kraft. Before adhering the strips, I stenciled some hearts on the background using a Bramble Fox stencil. The acrylic hearts you see on my layout are also from Bramble Fox. 

I arranged various chipboard pieces around the layout, adding phrase stickers, more chipboard, and Bramble Fox Perspextives for added interest. I still have a bazillion of these little Studio Calico wood veneer tweets because I kept buying packages whenever I saw them on sale. They're so versatile and so adorable.

I thought "Baby" was such a dull title but I wanted to use that pretty chipboard banner piece, so I added the word Sweet, made from a metal die in my stash.

For a finishing touch, I added Nuvo drops around my layout.

And because I never call my layout done right away, the next day, before photographing my layout, I decided to add some cross-stitches for another detail and another texture because I think lots of different textures make a layout so interesting to look at and touch (I store my layouts in boxes instead of albums and gift them in decorative boxes too).  And that camera is a Studio Calico wood veneer to form a visual triangle with the two wood birds.

If you haven't played with the Scrap the Boys challenges, they're always very fun and open ended, and the design team always has wonderful inspiration in lots of different styles! I hope you'll come play along!