In Everything Give Thanks

I made this layout as an entry to the My Little Attic challenge using the Boho Chic Line of We R Memory Keepers. I fell in love with these papers the first time I saw them in a scrapping store in Singapore. I used my first set in the first ever swap of the MyScrapworks team (check out the gallery at www.myscrapworks.com). I was delighted to know that My Little Attic brought them to the Philippine shores. I had to get my hands on the complete set - papers, tags, chipboards, goodie bag and ribbons. Yup! Bought them all. But not all at once. I got the papers first, the chipboards and the goodie box next and the ribbons last. Had to pace my purchase!!!

Anyway, let me bore you with the technical details of this layout. First, the photo. I love this photo!!! My hubby took it - after I fixed the camera settings, and after two takes. The first one had bad lighting. The second one was good but I realized I was wearing jewelry (I read in Cathy Zielski's Clean and Simple that jewelries can be a distraction to close up portraits). We finally got it right on the third try - no blings! Then, while editing it, I accidentally saved it while checking how it would look in black and white. It was a fortunate event since the Boho Chic papers have big prints and bold colors, and a black and white photo would be perfect! Oh, and this shot was taken at Kusina Salud (see my previous blog entry).

Next up, the materials. I used, obviously, We R Memory Keepers products - patterned papers, chipboards and ribbons. For the journaling, I used an old Hot Off the Press stock of vellum. I printed my journaling using my HP colored printer. I didn't realize the vellum would be wet after printing so I wasted 3 pages by smearing the prints. Yes, I didn't learn my lesson the first time - it had to happen three times!!! But I assure you, I did learn my lesson and I can now use vellum anytme! I inked the edges of the vellum with Paintbox Pigment Ink. For the first time, I got to use Glue Dots Vellum. Cool stuff! And of course, there's the good ol' Mini Glue Dots, 3M Double Sided Adhesive, 3M Double Sided Foam Adhesive. Have I bored you yet?

Now, about the layout...the theme was "Being Thankful". Before I even worked on my layout, I was already trying to compose my journaling. I tried a lot of stories but at the back of my head, there was one thing I've been itching to write about. It was very personal, and very emotional. I tried to ignore the urge to write about it but I couldn't write about other things as well. It's like God's voice whispering to me to go and share this to other people. So I finally did it. I wrote about being thankful in the face of an adversity. And that's my vision for this layout. More than the aesthetic appeal, more than the chance to win a prize (this is a contest after all!), I wanted this layout to be my way of thanking God for His blessings.
After I got the journaling right, the layout starting to fall into place. I knew exactly what the title would be - fits my journaling to a tee! I knew exactly what papers to use (there were lots to choose from in the Boho Chic Line), and where everything would go in the page. I guess my journaling became my inspiration. So here it is! My entry to the MLA challenge.