Stick to it!

I hope everyone has enjoyed a little taste of some warm weather. It seems like it's been cold forever.  So, I continue to work on vacation photos to remind me that Summer will come – one day!

I’ve discussed the way I like to organize page kits for my vacation photos. There are usually so many photos that I want to get that organization part of the process out of the way.  One of the other tricks I use is to pick a collection or two of papers and embellishments and stick to it.  I may add location specific titles or some other ephemera from the trip.  But I don’t get distracted by other paper once I’ve started.  The idea is two-fold:  1) I need to actually use up some of this paper I collect buy and, 2) I like to challenge myself to see what I can do with the papers.

The two layouts I’ve picked out are from one trip – a few days in Miami right before and then later on during the Classygirl cruise last year.  A little off topic, but she is planning another cruise for 2015 and I’m not saying you have to be on it, but you HAVE to be on it!  It is too much fun! 

These two layouts were made from a collection from October Afternoon that I picked because I liked the bright colors.  I thought it would work well with the colorful photos from Miami and from the cruise.  Note that with the addition of a few tropical elements, these papers originally designed for carnival/state fair pages really work for me.  I used the alphas that came with the collection.  And I used the papers as backgrounds, as mats for photos, as decorative strips and even a circle accent! 

Supplies:  Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned Paper; brad and chipboard: October Afternoon; 3-D embellishments: Paper House and Jolee's; Alphas: American Crafts

This technique is also a time-saver because I’m not looking through my supplies for each page.  I can simply rely on the pre-selected items and let my creativity take center stage.

So, don’t be afraid that you won’t be able to make a collection “work.”  By sticking to a set group of papers and embellishments, you just might surprise yourself with how "out of the box" you can get.

Moanica