Greatest View

Leanne Allinson: Keep Your Hands To Yourself!

 

The Story | My  two older boys (10 and 7 years) are becoming very competitive with one another at the moment.  I am not sure if this "one-upmanship" is age, gender or simply sibling related.  But it is worth documenting even though they are driving me crazy with their antics!

How you communicated the story |  I didn't want my layout to have a neat and tidy appearance since it is to reflect my boys' stubborn competitiveness.  But at the same time I didn't want to overwhelm the eye with too much randomness either.  However, each piece of patterned paper has been chosen with purpose to communicate my story.

The irony in the calmness of a little boy's silhouette among the craziness of layered paper, presents a juxtaposition I quite like.  It reflects my hope that even though there is bickering and fighting among the two of them, they also have a gentle, fun loving spirit too.  The journaling and boy definition badge with "rough" written on it,reinforce my story.

Photos |  This photo was taken in natural light against a plain backdrop, on my iphone.  It was cropped to take into account the "rule of thirds" view.

Techniques or tips to share | Black and white photos are ideal to use on layouts with busy patterned paper.  The photo subject will stand out on the page rather than clash with it.

Greatest View goodies used | In Style patterned badges, Definition Badges Boy

 

 

It is good and full reflection of your story to document both the good and bad times in your children's lives. And it is also important to document the complexities your kids have in their relationships with each other.  I want the full story of their childhood to be recorded.  Not just the light and fluffy stuff.

 

Leanne Allinson: Beach

Greatest View is sponsoring a challenge at a new blog/venture called Life. Paper. Scrapbook. where our very own Leanne Allinson is on the design team! Be sure to check out the colour challenge and you could perhaps win a Greatest View gift voucher!

 

The Story | Back in December 2012, we celebrated my mother-in-law's 60th birthday.  As a gift to her, we all went away on a mini-holiday with all the family... that's 17 people and three beach side apartments! On the first day, my children went racing towards the rocks on the beach to do some exploring. It was such a beautiful day and one of the many activities we did together.

How you communicated the story | The name of the place where we stayed is called Golden Beach.  I cut out the letters from "beach" on my silhouette portrait in gold glittered cardstock and even though I don't have the full name of the beach in my title, it is reflected in the colour choice of the cardstock and again in my journaling.  Other elements on my page include the stars and stamped images.  They both remind me of coral and starfish found in rock pools and the colour of the ink is reflected in the chevron of the In Style badge.  The chevron also mimics the waves of the ocean.

Photos | This photo was taken on my iPhone and edited in instagram.

Techniques or tips to share | When taking part in colour challenges, you don't have to use one manufacturer only.  Colour match the tones and hues of the patterned papers in your stash, to achieve a uniform look across the page.  Add more texture to the colour challenge with embellishments such as badges and ribbon.

Greatest View Goodies Used | Fresh Style Badges

Use a challenge to help motivate in documenting a random holiday snap.

Style It Up Day 4 with Leanne Allinson

It's day four in our week of inspiration on the Greatest View blog! Today Leanne has a heartfelt layout with a beautiful message to share!

Dont forget at the bottom of the post are details of a free journaling tag download and a giveaway!

The Story | This week has been a very emotional rollercoaster ride for me personally.  My husband and daughter were involved in a car accident and where my husband came out of it relatively unscathed, my daughter ended up in hospital for routine observation due to her injuries.  They are both okay and I am incredibly grateful that the situation was not worse.  So, how does this story relate to the layout I am sharing today?  Before the car accident happened my layout was 99% complete.  All I needed to do was journal.  As you can imagine, my scrapbooking was all but forgotten as I concentrated on getting my family well.  And then as all my stress and worry started to melt away, I wandered back into my scrap space and found my forgotten layout, just sitting on my desk waiting for me to document a little about what my daughter is "in to" as a pre-teen.  Instead I journaled about how much I appreciate all the things she does for me and that I would be devastated if I ever lost her.  This week has brought home to me how fragile life can be.

How you communicated the story | Even though I changed the focus of my actual story last minute, the elements on my page still make it work.  The delicate pink, baby blue and grey colours create a fragile mood for the photo to rest on and relate back to the story.

Photos | My photo isn't an action shot or one of those amazing everyday activity ones.  It is a still and calming moment in time that I managed to capture, late one afternoon on my Nikon DSLR.

Techniques or tips to share | I love the free printable journaling tags!  I have printed them directly onto some white cardstock (Kaisercraft - coconut) but instead of using them as journaling blocks, I have left them blank.  They help break up the layers in areas where it could get too busy on my page.  They also create a focal point, leading your eye towards the journaling.

 

The bright pops of yellow have created a visual triangle, including the yellow printed journal tag.  But if you look closely you will find several more visual triangles.  One of them being the pink In Style badge/flair, pink (Bella BLVD) designer tape and the pink fussy cut patterned paper doily.

 

I have also used a similar diecut pattern (grey cardstock) in the layers of my patterned paper.  It mimics the pattern on the pink In Style badge and the colour from the grey In Style badge, connecting all the pieces together. 

Greatest View goodies used | In Style badges, Yellow chevron ribbon, pink twine, free printable journaling tags.

Think about the way you appreciate others.  Sometimes it's nice to let them know your feelings especially if you don't get to express it everyday.

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As a special treat to our loyal Greatest View customers, our fabulous design team member Chantalle has created two sets of journaling tags to coordinate with our In Style and Fresh Stylebadges! Simply click on the link below to download the file and you can print them out to use!  

(By the way, Chantalle has a fantastic giveaway up on her blog, you might want to go here, and check it out! She has some more free journaling tag downloads available too!)

Download Greatest View Journaling Tags

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If you want to win the In Style and Fresh Style badges we're featuring here on the blog all week, simply leave a comment on this post telling us what stories inspire YOU to scrapbook!

The giveaway will run all week so come back each day for more chances to win! The winner will be announced Monday March 3rd.

Leanne Allinson: Dear Santa

“Dear Santa, I’ve been good. I promise!” This has been my six year olds declaration over the last few weeks! LOL! So it was a special surprise when Ethan received an email from the big man himself to confirm my boy’s thoughts.

I have used the new Dear Santa flair/badges to set the complete tone of this layout. They were perfect to help tell the story of Ethan’s tick of approval from Santa. I have added extra journaling in the kraft chevron baggie and embellished it with both the gold and silver metallic baker’s twine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also love the texture created on the layout from the use of fabric. The cute little yoyo flower and the tulle beneath the paper die cut doily subtly complement each other without overwhelming the layout subject. And it helps that the colour match was close to perfect!

So... I have one last question for you. Did you made the naughty list or were you definitely one of the nice guys?! LOL! Thanks for visiting..x

Leanne Allinson: Ribbons

Here's a delicate layout about my daughter getting ribbons on her ballet slippers - it's quite a big deal for my ballerina!

To reinforce the delicate theme, I've used the 'whisper' feather badge. And the triangle badge below, tucked amongst a couple of flowers, finished off the cluster nicely.

Behind my photo I've layered a glassine bag, it's translucent colour also lends to the delicate nature of the photo and layout.

Inside the bag I've tucked my journaling! 

Thanks for visiting . . . x

Triangle Badges Feather Words (Boy) Badges Baker's Twine - Aqua Small Glassine Bags

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