Bleak

Well, I seem to have made it to round two of  the Supreme Scrapbook Tournament.  In fact, my first layout placed third in my group.

This next challenge was quite the challenge.  Monochromatic.  You had to use at least one photo, but one photo had to be black and white AND be split between the two pages.  You could not use black at all and only use white or brown if your whole layout would be white or brown.

Once giving it a little thought, I knew all my photos would all be black and white and I would show how Yellowstone, in winter, can look so bleak. I mean, don't get me wrong, mostly it is drop dead gorgeous, but sometimes you look around and see how utterly bleak it is. Like the day that I took the largest photo. I really didn't have to change that photo to black and white, because that was the color of the scene.  The snow field, the steam rising, the dense fog holding it all in and keeping out the colorful light.  I just had to find some supporting photos to go with it.

Next, coming up with what one color I would use.  I pulled out some teal, blue, and purple things, laid them against my photos, and decided that purple told my story the best. Funny because I hardly ever use purple. Not sure why, just don't. I don't even have that much. I did, however, have several shades of paint, some ink, and even a marker.  Then I dug around and found some yarn. I used my brayer to just apply paint directly to the paper in an interesting pattern.  I also applied some of the paint to some deli paper that I wadded up and added in for texture. A favorite stencil, with modeling paste and paint added even more. The yarn as well.

Steam

I just got back from the most amazing trip to Yellowstone, in the winter!  I've never been at any time of the year, but I could tell that winter there is something special.  The thing that struck me the most was the amount of steam....EVERYWHERE!  All those thermals and heated rivers just send off massive amounts of steam.

This week's CSI case file was perfect to tell this story.  And the sketch worked really well.  I found that a lot of my landscapes got cropped to almost panorama size, so I replaced the multi photo strip with one longer photo.  Instead of a round photo, I went with a portrait orientation to maximize the steam plume.  The bit of this and that, rising from the circular photo, was perfect for a steam plume!  And luckily I had a couple of bling flourishes laying around! I had wanted to chalk some steam too, but didn't have any so I dabbed some white ink in my fingers and blended it into the page to give that plume feel.  I feel that the black base really set all this off well.  As my final touch, I outlined some some Basic Grey letter spaces left in one of my letter packs, in white, to give that extra little bit of transparent feeling.

Evidence used: solid background, jewels, lace

Testimony: 3 interesting things about your subject.  "Yellowstone in the winter is a land filled with steam.  Everywhere you look, steam rises.  The rivers steam even.  The thermals drain into them.  The steam plus the extreme cold makes for the most amazing frost too!"

The case file

Silent Beauty

I recently signed up to be part of a world wide scrap Olympics.  Gotta represent the good ol USA!

The first challenge was titled "1000 Steps From Home" In December we had a big snowfall and I had taken my phone out to capture the beauty.  I thought these would be perfect for the challenge!  It also had to be a double page piece, no spray ink, at least 3 photos, and 50 words of visible journaling.

I set to work and pulled out some pretty blue paper.  I took my brayer and some black paint and randomly added distressing.  Then I took my fave stencil and randomly rubbed white paint, with a baby wipe, for the snow.  Add some doilies, words, gears, gems and lace and I was ready to write.  I found it quite easy to write my 50+ words and did them on journal strips, that I scattered about.

Whether or not I make the cut and go on to the next round, I love this layout, so I am a winner winner, chicken dinner!

You And Me

Ahhhhh...February, the time to remember the ones we love.  A time for sweet treats and lots of pink and frills.  Now I don't really get into Valentine's Day that much.  I like to remember the people that I love everyday.  To let them know that I do.  The whole year round.  And I'm really not into the frills and pink either and quite frankly, I'd rather have a bag of chip instead of a sweet treat.

That said, I love this inspiration photo!  Isn't that polka dot tea pot cute???  And I love all the different toppings on the cupcakes.  I took some of that to be the inspiration for my layout.  I love those polka dots, so I drew circles, in various sizes and water colored them in.  I also added the shiny sequins to give that extra pop.  I also love the layers of cupcakes and the bright colors.  I decided to make some really wow colored Gelli prints and then tore them into fat strips and layered them on the background.  I even have polka dots in the prints as well as other designs, mimicking the fun cupcakes.  I took this photo with my hubby on a recent visit to the coast.  It is just a photo of our two shadows, but I really like it.  A great day is a day spent with him and they can happen at any time of the year.  I used the Rhonna Designs app to create the added layers on the photo, and really am pleased with how it turned out.  Add a couple of hearts and a bit of lace and there you have it, a layout about someone I love, when we were just hanging out.

Let's see what you find for inspiration!