From Baby Clothes to Craft Supplies: Idea 3 of 3

Here is the final entry for my mini-series on turning old baby clothes into craft supplies.  This layout (below) is called "Pond Life."

Supplies: upcycled items (fabric frog cut from baby outfit; handmade recycled paper), striped background paper (October Afternoon), all other papers (Echo Park), buttons (October Afternoon), alphabet stickers (Echo Park), pen (Zig by EK Success).

The journaling reads: "We go to the arboretum to see plants, but we are always thrilled to spot animals there--especially frogs, turtles, and koi."

Although there is no picture of my little boy on this layout, I still think the layout falls firmly within the category of "boy pages"--because of the colors, because of the exuberance conveyed by the design, and, of course, because of that cute little frog.  I cut that frog from an old outfit that my son wore as a baby (see photo below) and glued it to the layout.  This same outfit is also where I got the fabric strips for my "Lil' Boy Blue" layout.

There is an additional recycled element in this layout.  The apple green and turquoise blocks of paper were handmade with recycled materials.  My friend gave them to me to use in one of my craft projects--thanks, Barb!  I love the color and texture that this handmade paper adds to my layout.  

Before I go, I have a quick note of caution for my readers: the handmade paper is probably not archival-safe--nor is the fabric frog--so I would not use items like this on a layout with irreplaceable photos.  But these types of items are just fine on a fun layout like this, and I will not mind if these materials start to degrade/discolor the koi picture, since it's not a family heirloom photo.  :)  If you do chose to use fabric or other non-traditional items on a layout with treasured photos, it's a good idea to make sure that these items do not actually touch your photos.  You can create an embellishment cluster that does not directly touch your photos, or you can use an acid-free, archival quality photo mat between your photos and the non-traditional items.

Okay, end of speech.  :)  Thanks for stopping by my blog today.  Have a great week!