Summer Means...School is Out!

Supplies: patterned paper and stickers all by Echo Park; pen by Zig.

It feels a little funny to be talking about the last day of school, when back-to-school time is just around the corner.  :)  But I'm going to do it anyway, because I'm really excited to share the above layout with you.  It's called "Last Day of School / First Day of Summer," and the journaling says: "So much can change in a very short time."  The photo on the left side shows my son on the morning of the last day of school.  He's looking a little shy and has a tiny smile on his face.  The photo on the right side of the page shows my son on the evening of the last day of school.  He has just played his first soccer game of the summer, he's wearing his team uniform, he's playing on the playground near the soccer field, and he has a HUGE smile on his face.  Indeed, so much changed over the course of just one special day.

When I created this layout, I set myself two challenges.  First, I challenged myself to find a new approach to the geometric craze.  Second, I challenged myself to use up some stickers and paper from some older Echo Park lines (mostly Country Drive and Springtime, plus a few bits from other collections).  

I think I succeeded on both counts.  As far as the geometric craze goes, I rejected the idea of using trianges, diamonds, or hexagons (the most popular shapes at the moment), and instead used trapezoids (or "trapeziums," if you're a Britglish speaker).  One way I used trapezoids was to form a border with them, as you see in the photo above.

The other way I used trapezoids was to form hexagon-shaped embellishments, as the photo above shows.  Okay, so I actually did use hexagons, even though I intended to avoid them.  But I still put my own spin on them.  :)

I wanted to give the page a childish, playful feel, so I added some primitive-style doodling and used a lot of colorful papers and stickers.  Color plays a symbolic role here.  The cooler, pastel colors add a calm feel to the "last day of school" side of the page, while the hotter, bright colors add excitement to the "first day of summer" side of the page.

I carried the color scheme over into my title work.  I call this mixing and matching of alphabet stickers "infinite alphabets," but the latest issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine called it "ransom note style."  I think I'm going to stick with my own term, since I've already been using it for awhile now.

I also succeeded in my second personal challenge, that of using up a lot of older Echo Park supplies.  To reward myself for this accomplishment, I treated myself to some new Echo Park supplies from the Everyday Eclectic line.  I've already created a couple layouts with Everyday Eclectic, and I'll share them with you in September (since my August blog posts are already all pre-planned).  Until then, I hope you're enjoying what's left of August.  Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by my blog today!