Roses are Red, Violets are Blue

And now, for something completely different from my last post...

Supplies: cardstock by Wausau Paper; green patterned paper by Crate; word stickers & grey lattice paper by My Mind's Eye; grey dotted paper by American Crafts; text paper, alphabet stickers, die cuts, label stickers, flair badges, & recycled packaging by October Afternoon; faux brads by Craftworks; flower by Petaloo; pens by Zig; recycled envelope.

Lately I've been in the mood to create layouts that are both simplistic and layered, even though that seems like a contradiction in terms.  I've found a way to make this simplistic/layered combo work, by sprinkling a few layered clusters around the page.  Then I use lots of white space in between the clusters--as I've done with the layout above.  I'm entering this layout, called "In Sickness and in Health," in the February Berry 71 Bleu challenge, which is all about using white space.  Since I've been really into the color combination of blue and red lately, my white space on this page is actually "blue space."  :) 

And for the red, I used a bright red envelope (from a Christmas card that I received last year) as a title block.  I've always enjoyed using postal elements on my pages, but I've been really, really into it so far this year.

Yeah, I know, Christmas was a while ago.  But I've been thinking a lot about what this past Christmas meant to my husband and me, and this page is what came out of those thoughts.  Plus, a Christmas page is the perfect excuse to use my favorite star embellishments.  :)  My journaling, which is written in the form of a note to my husband, says: Last Christmas (2011) I was so glad you were recovering from your ankle surgery.  This year I'm so glad I'm recovering from my ankylosing spondylitis flare.  Thanks for taking care of me.  I'll always take care of you. 

What the heck is ankylosing spondylitis, you ask?  It's a genetic disorder that causes back problems.  It's one of those things that is well controlled for a while...until I suddenly have a flare.  I had a flare this past autumn, but by Christmas I was starting to recover, thank goodness.

Flares are a bummer, but flair is so good.  :)  I used three flair badges (one for each cluster) on this layout, which I think is a record for me, since I tend to hoard them.  They can be difficult to photograph, since they're so reflective, but I'm pretty happy with how my photos for this layout turned out.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.  Have a good day!