Convention Album Contest Layout One

I have had several requests to share my album that I entered in Close To My Heart's Album Contest last week at Convention.  I was honored and humbled to receive 3rd place and in doing so, the memories of a lifetime.  My many thanks go out to Close To My Heart, Jeanette, the corporate team, my own team and all of my many friends and colleagues for their support in my efforts. 

The contest consisted of each consultant submitting a total of five 2 page layouts that embraced the Convention theme "Stars Shine Brightly".  We could incorporate the theme as desired but it needed to be intertwined in the title, journaling and elements of the layouts.  The areas of focus were journaling, photography and creative use of Close To My Heart products.

That being said, I am going to try to post one of my layouts each day for the next five days.  To see any of the pictures larger, simply click the picture and it will open in a larger window.

This is my first layout:  "Our Star Ballerina".

The layout design is loosely based off of "Juggling Act" in Magic.

Full spread.

Left side.

Right side.

Star accents.  These accents were created by cutting a 1" circle out of scrap paper with the 1" Circle Punch.  I then adhered the circle to one of our Acrylic Cards and used this as a template to cut a 1" circle from the acrylic.  Next, I pulled the template and the film off the acrylic circle.  I then cut stars our of the Background and Texture paper and adhered one to the center each of 5 circles.  I attached the circles to the layout in a semi-circle pattern and adhered them using 3-d foam under the stars so the tape would not be visible.  I then completed each star by adding a Mocha Bitty Pearl to the center of each star. 

For the photo mat of the little ballerinas dancing in the circle, I wrapped two pieces of ribbon around an acrylic card.  I then added a slightly smalled piece of vellum for a double mat followed by the photo itself.  Once this was complete, I popped up the entire acrylic mat on 3-d foam.  By using the vellum and the acrylic cards for mats, the mats were softer and allowed more of the Background and Texture paper to show through. 

For the Flip-Flap hidden journaling, I first printed the photographs in a collage format to maximize the space and incorporate more of the photos.  In addition, since these photographs were taken from a distance this allowed me to use the pieces that I loved without taking over the full layout.   The photo collage was matted on vellum and then the vellum was matted onto a cut-to-size acrylic card.  The journaling was attached to the inside of the acrylic card.  The card was then inserted into a pre-cut flip flap for added protection and the flip flap was adhered to the top of the page protector in the space that was reserved for the journaling.  **a side note, CTMH introduced new smaller flip flaps at  Convention that would work great for this element!**

You will note that some of the Seam Binding ribbon was inked Creme Brulee', some Goldrush and others were left at the original colors.  This added a different flair to the layout I thought.

Since the journaling was one of the key elements in the criteria of the layouts, I thought I would share  my journaling with you. It reads:

" My dearest Abby: you are our family’s sweetheart!  You were our little star in your ballet recital.  You love every thing girly and your tutu was no exception. You were so excited to show it off -- you twirled what seemed like non-stopped in the days leading up to your recital just to “feel pretty”. And what better to compliment your beautiful tutu than your heartwarming smile that shone brighter than ever.  This was your shining moment…you knew it and you embraced it! We are all so proud of you!"   

For those who would like to re-create this layout, here is a shopping list:

XC7153 Florentine Level 2 $9.95

Z1323 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" Acrylic Cards $8.95

Z1333 Mocha Pearls Opaques ( 2 sets needed) $2.95

Z1732 Color Ready Seam Binding Ribbon  $6.95

Vellum

Z4114 4" x 6" Flip Flaps $3.95

Z2123 Goldrush Exclusive Ink Pad $ 5.25

Z2167 Creme Brulee Exclusive Ink Pad $5.25

You can order these products directly through myself at: inallsassiness@gmail.com or through my website at:  www.ctmh.com/tonyasheridan