The Unexpected Scrapbook Layout

Most scrapbookers will tell you they have plenty of photos to scrapbook, albeit the majority wish they could dedicate more time to their craft. I'm one of those scrapbookers and know there's never enough time to scrapbook all the things that I want.

There are always stories to be told and photos to scrap. Each day is filled with new memories. So, what happens when someone unexpectedly asks you to scrapbook a found photo, on that's not your own? That happened to me the last day of Layout a Day in May.

If you haven't heard of Layout a Day (LOAD), it's a scrapbooking class created by Lain Ehmann where participants scrapbook and upload their layouts to Flickr every single day for a month. I first signed up for LOAD in May of 2010, participated a total of six times, which resulted in over 200 of scrapbook layouts. I view this scrapbooking class as a game-changer and it's made me a better scrapbooker.

Each day, LOAD participants are greeted with a prompt. Day 31's prompt was to create a layout using a found photo. At first, I wasn't going to follow the prompt since my last layout of each LOAD is usually some sort of collage of all the scrapbook pages I completed during the month. That was planned before I knew the prompt.

"LOAD512" Digital Photo Collage of Scrapbook Layouts

But then something unexpected happened. After I finished and uploaded my collage of layouts to Flickr, my preschooler came home with a photo of our family that was taken at her school's open house last fall. I had my found photo. It was scrapbooking destiny.

I started a new layout, but due to lack of scrappin' time, the page "Thru the Year" wasn't completed until the next day.

"Thru the Year" 12x12 Eco-Friendly Scrapbook Layout

This unexpected scrapbook layout ended up being my favorite layout during May's LOAD and in my top 10 layouts I ever created.

What I love about it is the use of white space, paper scraps, corrugated cardboard and most importantly, a found photo of my family. ~Danielle

Supplies: DCWV cardstock, Jillibean Soup (paper scraps, corrugated cardboard letters, stickers), Sew Easy thread, Cosmo Cricket letter stickers, corrugated cardboard, black marker.

See all my LOAD layouts from May here and my Flickr photostream here.

Related:

Digital Scrapbooking: Highlights from the Birthday Scrapbook

3 Scrapbook Layouts That Use Photo Scraps

Would you use dryer lint on a scrapbook layout?

Don't delete your past, the future depends on it

"The Big Family Van" 12x12 Recycled Paper (DCWV) Scrapbook Layout

There's a new trend these days. Some people are erasing their past to make room for the present and the future. You know what I have to say about that? Screw 'em!

Yes, I have taken their point into consideration, but...

There are stories that need to be told and 

moments in time that just can't be tossed away.

This holds particularly true when it comes to documenting your heritage. For some, especially those who do not plan to have children, it may be hard to grasp the understanding of this and they, along with their story, will disappear over time.

As a mother and long-time scrapbooker, it's my job to document life. I will be remembered. My parents will be remembered. My heritage will be remembered.

I see the importance of documenting the present AND the past FOR the future...for my children, for my grandchildren, for future generations.

Who will tell my story when I'm gone? 

I will. I will now so the future will have it then.

"Retro Family" 12x12 FSC-Certified Paper (Cosmo Cricket) Scrapbook Layout

 Who will tell your story?

Like EcoScrapbook on Facebook for a chance to win the Cosmo Cricket paper shown in the layout above. When there are 25 likes, one lucky winner will receive a Cosmo Cricket Upcycle theme set:
 

and Cosmo Cricket Upcycle stickers:

and Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type stickers:

and if you need a reminder, Cosmo Cricket is an earth-loving scrapbooking manufacturer.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter and swing by Etsy with coupon code "EARTH" for 20% off anything in my shop.

Related:

Digital scrapbooking with Picasa

25 eco-friendly & free scrapbooking supplies

We can change how we scrapbook (so we don't look like this in the future)

ScrapTiffany Recycled Blog Hop: How many things can I recycle on a scrapbook page?

This post is part of the ScrapTiffany Recycled Blog Hop. If you are just joining in the fun, the hop starts and ends at ScrapTiffany, with plenty of eco-friendly craftiness and prizes along the way.

Think Big. That's the title of my recycled scrapbook layout. My goal: to see how many items I can recycle onto one scrapbook page without it looking like a piece of trash.

I was thinking big as I created the layout, but the message I want to convey is that we all need to think bigger. We are more than our bodies and the small confines of everyday life.

We are the past, present and future.

The title of this post is the past. This sentence is the present. And you clicking to another web page is the future.

If I could go back to the past and speak to that 14-year-old girl in the photos (with the pegged jeans that were popular in the early 90s) I would tell her to think bigger. Think about the future. Think about spirit.

Judith Jamison said it beautifully and I quoted her on the layout: 

Dancing is bigger than the physical body. Think bigger than that. When you extend your arm, it doesn't stop at the end of your fingers, because your're dancing bigger than that. 

You're dancing spirit.

Life is spirit. We are all here to learn and dance upon the earth...and to love it.

Now, let's go back and take a look at the layout again and count all the things I recycled:

1. Recycled paper (DCWV, Cosmo Cricket)
2. Toilet paper (I checked the pH; it was all good...and I should point out the no one used the TP beforehand)
3. Button (from an old shirt, probably circa early 90s)
4. Jewelry (my mom's old earring)
5. Leather straps (from a bra before children)
6. Fabric sample
7. CD (Yes, you can see my reflection. It will also show the viewer's reflection to remind him/her to "think big.")
8. Reusable packaging (K&Company)
9. Artificial leaves
10. Cardboard (behind the top photo and journaling block)

Ten! I recycled 10 items onto one scrapbook page.  

What did you recycle today? How are you loving the earth and thinking big? Tell the world. Comment below. Tweet it. Share your response on Facebook. Let people know.

The next stop on the hop is ScrapTiffany, where it all started.

Related: 

10 nature-loving quotes for your scrapbooks

We can change how we scrapbook (so we don't look like this in the future)

ScrapTiffany Recycled Blog Hop: Gifting With Newsprint (my other blog)

ecoScrapbook: Recycled Scrapbook Layouts & Flowers