Well, here it is week four and I’m still back in week three with my scrapbook pages. 
I refuse to give up on this project of completing and posting a layout each week for the year. I actually completed three layouts yesterday but by the time I got home was just too tired to scan and write. I must say I did cheat on the layouts though – but I don’t have a problem with that. I ‘lifted’ three quick-and-easy single-page layouts from Basic Grey. I’m really liking their designer layouts using strips and pieces of their papers to add color and pattern to the layouts. It’s a great way to stretch your supply of papers and it’s fun to mix and match all the different patterns.
I’ve been working with papers from Basic Grey’s Marjolaine line. The blue, green and brown pallette work well for masculine pages and I am scrapping pages for two sons in addition to my daughter. And, the patterns felt retro to me so really suited my photos from the 70’s. The title is Maya Road’s Johnathan Mini alphabet set painted with Ranger’s Juniper Adirondack Paint Dabber then stamped with Ranger’s Archival Ink in Coffee using Wendy Vecchi’s background number stamp from the Dimensional Rose Art set.
It’s a little tricky working with these old photos. Some have really turned orange, others are small in size like 3-inches by 3-inches and others are just plain bad. I must say, my photography skills have improved imensly over the years and my photography equipment is a much better grade than it was back then. So…what I’m doing is scanning the photos at a very high dpi – 1200 for the smaller ones. Then, working in photoshop elements I have been able to adjust color and sharpen them slightly before printing them in a larger format. I’ve never felt the need to scrap every photo I have ever taken – in fact, I’ve even begun to toss the really bad ones.
This particular layout is of my son Scott who is now 40-years old – he is two-years old in this photo. It’s another weekend at the Doyle family camp in the Dublin/Irons area in Northern Michigan. We spent nearly every weekend there with my in-laws during summer months. Setting up tents and cooking on the old Weber. What better place for children to grow up!
