Big Hugs

When my kids were little this was one of our favorite phrases. "Give *insert name* a BIG HUG!" only say it while drawing out the syllables. Matthew's sweet expression when he gave his Daddy a hug melted my heart. The photo quality stinks...too dark, back lighting and now faded but still scrap worthy.

When I start a page, first I select the papers and finding just the right paper was difficult. Bright colors accented the poor quality and made the photos disappear on the page. Muted and monochromatic fit the bill.

Then I go through all my embellishments and pull everything I think might coordinate (this is why my scraproom looks like a tornado hit when I'm done). This page is a mix of a lot of manufacturers!

Cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper: Echo Park, Little Yellow Bicycle, Making Memories; letter stickers: American Crafts; chipboard letters: Die Cuts with a View; stickers: Crate Paper, Echo Park, Jillibean Soup; fabric brads, journaling spots: Basic Grey; diecuts: Little Yellow Bicycle; punches: EK Success, Martha Stewart; brad: Sassafrass; pen: Sakura; marker: Marvy Uchida; floss: DMC; adhesive: 3L, Therm O Web, Tombow; misc: twine, vintage buttons.

The text paper is an oldie from Making Memories. Originally the green zig zag like border was on the outside but I cut it off and used it as a frame around the middle paper, then sanded it a little to tone down the green.

These corrugated flowers didn't start out as flowers! They were diecuts that didn't fit my page so I punched these coordinating flowers out of them.

Aren't the little birdies cute mimicking the positions of my hubby & son :)

Outlined the white letters to help them stand out better.

I love the finished layout :) Feel like I succeeded in making the photos the stars of the page. Tell me what you think, I can take it :}