One of my favorite movements recently has been the push to keep gratitude journals. I was raised with the idea that one should count their blessings, especially when one is feeling a little discouraged or down. And I have to admit it helps shake the blues, and the greens. And the yellows. Helping to bring me back to happy. This month, I loved having the chance to not just count some blessings, but also to take time to write them down in a layout.
How about you? Does it help you to note the good things? Does your perspective impact your happiness? If so, have you taken time to make a layout about the concept or about a particular gratitude? Perhaps one last look back through our gallery will provide you with the inspiration you need to do just that!
Francine - I love how Francine's photos look as if they are hanging on a clothesline, except the line is below them. (So resting upon?) I think the design adds to the hominess of her layout.
Karen - Did you notice that Karen's layout is filled with elements that are a tiny bit askew, tipped to the left, tipped to the right, a little up, a little down... and then there is the photo grid. With its even borders and symmetrical placements. Such a stabilizing element. Perfect.
Celeste - The digital magic of Celeste belongs to her use of shadows. Look closely at the grid squares and how the shadows make them so slightly raised. Even the stiches have a teensy bit of shadow. It is this that changes the layout from digiboring to digireal. So small, but so impactful.
EmilyS - Do you sometimes make a list and want to use numerical embellishments but can't get them all on a page? How do you decide which to use and which to let go? Follow Emily's idea. She just picked a few, then placed the selected flair in appropriate places that make sense from a design perspective. Next, add the journaling around it. Easy peasy. Or so Emily makes it look.
Donna - The use of this quote card is genius. It adds a title, a decorative element, and a nice balance stylistically to the photo. Donna has a remarkable sense of balance in her layouts, without resorting to symmetry. This layout is one of many that shows this off.
Aly - Hands down, my favorite part of Aly's layout is that she is in her birthday photo. Hooray to Derek for taking hold of that camera and helping preserve Aly on her birthday!
LisaO - Have you seen those maps with pushpins that show where people have been? Lisa's layout reminds me of those. I love the visual story told by the hearts. Such a useful design element.
Amy - Did you read through Amy's journaling? It was so delightful. And sincere. And didn't have much at all to do with the days the leaves were thrown about. Photos can really be a jumping off point for stories, good stories, important stories. If you let them.
Paula - Oooh, I love a good list of things that are important. I love a good list that doesn't look like a boring old list. And I love the idea of keeping track of one thing per day. Such a lovely idea.
Diane - I have one word. Buttons. I love them. And I don't see them much anymore. But Diane used them. Beautifully, might I add. Thank you, Diane!
Marnie - Do you see the title? Do you see how the line of the r lines up with the left edge of the photo? Which lets the swoop of the g rest nicely in the swoop of the parentheses. Oh, I love fonts.
LisaK - Even though Lisa's photo is busy and contains many colors and details, you still notice her husband and children first. She wisely pulled the colors of her daughters' dresses into the layout. And by putting one little frame with a white center (the one to the right of the frame which says, "these girls") next to the photo, the white of the girls' sweaters pulls right out of the picture and the girls take center stage on the layout. As they should.
Erin - This layout has a fantastic collection of patterned papers. Small dots, chevron zigzags, stripes and big dots. In varying shades and colors. So delightful! Erin is so good with her papers.
Keshet - Ever notice how Keshet uses the tiniest elements to draw things together? For instance, did you notice the teensy yellow sequence that dots the "i" in her title is the same one strung across the collage in the top left corner? We often speak of repetition as a means of tying elements together. This is a perfect example.
Marie - Do you love these photos? Aren't they yummy? I also love how there is a second story going on on the left hand side with the bitty little journaling strips. Clever.
Kelly - Lining up her elements down the center of the page, Kelly's little Gabe gets front and center billing. With the journaling paper running the entire height of the page, the top photo becomes the focal point of the layout. A helpful design strategy.
Vivian - Using images and ephemera rather than photos, Vivian captures the story of her day even though she had no photos. Do not be deterred by photoless days when there are still stories to be told!
Monika - I love the idea of putting the journaling snippets on flags. It is so much more interesting than bullet points! Have you thought of other ways to journal lists without using a list?
Did you enjoy the Saturday workshops this month? I hope that you were able to find something inspiring? One of my favorite projects is putting the challenges together in a fun way to create a layout that stretches my creativity. This week I used Amy's challenge to make use of demonstrative adjectives, Lisa's challenge to look past the normal for a fun photo, Celeste's sketch, and the typography of Monika's printable, and put them together to make my newest layout. This one took me awhile to get it right, but I think it will grow on me. (It took me four hours (yes four hours! yikes!) so I am calling it done. Not every layout has to be my favorite, right?)
I hope you were able to be inspired, too! Please, oh please, if you make a layout, will you load it to our Flickr gallery and leave me a link so that I might oogle your creations? I would love that!
Until next time,
