Hi friends! Emilie here for this special week where we celebrate the men in our lives and particularly our fathers our father figures.
The last time my father featured on one of my layout was back in January 2020 and it was still a girly layout as Sophia was, of course, on the photograph too. I can't, for the life of me, remember when was the last time I created a boy/ masculine layout! Give me florals all the way! So this assignment was out of my comfort zone to say the least.
As I am not one to shy away from a challenge though, I decided to face it head on, but taking a step at a time.
My first step was to chose which collection to use. I went with "To the Moon" as the colors were more masculine and I knew I would be able to use some of the elements to talk about my dad. The colors too were perfect as they worked with my photograph and it contained a lot of blue which is my father's favorite color.
I then went on to select the patterned papers I would use. I decided on the B side of the paper Tiny Details as it used a design I have used before so brought back a little bit of creative comfort in an unknown masculine world. I cut along the lines, glued it all back onto a sheet of cardstock and then stitched alongside each line again. I crumpled the stitched edges for added texture which is a technique I love to use.
When it came to the placement of my elements, I would have normally gone for the center of the layout but here somehow I wanted to have something a little bit more messy and rugged. I suppose it helped me bring even more masculinity. I splashed a few drops of diluted white gesso to add drama to my background, mounted my photograph on to a piece of patterned paper of which I distressed the edges and then attached it all at a slight angle on the left hand side.
I chose ephemera icons which would work with a layout about my dad rather than something overly space-themed. I rounded to flags around a paint brush to give them a real-life feel and sprinkled a few stars here and there to work alongside the white splatters.
The "Awesome" acrylic word was perfect for my title however as it is a little bit see-through I knew it would get lost against the strong colors of my background. I therefor mounted it onto white cardstock which helped it pop. The red now repeat the red thread from my stitching as well as the red shirt I am wearing in the photograph.
My last touch was to use the Aria Alphabet puffy stickers to complete my title and really drive it home that this is all about my dad. I love the effect these alphas bring to a layout!
And here we are! I am quite surprised how nicely this layout came together. It was an exercise of letting go of the control I normally use as well as going for something completely different which overall was very refreshing!
Thank you so much for your time here and I hope you it inspired you to create about the men in your lives too!
Lots of love,
Emilie
Products used:
To The Moon Collection 12x12 Collection Kit
To The Moon Collection Ephemera Icons
Aria Alphabet puffy stickers Black
Acrylic word awesome
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