Fridays are for Friends - Erika's Baseball Layout

Great minds think alike?  Erika took a lot of the same kind pictures that I took at the Reds Game.  She even used the same custom Reds paper, but look how different her layout looks.  My layout was a little "cluttered."  Erika's has all of these cool strips of paper aligned neatly so that you can clearly read the words.  She is so meticulous and it really gives her pages a "professional" feel to them!  I think she's got this Mosaic thing going on!

Words of Wisdom

I've been feeling so creative lately.  I picked up a bunch of mosaic paper at CKC Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago and my creative juices have just been flowing like crazy, ever since.  My girlfriend, Alicia, looked up a little astrology for me today and it seems to fall in line with what I've been feeling.  I have been compelled to stay up at night because I have all these great ideas flowing in my head.  I've been seeing mosaic elements in my photos and in layouts on other websites, etc.  I just keep finding inspiration and I can't seem to get it all on paper fast enough!

"You should make photographs with your heart, mind, eye and soul.  The capture device is simply there to allow you to transfer your vision to a medium that you can share with others."  Bill Frakes

Deep, huh???

Bling It On!

So, I saw a layout similar to this, but it wasn't a mosaic.  The layout just spoke to me and I knew I could do it as a mosaic.  The piece that had been my inspiration had stitching around each photograph and I knew I wasn't up for all that!  But, I decided to use Stickles and bling this layout up.  By using a second sheet of the same paper, I layer a second layer of the waves and the seagulls on the upper right with dimensional adhesive squares.  I also traced the existing wave paper with color-matched Stickles to make it pop.  Lastly, I added some die-cut seagulls in a couple of other places to tie it all together.

The 1" squares on the border are alternated photographs of seagulls, pelicans and the kids, interspersed with pics of sand and colored paper squares.

Tuesdays Are All About Techniques

DIY Panoramics

Nope, I don't have one of those fancy cameras that takes panormic photos.  As it turns out, I don't need one!  For this panoramic view, I used the "mending horizons" technique featured on page 53 of Tami Potter's "Designing Photo Mosaics and More" book. 

To do this, you align your photos side by side, syncing them up at a common horizon line.  Then, you cut your desired height (2 1/8, 3 2/8, etc.) with the photos aligned at that position. 

I also used some pre-printed Niagara Falls paper for the photo mats and accent pieces. 

Baseball!

So, I did a mosaic layout about our Reds game outing for my niece, Samantha's, album.  I used the  We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy stitch template to sew a 1" strip that I used across the right side page.  I used some custom "Cincinnati Reds" paper that I purchased at a local scrapbook store for accent pieces.

I used the same technique and materials to create a "traditional" non-mosaic layout for my nephew, Owen's, page about the same trip.

My Students Are My Best Inspiration!

Tracy, my sister, was my first pupil!  She has been very patient with me.  Nowadays, she is the master of the Mosaic Moments Quick Cut Guide and lining up all of her photos to cut the perfect squares.  This is her favorite mosaic so far, and it's easy to see why . . . . the black paper plays up the dark, rich caverns.  And, could my nephew (Aidan) be any cuter? 

More from Erika!

Although this photo doesn't do it justice, I just had to share Erika's second mosaic, too.  Check out those Legos!  What a great texture to play up!