It’s our final day of our 14th Birthday Week celebration here on the blog, and we couldn’t forget about one of our favorite ways to record memories: pockets! Shannon Dombkowski is the perfect team member to finish up our week of inspiration, with beautiful and colorful pocket page inspiration, and a reminder to focus on the facts of the person being celebrated! Let’s take a look!
Hey there, scrappy friends! Welcome to the last day of Birthday Week here on the Elle’s Studio blog. I hope you’ve been inspired by all of the birthday projects shared by the team this week! Today, I’m going to share a new pocket page layout with you created using the amazing March kit and add-ons. I create monthly pocket pages, so I’ve decided that each of my daughters will get a full page decided to their birthday in their respective birthday months.
First, let me show you the full page before we get into details. This page celebrates my youngest daughter who turned 7 in January 2021.
Supplies | March 2021 Kit, Birthday Cut Files, Hip Hip Hooray Printables, Happy Birthday Journaling Tags, Jane Tile Alphabet Cardstock Stickers – Light Teal, Happy Birthday Chipboard Stickers, Tiny Shapes and Dots Puffy Stickers – Cool Tones, Happy Birthday Wood Veneers, Acrylic Balloons and Presents, Celebrate 6 x 8.5 inch Paper Stack, Make a Wish Stamp, Parker Number Stamp, Mini Dated Stamp, Parker Number Metal Die
Let’s first look at what I consider to be the title card. I used the Happy Birthday Wood Veneer piece as the title. The tag came with what I’m calling a “pre-stamped” image with the circles. Instead of using the blank space for journaling, I added the wood veneer, but it didn’t seem like quite enough. Of course, I had to add the date at the bottom using the Mini Dated Stamp. Then, I pulled out the Make a Wish Stamp to add a sentiment under the word HOORAY! Using a stamp in a sans serif font, like the rest of the words on the tag, helps it look cohesive. Finally, I just had to add a yellow acrylic asterisk from the Acrylic Balloons and Presents to fill in the little bit of space.
Next, let’s look at the “7” tag. First of all, how perfect are the Parker Alphabet and Number Stamps? I love this font! I chose a patterned background and matching solid from the Celebrate 6 x 8.5 inch Paper Stack. My idea was to scatter solid-colored “7s” around the page, but I wanted to take it up a notch. Hello, clear embossing powder! I stamped three and then embossed them with clear embossing powder. The look is subtle, which is exactly what I wanted against the patterned background. Then, I used the Parker Number Metal Die to cut out seven “7s”. To take it one step further, I used a dimensional foam adhesive to pop the embossed numbers off the page just a little bit. Very subtle details for a bigger impact!
Finally, let’s look at my flip-up journaling tag. If you look back at my full-sized page above, you’ll see that the tag in the middle left pocket says “faves.” If you were flipping through my album, you’d be able to flip that up and see some of my daughter’s favorite things at this very moment. I love this kind of journaling for birthdays. It’s always so fun to look back and see what has changed and what has stayed the same. Since my journaling didn’t take up the full tag, I decided to get creative at the bottom. I pulled the Balloons digital PNG file from the Birthday Cut Files into Photoshop. Next, I snipped the balloons so each was its own layer. Then, I arranged them at the bottom of my card. Finally, I used the dropper tool to recolor the balloons to match the kit. After printing, I hand-drew the balloon strings. I’d never used a cut file in that way before! I recommend giving it a try if you don’t have access to an electronic cutting machine.
I hope that I’ve given you some ideas about how you can document birthdays using pocket pages. It doesn’t always have to be about the party, in fact, we didn’t have a party this year! I prefer to focus on the particulars about my daughters at that period in time so I can look back year after year. I can’t wait to see what you create!
Show us how you’re using our products in pockets! Post your pocket pages to our Elle’s Studio Facebook Group or on Instagram using the hashtag #EllesStudio!