Hello! It’s Jennie McGarvey joining you on the blog today with a Throwback Thursday project. How far are we throwing it back? ALLLLLLL the way to May 2020 and if we’re being honest, I highly encourage you to check out the Elle’s Studio blog from May 2020. The United States was in full social distancing mode, unsure of where the COVID-19 pandemic would go and do the projects ever reflect that! It’s such a cool time capsule into an unprecedented time.
Supplies | May 2021 Kit, May 2021 Labels, Treasure This Vellum Stickers, Tiny Shapes and Dots Puffy Stickers – Warm Tones, Cork Words, Wood Veneer Borders, Good Times Paper Stack
I used a couple of different layouts from the design team to inspire me for my project. If I’m going to be honest, this was the most fun I’ve had in a while. I wasn’t creating my norm and I wasn’t stressing over a sketch. (Yes, sketches kind of stress me out!) It was so fun to pick and choose projects and what from those projects to use was the most fun for me.
The left side of my layout is made up of four 3 x 4 inch pocket tags and I was obsessed with Amanda-jayne Baldwin’s “Story” layout from the May 2020 design team gallery. I absolutely loved the grid and the incredible amounts of layering upon layering within that grid. I decided that I wanted to do a four 3 x 4 inch pocket page in my 6 x 8 inch album and that I wanted to layer in each pocket. It was easy to do and the only thing I pulled from my stash was a scrap of vellum and a scrap of white cardstock to mat my photo.
The May 2021 Kit had a few pocket tags that I used to cut up and layer, but the bases were all created with patterned paper from the Good Times Paper Stack.
I decided that I would stick to a mostly pink color palette, and it made choosing items easy. Of course, there are other colors represented, but by sticking to pink in the choices, it was easy to make each section feel cohesive. Another trick that helped the layout feel really tied together was to choose three of the tags to place at an angle on the top layer and then leave the fourth straight. It gives the page a playful feel, but the “BEST MOM EVER” tag from the May 2021 Kit helps ground the left side of the layout.
On the right side, I decided I would choose a second layout to inspire me. Again, this was easy as the Design Team Inspiration posts are full of amazing projects! I chose the “Simple Adventure” page that Jess Forster created to pull inspiration for my own project.
I used the full-page photo, matted with plain white cardstock from Jess’s layout. However, I wanted to use the wide-open space on my photo to add a bit of embellishing. I really do love how I was able to be inspired by Jess yet put my own unique spin on her project to make a page of my own.
How do you use the design team to inspire your projects? Do you take full projects to inspire you, or do you pull bits and pieces from their designs? We’d love to see what you are creating based on our designer’s projects, so make sure to share with us in the Elle’s Studio Facebook Group or on Instagram using the #EllesStudio hashtag!
