I am so excited to share another traveler’s notebook process with you. Truthfully, before our trip to Italy, I had fallen behind on much of my memory keeping. However, keeping a traveler’s notebook of our Italian adventure re-inspired me to get going on documenting. Because May is my birthday month, I figured there was no better time than the present to jump in and get started again!
You can see watch the video of my process here:
My birthday present from my husband this year was the Silhouette Cameo 3. I am so pumped! Y’all, this machine can do so much. Of course, I can barely turn it on and do a couple of cuts, but I have big plans for the future. I just need to learn how to use it first! I opted to try my first cutting project for this page. I designed the “This is 36” die-cut for the left side of the spread, and downloaded the larger “Birthday” design in the online Silhouette store.
The die-cuts were the jumping off point for this page for sure, and they were LARGE. I knew the best way to incorporate them would be to work with some tip-ins. I have recently fallen in love with the concept of tip-ins in my traveler’s notebook. A tip-in is basically an element to a layout that is taped or adhered on a hinge so that it can be opened as you are flipping through the book. I love the interactive element! For this layout, I used two tip-ins on the left side to adhere photos and also to cover up the large “This is 36” element. The photos are a selfie I took on my birthday and a picture of my kiddos and me on the morning of my birthday. Beneath the tip-in, I placed the large die-cut element, and still left myself plenty of room for journaling. I journaled about what it felt like to be 36, what my dreams are for the year, and some of the parts of my birthday that made it feel really special.
On the right side of the spread, I knew I needed to anchor the extra large die cut in some way. I chose numbered vellum paper from Felicity Jane. The sheet was large enough that I had pieces left over to incorporate onto the left side of the spread as well, to make the whole layout a bit more cohesive. I matted the “Birthday” die cut first on black card stock and then on layers of colored card stock from Felicity Jane that coordinated with the colors I used on the left side. This carried the color scheme to both sides of the spread and helped the large die-cut element really pop off the page.
I added several phrase and word stickers from Tim Holtz to the photos on the left that captured my birthday mood perfectly. In order to soften some of the harshness of the large elements and very harsh lines I had going on, I opted for some black and white floral pieces. These helped tone down the bright colors and add a soft touch to the spread. Using them on the top of the tip-ins as well as underneath also continued to bring the layout together.
This was a fun one to put together, and it was a fantastic birthday. Stay tuned for more updates on how it is going with my Cameo 3. Do you have a Silhouette? Any advice or tutorial tips for a newbie?
Keep it creative,
-The Scrappy Wife
Supplies Used:
- Traveler’s Notebook from BTW4G
- Solid Paper from Felicity Jane
- Vellum Paper from Felicity Jane
- Tim Holtz big chat stickers
- Tim Holtz snarky phrase stickers
- Black & white grid washi tape