Black Tie Love Affair March Kit Ideas

There aren’t a lot of things more disturbing than looking at one of your favorite little people and noticing that they’ve changed. They’re a foot taller suddenly or they’ve lost their baby chubba or they’ve grown out their hair or they’ve cut it off. But nothing is quite as disturbing as looking at “that face” and noticing that something has changed never to come back. There’s a moment at which “that face” just isn’t a baby face anymore. There’s a moment at which “that face” just suddenly looks older. There’s a moment at which “that face” somehow wakes up belonging to a teenager. And then there’s that moment when “that face” no longer belongs to a child at all.

That’s why I love layouts like this one that are centered around one amazing, tiny, sweet, adorable little face.

That Face 12×12 Layout by Francine:

You’ll notice that Francine arranged her page elements to leave two different spots for journaling. She used the teeny alphas and the cardstock stickers. She used the banner pulled from the Glitz Design paper whatnots and she used the vintage clear star flower embellishments.

Check out the closeups:

This particular sticker was one of the most popular elements in the March kit!

Gotta love the way Francine used the banner!

Life IS good. (I’m repeating that over and over in my head right now because if you say something over and over and over it eventually becomes your reality…right?) Nah, I’m just kidding. Life is good. Poppies are blooming in my garden. My creeping vine is slowly crawling right over the garden bench I’ve been trying to coax it over for the past 2 seasons and I’ve got a new dress. So, yes! Life IS good!

But isn’t it interesting to see just how “good” life was in times that were so different it doesn’t seem like there can be any comparison whatsoever? Take this layout from Jan Hobbins using March’s Black Tie Love Affair kit: 12×12 Life is Good layout.

In this Life is Good layout you’ll notice that these ladies don’t really look like they are headed out to play tennis…but that’s only because this is a photo of Jan’s husband’s grandmother and her cousin from the early 1900′s. And that’s what I think makes life good no matter where you live or when you live: your people! I love my people: my 2 amazing and sometimes horrifying smart kids, my lovely and mostly sweet sisters, my old friends that know all there is to know, my new friends that spice things up, my brothers that advise me on lawn care, fix my car and come over to eat, my lovely mom, my dad (very missed), my cousins…even my neighbors! People are fabulous.

I hope you love your people, too. And I hope you remember to use your talents (scrapbooking, hello!) to document the “good” stuff or people in your life!

This layout is so amazing that it’s hard to know what to point out. I suggest that you click on the picture and study it up close and personal! But don’t miss that Jan extended the banner on the small Glitz paper. She drew it on with a felt pen and distress stain. Then she cut and added a few pieces of paper. Other elements not to be missed: the pearl trim used as a flower stem in the bottom right corner, the mixture of cardstock sticker and scrabble tiles for the title, the mixture of blocks and lines and circles creating the amazing background for the phot, the doodling additions (not everyone has the knack, but it’s a fun addition)…

So glad Jan shared this project with us. It’s an amazing layout and we hope ya’ll enjoy it as much as we did!

Do Moms have a life worth documenting, too? I think it’s pretty telling how many layouts and projects come through based around photos of the kids and events the kids were involved in or the sweet hubby or the kids’ birthday parties, etc. But it’s pretty rare that we see a layout come through that’s documenting the day to day life of a “Mom’s life.” So we were so excited to see this 12×12 layout come through documenting Francine’s method of conquering the laundry! 1 load a day; not everyday, but rarely more than that. So that’s 4 to 5  loads a week. That’s a philosophy I should probably adopt for myself. But I probably won’t. We all have to come up with our own gimmicks to stay afloat in our domestic worlds.

Here’s one of Francine’s tricks…immortalized by layout:

I love how the picture adds visuals to Francine’s documention of her new washing philosophy. And I love LOVE love the trash talk… “YOU ARE MINE.” In any other layout this would be an endearment…but when we’re talking about conquering the laundry, that is some mighty strong trash talking. And I love that I’m not the only one that tries to trash my laundry into submission.

Here you can see the great combination of elements that Francine used as she meshed her journaling and her title. She’s got teeny black alphas, vintage bingo calling numbers, vintage look stickers and her own lovely handwriting.

More Black Tie Love Affair projects coming your way shortly!

We all have those things that we just love. That book that is so intense that we don’t even hear the phone ring. Or that movie that we are so into that we can watch it over and over without taking a break in between. Or that shoe department that nothing could mke us walk by without stopping no matter how much of a hurry we’re in. It’s called FOCUS! And focus is SUCH a good thing. We just have to learn to direct it at the right areas. Like the funnies in the newspaper, for instance.

U Have Focus 12×12 Layout by Amy Heller:

I love the Amy used pieces of the HUGE alphas in her layering alongside the fabulous butterflies, array of buttons, whatnots and vintage book pages, etc. And you just can’t miss the zig zag stitch along the edge of the full layout.

Ahhh. lovely butterflies…lovely buttons….lovely stitching. Looks even better up close, doesn’t it?

Amy always likes to draw even more attention to the vintage buttons in the kits with twine. And we love how she has this one popped and backed with a burst of color.

Look at that…YOU have focus. You’ve made it all the way to the bottom of the post. Yeah for you! Scrapbooking is a fabulous thing to spend some of your “focus” on. Keep it up. Come back and check out more projects soon.

I don’t know about you, but I notice far too often that I take a LOT of pictures of my favorite little people, but fail to jump in the picture myself. Granted…there’s a problem due to the fact that I’m always the one holding the camera. But Francine is not so limited as me; she’s far more inventive. Check this photo that serves as the basis for this layout she titled, “Us.”

I love photos like this that aren’t posed. They’re real. You know that door on the side of the picture. It’s one you walk through everyday. You didn’t worry about coordinating outfits. You haven’t spent hours deliberating on the perfect setting for the portrait. Yet it’s the most perfect setting of all…one that reflects the real life behind the scenes. The one that you really want to remember. These are the pictures and layouts that will be the most meaningful down the road when you look back. They’ll be the ones that help you remember the best times. The times that meant something.

The Black Tie Love Affair had lots of “WhatNots”…some of my favorite categories of scrapbook supplies because they are so versatile for all kinds of projects (cards, altered art, layouts, etc.) You’ll notice the fun combination of HUGE alphas and teeny alphas that Francine mixed for her title. I love the Francine uses the background of her photo as just that…background. She’s not afraid to layer over the side or edge if that portion of the photo isn’t elemental to the “memory.” And as always…journaling…it’s a MUST!

Never skip the closeups. They give you a good look at the little details that really make the page special and will get you great ideas for upcoming projects.

More projects from Francine and our other LBD Designers soon!