The Write.Click.Scrapbook. gallery this month, and the related blog post, is based on the concept of a fun blog called Young Me/Now Me. Doesn't this site make you want to go stage an old photo right now? So fun!
We were given the leeway to interpret the challenge fairly loosely, as I did on my two layouts below.
As outlined in the challenge, I did purposely stage this photo to resemble a photo I remembered taking five years earlier. Because I didn't pull out the original photo before taking the new shot, it doesn't mimic it exactly, but it's pretty close. And this is a scene we've seen several times in the back yard over the years. Kids love to climb on these old clothes line poles. I'd venutre a guess that it's held far more kids than clothes in the last ten years!
For this page, I didn't deliberately stage an old photo, but as I browed through my iPhoto files, specifically looking at pictures taken with my iPhone, I was struck by the similarities betwen these two pictures--and the one HUGE difference. (Well, she's still itty bitty, but she's made a huge difference in our lives.) I couldn't help making another page! I especially love how Keira's expression in the second photo mirrors my expression in the first. Too much excitement!
Now for Some Title Talk
Make sure you also check me out on this episode of Paperclipping Roundtable from a couple of weeks ago. The topic: "Titles Don't Have to Stop Traffic." And the two layouts above just happen to illustrate some of the tips we discussed on the show!
The first layout, "Hanging Out," takes a common cliche and uses it a way that gives it a double meaning. I could have also used "Hanging Around," "Hang Loose," or "Hang On." Probably the best tip I shared in the show involves using cliches, sayings, and aphorisms as titles. You can either use a familiar saying as is: "Puppy Love" (on a layout about young love or puppies or both). Or you can modify it to suit your page: "Jungle Jim" (on a layout about a person named Jim playing on the monkey bars, for example).
But what if you can't think of one? Google it! This is a trick I frequently use when I'm working on a freelance writing gig, especially if I need a clever headline. If you're scrapbooking (or writing) about dogs, for example, simply type "dog cliches" or "dog sayings" into the search field, and see what you get! Or you could try this Cliche Finder website, which allows you to type in any word (such as "ball" if you're making a sports page), and it will return a list of common cliches and sayings containing that word. I rarely find the exact title or headline I need in the results, but they often inspire a train of thought that takes me to the perfect phrase.
The second layout doesn't include a traditional title. It starts with two photos, then it dives into the journaling, and then it concludes with a pre-printed sticker from Bella Blvd. that fit my page's sentiment. The sticker serves as a title of sorts, but not a traditional one. And this layout proves that it's perfectly okay to skip conventional titles every now and then on layouts! (A tip that was also shared in the show.)
There you have it.
Are you ready for November? I'm not sure I am. My baby's one month old tomorrow. Someone please stop the clock!
