June's Five on the Fifth

Memory keeping is a funny thing. Most of the time you’re either in the midst of the event or even done with it when the chorus of scrapbooking angels start to sing the you-need-to-scrapbook-this anthem. Oh, come on…you know you’ve heard that song. But every once in a while you know in advance that there’s a layout waiting to happen.

I had just such a moment in connection with our New York trip. Sure, I knew there would be wonderful pages to create about the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge, but the memory I was waiting to unfold and document didn’t involve sightseeing, at least in the traditional sense. What I hoped to be tuned into was Kayla’s reaction to the Big Apple. Would she love the hustle and bustle of the big city and all that it had to offer or would it all be the turn-off the last teenager we took to NYC found it to be? And while I couldn’t see the exact design or the photos of this layout in my head, I knew the title, or at least the choices: City Girl or City Girl—Not.

It didn’t take long to know the answer; she’s definitely a city girl…she loved everything about it! Well…maybe not the ducks hanging in the restaurant window or the open-air fish market, both found in Chinatown, but those were about the only things she didn’t take in with delight. And given the chance, she’d go back to Chinatown despite them. It was fun then to put together a quick page recording her love for the big city life. Here’s the layout:

 

Supplies:
Cardstock and chipboard circle: Bazzill Basics Paper
Patterned paper: Little Yellow Bicycle, My Mind’s Eye, Sweetwater and unknown
Tissue tape: Tim Holtz
Paper doily: Doily News
Metal accents: Making Memories, Scrapworks and Ryohin Keikaku Co.
Rub-ons: 7Gypsies
Journaling box, chipboard letters and stickers: BasicGrey
Ink: ColorBox, Clearsnap
Font: Zurich BT, Bitstream

Journaling: She loved the shopping. She navigated the subway like she’d ridden it all her life. She pronounced Times Square awesome! The more crowded and busier it got, the better she liked it. Did I mention she loved the shopping? Yes, indeed…Kayla is a big city girl.

A close-up at Rockefeller Center, a funky doorway we stumbled across and night in Times Square make a good cross-section of Kayla enjoying the city life, and although the Times Square photo is a little grainy, I still love it because she has her arms spread open wide as if to embrace the very essence of New York City. Some colorful circles give the design a playful feel but the metal photo corners keep the photos from getting lost against them. It’s a lot of color and pattern with some grunge thrown in…just what the big city is all about. The design also incorporates a couple of my shopping finds. The paper doily is actually a coaster made from newsprint and I thought the combination of texture, color and foreign language was a great fit with this theme. And there’s also a little “thumbs up” paper clip used as an accent on the page. Both of these items were too cute to resist when we visited the MOMA store…you never know where you’re going to find scrapbooking inspiration.

The three photos are 3x4.33 but because the center one is a close-up, it becomes the focal point of the page. You could easily make the center photo slightly larger or pop it up on some foam mounting squares to give it more prominence if all your photos have equal visual weight. Here’s a layered template you can use to print the three photos as one block:

Download JuneLayeredTemplate

When you open the template, you’ll notice that it’s in landscape format. This should make it easier to insert your photos and then you can rotate the entire page to portrait orientation for printing.

My journaling was short and sweet: five pieces of “evidence” that she was a city girl. Yes, I know…shopping is in there twice. I could have easily come up with a fifth…and probably a sixth, seventh and eighth too, but I guarantee that if you asked Kayla what she liked about being in New York City, shopping would be her first answer. Including it twice helps remind me just how delighted she was at all the choices a big city has to offer.

This month’s Extras is filled with journaling spots to help you record the “evidence” you want to remember. Most of them are sized 3x4 as that seems to be popular with everyone doing Project Life albums. If you want them smaller, you could play around with the Page Scaling before printing them. The city skyline on the first journaling block was created using a free digital brush from DrowElfRocker.

Download JuneExtras

The underlying theme behind my page is what you learn about yourself or someone you love by transplanting yourself/them into a new environment. It has more wide-reaching applications than just visiting New York City. Never fear, however…I’ve got five more ideas you can use to create your new favorite scrapbook page:

    1. City lights: Take your camera with you on your next trip to the big city (or outing in your hometown if you already live in a large metropolitan area) and record the five things that attract you to it.
    2. Country nights: Even after seeing Paree, some people want to be down on the farm. Create a scrapbook page about the five things that lure you to quiet getaways or life in a small town.
    3. Familiar sights: No matter where you go, it’s always nice to come home. What are the five things that say “you’re home” to you? Build a scrapbook page around them and explain the reasons behind your choices.
    4. A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock ‘n Roll: Music says a lot about us no matter where we live; scrapbook your five favorite artists or songs right now. It will be fun to look back on them years from now to see if/how your tastes have changed…and if you still remember the lyrics.
    5. I’ve Learned: Traveling teaches us a lot on many levels but you can also learn plenty about yourself just staying home. Do a little self-examination and then create a layout documenting five things you’ve learned…about yourself, your philosophy in life or the world around you. It’s a peek into your values and thought process future generations will appreciate seeing.

My theme and the variations on it are just a starting point, and you can use them or head off on your own creative adventure. The idea is still the same: Create a scrapbook page that documents something about yourself or those you love and use a list of five things for your journaling. It’s the fifth and you’ve got five…now go create something!

Comments

[Sonda T]

Brenda, i love when you post these "5th" posts. So great. And what a great story to go with that layout. Thank you for sharing it along with the digi elements. So awesome! xoxo

[Jude]

Thanks for sharing both the layout and the story. Jude.x

[MilliD]

I've been meaning to comment on all your New York posts, but life got away from me for a couple of weeks so I'll put it all here. :)
What a lucky, lucky girl Kayla is to have such wonderful, adventurous grandparents!! I'm sure she knows it and is appreciative to have such a loving family! Believe me, I am taking notes in case I'm a grandparent some day. :)
It sounds like you had such a FUN time and I'm glad Wayne got in some geocaching (subway issues notwithstanding - lol)! I've loved all the photos and stories - just wonderful.
Thanks for the 5 on the 5th challenge - hope to do it justice!

[Pat]

Thanks, Brenda. I love your 5 on the 5ths and monthly downloads.

And thanks for taking "us" along on your trip. I felt like I was right there with you. Well, maybe except for the sore feet and cheesecake!