Add Details to Your Everyday Photos

I'm so excited to share another project with you this month that focuses on everyday photos.  Earlier this month, I did a layout with photos taken with the iPhone that didn't have the best of light, had distractions in them, and were not the best overall photos.  You can see that post and video here.  But they capture your everyday life and those are my favorite.  And that is why, even though I use my iPhone daily, I still will pull out my big DSLR camera to take photos of us and our surroundings.  I have more control over the lighting in my photos and can get the beautiful bokeh (blur) in the background.

Just like my layout with photos using the iPhone, I want this layout to have details that both focus on my photos, but also fun and beautiful details.  I started by printing all of my photos the same size, and trimmed them leaving a border.  Then I trimmed pieces of pattern paper and used the Jet Black ink to stamp the Painted Flowers stamps using just the outline layer on one piece, and then stamped one of the sentiments from the Say Cheese stamp set on the other.

To add more detail and texture to the pattern papers, I added criss-cross straight stitching.  I also cut and used the Fenstone Decorative Element in both the gold and antique gold.  I really like the different shades of them both, and the antique gold being a little darker helps draw attention near the middle of the layout.  I stitched those in place.

I used a leftover piece of stamped pattern paper at the bottom of the layout, added more stitching, creased and tore over a section of it.  A cute little place to more stamping and adding fun stickers.   I stamped and die cut more Painted Flowers using the Sea Glass, Warm Sunshine, and Caramel Toffee Crisp Inks.  I used the matching dies to cut the flowers out.  Then I used some of the smaller stamps from the same stamp set to add some little details to the background near the center of my layout and near my title.

A few more added details with stamping that I think really add so much to this layout were the date using the Invisible Numbers.  So crushing on how this stamp set looks!  And speaking of crushing, the Calligraphy Alpha set has so many possibilities for stamping out a custom title or journaling.  I used it two ways here, one with just the Evening Gray Crip Ink and then inked the bottom with Warm Sunshine and the top with the Cotton Candy ink pad to get the look of two tone.  I fussy cut them all out to adhere with foam adhesive.

Another fun detail I added was to use one of the leaf dies from the Painted Flower die set to cut from the Gold Mirror specialty paper.  It adds a gorgeous look and detail!  I tucked one leaf under each stamped and die cut flower.  And last, I smeared Evening Gray Crisp Ink onto a non-stick mat, sprayed with water, picked up with a large flat 1″ paint brush, and swished some color right under where I pop dotted my stamped title.

Thank you for letting me share.  Happy creating!!