Simple Fall Layout of Monticello - Week #38

Welcome to October on Layout-A-Week! In most of the country, October means fall. But here in Florida, of course, we don't get much of what is considered to be "fall". So to get a taste of fall scrapbooking and get in a seasonal mood, I decided to go way back in time and dig up some pictures from a trip to Williamsburg and Virginia in October 1994. I didn't start scrapbooking until several years after this trip so these beautiful pictures have never been scrapbooked!

One way to make scrapbooking old photos easy is to use templates. For this layout, I used a template from the Scrap Free Scrapbooking ebook by Layout-A-Week's own Jennifer Priest. The book contains beautiful clean template designs that show you how to take a few sheets of paper and turn them into 4-5 coordinated layouts by cutting them to certain dimensions!

Working with templates like this is even easier if you work with pre-coordinated paper kits. For this layout, I worked with Graphic 45's recent collection Botanicabella. The combination of brown, green and golden yellow is perfect for fall, and the historic touches of text and other elements are a perfect match for Monticello, the historic home of one of America's founding fathers.

The fall colors of the paper set a tone, but to emphasize the fall theme, I decided to add a die cut leaf. I cut the leaf out on my Cricut Explore machine.

I love intricate die cuts but adhering them? Not so much. My Xyron 505 machine is the perfect solution for my sanity. It's a lifesaver for items like this! A large portion of what comes out of my die cut machine goes straight into my Xyron for adhesive.

Besides the leaf, there was one other thing that I added to the template design: a journaling block. I measured the area between the bottom of the picture of Monticello and the top of the title block. Then I took those measurements to my Westcott TrimAir rotary trimmer and cut a piece of just slightly textured patterned paper to insert in that space as a journaling block.

Before gluing all of the paper elements down, I added a final touch that made the layout just a bit more finished. Using this many patterns together - even if they are all beautifully coordinated - can easily start to appear a busy, muddy mess. I used a Colorbox ink pad in Expresso (dark brown) to ink the edges of my design blocks to give them definition so they appear more separate from each other. It also gives the layout a bit of dimension by creating a faux drop shadow effect.

Using the glitter Thickers for the name Monticello draws the golden highlights out of the photos.

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to come back next week for more fall layout goodness!

Supplies:

• Graphic 45 Botanicabella collection
• Cricut Explore machine & leaf cut file
• Hero Arts "Clearly Kelly" stamps (Kelly's Outline Letters)
• American Crafts "Wisecrack" Thickers in gold
• Brown journaling pen
• Westcott Trim Air rotary trimmer
• Xyron 505 adhesive machine
• Colorbox pigment ink in Espresso
• Scrap Free Scrapbooking Ebook (Cutting Pattern 5)