STORY OF THE PAGE: We bought a new car. It wasn’t planned, per se, but with a recent fender bender resulting in an unfixable Hyundai Santa Fe (my favorite car ever), we had to up our game for car shopping. We’ve been looking very casually for a few years so we knew what we were looking for. A fortuitous hook up from a friend made the car buying experience extremely crap-free. (And yes, if you’re looking for a great salesman with no bullshit, email me and we’ll send you his way!) Years ago, when we bought our Santa Fe, I also made a scrapbook page (see below under Sentimental Shit). That one, if I recall, was for an assignment for Simple Scrapbooks magazine. I know this because why else would I voluntarily make a 12 x 12 page? Anyhow, it only seemed fitting to make a page about Stevie. (Oh yeah, I have never named a car but decided to give this car a name, one that was a bit mystical and hippie-ish and reflected her crunchy values, or something like that. So, Stevie Nicks it is!) Side note: this is also the safest car we’ve ever purchased and hopefully, we will not regret that car payment for the next five years.
Also, I am so in love with my free 3-month trial to Sirius XM radio, I do not know if I will be able to say goodbye at the end. Two words: 1st Wave. Onto the layout…
DESIGN STUFF: I like to create one big chunk of content. You see it, right? The title, journaling and photos all fill in a long, rectangular space with lots of pleasing white space surrounding it. The margin spaces between all touching elements are nearly identical. There’s a touch of repetition from the title to the little date box in the lower right. Every time I’m trying to tie a page together, I look for things that can be repeated, be they elements, typographic styles or colors. It’s a simple way to make a page feel more polished. One little pop of color from a chipboard heart was all it needed to be complete.
TECHNICAL SHIT: I designed this page in Photoshop, starting with the title (“hello stevie” in Berthold Azkidenz Grotesk Bold) and then brought in photos. I started with the top photo, then dragged a copy of it down, resized it, filled it with black and that became the base for my next layer mask. (That’s a favorite little production trick of mine to create photos of the exact same width quickly.) I dragged all the photos to a new 8.5 x 11 doc and printed them out on my HP Photosmart. Then I printed my journaling and title on my laser printer using laser-compatible cardstock.
SENTIMENTAL SHIT: It makes sense to scrapbook a new car. It makes sense to scrapbook an old car. I mean, think of the life that happens in your car. I posted this to Instagram after I said my final goodbyes:
And here’s the page I did way back in 2002 when we bought it.
Remember those letter stickers? Anyone? They were the SHIZZ, people. And you know it!
Here’s to an old car and a new car. One kept us safe and got us where we were going. I can only hope that Stevie offers the same.
Tanya says
It’s weird how we’re attached to our vehicle in some ways. “It’s what went on inside of it” captures it perfectly. I bought a new car in 2014, if it wasn’t the middle of the winter in New England, I’d have slept in my old car (Honda Civic) that night. It was oddly painful to leave her at the dealership that morning, even though I was jumping in my brand new Hyundai Elantra Coupe. Oh the tears flowed that morning!
Teresa Mucha says
Oh my! Love, love, love First Wave. It got us hooked and after hubby drove to the beach listening he said yes to keeping! Sirius rocks!
heidig says
I hope Stevie proves to be all you want in a new car – great choice! Subarus last FOREVER! As for “The New Ride” stickers? I’ve hoarded those for years. LOVE them!
Keianna says
I almost cried when I got my new car last year too. The car I gave up was the first one I ever purchased as a new teacher over 10 years ago. I get it.
And no, you won’t be able to give up Sirius radio or the OnStar turn by turn assistance if you got that.
CarlajinAR says
We just got a new vehicle too, but my son got my other one.
Julie S says
I’m sure you will become as attached to your new Subaru Forrester! We bought one in Nov 2013 and have loved driving it so much so that last week when my CRV decided to stall while I was going 100km/hr on a highway, we went back to Subaru, test drove the Crosstrek and will soon be adding it to our “fleet”. BTW, we kept Sirius XM too! Enjoy Stevie!
Robin E. says
you will never regret leather seats especially if they are heated. My prerequisite for a car is a leather covered stearing wheel.
Britiney says
Love this! We name our cars too. Right now my car is Earnest (Ernie for short) Because we go everywhere in earnest. ;O) We have another car we’re trying to name right now. It’s going to have “car” in the name – Carl, Carla, Carmine, etc. Oh, and on Sirius – if you call to cancel at the end of your trial (and every year when you renew) and INSIST that you’re not interested in keeping it they will eventually lower the price to something so ridiculously low that even my penny pincher husband, who really does insist every year that he’s canceling it, gets talked back into it! Something like $5/mo.
Christine K. says
I had to replace 2 cars in the last 6 months. The last time I went car shopping was in 2007. Car shopping has changed for the better. We also name our cars (my kids started this tradition).
Please look carefully into keeping the Sirus/XM. They have horrible customer service in my humble opinion. Just Google this topic and be informed.
Linda says
Congrats on Stevie!! And on the leather seats — you will never go back.
Can’t believe you have never named a car. All my cars have been special in my life and all have names: Penelope (my ’69 Camaro I had in HS — named for Penelope Pitstop — you may be too young to remember that cartoon), Roscoe (’78 Camaro), Smurf (’85 Honda CRX) — because he was blue and little, Sven (’93 Volvo 850), and Bjorn (’03 Volvo XC90). I’m ready for a new car, but am hoping Bjorn lasts another year to drive my youngest and all his “stuff” off to college next fall. My husband has been eyeing a Tesla for over a year, but has delayed a decision to buy until we know exactly what the college tuition bills will be for the next few years.
I think I need to make a scrapbook page about Penelope, Roscoe, Smurf, Sven and Bjorn!!
Nicky H says
I got a new car on Saturday. I already scrapped it, as well. Although I put stats like price, and options (going from a 2004 car or a very technological car-with maps and Bluetooth and all). In a few years we’ll enjoy seeing these layouts. 🙂
Michelle t says
Congratulations and best wishes with your new car. Yep, 1st Wave for the win. Michelle t
christina says
Such a great layout! Both the old and the new one. I wish I could visit one day and get lost in you albums. I love your style, even though I tend to be a messy scrapper when I so tradiotional LOs. I bought the Digi Basics class, btw. Last minute’. I’m so totally fed up with traditional scrapbooking. I never seem to get around to it and it always creates such a chaos in my study I hate having to clean up afterwards and put back all those little bits and pieces.
Cathy Zielske says
Hey Christina! Welcome to the class. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Sally Kemp says
My best friend just got a Mini Cooper, the car of MY dreams. I think this is what Ron Weasley must have felt like when Harry got the Nimbus 2000. Congrats on the new ride 🙂 Love the layout as well.
Cheryl says
Just had to chime in….. I still have my first car. 1987 Honda Civic sedan. Bought new. I’ve been the only owner. It’s a 5-speed stick-shift. Taught both my kids (now 19 and 17) to drive it. They drove it through their high school years. Just passed the 150,000 mile mark this summer. Don’t want to waste the miles on her so she only runs errands around town (no out-of-town adventures anymore). I love this car. My family LOVES this car (mileage can’t be beat and it’s a stick-shift folks!). I took lots of photos the first day I got her and I’ve taken many photos over the years and we’ve used her. Yes, I have photos of the days my kids starting driving her. May she live forever! (I’m thinking there may be enough photos and memories to put together an album – hmmmm…..)
Cathy Zielske says
An album is the LEAST you can do! 😉
amanda says
Ummmmm, did you seriously get a FREE bottle of wine with your purchase?!? Am I the only one to notice this?!?
Cathy Zielske says
Ha! No, that is for the guy who referred us to our car salesman! 🙂
Gypsy Chaos says
Oh the new car ordeal! BTDT a bit too often, it seems.
My daughter has a friend’s old Subaru Legacy Outback; he paid to repair it after an accident because he won’t get rid of it. Daughter dotes on the thing; it’s approaching 200,000 without any major issues.
Here’s a mean car salesman: When my sons got their licenses, our insurance company said they could not drive my Mustang until they were 21. Never ever. Forget putting them on the policy! Sigh. It was a 10 year old 1999 35th anniversary GT convertible five speed. Finished on the very last 1999 model production day. So… we traded it for a used Explorer and new Focus, but I was the only driver.
So the salesmen followed me home, one driving the second car and the other? Oh what DID the other salesman choose to drive to my home in order to get the first salesman back to the dealership? Would he be so cruel as to drive my baby? The car I had wanted to own for about twenty years before I finally got one? The car that I was giving up due to need for some down payment and the fact that I was the only one who still fit in the car and well, I already had another car? Why, YES, yes, that salesman DID drive my cherished Mustang to my home.
Stake. Driven right through my heart. Mean, cruel salesman.
Still hurts. Almost six years later.
My current car, a silver [so blah] 2011 Edge, just isn’t the same, KWIM?
Cathy Zielske says
Ouch.
You know what the sales guys did in 2002 when I was buying my Hyundai Santa Fe? They told me they’d give me another $500 off or something if I agreed to get into the trunk of a Sonata and let them close the lid.
I have no idea what I was thinking, but I agreed. In hindsight, both Dan and I agreed we should have walked out and reported them to the Better Business Bureau. It was a Brooklyn Park MN dealership, I believe it was a Hyundai dealership whose name I cannot recall, in case you want to avoid that place. LOL.
Tara says
That Stevie layout is super duper cute. And honestly, HOW COOL that you could pull up the other layout?!
Time, man.
Elle says
Naming your car…I totally get that. I named my ’89 Corolla Katharine Hepburn after realizing she was going to survive to a ripe ol’ age. I bought her brand new and she was feisty to the end, despite her stammering while warming up in her old age. She met up with a Ford Ranger and lost but kept my then-17 year old son and his friends safe. That was in 2009. I got another Corolla because I figured it was a very safe and reliable car and the other one probably would’ve kept going had it not met an untimely end. I named my current Corolla Babe Ruthless (if you’ve seen ‘Whip’, you’ll get it) after she took a beating (my daughter and I got hit from behind and the car was *whipped* around 180°). Plus, Babe is small, like Ellen Page. After the accident she got fixed up and is as good as new and still a tough bitch. 😉 I love your layout! Congrats on the new car!!
Elle says
Pardon me…left out ‘It’ in ‘Whip It’. (yes, I’m a word nerd).
christi says
I drive a Santa Fe. Had to replace an Altima that I loved when it was t-boned by a landscaping truck and totaled.
When your SiriusXM trial is up call them and tell them you love it but you don’t like the price. You can get 6 months for $25. They just make you ask for it. I’m loving the new channel 18.