In my class, Scrapbook Your Year, I talk about culling images to get to the ones I want to include in my yearly album. In my opening presentation, there is a photo I linger on for a minute and decide, “Nope. This one needs its own page!” Today I’m sharing that page on a Friday edition of Make a Page Monday, plus I’m sharing the free template and showing you how it works! Sound good? Good. Let’s proceed.
STORY OF THE PAGE: The way my son and his friends socialize is via sleepovers. On any given weekend night (or successive weekday nights in the summer) there will be one, two, three or even four boys in addition to Cole asleep in our basement. One quiet morning (and oh, they are so very quiet as those boys will sleep until the cows come home) I looked down and saw these shoes and it reminded this sentimental mama that time is a bullet train and how lucky I am to be a part of this whole thing. It doesn’t matter that often times my teen-aged sone doesn’t exactly relish the idea of hanging out and chatting with his mother. What matters is that he is making connections in his life and creating his own community. That’s what these shoes say to me as I see them on my desperately-in-need-of-refinishing dining/scrap room floor.
DESIGN STUFF: This is essentially one of my favorite go-to page approaches. One large photo. One font family. A few embellishments. And a dose of generous white—or pale rust—space. Simple pages rely so heavily on space. Notice the margin on the white cardstock? See how it’s even on all four sides? See the background cardstock and how it too, is equal from top to bottom and side to side? These even framing margins hold the visual and written content with purpose. I sprinkled in two little embellishments from the latest Studio Calico kit just to prove you can use pale peach/pink on a boy page. Normally, I like to repeat embellishments in threes, but here, I didn’t quite have a third circle that worked, so I just went with two, placing them at opposing corners on the photo and punching out circles to house them. The journaling is probably my favorite. A simple list of single sentences. I wasn’t even trying to get all clever, other that repeating the phrase, “I know” a few times. This is more a page about the mama than that subject for sure, but it’s going to go into Cole’s album. And no, those aren’t tears in my eyes. I’m chopping onions while I blog this.
TECHNICAL SHIT: Today, rather than write it all out, I want to share a tutorial on how to work with the free template I’m giving you today (see below). I have been a hybrid scrapbooking since the very first page and it still is where my heart remains. Combining my love of story and image with design and technology is what drives me to keep making pages and projects. Enjoy! Note: be sure to click on the full screen and HD icons for the best viewing experience.
Click on the image above to begin the download. A PDF handout is included with the digital package that covers some basics of working with templates if you are new. If you make a page and share it on social media, be sure to tag it with #czdesign so I can see what you’re creating!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Next week is the Designer Digital Quarterly Sale. If there’s anything you’ve had your eye on you can save 40% off everything in my collection, plus there will be some new stuff from me next week, too!
Shirra VanZwieten says
Thank you Cathy!!!! Love your page & sentiment
My last one left last fall.
Now I understand – “parting is such sweet sorrow.”
Cathy Zielske says
Sigh. Yep. I have two more years before that happens here. 🙂
Anne-Marie Cox says
Damn onions <3
Theresa Grdina says
How true…….what anne-marie cox said.
Maureen says
Oh how I miss the piles of shoes at our front door. When my bonus son (Jacob) would come to visit during the summers and Christmas break, we would have several pizza/sleepover parties with all of the neighborhood kids and I always, always, always took pictures of the 8-16 pairs of shoes at our front door. These are some of my most favorite pictures from those times. Sure, we always did a big group photo of who all came to the party but the shoe pictures really tell a whole different story. So glad to see someone else capturing the little things like this! Your layout is beautiful and I am thinking I may need to do a similar one for Jacobs book. Thank you for sharing this today!
heidig says
I have a similar photo of UGGS by my front door – about 12 pairs, all the same size and color! How they figured out which pair was theirs is beyond me. Now I know what to do with that photo. I’m pretty sure I took that picture about 6 years old! Both of my daughters are out on their own and my husband and I have found our way as “empty nesters”. Your page reminded me of that journey. Thank you for the template and the video.
MaryJ says
We don’t have children of our own but many years ago, we were a host family for two young hockey players from Wisconsin. It was an awesome experience for us but an eye-opening one to suddenly have a house full of teenage boys. Taking off the shoes isn’t really a custom in Texas, so I had never seen it before but I learned quickly that when I came home to a pile of shoes by the door it meant most of the team was at our house. I so wish I had taken a picture of it. That time was the most fun this old house ever saw!! And those boys are in their 30s now. 😉
Thanks for the template!
Carla Crosby says
TY for your generosity!
Elaine Millar says
I just love your work!
Thanks for sharing it.
I am working my way through 2015 and 2016 Month in review/Project Life thanks to your class. I loved that too!
I just wanted you to know.
Kristin says
thank you Cathy!
Tammy B says
I am so taking a picture like this the next time my son has his buddies over! Awesome!
Ginger says
Cathy! Thank you so much. I’m learning so much about clean design from you – grateful grateful for all you do. You’ve been producing content LIKE A BOSS lately and I’m just sitting here . . . grateful. And wishing I could pop a good bottle of red wine into your kitchen. As a thanks.
Cathy Zielske says
🙂 And you know I’d take that bottle gladly! 😉
Karen says
You have such a pleasant speaking voice. I really enjoyed listening to you describe the process even though I can’t do it: no computer. Thanks for letting me listen
Cathy Zielske says
Well thank you, Karen! that is nice to hear. Remember how when you were young and first heard the sound of your own voice and thought, “I don’t sound like that!” I’ve gotten over that a bit since teaching online classes, but it is always nice to hear it’s not grating!
JulieE says
Nothing like waking up this weekend to find Make a page… when you feel like it! I loved listening to you with my morning tea. Thanks Cathy!
Delia says
Thanks so much for this Cathy. It immediately inspired a page that is already a favourite. Maybe a class in 2017 with a template & inspiration each week?
Cathy Zielske says
Enjoy! And yes, I have plans for classes coming in 2017!
Christine says
Thank you for the template and the tutorial, Cathy!
Cathy Zielske says
You are so welcome! Enjoy. 🙂
Deb Grady says
Thanks so much Cathy. Love your work. In the blink of an eye, our babes become adults. So wonderful to have pages like this as happy reminders.
Deb G
Esther says
Thank you- love your page!