My layout for the Sept. ARTastic challenge features my great-niece Lilly. The photo was taken last month when she dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood for her school's Book Week Parade. She was incredibly excited and looked adorable. When this month's challenge called for whimsical and fun I knew straight away what I would do. My vision for the layout was reminiscent of the large wall murals I used to create in my classroom for my Infants students when we were studying Fairytales. These murals were used as a basis for adding their story writing, art and craft work and related word lists. I used to spend hours displaying the kid's work but it was worth it, especially when I got so much positive feedback from the kids, the parents and other teachers. I think that's one reason I was drawn to scrapbooking in the first place when I retired from teaching-it gave me an outlet for my creativity.
The layout is very simple in that it does not involve any difficult techniques, just straight-forward cutting and piecing bits of paper together. Because there were some finer details required I found I could use lots of scrap paper left over from previous projects. I only used one new piece of pattern paper in the entire layout. I had lots of fun going through my scraps to find the perfect piece and discovered along the way lots of bits and pieces I had forgotten about.
I also had fun creating the Big Bad Wolf. I think he looks pretty suave but a little scary dressed in his jacket and pants. I think his eyes reveal his true character. I am going to put this layout in an album I am making for Lilly. I hope she likes it as much as I enjoyed making it. Thanks, ARTastic, for the ongoing inspiration.
Cheers, Chris.
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