A Challenging Weekend - Part Two

My cousin asked me to create a layout about his daughter, who just turned 16, using the picture of my choosing from his Facebook albums.  (We don't live close to each other so Facebook pics seemed the easiest choice, especially since I stalk them all the time anyway!)  I found this wonderful picture of her swinging as a small toddler and knew that I had found THE picture.  Next I needed a good sketch to get my mojo started.  BIRDS OF A FEATHER just happened to have the perfect sketch posted for the May challenge, so I decided to...ahem...kill two birds with one stone.

I used Simple Stories papers, which were perfect for fussy cutting.  Most of this cluster is made of SS bits and pieces (with a little Pink Paislee and Basic Grey thrown in for good measure).

 The journaling and title came to mind as soon as I saw the picture.  It's part of the Chorus to"WHEN YOU COME BACK DOWN" -  a fabulous song by Nickel Creek that is a long-time favorite of mine.  How did I make the journaling strips?  I simply ran a piece of scrapbook paper through my printer and printed the lyrics on it, then cut the paper into strips and glued them on my page.  I outlined the edges of my strips with black marker so they would stand out a little better against the background patterned paper.

The banner was so easy to make.  I punched out circles, folded them in half, and glued them onto Baker's Twine.  I glued down some pretty wooden buttons (by Prima) on top of my half-circles to add a little more visual interest. 

I figure I've done a pretty good job because, once I finished, I was reluctant to pack my layout up and ship it off - lol!  Here's hoping that this layout will make someone's sixteenth birthday just a little bit sweeter...

Until next time...keep it crafty!