Curiosities Layout by Tonya Gibbs

When I first saw Nirvana I knew it was going to be one of my all time favorite collections.  I love the neutral design. This collection is on its way to becoming a CLASSIC in my scrappy world!   Today I'm going to share with you a Christmas layout with some of the scraps from my previous projects.

 

My photo was taken with my phone and ran through an Instagram filter.  Yes, I had just gotten the ap and did this with every photo (haaaaaa).  While the quality of the photo isn't perfect, it is trendy and fun with the high pass faded colors and lens blurs.  I loved how I captured that one moment of curiosity in her face - pure bliss and so precious.  This photo had to be scrapped!

 

 

To mimic the softness in the photo, I decided to watercolor my background.  I used Gelatos from Faber Castle Design Memory Craft on white watercolor paper.  For texture I made a ruffle out of crape paper streamers.  The ruffle reminds me of  a tree skirt.  

 

 

    

 

 

For the Christmas tree. I decided to keep the tree simple, and free of ornaments. It was already so full that I didn't want it to compete anymore with my small photo.  The Gold Color Shine gave the sparkle but kept the simplicity.

 

 

To create the tree, I punched scraps of the following  Nirvana designs with the Martha Stewart Medium Branch Punch. 

 

 

 

Most of the tree was punched from the B side of this paper. I love the look of the ledgers when punched.    The Curiosities title on the A side was perfect for my layout title.

 

Both sides of this paper were perfect. 

 

I used the A side of this paper.

 

 

 

 

I started at the top, then formed a triangle overlapping the branches for a dense look. Apply glue only to the base of  the leaf, so that the tips can be elevated.  I made sure all my branches where pointed upward except the ones on the sides, they were tilted to a slight angle.   To give a spruce look, I focused on the brown tones towards the bottom, and the bluish green punched pieces on the top layers.   This variation in color gives depth to your tree.  The text and patterns on the paper give interest. 

 

 

For the stack of presents under the tree I used the Tim Holtz Collection Sizzix Bigz Die - Packages & Bows with scraps of these papers from Marion's Nirvana and Mad Tea Party Lines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think this layout is going down as one of my all time favorites.  I love the softness, and sheer elegance of the design.   I know I hit a home run when my teenage boy walked in and said "hey that tree is cool!"  

 

 

Thanks for stopping in today.

 

Tonya A. Gibbs

http://www.psychomomscrapbooks.blogspot.com