Street Maps

Michelle McClung

As I sat down at my desk one afternoon, all prepared to write a lesson plan for a couple of scrapbooking classes that I will be teaching, I realized that I couldn’t find the words.  I was at a total loss.  My mind went completely blank.  It was odd because the subject that I was working on was about scrapbooking for beginners!  Easy, one would think.   Scrapping has become part of my life; if I’m not doing it, I’m reading about it, seeking inspiration, or talking about it to my other scrappy friends.  So what could be so hard? 

Sometimes when we do things for a long time, it’s really hard to describe how we do it.  We are just on autopilot.  I can create a layout and not consciously think about the elements and principles of design like movement, balance, color, focal points, and rhythm to name a few.  I just sit and do it.  When it doesn’t look right, I work on it until it does.

So how am I going to teach people whom have presumably never scrapbooked, who don’t know the difference between cardstock and patterned paper, or have never heard of the gallon, quart, pint rule?  I think it’s time to get back to basics.

Design notes: I wanted to create a clean, simple page, with most of the emphasis on the one photo.

Design notes: A friend of mine sent me the cutest outfit for Marissa and had it tied up in this ribbon.  Turns out the outfit was a little big but I had promised pictures.  So, I gave the ribbon to Marissa to play with.  It had little velvet hearts on it and she loved it.  I snapped this photo of her and immediately thought about Jopke's kit when I sat down to scrap it.  I used the heart from the kit to tie in with the ribbon.  This is one of my favorite photos from that day.

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