I AM Canadian - The Paper Mixing Bowl July 2012 Challenge

Well, it has been a month since my last post. I was hoping to get a lot more scrapping done - but I recently got a new job and have been so busy with it that it was hard to find time to scrap! But it is time for a new challenge at The Paper Mixing Bowl - so I had to find some time to get my DT Layout done - and I am so happy with this one! Here is the recipe card from The Paper Mixing Bowl for the July 2012 Recipe Challenge:

Since July 1st is Canada Day - I scrapped some photos of my son from last July 1st, which was his very first Canada Day! I've called the layout "I AM Canadian" - and for my fellow Canadians out there, you'll recognize the title as the slogan/logo from a Molson Canadian beer campaign from several years ago! Beer and Canada Day - wow, am I living up to a stereotype or what?

For this layout, I used papers from Fabscraps' gorgeous Classic and Shabby Chic collections for my layering, as well as as a woodgrain page by My Mind's Eye as the base page and photo mat. I followed the sketch fairly closely, but did lots of distressing of all the papers and added some extra embellishments. I also changed the journalling placement - and tucked a die-cut circular journalling card behind the photo mat - which simply states " William's first Canada Day - July 1, 2011".

I used polka-dot, stripe and floral patterned paper in my layering to fulfill the recipe requirement of contrasting paper patterns. I also used some of the polka-dot and stripe papers to create banners in the top-right and bottom-left corners of the layout, respectively. In honour of summer and to create a star shape element, I used another patterned paper from Fabscraps Classic collection to create pinwheels for the layout. I added tiny pinwheels to the polka-dot banner and created large, double-layered pinwheels for the embellishments in the lower-left corner. I also punched some maple leaves from the different sheets of paper to create the maple leaf confetti that I added around the photos.

I added a Tim Holtz Idea-ology Bird Adornment and a Recollections Birdhouse to the embellishment cluster to complete it.

I hope you'll pop over to The Paper Mixing Bowl Blog and check out the July 2012 Recipe Challenge!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today!

Materials Used:
Patterned Paper: Fabscraps "Classic" Collection - Rhythm, Red Stripe, Black Bird; Fabscraps "Shabby Chic" Collection - Stone Flower, Fleur; My Mind's Eye "Miss Caroline" Dolled Up "Living" Everyday Paper; Recollections Cardstock (Cream); Recollections Resin Embellishments (Birdhouse); Tim Holtz Idea-ology Adornments (Bird); American Traditional Designs - Square Brads; Round Brads from Stash; White Twine from Stash; Memory Tape Runner XL; Glue Dots - Mini and Memory Book.