For The Boys

Under the category of "biggest challenge in scrapbooking", my personal answer has been the same for years: scrapping boys in a predominantly girly scrapping universe.

Don't misunderstand me; I like flowers as much as the next person. I just find that being the only girl in the house and most often the one behind the camera, there are only so many ways I can incorporate them into my layouts. For some time the best advice the pros could throw at us were things like "You're allowed to scrap your boys in pink". Of course we are, and yes, it's a creative idea, but let's face it...how many of our boys would pink really do justice to? Not my car-crazy, tough-truckin' little dude, that's for sure!

On the bright side, being thus limited does bring out the true creativity in us. So here, I'm going to share with you some of my favourite embellishments to use in boy pages:

Stars. One of my all-time favourite embellishments, for both boy and girl pages. The circle of stars here was made by placing a lid on the page and doodling the stars around it. The sparkly stars are from the Junkitz "Extreme Boy" collection, and the larger ones are chipboard. I inked them in blue and white, with black edges, and cut them to fit around each other for the illusion of layers without adding too much bulk to the page.
Cardstock: Bazzill. Papers: Cosmo Cricket, Sassafras Lass, Sandylion, Basic Grey. Arrow: American Crafts. Rub-on title: My Mind's Eye. Rhinestones: Junkitz.





Specialty Buttons. Buttons come in a lot of different shapes and sizes, and the scrapbook industry has come up with some pretty sweet creations of their own in this field. It's not uncommon to find little packages of buttons in different themed collections, like specific sports or holidays. You can either thread them on the old fashioned way or stick them down with adhesive. Lots of options and they're great at filling in empty spaces.
Cardstock: Bazzill. Paper and "best" letters: Bisous. Rub-on alphas: My Mind's Eye. Buttons: Dress It Up.

Metal. Charms, bottlecaps, brads...metal adds texture and character to any page and comes in many forms. One little item sometimes adds just the right touch. In this page I used a "Rough and Tough" push tab by Karen Foster. The mini dump truck is from one of the button collections I spoke of earlier. Cardstock: Bazzill. Papers: Cosmo Cricket. Push tab: Karen Foster. Truck button: Dress It Up. Letters: Cosmo Cricket (cardstock), Basic Grey (chipboard), Technique Tuesday (stamped), My Mind's Eye (rub-on), Chameleon (stickers).

Arrows. Some of you may recognize this from April's round of Layout Tag. Arrows are fun and good for any subject, and I like that they add a sense of movement to a page. To put this particular one in perspective, check out the layout I scraplifted it from. Desi's pink flowered montage is super sweet but as you can imagine I knew it would have to cross the gender barrier once it passed through my hands. So I traded flowers for arrows (these ones are by Scenic Route) and used papers from April's Black White and Red All Over to finish the piece. Cardstock and papers: KC Black & White & Red All Over Kit. Arrows: Scenic Route. Transparency: Hambly. Chipboard letters: Basic Grey. Alpha stickers: American Crafts. Frog button: Dress It Up. Ribbon: unknown.



Found Objects. I just love these. Nothing quite makes a page look more unique than throwing in something not necessarily intended for scrapping. The Disney "Cars" logo I cut from the discarded box of one of my son's playsets. The white shaped sheet beneath the picture is actually the background of a sheet of stickers. I paired these "recycled" items with regular scrapbook embellishments, some taken from the KC "Road Trip" and "Truer Than True" kits, and I was happy with how it came together. It's also interesting to note that in this particular page I actually took the experts' advice and ventured over to the other side by incorporating lace into the layout!
Papers: Scissor Sisters (map), Junkitz (photo mat), others unknown. Cardstock shapes: My Mind's Eye. Rub-ons: Karen Foster, Fancy Pants. Transparency: Hambly. Ribbons/lace/rikrak: unknown. Letters: SEI.

So what are YOUR favourite tips and tricks for boy pages? I'd love to hear 'em!