what I did on summer vacation...

I asked six Fiskars Design Team members to share a multi-photo layout that shares a summer memory. Their ideas, techniques, and photos are all unique and inspiring.

Designer: Becky Novacek
I knew at the end of the school year, that I wanted to spend quality time, one on one with each of our seven grandchildren. I not only wanted to do a mini-photoshoot of each of them; I also wanted to do something special with each one according to their interests. This layout signifies my goal and will hopefully help me keep it!

I used 3 different Fiskars Squeeze Punches for accents on the page. Although the oval punch doesn't fit perfectly in the scallop oval, it works beautifully tucked slightly under the photo collage. i used the Fiskars Alphabet Stamps for the word "on" in the center of the layered ovals and hand-doodled dots around. I used foam tape to raise the asterisk, and added a threaded button to the center. i love using the punches to make my own accents for a page.

Designer: Janna Wilson
I like to journal on strips because 1) I don’t have to worry about boo boo’s AND 2) it seems easier to design a layout and include strips of cardstock rather than a larger journaling card.  I was getting a little bored with just plain strips for my journaling, so I set out to jazz up my journaling strips.  I discovered that border punches aren’t just for borders!  Another simple but fun way to use some of the border punch designs is to snip each end of cardstock strips with the  punch to create really cute labels and tags.  Getting the placement down takes a bit of trial and error according to which punch you are using but the results are definitely worth it!  Mark the spot on your punch with a permanent marker once you line it up to your liking. 

On my layout, I used the Lacy Days of Summer border punch- the cute little daisy that is punched almost perfectly coordinates with the Lil Davis die cut paper I used.  On one strip I punched both ends and on some I just punched one end…I like variety.  I accented the centers of the punched flower designs with Rain Dots for a dimensional effect.  Don’t forget to use your decorative scissors to add a little pizzazz also!

Designer: Kelly Purkey
Summer in the city means outdoor festivals with great food, music, and lots of fun.  Each weekend in Chicago there is a different festival and Musicfest was the one that kicked off the season.  I took lots of photos of the day and came up with a design to incorporate as many as I could.  Using the Fiskars Super Sized Circles I was able to place them all in one big collage.  I adhered them onto cardstock to start out with and cut out the circle with my Ultra ShapeXpress.

Then with the help of Fiskars Pinking Paper Edgers I turned that big circle into a sunshine.  I wanted the rest of the layout to have that bright feel to it as well.  The bold colors from Heidi Grace's We are Family line worked perfectly and matched with the Li'l Davis Castaway letter stickers.  Using some of the more solid backsides of the papers helped draw your eye to the big collage of photos on the page.  I love that this page turned out as fun as the whole day was!

Designer: Patti Milazzo
The highlight of this summer for my family has been our new pool.  Since I’ve spent so much time actually in it with my family, surprisingly I’ve taken very few pictures.  I guess we’re having too much fun!  But until I can remedy that, I wanted to scrap our excitement about an activity we’ve been enjoying so much together. 

With a few photos I created this layout using products from several designers and collections.  Cloud 9 Design’s Sunrise Smoothie collection of paper and embellishments has vivid beautiful colors that coordinated well with papers and accents from Heidi Grace Designs’ A Little Bird’s Tale and Li’l Davis’ Secret Garden.  I used the Ultra ShapeXpress and the Supersize Circle Shape Templates to cut the oversized circle and I made the title with the Letters 2 Template set.  Round ‘n Round Squeeze Punches cut the other circles including the off center rings.  Eyelet Rain Dots and Original Clear Rain Dots were used for added embellishment and texture.

Designer: Susan Weinroth
Our summer was filled with change when we packed up and moved across the country – from our home for 3 fabulous years in Minnesota, to our new location-of-choice for however long it may be in Jacksonville, Florida.  This layout documents the week that our move took place with photos from both sides of the journey (Minnesota on the left side of the page and Florida on the right), and a comparison shot of my baby in the snow in MN just this past March, and then in the sand when we arrived in Florida in June.

I trimmed the comparison snow/sand photos out as circles using my ultra shape express and made them the focal point of the spread, using XL One Way arrow punches to point them out and house part of my layout’s title.  I wanted to record little details about some of the photos – so I numbered them with Cloud 9 Design raindot numbers (matted on circle punches) and then numbered portions in my journaling block to correspond.  Pinking paper edgers finish off a wavy border at the bottom of my spread to resemble ocean waves and sand.
 

Designer: Valerie Salmon
The highlight of our ’08 summer was a vacation to Destin, Florida, which was a new destination for our family.  This 2-page layout shows 7 photos nicely, without overwhelming the pages.  Vacation photos can turn into a diverse mix of colors and events, all taken in various days.  It’s always easy to turn the photos into black & white so that everything coordinates.  In this case, I did not want to take that option because color is key in capturing the true beauty of Destin’s beaches. I chose to include mostly photos that are similar in coloring so that they are cohesive.  I find that when working with several photos, it is best to keep the design simple.  After all, we always want the photos to the star of the pages, right?  I also broke up the straight lines by incorporating various circles throughout the layout.

Key supplies & tools:  Heidi Grace Designs “By the Sea” papers & stickers, Li’l Davis acrylic alphabet stickers & rub-ons, Fiskars Round n’ Round squeeze punches in L & XL, Fiskars Corner Rounder squeeze punch

By Fiskars Design Team