JOY is in the simple moments

Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.

This is the theme at Show us your Stuff for the December challenge - use the word JOY in your layout. What brings you Joy? What always puts a smile on your face? .



The layout sketch comes from Purple Pumkin's December Sketch Challenge.

Deciding on the subject for my layout was very easy - my little boy. There are so many memories that I want to remember - the way he wishes me in the morning, his naughty smile, cute little phrases he uses.... the list is endless. This layout is my attempt at capturing one such day - a photoshoot in my backyard. The idea was to frame three photographs of my son saying I love Appa ('Appa' means Dad in Tamil) 

The first photograph was easy - I got him to hold the wooden letter 'I' while he went around the house on his push car. Next we tackled the board with 'APPA' on it in the backyard. He looked so cute tucking the board under his chin and running around. Then a pair of parrots swooped down on the lower branches of a tree and my lil one forgot all about the photos and the card and started chasing them :)) I was literally rolling over laughing and enjoying his cuteness. 

I took my own sweet time deciding on what pattern papers to use and finally settled on 6X6 My Minds Eye pad. The strip down the centre is a scrap piece of paper - stenciled some alphabets on it before layering MME paper on it. 

Along the borders and on the page you can spy yummy Tim Holtz tissue tapes. Then I sprayed and used some paint, stamped the arrows and script, added a frame and wooden 'moments'. My favorite part of this page are the banners also cut from MME paper. Then came the journalling and title. Finally I doodled on the page and declared it complete. Whew! This page took me forever to complete..... still learning how to balance different elements and also to know when to stop and not make it too busy! The final layout doesn't look anything like what I wanted it to be, but thoroughly enjoyed creating this page and was all smiles by the end.

Entering this layout into the following challenges:

Berry71bleu for for the December two part challenge over at December Challenge

Lulupu Challenge #22 – Cook It Up! (Stamps, Mist, Pattern Paper, Embellishment)

Purple Pumkin's December Sketch Challenge.

I would love to read your suggestions and comments....