Round Two of the Supreme Scrapbook Tournament

OK, so I made it to Round 2 of the Supreme Scrapbook Tournament!  By 1 vote, but I made it!  And I'm so glad I did because this was a challenging layout that I might not have done for a long time if I wasn't working on the Tournament page and by their rules.  We had to do a double page layout with at least 1 black and white photo, at least 1 that overlaps the 2 pages and completely MONOCHROMATIC with papers and embellishments!  No black, no white (unless that's the only 'color') and no ink unless it goes with the color scheme!  My 'color' scheme is pale yellow / cream/ off-white.  I used a printed velum and a burlap piece along with lace, doilies, flowers and embossed cut-outs... all for texture.  And also for a lot of symbolic representations, like how it's lacey and feminine and smooth but then the burlap represents the fact that the future can also be rough and unexpected...   

It was fun and I'm so happy with the results...

Well, it's a new year and I'm sure glad it is!  After a terrible, horrible end to 2013, 2014 HAS to be better!  And what a great way to start the year than by doing some scrapbooking!  Well, through January, as many times as I looked at my stash, and my photos, I didn't really think I could ever scrapbook again... the 'mojo' was gone...  but last November, I had signed on to be part of the Canadian Contigency for the Supreme Scrapbooking Tournament... and nothing gets my 'mojo' restarted better than a competition, an assignment and a deadline!  AND, I can concentrate on the assignment without having to think about the photos or the memories which for now, is the only way I'm going to get any pages done at all...

So here is my first entry for week 1... our task was a double page layout with a minimum of 3 photos, 50 words of journaling, no ink sprays and with a theme of "1000 steps from home".  I chose to do my page about my "Secret Garden", the bench I built and the fun it is to share my secret with those I love most!  Here is my page...

And here are some close-ups of the details...

I really love Graphic 45 and when they came out with the "Secret Garden" line, I knew I HAD to use it... and probably for multiple projects.  The Secret Garden by Frances Hodson Burnett is one of my favorite stories from childhood and we have such a small house and a long winter that when it is summer, we love to make the most out of our backyard garden so the two seemed to go together quite naturally...  The other products I used included Crafters' Workshop stencil, Liquitex Modeling Paste, Colorbox Chalk Ink, Basic Gray Letters, Xyron Sticker Maker, Slice cutting machine, Ranger Glossy Accents, unknown carstock, a paint swatch from Home Depot and miscellaneous, unknown embellishments, flowers, ribbon and beads I liberated from my sister's stash. (Thanks Keira! I owe you some stuff!)