Desperately Seeking Scrapbooker

[Tuesday, July 28, 2009]

I can hardly contain my excitement. After a long self-depravation, I'm getting ready to work on a page using REAL pictures! It is my hope that my progress will speed up as a result of this change in focus. I sort through the next dozen pictures, pull out two I won't use and group them into three sets. The first set are shots of us girls on the South side of Biltmore House under the wisteria- and trumpet-creep-covered pergola. I know immediately I want to use a sheet of green decorative cardstock. (image 1)

My next mission (which I accept) is to find a printed sheet of background paper, preferrably garden-quality. I look through my paper stacks and find two that might work: pink daisies and what look like ivy or holly leaves. I choose the pink daisies because it makes Leslie's top pop! Since pictures and memorabilia are typically the focal point in albums, it's ideal to complement them with embellishments. (image 2)

I take a short break to spend time with Adam & Summer before he leaves for work. We play with Summer's "trainville" and do some toy chaffing (i.e., donating the unwanteds). We chat with Mammy on the phone, watch a little PBS Kids, color a picture, then eat lunch. Summer and I put puzzles together, draw and read books while Adam gets ready for work. After his truck has disappeared around the corner, I help Summer brush her teeth and go potty, then help her nod off to dreamland for the afternoon.

When I return to my work area, I study the pix for the page, contemplating which of them I might crop. I consider using the oval cutting patterns to trim the pictures to fit the shape of the petals on the decorative cardstock, but worry that it would force me to cut too much from the pix, weakening the dramatic impact of the pagoda. I settle for trimming the sides slightly with the personal trimmer.

While these thoughts dance about in my head, I'm also wondering what I can conjure up to journal on without obfuscating the background. Vellum is the logical answer but after all the printing on vellum for the Biltmore House tour, I'm eager to write. I wonder can I write on vellum? Will it smudge? I know the ink doesn't ever smudge on cardstock, but vellum is another story. I test this notion on a remnant from prior pages. If this doesn't work, I could also journal on narrow strips of paper and place over the vellum. To my sheer surprise, it doesn't smudge at all!

Inspiration for the final element - the title - comes from one of the plant species that cover the pergola: wisteria. Can you guess Desperate Housewives fans? Yup, Wisteria Lane. One day, I'll look back and wonder why I selected it, since I'm not a DA fan, but, for the moment, I think it right clever.

I elect to professionally cut these letters and then charge them with vellum also. A bright yellow will do since there's a hint of it in the background. After adhering the letters to vellum with precision point adhesive, I decide to journal on yellow cardstock instead of the vellum (although writing on vellum was still an unexpected epiphany!) I trim the background paper to fit the page (still using former pages for this project - don't worry, I stocked up) with the 12-inch straight trimmer. Then I adhere everything with tape runner and precision point adhesive. I polish the pix with the photo polishing cloth, which, despite its unique ability to repel dust, for a fleeting moment, appears to shake some off for lack of use. (image 3)

My desire for photogenic subjects has been placated for now, but I am certainly desperate for more.