A Joyful Noise

Is it too early to start thinking about Christmas? Probably not.

I usually find myself scrapping Christmas photos in the fall, but this year, thanks to Studio J and more time for scrapping, I'm a little early.

This page presented a bit of a challenge. It's about my son's class trip to a seniors' residence to sing carols. I didn't have many good photos to use and the few that I did had lots of children crowded around.

To tell the story, I decided to focus on the best photo which shows my son holding the music and singing. The background (other kids and an ugly wall) was too distracting, so I just trimmed tightly around the image of my son and matted it on a 6" x 4" piece of cardstock.

To drive home the singing theme, I stamped sheet music (Universal Backgrounds) on the mat. It think the effect is great! The photo takes up the same visual space it should as per the sketch, without any of the clutter in the original photo.

Speaking of the sketch, this layout is based on the sketch for the Purple Pumpkin August Sketch Challenge. I really like the sketch and can see how it would be great for cards and other layouts as well. I think this is one I'll be visiting more than once.

This layout is also a good example of how CTMH products mesh well with product from other companies. This layout includes products from S.E.I., Stampin' Up, American Crafts and Colorbok as well as Close To My Heart. Does that seem like a lot for such a simple layout? Would you be surprised to learn SIX different Close To My Heart products were used on this page? Yes there were!

Just for fun, here's a little challenge: Name at least four CTMH products used on this page. The first person to correctly post four products will win a little prize! You have until September 3rd to figure it out. Good luck!!