In our family a lot of our life revolves around football this time of year. Our son Jesse really enjoys playing in a flag football league that is able to run year round in Hawaii. But since it is NFL season we also have family get togethers at our place for Sunday dinner and football watching. The greater the fan rivalry, the more fun we have-- especially when it is a good game! 

This layout probably breaks every rule about scrapbooking. It's a boy layout using pastel colors. It mixes and matches a number of different collections because I had scraps to use and even recycled some corrugated packaging to create my large football element. But do you know what? Rules are meant to be broken! I also used Haute Mess acrylic paint and some cut files that I believe were from The Cut Shoppe.

The background paper was from the Pinkfresh Studios Just a Little Lovely Sampler Kit (now sold out!) I backed my photo with a stack of layers of scraps-some papers from the Gaia kit and also some scraps of my own mixed media lying around my desk. Never throw away artwork you end up not using because it may make its way into another project. No paint or paper is ever wasted! 

Recycling corrugated cardboard is one of my absolute favorite textures to add to a layout. This hand cut football ties in the subject of the photo with the rest of the design. The photo, the title, and the cardboard football work together to tell the story even though the rest of the background is neutral and could be about anything.  The fussy cut butterflies to me evoke motion, and watching my son make a metamorphosis from a complete novice to a real athlete over the course of his 11th year. Again, don't be afraid to use symbolism that means something to you. These kinds of personal touches will make your work unique and add so much more meaning. Lose your fear of what other people will think and you will develop your creativity in a positive way! 

I used a hot glue gun just down the middle "body" to adhere my fussy cut vellum butterflies from the 1 Canoe 2 Willow collection to my page so that they are dimensional.  I only discovered too late that this vellum with gold foil and butterflies coordinates really well with both the Pinkfresh Studio Just a Little Lovely collection and the Gaia kit. Which reminds me that I wanted to remind you to pull out those specialty papers from past kits and collections you haven't used.  I still have many in my stash from past Clique Kits that I hoarded because I didn't want to "waste" them. This is another unspoken or unwritten rule we need to purge! If you use it up, you will still get to see it. Only instead of it hiding in your stash it will be in your album! Which is even better, right?

Here are some items available in the Clique Kits shop and on the Bad Girls Couture website  related to this project! I don't know who needs to hear this... but you are creative and your ideas are special! Go ahead and follow your heart in all you do!
-Hugs,
​Gia

A Final Word From Gia:

We loved all of Isa's beautiful projects and this amazing coptic bound handmade book is the grand finale! A million thanks to Isa for all of her inspiring work this month! Don't forget to follow her on Instagram and You Tube!
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