I was happy when our vintage theme was chosen, giving me a great excuse to go through all my Collage Press papers. When I dug through my stash, I found supplies from "Seed", "Margot" and "Grayson", among others, and it reminded me why I have always been drawn to Collage Press-- beautiful, contemporary designs that set off any photo perfectly. I have always loved the journaling cards, and in this case I used them not only as a background for my typed journaling, but also as a border down the side of the layout, and punched as a circle detail here and there. All those lines and grids subtly support the boardwalk theme. (Click for a larger view.)
If you are a journaling junky like I am, here is what I wrote:
"The three kilometre Toronto Boardwalk ends just a few blocks from our house. Slat after slat of wood following the water’s edge-- sand on one side, trees and grass on the other. I often walk here with the stroller, bumpety-bumping all the way, passing joggers, dog walkers and couples strolling along hand in hand. When the weather is good I try to take a walk by the lake every day, either walking down Queen St. to do errands, then walking back along the shore, or vice versa. My family sometimes wonders why we live down here, so far (it seems) from where I grew up. From the time we discovered this neighbourhood, though, there was no question. It was the only place in the city either of us wanted to live. It’s like living in a little seaside resort town, but just 30 minutes from the heart of downtown by streetcar. We walk to everything -- the grocery store, the library, the school, among others. Just walking to the corner and catching a glimpse of the water on a brutally cold winter’s day can cheer me up. The lake shimmers blue grey, and the light reflects on the surface like sequins on a cocktail dress. Late spring and summer brings sunbathers, tourists, and the jazz fest-- but at our end of the neighbourhood it’s always quieter. The breeze coming off the water keeps us cool even in the dog days of the season. Autumn is a whirl of colourful leaves above and underfoot. It’s just a wonderful place to live.
And so we’ve decided to renovate our hundred year old semi, even though our lot is just 19ft X 100ft, and we will never have a parking spot. We could move 20 minutes away-- even less-- and have a much bigger house, a parking spot or two, and a bigger piece of land. But then we’d have to drive to get to the places we love, instead of a gentle stroll, and when asked where we live we could no longer be able to describe it as where the boardwalk ends."
Collage Press supplies:
Seeds - Journaling Cards
Inventory Journaling Cards
Grayson - Malta
Knave of Hearts - Die-cut Rings
Other supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill; Stickers: Basic Grey, American Crafts, October Afternoon, Crate Paper Co.; Button: Making Memories; Punch: Creative Memories, Fiskars.