Inspired by Ali

I've been reading Ali Edwards' most recent book, Life Artist, as our "assigned reading" for the book club at the store where I teach. If you haven't picked it up, this is yet another very inspirational book from Ali, filled with thoughtful commentary about all sorts of topics related to scrapbooking. If you read her blog, you will appreciate the ideas presented in the book.

I created this layout using last year's Christmas cards based on an idea presented in Life Artist and on Ali's blog. I love the idea of creating a mosaic of favorite images from Christmas cards as a way of "summarizing" the season and re-using old cards. (I kept a few cards intact and put them in a pocket page for safe-keeping.) In fact, I may put together similar layouts using cards or photos from other holidays.

This layout was really enjoyable and easy to create, and it was nice to make a page without worrying about photos. It was surprisingly fun to punch images from old cards and then arrange them with an eye toward balance of color and design. With my trusty (ginormous) square punch and Xyron adhesive, the layout came together very quickly!