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I love doing layouts with a lot of photos on them. And I love taking photos... I
take a LOT of photos, especially during special occasions and family events. So
when I sit down to scrap my layouts, I sometimes have to choose my favorites
from a field of 40.
As you can imagine, it's agony to leave out some of my precious photos,
especially when we've taken Brendan to the park at 10 months old and for the
first time, he realizes where he is and enjoys himself. Or Brendan's third
birthday and his first real birthday party with 10 little friends running around
Chuck E Cheese. Or Brendan's first time at a big concert like the Wiggles and
cameras are allowed in the coliseum.
Figure 1. Pages 3 and 4 of my Wiggles layout. The cast photo on the
left is
actually on page 1 and shown through a Porthole cut into pages 2 and 3.
Using the Porthole Page technique, I'm able to highlight two of the best photos
in such a way that they can be seen from any page in the layout, even if I
decide to make it a 6- or 8-page layout. When I'm looking at pages 1 and 2, I
will see a photo of Brendan in his seat from page 4 and when I'm looking at
pages 3 and 4, I will see a photo of the Wiggles cast on stage from page 1.
(Figure 1) These two photos really represent the concert experience so I want to
be able to see them from any page in the layout.
MATERIALS:
4 sheets of cardstock or patterned paper for the background pages
2 photos that truly represent the event
Circles or Oval cutting tools and mat
Personal Trimmer
Adhesive
INSTRUCTIONS:
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Lay out the four background pages and select pages 1 and 4. Set them aside.
For my layout, I'm using 4 different colors (to correspond to the Wiggles
costume colors) and I'm using them in this order for pages 1 through 4: red,
blue, purple, and yellow.
-
If using two different colors for pages 2 and 3, glue the backs together so
the fronts are facing out. For my layout, I glued the blue and purple cardstock
together.
Figure 2. Page 1 with a photo of the concert in the lower left, page 2/3
(blue with purple
glued on the back), and page 4 with a photo of Brendan in the
lower right.
-
Place one of your photos on the lower left corner of page 1 and the other in
the lower right corner of page 4. DO NOT glue them quite yet. If you need to
trim the photos, don't trim much at this point, just enough to center the
subject. Leave at least a half-inch border between the edge of the photo and the
edge of the paper. (Figure 2)
Figure 3. Page 4 (yellow) with the photo of Brendan sitting on the paper
(not glued down)
and estimating where I want to cut the oval.
-
Lay the middle pages next to pages 1 and 4, eye-balling where you'll need to
cut the circle or oval porthole and what size you want. You don't want to see
the entire photo, just the centered subject, but you do want the photo to fill
the porthole, showing none of the background page. (Figure 3)
Figure 4. Cut the shape in page 2/3. For this layout, I've chosen an oval
but
circles work well, too.
-
Cut the circle or oval from pages 2/3. Avoid doing squares because the
square-cut page corner is not as stable as a rounded cut. (Figure 4)
Figure 5. The cut oval, preparing to line up and glue down my photos.
-
Now that the oval is cut, hold it with page one and line up the pages.
(Figure 5) Put your Page 1 photo in place, using your fingers through the
porthole to move it exactly where you want it. Gently pick up the porthole page,
trying to not disturb the photo.
-
Holding the photo down on one side, lift up the other side and apply adhesive
to the page. Press down and repeat for the other side of the photo.
-
Repeat steps 6 and 7 for the photo on page 4.
-
Continue with your layout.
Page 1 and 2 of the Wiggles Layout using Portholes.
The picture in the lower
right is on page 4.
PORTHOLE VARIATIONS
USE MORE THAN ONE PORTHOLE!
Were I to continue with this layout, onto page 5 and 6, I could either use the
same porthole, just move the photo of Brendan to page 6 OR I could add a second
porthole at the top of page 4 to highlight a photo on page 6. (Figure 6)
Figure 6. Add more pages to this layout with a second Porthole that
would
highlight a photo on page 6.
TITLE PORTHOLES:
Cut a 1.25" x 9" porthole with rounded corners from the top of pages 2/3. Print
your title or use sticker letters. Line up the title on pages 1 and 4 Use
sticker letters or printed title and Create a title across the tops of page 1
and 4 (e.g., "Merry" on page 1 and "Christmas" on page 4). Using this method,
you can see the complete title from all 4 pages in the spread.
ART PORTHOLES:
Instead of a photo on page 1 or 4, use stickers, paper piecings or diecuts to
illustrate the event. For a vacation layout, photo copy a map of the destination
and put a page pebble over the city name. For an Easter layout, put a paper
piecing on a bunny or Easter basket in the porthole. Put a brochure, ticket stub
or napkin in the porthole.
Have fun with Portholes and don't forget to upload any layouts you do to the
gallery so we can see them!
Kerri Russ,
Independent Scrapbook Designer
February 1, 2004
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