paperinkme: Once Upon a Tricycle

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Once Upon a Tricycle

Over at Let's Get Shabby, the current challenge is to create a project based on a photo or memory from your own childhood. Instead of doing a layout, I chose to alter a wooden photo frame.

This is a unique challenge. I had to ask myself how much of my personal childhood self am I willing to share with the world? Most scrappers are very happy to scrap their children's photos - that part is easy! But when it comes to scrapping your own childhood/ baby photos, it becomes a little more self-revealing.

Vintage elements galore in this photograph, ca. 1953.

This is me at age 3, riding my brand new tricycle. I love this photo because of all the vintage elements - everything from the furniture to the pattern in the carpet and the old-style window coverings just shouts out 1950's. The other reason I love it - because it also shows my beloved grandfather watching me tool around his living room on my trike.

The photo frame was painted with acrylics and then covered with the Prima paper. I paper-punched a border and added some lovely white lace to give a soft edge around the photo. I detail cut the bunny family and fairies from Graphic 45 paper.

Originally, I had planned to give this frame to my daughter when her first child is born in July. But I like it so much with this photograph, I'll just have to make another one! There is a fantastic tutorial for photo frames on Robin Shakoor's blog- go HERE.

This was a challenge just tailor-made for me - since I have given myself the task this year of sorting through the family photo box. My progress is somewhat slow, but I don't mind that. It's a process. Somehow, the photos and the scrapbooking go together to tell a story. While it's partly a trip down memory lane, I find that there's also a new story emerging as I deal with the photos in the box. That was really was what got me started on this blog in the first place.