Meant To Be: Vintage Layout

This is a vintage photo ca. 1945.  In the photo are my Uncle John, who passed away recently, and his wife.  The scene is Montreal, outside of an old brick walk up on a summer day.

My uncle and aunt were both very special to me.  They were happily married for 45 years, thus the title "Meant to Be". 

I adore old brickwork. I love the way bricks retain warmth and how they light up with inner fire when the sun shines. Radiant warmth and enduring love are the two concepts I wanted to bring out with the intense colour and background design of this Bo Bunny paper.
Here's the sketch by the uber-talented Robin Shakoor:

visit Robin Shakoor here
I used Robin's beautiful sketch and I changed it up a bit: 

I created a split circle directly on the paper using a Prima mask and gesso; then sprayed the bricks with Smooch Spritzes

I arranged it so that there are bricks showing in each of my paper layers to echo the old bricks in this venerable building. I did some light distressing/inking around the edges 

 

and created a small tear for a more aged effect:

There's one Vintage Blue Glitz paper, and I used Dusty Attic corner pieces.  I carefully cut the second one into two pieces, one to highlight the upper left corner of the photo, and the second piece as a frame for names and date.

This fabulous 7Gypsies metal embellishment reminded my a military medal, similar to the pilot's wings on my uncle's uniform:

Personal Quest

It's my personal quest to complete 15 vintage/heritage layouts this year; this is No. 10. It was also entered into the Scrap That! October Challenge. 

Coming Soon 

I've come to the conclusion that for me, scrapbooking is 50% art: the paper, ink and all the awesome embellishments available to us...but that is only half the story.  

The other 50% is the story-telling.  Each of the people in the photos has a story to tell, and I love telling the story in words as much as I love creating layouts.  I will be adding a additional page to my blog where readers can go for the stories of the people in the photograph, and I'll be starting with my Uncle John.  Not sure how long this will take me, but my goal is to have it up and running by the end of November.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and happy scrapping this weekend. 

I invite you to leave a brief comment - your sweet comments add so much meaning and connection in this virtual blogspace!

Materials List:
Patterned Paper - Bo Bunny, Timepiece Collection, Tick Tock; Timepiece
7gypsies metal embellishment: "Watch Face", Time Flies
Glitz Paper Layers, Vintage Blue
Smooch Spritz - Pralines & Cream, Tea Party