When I think of the late 1990s/early 2000s – a time when my teen years were wrapping up and my twenties were starting – no shortage of such lexicological examples spring to mind.

While I doubt that expressions like “your happy place” and “go to your happy place” were invented during that time period, they were certainly popular back in the earliest years of the new millennium.

A lot of us have at least a few treasured happy places, be they real or imaginary. Spending time visiting or reflecting on these locations can be highly beneficial to our sense of well-being and mental health.

I like to think the same rings true for many animals as well – especially those who get to experience an assortment of different locations throughout their lives.

Though it is beyond the scope of our current scientific abilities to determine if animals (be they wild or domestic) do in fact have mental happy places, I would not rule that possibility out for a second.

Thankfully, we can often make educated guesses as to what an animal’s favourite kinds of places most likely are.

Their moods, energy levels, and reluctance to leave said spots are just some of the cues that can let us know what locations our beloved critter friends enjoy the most.

In the case of Annie, she – like many of her canine peers the world over – is absolutely bonkers for dog parks.

Big or small, at the beach, in the woods, smack dab in the heart of a city, it really does not matter.

If there is an expanse of land where she can run and fetch – coupled with the prospect of fellow doggos for her to play with – she is in absolute seventh heaven!

A while back I created the scrapbook page that is at the heart of today’s post. It celebrates the fact that dog parks are, hands (and paws!) down, our dog’s happy place of choice.

It honours Annie’s unwavering passion for these public spots where she and her furry friends collectively help to keep the Chuckit! product line in business, and where I always know she will be the living personification of happiness.

The Park is My Happy Place scrapbook page

In my Only Love Lets Us See Scrapbook Page post from 2020, I talked about the fact that Annie is one seriously unphotogenic pup!

This is most definitely the case. However, sometimes one can have slightly better luck of getting a usable, non-blurry and/or head-turned image when Annie is at the dog park. This is especially true if Annie is sitting patiently while she waits for someone to hurl a ball as far as they can for her.

It was on one such occasion, several years ago now, that I captured the cell phone photo at the heart of this fun pet-themed scrapbook page.

For my colour palette, I pulled directly from the sunny, sandy hues in that image, as well as the adorable pinkness of Annie’s outstretched tongue.

To convey a sense of the sand in the photo, I used some gold glitter paper as one of the layers behind it. As well as sandy brown, dark brown, and kraft cardstock. And then further drove home a sense of sand all the more via the use of gold glitter alphabet stickers.

I readily admit that the imagery on the central background paper used here has little to do with dogs or dark parks.

It does, however, depict things – reading, a comfy chair, enjoying a spot of tea – that many people greatly enjoy and which may factor into some of their happy places.

I also find it to be a very serene and pleasant illustration (in a great springtime colour palette), which helps to enhance the overall sense of joy that this layout telegraphs.

The project photos shared throughout this post were taken (and watermarked too, for that matter) closer to the time when I made this scrapbook page. Therefore they were not captured in the lightbox that I picked up around the start of 2021.

Which, while handy for some sizes of cards, tags and other small items, does not work very for LOs, unfortunately.

I am still trying to hit on a solution for taking pics of scrapbook pages that I am even just quasi-happy with.

If you have any tips for taking photos of 12×12 scrapbook LOs either inside or out of a lightbox, please do not hesitate to share them with me in the comments below. I am all ears!

Products used to create this dog-themed layout

-Dark brown cardstock

-Sandy brown/beige cardstock

-Kraft cardstock

-Gold glitter cardstock – Glitter Silk Cardstock from Darice

-Printed peach tone background paper (This particular piece of paper was amongst a selection that I received as a gift a few years back from a lovely fellow paper crafter. No product information was included with it, so I am unable to point you towards where it came from. That said, numerous brands such as My Mind’s Eye, Prima, and Pion Design have released relatively similar-looking papers over the years.)

-Assorted patterned papers – most of those used here came from the Farmhouse 8×8 inch pad from October Afternoon

-Thin cork sheet (used behind photo) – Cork Sheets from Forever in Time

-Dark brown ink pad – Dew Drop Rich Cocoa Ink from Memento

-Dark orange ink pad – Dew Drop Morocco Ink from Memento

-Dark brown fine point marker or pen (for journaling)

-Assorted chipboard piece stickers (all chipboard pieces used on this LO) – Maggie Holmes Celebrate Today Stickers from Crate Paper

-Peach and pink dimensional flowers – Love Clipping from Prima Marketing

-Cream crochet trim

-Coral pink velvet ribbon – Valentine’s Ribbons from Martha Stewart

-Slightly larger gold glitter letter stickers – Marquee Love Letter Stickers – from Heide Swapp

-Slightly smaller gold glitter letter stickers – Gold Glitter Futura Alpha Stickers from Sticko

-Pink mini letter stickers – Sno-Cone Mini Market Letter Stickers from October Afternoon

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

The journaling on this fun pet page says…

“Annie lives – absolutely lives for the park. Whether playing fetch, roughhousing with fellow pups, or running from one end to the other, is on canine cloud nine.”

How to make a darling springtime hued pet themed scrapbook page

Begin by using a 12″x12″ piece of kraft cardstock as the base of your layout. Ink all four sides with Dew Drop Rich Cocoa (dark brown) ink.

Cut a piece of dark brown cardstock a touch smaller than the base layer. Adhere to base layer.

Cut the piece of peach hued patterned paper a wee bit smaller than your previous layer. Ink all four sides with Dew Drop Morocco (dark orange) ink.

Snip four equal-sized pieces of cream coloured crochet trim and fold them over each of the four corners of that piece of patterned paper, as shown. Adhere them in place then adhere that layer to the previous LO base layers.

Tear the edges on various sized pieces of mini polka dot paper, sandy beige/brown cardstock, and brown vintage ruler print cardstock. Arrange on the lefthand side of your layout, as shown.

Top those layers with one vertical piece of cork and one horizontal piece of gold glitter cardstock. Adhere layers to one another and to the previous torn edge layer stack.

Run a piece of pink velvet ribbon and a piece of cream crochet trim across the center of the gold glitter cardstock layer. Adhere.

Mat your photo with layers of dark brown cardstock, sandy brown cardstock, and mini polka dot print paper. Ink the edges of the polka dot paper with dark brown ink. Adhere photo to layers, layers to one another, and then the completed photo stack to the gold glitter cardstock layer.

Use dark brown ink to ink the edges of three paper roses/flowers. Adhere the flowers around the lower left-hand side of the photo. Tuck a cute pink die cut chipboard ticket beneath one or two of the roses. Adhere in place.

Tear the edges of a slender strip of brown vintage ruler paper and another from the mini polka dot paper. Adhere them a little ways below the photo area of this LO.

Use a mix of dark pink tiny letter stickers and two sizes of gold glitter alphabet stickers to create your page title, placing it atop the two torn edge layers that you just created. Adhere a dark pink chipboard heart at the end of your page title.

Write your journaling in dark brown ink/marker on the main peach coloured background layer, just below where you placed your page title.

Vertically arrange, then adhere, a tiny gold glitter chipboard star and two tiny gold glitter cardstock hearts to the top left and bottom right-hand sides of the peach printed layer of paper, as shown.

Arrange and adhere a chipboard banner and chipboard “love you” word piece across and around the photo stack area, (again) as shown.

Lastly, place the “big smiles” sentiment chipboard sticker piece on the bottom right-hand side of the photo itself.

And there you have it, one sweet, adorable, shabby chic pet themed scrapbook page in a warm, inviting colour palette that suits springtime to a tee!

Scrapbook page tips and ideas from this layout

-When working with background papers that include large illustrations, try to allow some open breathing room to remain on your layout so that you do not run the risk of the design looking too busy or of your photo(s) getting lost in the visual mix.

In this instance, I did so primarily above the illustration of the chair, which remains open and provides a nice contrast to all of the action going on around the photo + page title + journaling.

–Take inspiration from textures in your photos(s) for some of the materials that you use on your scrapbook page itself. This could be anything from wood/bark to snow, straw to pebbles, grass to sand (as was the case here).

If you do not have textured materials that convey a direct sense of the tactile element(s) in your picture, try using similarly coloured and/or shaped products instead.

-Photo corners do not have to be reserved simply for photographs themselves. I adore putting corners on other parts of my layouts (and cards, too, for that matter), as I did around all fours sides of the central printed paper layer here.

-And speaking of photo corners, they do not have to be made solely from paper. Just about any material that you can cut, fold or otherwise shape to look the part can make for a fab photo corner.

Some of my favourites include ribbon and trims, scraps of fabric and felt, cardboard, cork, burlap, chipboard, embossed cardstock, vellum, tin foil, glitter cardstock, metallic cardstock, felt, and paper or fabric flower petals or leaves.

-When inking or otherwise distressing your page, do not hesitate to do so on the edges/tops of your flowers as well.

You can also splatter them with paint or dye ink, emboss them with embossing powder, apply glitter or flocking, or, if the petals are suitable, even apply things like stickers and rub-ons for an extra cool effect.

-Use different sizes, colours, and/or fonts in your title lettering. This draws the eye in, is oodles of fun, and can be a great way to stretch your letter sticker + chipboard alphabet stash further.

Papercrafting is my happy place

Objectively, I have quite a few happy places, both in the real world and tucked lovingly within the walls of my mind.

And while, technically, somewhat more of an act than a place, paper crafting is by far one of my happiest places – as is the tiny room in our house that I am fortunate to be able to devote to being a witchy + crafting space all my own.

I could talk until the cows (and our black & white puppers who totally resembles them ) came home about the tremendous psychological benefits that crafting has on my life – just as it does the lives of many people the world over. But that is likely best saved for a dedicated post unto itself.

Chances are, one day, I will devote a post (or two!) to that very topic. Right now, though, as this particular entry wraps up, Annie and I are both very curious to know…

What is one of your favourite (real or imagined) happy places?

The post The Park is My Happy Place Pet Themed Shabby Chic Scrapbook Page appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

This layout, the most recent that I’ve made – and the first post-fire scrapbook page that I’m sharing here on Witchcrafted Life – has neither of those things.

And you know what, I kind of love that they’re not there.

Not because I’ve cooled my jets about either thing. That certainly isn’t the case. Rather, it’s because sometimes it’s great to shake things up, let your style change and evolve, and not be afraid of stepping outside of your comfort zone.

I’m also finding myself drawn more and more to including journaling on the back of my layouts.

The layers, dimensional embellishments and other thicker items I frequently use in my paper crafting mean that I can rarely get two scrapbook layouts back-to-back in an album.

This in turn means that the back of the page is visible in the clear plastic page protector, so why not, I figure, avail of that visibility for times when I don’t want to add (some or all of) my journaling to the front.

Only Love Lets Us See scrapbook page

One of my favourite subjects to scrapbooks is animals – pets very much included. At present, my husband and I are blessed to share our lives with one pet. Our darling dog Annie, who you may remember me mentioning in my review post of The Book of Dog Magick.

She is the sweetest thing on four paws. Smart as a whip, energetic as the day is long, and perhaps the least photogenic dog I’ve ever known. True story!

If I’m lucky, I get a tiny handful of usable photos of her each year. Hundreds (or more) of her cute head turned away or which are blurry from her darting away as I try to take her picture are deleted nearly as quickly as they’re taken (thank goodness for digital photography!).

Luckily there is the occasional usable (and sharable) photo of Annie. This one was taken a few years back at a dog park in a town a couple of hours south of us (our own current small town, much to the chagrin of many locals, does not have a dog park).

Annie could blissfully play at the park for hours on end – especially if there are other friendly dogs there. To say that she loves going to the park – or anywhere in nature for that matter (like human mama, like dog-ter ) – would be a serious understatement.

This love, coupled with Annie’s passion for life, ability to live in the moment and find bliss in the smallest of things, inspired me to use the Kaisercraft sentiment cut-apart that I employed as my subtle title on this charming 12×12 inch scrapbook page.

Love themed elements on this pet layout

To drive home the theme of love, I employed I used various shades of red throughout the page, gorgeously lush vintage looking rose die cut shapes from Bo Bunny, black and white floral print paper, and a cute paw print + heart-shaped die cut that I made from basic black cardstock.

The doily, while perhaps not as associated with love as hearts and the colour red, is a sweet classic unto itself. Plus, I can’t help thinking that its scalloped edges resemble the tops of hearts to a degree, which subtly connects to the general theme of love.

Putting this scrapbook page together

To create this layout, I began with a 12×12 inch piece of black cardstock, which I topped with an almost full-sized piece of black and white floral print paper.

While an eye-catching pattern, the universal palette of black and white makes it a cinch to build upon nearly as easily as though it was all white coloured or all black coloured, respectively.

Initially, I’d thought I’d use a smaller sized doily or perhaps two little ones, but as soon as I placed this whooper down, I fell in love.

I don’t have a digital die cutting machine and so am not able to able use cut files, but with a doily this big, it almost feels like I’m working with a detailed cut file. Love that!

On top of the doily, I placed an 8×8 inch sheet of red and light grey lined paper from 7 Gypsys (who else misses this brand something fierce?), a grey and black floral print scalloped edge circle that I die cut, a smaller piece of solid black cardstock a die cut scalloped circle and buffalo plaid paper, and then the Kaisercraft cut-apart block, my photo, and various embellishments.

I tucked another 8×8 inch sheet of paper (this time in black and red) from the same 7 Gypsys paper pad behind the doily, where I also put a strip of tone-on-tone dark red paper, (the same paper appears behind the black cardstock that the photo sits on), and various vintage-style ephemera pieces from Bo Bunny.

After arranging floral die cut pieces in three spots around my page, I die cut some leaves and vines from dark grey cardstock (to pick up the grey in the paper behind the central piece of black cardstock).

I hand cut two triangles from the same red and black buffalo check paper, matted them on black cardstock, and used them on diagonally opposite corners of my page. This gives the look of photo corners, as well as the illusion that perhaps a whole sheet of that paper is beneath the B&W floral paper.

Back on the embellishment front, I tucked small silver tone buttons here and there, added silver tone pearls, three die cut paper buttons (the largest of which I threaded skinny black ribbon (salvaged from some product packaging a while back), a large twisted wire branch with red plastic leaves, three antique style white resin pieces (on the black cardstock beneath the photo), and two adorable mini silvery grey tone clothes pegs).

Lastly, before gluing, sticky dotting, and foam squaring everything in place, I matted my photo on white cardstock and the title square on grey.

Also, come to think of it, somewhat unusually for one of my layouts, this page does not contain any inking whatsoever. Wow! That might be rarer than a lack of title and journaling!

Scrapbook page tips and ideas from this project

-When working with grey tones, use silver or pewter coloured embellishments, they’ll generally complement and harmonize with the grey better than gold, brass or copper ones.

–Mixing different patterned papers in the same layout is often easier if they share a common colour palette, as (much like the point above) this can help to create a sense of cohesiveness.

-If you didn’t have an oversized doily or cut file that allowed you to create one, you could cut apart one or more smaller doilies and arrange them around the perimeter of the 8×8 inch red and grey striped paper here to create a similar effect.

–Vines, leaves, and flowers don’t have to be natural colours. The leaves and vines used here were cut from dark grey cardstock. By working with this neutral tone, they don’t steal the show, but instead support the other uses of grey and silver throughout the page.

-If you don’t have silver pearls, use silver paint, a silver permanent marker, or silver glitter (applied over top of glue or glossy accents) to alter the colour of white or cream pearls instead.

Conversely, create a similar look by using silver toned enamel dots, Nuvo Drops, Liquid Pearls, sequins, or small circles (or other shapes – hearts would be terrific here, for example) from silver metallic cardstock or paper.

–Don’t be afraid to extend your page elements beyond the borders of your 12 x 12 inch background (or whatever size you’re working with). Do keep in mind though that it may be hard to fit a completed layout into a scrapbook album if elements extend on more than one or two sides (so perhaps stick with doing so on just one or two sides).

-Using a pair of clothes pegs – be they mini or larger sized – is a whimsical way of helping a page element to look like its strung up, when in fact (as was the case here) it’s actually glued in place.

-Repeat the same paper two or more times, in various sized amounts, throughout your page for additional continuity and element harmonization.

-If you don’t have resin or similar pieces, you could use die cut, wood, cork, felt or burlap pieces or shapes here instead.

-Ribbon is a lovely, unexpected change from things like thread, embroidery floss, and twine in buttonholes. Skinny raffia is another delightful choice as well.

-Use scalloped edge dies, punches, and scissors on projects that involve doilies. The similar shapes of these items help them to look all the more cohesive (can you tell that cohesiveness is a biggie for me?).

-Pet themed scrapbook pages that do not star overtly pet related products can have the theme reinforced more subtly by the inclusion of die cuts, stamps, charms and other embellishments in shapes such as pawprints, bones and biscuits, and feathers, for example.

-If you’re not using a big title and/or journaling, consider adding subtle words or text print papers elsewhere in your layout, so that the eye has something to rest on when it naturally goes looking for these kinds of things (in this case, I used various vintage print ephemera elements from Bo Bunny to help achieve that here).

Products used to create this pet themed layout

-Black, dark grey, and white cardstock

-Black and white floral print 12×12 inch paper – Jen Hadfield This Is Family from American Crafts

-Red and black buffalo check print 12×12 inch paper – Mad 4 Plaid Christmas Jingle from Photo Play

-Tone-on-tone red print paper 12×12 inch paper – Serenade Poppies from Bo Bunny

-Cut-apart sentiment (used for the title of this layout) – Rosabela Angelic Collection from Kaisercraft

-Grey leaf print paper – Cider Woods Mat Stack 6×6 inch paper pad from DCWV

-Die cut shapes – Boulevard Noteworthy collection from Bo Bunny

-Various patterned papers – Zanzibar 8×8 inch Paper Variety Pack from 7Gypsies

-Large white doily – very similar version to the one I used on this layout available here

-Wire and plastic/acrylic vine/branch (or another type of branch of your choosing; dollar stores, craft stores, thrift stores, and shops that sell floral arrangement materials are good possible sources for these types of branches)

-Silver tone buttons

-Silver pearls

-Skinny black ribbon

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

Closing thoughts about this dog themed scrapbook page

It’s been a hot minute since I last photographed a scrapbook layout. While I have made others during the time that we’ve lived in our current home, I believe this is the first one that I’ve photographed here so far.

Much like how I’m working to find good lighting to use for taking photos of my projects in around our house (as mentioned in my Victorian-inspired card post), I’m currently experimenting with how I arrange, style and shoot the paper crafting projects that I make.

Definitely a work in progress there, but that’s okay – life is one lovely continual learning experience and it can be a lot of fun to play around and try new things along the way.

While I may not have heaps of photos of Annie, those that I have managed to capture are priceless to me and my husband.

Annie is the furry light of our life and a common scrapbook page subject for me, so you’re bound to see more layouts starring our super cute black and white pup here as time goes on.

If you have pets, do you enjoy scrapbooking them as well?

Project share

Pin the image below – or any other in this post – to Pinterest, pop it into your Instagram Stories, post in on Twitter or Facebook, or share it anywhere else you wish to help yourself find it again and to inspire others at the same time.

If you make a project based on or inspired by this scrapbook page – or want to share any of your other handmade crafts with me – please use the hashtags #WitchcraftedLife and #WitchcraftedLifeMakes on social media so that I see can your beautiful creations.

The post Only Love Lets Us See scrapbook layout appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.