Megan Klauer inspired by Jenni Bowlin
As I sat and looked through Jenni's beautiful blog, I was of course inspired by her love of all things vintage. The way she uses old photographs that have long begged to be put on a scrapbook page. Her use of rub-ons and this amazing technique tutorial; which became the starting point of my page.
I began by applying the Transferware Flowers rub-on onto the backside of the Be Our Guest - Tea Towel paper.
I then in true Jenni style added a thin layer of Jenni Bowlin for Ranger Malted MilkPaint Dabber to "vintage" it up a bit. Followed by the paint technique as shownHERE on Jenni's blog.
I trimmed it down a bit and added it to the bottom right hand corner of my page.
I also used the remaining portion of the rub-on and the same technique with the paint and tape on top of an old manilla tag.
Thanks for the inspiration Megan! And we have a layout from Waleska to look forward to tomorrow following this same technique!
Jill Sprott inspired by Jenni Bowlin
All this month, the layouts featured on the JBS Mercantile blog have been, collectively, a homage to a person who has been a driving force in shaping our crafty sensibilities: Jenni Bowlin.
Jenni's page designs often feature asymmetrical balance and a single photo that focuses on family. There is often a central, simple yet bold accent and, at times, the repetition of a few smaller peripheral accents, like a button line, scallops, or row of tiny flowers. Her pages almost always include handwritten journaling, which enhances the homey feel and amplifies the emotional core that exists in every one of her layouts.
Here is my own attempt to pay tribute to the master (while also learning from her in the process):
My layout focuses on a treasured family member, my grandmother. The photo of her hands inspired me to reflect upon all that they have held and done in a single lifetime. Though Jenni's layouts often focus on family faces, this single photo says more about my grandmother than her face does. These hands tell her story.
The "simple yet bold" central accent is a green bow, and the peripheral accents include a row of pearl flowers.
There is usually some kind of vintage element on Jenni's pages, and so I worked in papers and accents that had a vintage feel, pulling a few items from a hodge podge book. There is a reason for the inclusion of the onion packet. It's not just random. My grandmother grew up on Maui, which boasts the sweetest onions in the entire world, and when I was a child, she used to sing me a song in Portuguese about going to the store to buy some onions and coming home to eat them all.
Jenni has a knack for seamlessly incorporating rub-ons, and I tried to follow suit, working in a gold floral rub-on as one of the layers on the page.
Trust Jenni to know what works, every time.
Jenni's page designs often feature asymmetrical balance and a single photo that focuses on family. There is often a central, simple yet bold accent and, at times, the repetition of a few smaller peripheral accents, like a button line, scallops, or row of tiny flowers. Her pages almost always include handwritten journaling, which enhances the homey feel and amplifies the emotional core that exists in every one of her layouts.
Here is my own attempt to pay tribute to the master (while also learning from her in the process):
My layout focuses on a treasured family member, my grandmother. The photo of her hands inspired me to reflect upon all that they have held and done in a single lifetime. Though Jenni's layouts often focus on family faces, this single photo says more about my grandmother than her face does. These hands tell her story.
The "simple yet bold" central accent is a green bow, and the peripheral accents include a row of pearl flowers.
There is usually some kind of vintage element on Jenni's pages, and so I worked in papers and accents that had a vintage feel, pulling a few items from a hodge podge book. There is a reason for the inclusion of the onion packet. It's not just random. My grandmother grew up on Maui, which boasts the sweetest onions in the entire world, and when I was a child, she used to sing me a song in Portuguese about going to the store to buy some onions and coming home to eat them all.
Jenni has a knack for seamlessly incorporating rub-ons, and I tried to follow suit, working in a gold floral rub-on as one of the layers on the page.
The handwritten journaling adds to the power of the words.
Kudos to Doris for coming up with the best blog assignment EVER . . . to make something inspired by Jenni Bowlin! I was so excited to do this! I really took my time and enjoyed looking through Jenni's blog and all of her project kits and posts here on the inspiration blog. She's amazing! I know, we all know, right? : ) Jenni has been one of my absolute most favorite designers for as long as I can remember! When I think of "Jenni Style" I think of a strong design but never heavy looking, confidence in white space, little vintage details, and a bit of shine or sparkle whether it be German foil trim or glitter.
The above layout was inspired by her in many ways. The main way is the patchwork area on the right. It was inspired by this project of Jenni's:
From this post, from August 2010, on her blog. I used a 1" square punch and did the exact same thing but in different proportions. I've always loved the way she cuts up vintage labels and uses them as support in her design, not using the entire piece. Amazing attention to detail, perfect example.
So the yellow banner paper on my layout was actually an accident. I intended to do more of a cream on cream look and use the other side but I dropped the paper and it landed on the yellow side and a light went on in my mind. I really thought that brought the attention on and grounded the page well. I try to remind myself that it's okay to use a color not found in the photos at all because it allows the colors that are found in the photo to contrast and stand out against the paper. And since yellow and purple are complementary it worked out well.
Another way this page was inspired by Jenni was the color combo of red and lavender. You can see her page here. So I added just a few hints of red for my third color. The Cabbage Flower (damask) stamp is one of my all time fave stamps so I used it here to create my own patterned paper with Jenni's new Lavender Sachet Ink (thank you, Jenni, for Lavender Sachet, I am IN LOVE). I tried to embrace some white space like Jenni does, and like the picture frame above, with the thick cream border all the way around the page.
The last way I used a Jenni touch on my page was the placement of the star. I got that idea from her page posted here. See all that lovely white space? My chipboard star is covered in vintage cigar box trim.
I painted one of the cream doilies with a Lavender Sachet paint dabber. I've really enjoyed having the matching paint and ink (mist too if you want to make it from the re-inker). I layered the doily with a vintage rhinestone button, one of Jenni's chipboard milk cap buttons, a punched and glittered flower shape, then the star.
I had a great time with this! Can you tell? I love this page and I plan to hang it up in my house in a 12 x 12 shadow box frame. Thanks for stopping in today!
Products used:
Chipboard Stars, Large, 4", and Mini
Mini Papers: Be Our Guest, Trendy (not available but the red pattern in Be Our Guest would work as well)
Cabbage Flower (Damask) Stamp
Ruler Border Stamp
Speckled Egg and Lavender Sachet Ink
Lavender Sachet Paint Dabber
Cream DoiliesMercantile Exclusive Black Damask Paper
Core'dinations Cardstock: Grandma's Rocker Crosshatch (back side) and Row of Cherries
Printed Tickets: Punctuation, Name, Baby Girl
Blue Label Stickers
German Foil Medallions Borders in Silver
Banner/Alphabet Stickers Playdate
Chipboard Buttons - Milk Caps
Mini Bingo Cards
Other vintage items used: cigar box trim, advertising label, dictionary paper, sheet music, heart charm, and vintage buttons
