I tried. I really did. For this layout I was going to go all in and attempt a much more heavily themed page. Out came some nautical October Afternoon stickers in order to ensure the beach theme. This was going to be a stretch for me, but I was determined… or so I thought.
To be fair, when I began pulling papers for this page, I did not have the beach in mind. In fact, I was really just putting away my last order that had been sitting for, um, months. The Pink Paislee aqua and wood grain paper grabbed my attention immediately. And then I ran across that white wood grain embossed paper in the same order. They just had to go together. So that was my starting point. I decided to add a couple of 6×6 papers that matched beautifully. Can you tell I was highly invested in the wood grain theme at this point?
Then I began flipping through my photos. You would think I would maybe pull something from a camping trip. (Wood grain on wood grain on wood grain.) Alas, no, it was this lovely little photo of a tide pool I took last summer. Look at the colors! Hello browns and aquas! It was just meant to be.
The papers pretty much laid themselves out on this page. I did cut out the back of that Pink Paislee paper so I could use it again. The white cardstock covers the big square that I hoarded saved. (I won’t usually save anything from my background paper. I doubt I will ever use up all of the paper I own. However, this one was way too pretty to waste.) I did dig into my scraps and add the kraft strip that helped provide a little grounding at the bottom of the page. I also cuts some scallops from scraps.
Here is where I wound up in a goal failure. I had created a layout that was white, brown, and aqua. Introducing any other colors just didn’t seem right. So as I perused my marine themed embellishments, I was left with one option. That adorable octopus fit the bill. I did not want to introduce the red, yellow, or cobalt blue that were included in everything else. So then I gravitated to the stars. (Stars… starfish… close enough!) I included a few more aqua pieces from here and there and then sprinkled in a few wood grain hearts because I totally needed more wood grain.
Let’s face it… I am just never going to be a theme girl. At least this time I wound up with a much more beach themed color scheme. Though all of the wood may not seem beach themed to most, it does remind me of the driftwood I see at our local beaches. So I am going to say that is on theme as well. Oh, and there are pearls! Pearls are beach themed. I am going to call this a goal partially met. I guess it doesn’t really matter as long as I love the layout. (I do!)