scrapbook page to framed photo art

just taking a break from my 25 days of december album posts to talk about another scrapbook layout i did as part of an assignment during ali edwards' online class at big picture scrapbooking called yesterday and today. (unfortunately this class has ended, but it was amazing!!)

throughout the class we created layouts that featured photos and stories from the past and from today. the layout that i'm discussing here came from week 6 and showcases a visual evolution of my family - pictures of my great, great grandparents on my father's side, my great grandparents on my mother's side, all the way through to today of my little family. i am lucky that i have hundreds of old family photos from both sides of my parents family tree. originally the hardest task was selecting my favorites to feature on the layout - 26 in all.

i loved the layout so much that i decided to create something similar and frame it. so i did! and i liked the framed piece so much that i decided to create another one and give it to my parents for christmas. and i did that too!

the hardest part of the whole project was finding a suitable size frame. the original layout was two 12" x 12" scrapbook pages and it was rather difficult to find a frame that is 12 x 24 inches. i looked online and in all the craft stores around town and ended up finding a 13 x 25 inch frame at wal-mart of all places. it worked perfectly!

the only other change i made from the original layout was that i used fabric as the background instead of cardstock. since the entire layout would be in a single frame, i did not want a seam running down the middle so i decided to use a solid piece of muslin fabric.

here is page 1 of the original layout.....



and here is page 2 of the original layout....



i started with this frame from wal-mart. the frame itself is 13 x 25 inches.....



i did use two sheets of white cardstock to cover the mat included with the frame because i wanted it to look smooth through the muslin.



then i covered the cardstock and the mat with the fabric tucking the ends underneath and securing on the back side.



close up shot of the fabric. very neutral....



then i pretty much just treated it like one big scrapbook page!





and here's the final framed "layout" (the lighting is horrible - sorry). a visual evolution of me!



the journaling on the bottom row....when i look at thoses photos i see my family. when i look at these photos - the faces of the people who belong to me - i see my past, my present and my future. when i look at these photos i know that i exist because of the choices made by all of these people. when i look at these photos i see all the people that are part of me and part of my personal journey. when i look at these photos i see a visual evolution of my family. when i look at these photos i see the passage of time and i see life.

thanks ali for this amazing layout! and thanks mom and dad (and the rest of my extended family) for all the old family photos!