Lately my Facebook feed has been filled with so many pictures of people enjoying the beach. I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that I’m a little bit jealous. We spent Spring Break in Destin, Florida instead of going in the summer like we usually do and we were in for a surprise. The temperatures were unseasonably cold when we were there. The weeks before it was mid 70s, some days even in the 80s, but when we arrived it was barely 60 and it stayed that way all week. We ended up missing out on a lot of our favorite things to do because it was so cold. I mean, it wasn’t like it was a huge failure. I could sit on the beach and stare at the water for hours, cold or hot, so I’m not going to complain. Too much.
Beach and summer layouts are always, to me, so much fun to create. I enjoy having a little fun with the theme and finding ways to incorporate it into the design. When I say that, I don’t mean just using themed embellishments or papers. I’m talking about creating some sort of hand-made design that fits the theme. On my “Toes in the Sand” layout, I created a large sun out of a circle.
Circles are such a fun shape to play around with and you can use them to fit specific themes by turning them into a…
• beach ball • sun • balloons • crescent moon (cut from a circle) • full moon with a rocket shooting around the edge of it • Mickey ears • flowers • pumpkins • Jack-o-lanterns • Christmas ornaments • snowflakes • baseball or softball • basketball • bowling ball • golf ball • soccer ball • clock • gears and cogs • bubbles • pie chart • game spinner • wreath/ring made of flowers, stars, hearts, etc.
To create the sun I cut out a 9” circle and then cut 1/4” sections out about every 1-3/4”. I didn’t cut all the way to the center so that it stayed all one piece and made it super easy to adhere and keep the perfect circle shape. I finished it by adding a stitched line in the 1/4” spaces.
One trend that faded away long ago was cutting your pictures into shapes, but I think there is a way you can still do that without giving your layout a dated look. On my layout I used a picture cut into a circle for the center of the sun. A lot of times, when I use circles as a design element, I like to create clusters of circles in varying sizes and different elements. I created clusters by adding smaller circle photos, circle stickers, brads, and enamel dots.
Now, after staring at this layout, I think I’m going to have to convince my husband to take a second trip to the beach this year. I’m pretty sure I can hear the waves and sand calling my name!