Today's Story by Echo Park Paper part 1

Have you played with the New Photo Freedom collections from Echo Park? If you are like me, it seems like a bit of a jump to go from traditional layouts to the divided pocket pages. Or maybe the idea of completing one every week and keeping up scares you. I know I can't attempt that right now, but that doesn't mean I can't scrap with these collections. They are just like a fun toy, you have got to try one!  And yes, they might be a bit addictive too :)

Now whether you are doing one page or a whole set of pages, this Today's Story collection is a great one to start with. I think it will work with just about any photos. I wanted to try out all of the page sizes so I chose to scrap my photos from an antiquing weekend. I thought I would show you how I went about scrapping these layouts. Clearly I couldn't have scrapped all of these photos in a 5 traditional layouts so I love the way this worked. Today I will show you my prep and the first two pages, then I will share the other 3 pages tomorrow. *click this image to see it a better size*

I started with this fun Today's Story collection and some brads from the For the Record 2 collections: Tailored and Documented. Next I gathered some of my vintage finds and put them in my depression glass dishes to put me in the mood. LOL! I bought vintage buttons, trim, and even a chenile bedspread to cut up. Then I just pulled some punches that I planned to use.

For my first page I used the full 12x12 sheet protector and made a cover page for my weekend. If you haven't been to the Round Top, Texas area for their spring and fall antiquing festival, it is AMAZING! It runs thru several towns and with thousands of vendors so you cant possibly see the all of it. Can you even stand how cute that little US map is! The date flag, hearts, and little camera were all great icons for my photos. My fave piece is that chalkboard looking "snapshots" block.

 

My second page went together so fast! I just put the large Today's Story panel in the large pocket and added a photo and a couple of little embellishments. Continuing with the theme I decided to pull out my husband's grandmother's typewriter from 1950 to do the journaling. I think I need to get a fresh ribbon because its a bit light. And although early type wasn't exactly perfectly in line or easy to place, it's cute. Now all of these pieces fit inside the pockets but you can attach things to the outside of the pockets as well. The photos of these pages almost make them appear to have the embellishments on the outside but that is because I laid the panels on TOP of the page protectors for photographing to cut down on glare.

 

Now don't forget to come back tomorrow and see the other three layouts :)