Using enlargements in your scrapbook layouts

My husband is the photographer in our family.  I love to use my scrapbooks to showcase his work. I've found that using 8x10 or 5x7 enlargements on my 12x12 scrapbook pages is aneasy way to do this.  In addition to the samples in this entry, you can see some more here and here.

Enlargements can be of any content you choose.  I like close-ups the best, since you can capture so much emotion and expression in your photos this way, and keep record of your subject's moods, thoughts and feelings.  When I'm feeling behind on my photos, I'll grab the camera (or give it to my husband), and then immediately ask each child the same question and jot down their answers.  Some examples:

• What do you want for Christmas?
• If you could only keep five of your toys, which would they be?
• What do you like to do the most when you're at Grandma's house?

I've also just jotted down the top five "in" things that each of the kids are into currently.  It's a great way to rememberdetails, and the kids have fun looking back and remembering what they said.

Most digital photos require some color correction.  I use a Mac, so I tend to use the most simple software to do this.  iPhoto is a great choice.  Mostly, you want to reduce the range of the colors to the minimum and still maintain the integrity of the picture. Most auto-levels settings are good at this.  If I'm feeling a little sneaky, I will match the colors of a photo to the scrapbooking papers I am using.  (You must have a color printer calibrated screen to do this effectively, however.)

On planning your layout, keep in mind you may only be able to fit one photo per page.  Spice it up a little with some fun embellishments--some of my favorites are chipboard letters or sewing on the layout.  Have fun with it--make it art.

Here is a list of supplies I used on my examples:

Mulberry Meadow

Bella Flor (retired)

Mia's Cottage

Tab paper punch

Chipboard letters

Brads

Tag punch