I Love Clarity!

Don't you? I remember a saying that my grandmother (I talk about her a LOT - I called her Jammy Jane and she is still who I want to be when I grow up) used to say..."That was as clear as mud!" When I was little, I never failed to say, "Jammy Jane...mud isn't clear!" And she would always laugh and say "I KNOW!" So much about life is "clear as mud" - perhaps that is why I love clarity. I love when I can see my way clear in a decision. I love when the answer is clear, the sky is clear, my mind is clear and my conscience is clear! I LOVE CLARITY!

So it probably comes as no surprise that I also love a little clarity in my scrapbooking! A few years ago acrylic elements were REALLY big....and I acquired quite a stash. This is a layout I created with some pictures of my dear friend's twin sons. It was one of those unbelievably good "photo moments!" I was standing on a chair and one of them just squatted down to grab an apple and looked up at me just as I snapped the picture....later they both worked together to pick up a big cast iron pan filled with apples...and perhaps the funniest thing was when we were all done with the photo shoot I looked down at the pan of apples and the twins had taken a single bite out of EVERY last one of those apples....it was PRICELESS!

I used a couple of acrylic elements on this layout....the flower that is tucked halfway behind the largest picture -- and the word "apples" down on the bottom were both Heidi Swapp "ghost" elements that I just put some black acrylic paint on the edges to make them stand out a bit more. I really do like the way you can see through them - and yet still have a real sense of the role they play on the page. Even though acrylic elements aren't necessarily the latest craze...I still reach for them often. I did a series of YouTube videos about techniques I like to use when working with clear elements. I thought I might share the first one here...and then if you want to see the rest of the series be sure and check out the remainder of the tutorials here.

So - try a little clarity in your scrapbooking! Or is that "clear as mud?!?!?" *smile*