February is proving to be a busy month for me. Not only am I participating in LOAD214, I am also part of the 2014 Supreme Scrap Tournament. The first challenge required us to take photos near our homes. It’s not only a wonderful way to get to know the other participants. It’s also a way to view our everyday world with new eyes.

Can you see the little spider?

I stepped outside my front door and took a walk. One I take frequently, but now, I had a mission to find specific items I wanted to notice and share about where I live. The bold color of the flowers here always strikes me. Many of them are non-native, just like me. Sometimes, I even find tiny creatures hiding in the petals.

Often times, the sound of tourists and taxi cabs on the streets masks the bird song. In quiet moments, the birds put on quite a show. The quiet moments are my favorite. I wanted to capture those but to also bring a little bit of the location into the layout. I am originally from Florida but moved to the Bahamas almost 8 years ago.  As I was sitting at my desk, pondering which supplies to use, it occurred to me that some of the leftover scraps from a previous project were perfect. The 6×6 pad had papers containing little house along with colors fairly close to the Bahamian flag ( black, yellow, and Bahama blue).  I picked up a few stars in similar colors. The stars would bring a little bit of the American flag into play on the layout. I would stitch a row of stripes to affix the stars to and just like that, the layout would incorporate both my surroundings and a bit of my history.

I knew this would be a two page layout, as per the challenge rules. However, I also knew I had a limited amount of patterned paper to work with since I had chosen to use a 6×6 paper pad. I decided a blocked design would work best. I chose 3 image to be 4×6 prints, then shrunk down 4 images for smaller size prints.

Near My Home by Christy Strickler |Supplies Cardstock: Colorbok; Patterned Paper, Letters, Rub-on, Stickers: Amy Tangerine; Acrylic Stars: Studio Calico

I first worked with the scraps, cutting and placing them around the photos. My goal was to position them to form visual triangles when possible.

 I used the heart patterned paper scraps first. Then I incorporated the paper with the houses. I only had one piece of 6×6 paper of this pattern. So I cut the strip with the houses off and then divided it into two parts. The small turquoise paper strips from the edge of the tab were also added in to fill some space.

Once those scraps were used, I was then able to fill in the rest of the empty space with stitching and two other coordinating pieces of patterned paper.

 I often work backwards when I create a sketch. In this case, I started with the paper scraps, the story and the photo. Once I had them in place, I could then add what I needed. I now have a sketch I can work with for future two page layouts.

The blocked design also reinforces the concept that this story is all about a block in my neighborhood. I have added not just photos, but embellishments that are a little piece of me. When you view the layout, most of the stories within the photos are obvious. All except for one. Many of the more expensive homes here have statues at their gates. We often pass these lions on our walks. If you pause while a taxi cab or a bus passes by, you can here the driver telling tall tales about the owner of the home. They would have you believe the home is the island getaway of a movie star or that it is a hotspot for wild parties. In truth, it is neither. The actual residents are fairly quiet people and not famous in any shape or form. It does get a bit amusing to watch excited tourists pile out of the vehicle to take shots by the lion or the gate. This particular lion has heard many interesting stories.

What story does your neighborhood tell? The flora and fauna may speak of being imported exotics or it may tell a tale of what your local climate can support. You may see some of the sights every day, but take a fresh look, and you may just find a tall tale of your own waiting to be shared.