teleroblog

the cat in the hat, 8.5x11

in kit:

not in kit:

• patterned paper: studio calico anthology collection bouquet, peaceable kingdom press dr. seuss stationery set, red cardstock (magpie club june 2011 bits & bobs kit: little red riding hood)
• woodgrain mat & red/white gingham ribbon: magpie club june 2011 bits & bobs kit: little red riding hood
• eyelets: we r memory keepers
• “sally” sticker: sandylion
• cloud & rainbow cut-outs: wild olive
• crayons: crayola
• baker’s twine: AR Creations
• other: thing 1 & thing 2 bucket cut-out, scraps from an old magazine ad, masking tape, staples

I was super excited to get September’s Bits & Bobs Kit — packed full of Dr. Seuss goodness — in the mail when it arrived! Dr. Seuss will always take me back to my childhood; even though I grew up in the heart of Berlin, American children’s books were readily available at the PX my dad regularly shopped at when he was on base. So, he read me many books, including Green Eggs and Ham, Fox in Socks, Hop on Pop, Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?, The Nose Book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, and, of course, the original: The Cat in the Hat.

I was a freshman in high school when the live action version of The Cat in the Hat was released, and since I’d just started my first job not long before that, I was a regular customer at Borders, spending my hard earned cash on books (and lots of miscellaneous knick knacks in the stationery/gifts section… I’m still a sucker for those!). While at Borders one day, I saw the Cat in the Hat merchandise all over the store, which ended up in me picking up a couple collectible pens: the Cat himself and Fish. I’ve collected pens/markers/pencils since I could first use them, and these two were a welcome addition!

I like that this layout captures not only an important part of my childhood — the beginning of my love of books and literature — but also Borders itself, which is sadly no longer around.

As far as techniques go, you’ve seen those crazy melted crayon art canvases around, right? They’re kind of everywhere. I loved that effect and thought that melted crayons would add a very whimsical (yet chaotic, a la Thing One & Thing Two) touch to my layout. Tips? Use more than one lighter! Grill lighters are my favorite (I burn myself far too easily, it seems, and they help to prevent that), but I only had one, so I had to make do with a regular, cheap Bic lighter whenever the grill lighter overheated. What else? Be patient! While crayons melt rather quickly, getting the flame too close to the wax will burn it, so be prepared to keep your thumb on the trigger and chill out while the crayon heats up (…okay, pretty awful joke, eh?). Crayons also remind me of my childhood — who isn’t reminded of their childhood when seeing a pack of those glorious things? I thought these were a perfect match for the idea behind the scrapbook page.

Hope you enjoy looking as much as I enjoyed making, and stay tuned for a tutorial on creating the structure for this layout!