Passion Scrapbook Layout

Hello Lovelies!
Today*s layout is of my talented boyfriend practicing his mad soccer skills.  I wanted to be able to display several fun action shots with a 4x6 focal photo.  To achieve this I divided my layout in half by staggering smaller photos in a line on top and my dominant photo on the bottom.  This allows your  eye to move easily around the layout. 


After positioning my photos I choose a color scheme from my photos. Because the photos are vibrant I decided to keep the main background white.  I could of easily chosen green or blue, but I decided to go with pink for the accent color.  Yes, pink for a guy layout.  I probably wouldn*t have picked that particular color, but luckily he was sporting it that day.  Yay! 
For the background I just had a ton of fun.  :)  I wanted to have an edgy street style vibe...well that*s what I think it is, lol.  So I grabbed my modeling paste, Tim Holtz burlap stencil, apple barrel paint (pink & black), Heidi Swapp Color Shine (black velvet), a drinking straw, and a pencil. 
I started off by mixing pink paint and a small amount of modeling paste together.  Then I used an old gift card to scrape the paste across my stencil in random places on my paper.  But I did note where some of my photos were going to be placed so I could have some color peeking from behind. 
FUN TIP!
Don*t waste leftover modeling paste.  Use it on another piece of paper for a future layout as a background base or tags. 
 Then I dipped my straw in black acrylic paint and stamped it in clusters for an abstract look.  I also used the same method with a pencil point.  Afterwards I splattered Heidi Swapp Color Shine on my layout by removing the sprayer and shaking it above the layout. 
My photos looked a little bare to me, so I added a black and white mat border to my smaller photos.  For the dominant photo I layered my mat and  added a zig zag stitch with my sewing machine for more texture.  I also added a little bit of bling with black and clear gems from Paper Studio.
DIY EMBELLISHMENTS
I overlapped two heart die cuts, stapled them in the middle, and fanned them apart to create a 3D embellishment.  SO EASY <3
I LOVE how my layout turned out, especially how the photos pop on the page.  Before I forget, I wanted to point out I added my journaling to the backside.  If you are stuck on journaling I highly recommend answering the questions: who, what, when, where. 
For example on this photo I*d write:  Alfredo and I had such a fun time hanging out at the park.  While we were there Alfredo showed off his mad soccer skills.  -Meg Spring 2015 
I usually write more, but that is a great starting point.  From that I could write what my favorite trick was, ask Alfredo how long he has been playing, how did he get into the sport, etc.