Story Spark: Love You Because

In this week's Craft The Story video series (Episode 06) I'm sharing a process video for creating a scrapbook layout using the story spark "love you because." 

"Love you because" is an easy jumping off point for telling stories about people + pets + places + things we love. In my project today I decided to write out one thing I love about each person in my house right now but you could also easily approach this by focusing on one person and writing up a list of things you love about them. 

Before we dive into today's project I wanted to share a few past examples of layouts where I've used "love you because" as the jumping off point for my storytelling: 

This is one of the earliest examples I could find. It uses a Love You Because Digital Layered Template Set. You can see another version that a community member created using this template set here. 

The next example I found is this "love you because" mini book I created for Simon. Click here to check out the original post that includes free downloadable word art. 

We also have a "Love You Because" project class available here that takes you step by step through the process of building this mini book. It's a similar approach to the project above but with the workshop you get the process video and handout for putting it together (this was modeled after an in-person workshop I taught a number of years ago). 

It was seriously so fun to search back through my computer archives to see what past projects I could find that used this story lens. I came across this one with some super fun photos of me and Simon being silly in the car. My "love you because" journaling was handwritten in circles in the middle of the page. Lots of fun textures happening here. 

This layout appeared in a 2017 issue of Scrapbook + Cards magazine. Always + forever a fan of full page photo foundations. You can find a free "love you because" word art download on their site here. 

Built upon another full page photo foundation, this layout tells the story of five things I love about my friends using "love you because" as the story spark. This one was made using the You Story Stamp and the how-to is available in the You Story Classroom (digital version of the stamp available here). 

Now let's dive into today's video: 

Here's a look at the end result: 

This layout is a 2-page, 9 inch x 12 inch layout. 

I used one of the pattern papers from the upcoming Scrapbook Kit release to create homes for my journaling (more details on an actual launch date to come). On top of each heart I repeat stamped "so much love" using this rolling stamp and then stamped each person's initial using the Basics Alpha Stamp. Alongside their initial I added a puffy heart from the Scrapbook Kit and then hand wrote my journaling using a Slick Writer (thick) and a Precision Pen (thin). 

I paired those hearts with some pattern papers from my stash and adhered them alongside photos of my people. The photos and pattern paper blocks measure 4.5 inches wide x 4 inches tall. 

SUPPLIES 

• Scrapbook Kit: Hearts (pattern paper + puffy hearts) (Coming soon)
• Storytelling Basics 6x8 Alpha Stamp
• White Cardstock
• Staz On Ink
• Rolling Phrase Stamp that includes “so much love”
• Rolling Date Stamp
• Small Fiskars Scissors
• Fiskars Trimmer
• Scotch Rolling Adhesive
• Round Stamp Block
• Precision Pen
• Slick Writer Pen
• Ranger Archival Ink Red Geranium
• Epson PictureMate PM400 Printer
• Epson XP15000 Printer
• Assorted pattern papers from my stash

Wearing: Heart Sweater

I hope you enjoyed this week's video and that it helps you get some of your own stories told.