Alternate Layout: Old School 2

I've been posting about my participation in theStudio's Layout Artist Competition which was held last month. I got as far as Week 4 but I didn't win, which I expected :) What I didn't expect was to get as far in the competition as Week 4.

For the last challenge, we were asked to create 2 layouts for theStudio's September mega-kit. 

This was the first layout I made:

Elements from theStudio's September Mega-kit: Old School

In all my layouts, I am not really comfortable using paper strips unless I'm using a template and I didn't know why I picked this time to start. LOL. Anyway, I wasn't too happy with the layout so I tried to make another one. 

Since I already spent a lot of time on the clusters, I decided to use the clusters again in the new alternate layout I made:

Elements from theStudio's September Mega-kit: Old School

I looked at both layouts for a long time trying to decide which one to submit. I finally ended up submitting the first one since it looks "cleaner" to me. 

And since I didn't want all that effort I put in making the second layout go to waste... I decided to share it here with you anyway :)

I can't wait for the next Layout Artist Competition next year! I joined another contest this month but I haven't even started creating what needs to be created. More on that next week ;)

theStudio Layout Artist Competition 2012 - Week 4

And I made it to Week 4!!!!

Even if I don't win, I already exceeded my expectations for this competition. I honestly never expected to get this far. And as I mentioned in my last post about this contest, I already learned a lot from the tips we are getting all throughout the competition.

For this last week of the competition, we were asked to work on theStudio's September Mega Kit - Old School.

We were asked to create 2 layouts using the kit, using elements from at least 5 of the contributing designers.

Here are my layouts:

Elements used are from the following designers:

- Aimee Harrison
- Digilicious Designs
- Linda Cumberland Designs
- Mad Genius Designs
- Sweetmade Inc
- Nibbles Skribbles
- Amber Shaw
- The Urban Fairy
- Piggyscraps
- ADB Designs
- JanetB Designs
- Scrappy Cocoa

Using elements from the following designers:

- Digilicious Designs
- The Urban Fairy
- Scrappy Cocoa
- Amber Shaw
- JanetB Designs
- Sweetmade Inc
- ADB Designs
- SnickerdoodleDesigns
- Piggyscraps
- JanetB Designs
- Linda Cumberland
- Nibbles Skribbles

I'm not sure when the winners will be announced but I will not lose sleep over it. I'm already very happy at getting this far and I can't wait for next year's competition!

theStudio Layout Artist Competition 2012 - Week 3

Round 3!!! I made it to Round 3!!! :) Last week, the host requested us to vote for others other than ourselves, haha. Though it was a request and not really a rule, I tried to comply. And the last time I checked the status of the voting, it didn't look too encouraging for me. Imagine my surprise when I checked my email on Sunday and saw the notification that I made it to Round 3!!

I don't have any delusions of actually winning. There are still a lot of us in the competition and there are some really, really... and I do mean REALLY talented ladies there. Seeing the layouts they have been submitting, it makes me think that I will never be able to come up with a layout composition like that by myself. 

But being in this competition for 3 weeks already taught me a lot about being a good Creative Team member and how layouts are supposed to promote the kit as much as possible. And in this competition, since I know I'm being judged, I do try my best to showcase as much of the kit in one layout. This has helped me with my other CT work because I have been guilty of overly simple layouts in the past. I have layouts where I use too few elements and papers and though I may have achieved the look I wanted, it doesn't really do much to promote the kit. Lesson learned and applied :)

I have learned a lot from the other participants too. Particularly about clustering and the use of shadows. I still have a lot to learn about clustering (I think being an engineer is working against me in this... I am putting too much importance on symmetry!!) but I think my shadowing has improved.

Anyway, here is my layout for Week 3:

Elements from Indian Summer collaboration kit by Carin Grobe Designs and JanetB Designs

We were given the kit Indian Summer, by Carin Grobe Designs and JanetB Designs. The colors make it perfect for an autumn layout... but since I live in a country without an autumn season, I had to use some other photo that would go well with it. I chose this old family photo from my grandmother's album.

The other rules for this challenge had me stumped for a few days. We were supposed to use at least 4 papers... and remember what I said about overly simple layouts? This is one of my weaknesses, using more than one paper. 

Anyway, keeping my fingers crossed that I make it to Week 4 :) You can check out the other layouts submitted for this week here so you will understand what I'm up against and why I need to keep my fingers crossed. 

theStudio Layout Artist Competition 2012 - Week 2

I made it to Round 2!!! There were a LOT of really great layouts for Round 1 and it was so hard to NOT keep refreshing the voting page to see if I was about to get eliminated. LOL. I had to leave the forum and not think about the voting until Saturday night my time when I knew the results would be announced. And come Saturday night, I was out of time with my family and the wifi at the hotel we were staying at was super super slow! Aaarrggghhh!!! I was able to check Sunday and I wanted to dance all the way to Manila when I found out.

Anyway, for Week 2, the challenge is to create a layout using one of Aimee Harrison's templates from her Vol 1: Opposites Attract template pack and a kit submitted for the Next Designer Contest.

Here is my entry for Week 2:

Elements from: Under the Moon kit by Keep in Touch Designs

For this layout, I used the kit designed by Keep in Touch Designs for Week 1 of the designer competition, Under the Moon.

And am I so glad my husband loves taking photos of Andrea when she's asleep, looking so peaceful and angelic... when in truth she is rarely peaceful and angelic these days. The "Terrible 2's" concept is so true and it's hitting our household full force. I wonder how other mom's manage to have more than one kid and survive with their sanity intact. I swear, I am just so tired and I feel like screaming myself most time times. 

Anyway, keeping my fingers crossed that I make it to Week 3 :)

theStudio Layout Artist Competition 2012 - Week 1

theStudio has some great challenges this September as part of it's birthday bash for 2012. They have a designer contest, a layout contest, and a lot of other stuff. I decided to try the Layout Artist Competition. It's an elimination contest and according to the competition mechanics, around half of participants will be eliminated after the first week.

*gulp*

Let's see how far I get :)

Here's the kit we were given to work with for Week 1:

Black Holes by Nibbles Skribbles. Available at the Studio.

When I get kits like this, I begin to feel the absence of little boys in my family. In any case, here is my layout from this kit:

Elements from Black Holes kit by Nibbles Skribbles

The photos are of my niece and my daughter during their time together last summer. It did feel like an alien invasion at our house with little people running all over the place except for the fact that they weren't green. Good thing they're cute. That made it bearable :)

Anyway you can check out theStudio's gallery for more beautiful layouts created by other participants in this competition.