I’ve got another layout today based on a sketch in the Ready, Sketch, Go class. And let me tell you, this one took me right out of my comfort zone!

I’ve been scrapping for over 15 years and I can’t think of a single time I’ve used a large circle as part of my layout. Oh sure, I’ve had the usual circle embellishments. And there was that awful time back when I first started that I actually cut my photos into circles (It was the early days. Don’t judge me!).

As soon as I saw the sketch, this View Master die cut immediately came to mind. I’ve been coveting this cut file in the Silhouette Store for months and figured this would be the opportunity to use it. My eight year-old niece had photo booth props at her birthday party and the adults had way more fun with them than any of the kids. I thought these photos would be perfect for this layout!

The size of the die cut made it possible to actually fill the spot with real photos. I wanted to find a way to make them look more like the transparencies in the View Master wheels of my childhood, so I printed the 2″ photos on vellum. I was worried it would smear or never dry, but it worked! It’s hard to capture on film, but in person there is a translucent quality that replicates a real View Master.

I’ve had these little red alphabet stickers from Simple Stories hanging around forever, so I backed them with white cardstock and popped them up on Stampin’ Up Dimensionals. I like how the font echoes the playful nature of the photos.

Between all the photos and the large circle, I thought the layout was already pretty busy and kept the journaling simple. This was a lighthearted event and the pictures tell the story all on their own.

It was more of a struggle making it all work than I expected, but I think the final results are growing on me. What do you think? How often do you scrap out of your comfort zone and how did it turn out?