Okay.  Here is the last of the five layouts I entered into the album contest at convention.  This is the layout where I stayed up until about 5 a.m. in the hotel room completing.  I had to stay up so late, because I was exhausted and stressed out and my creative mojo was nowhere to be found.  About 3 a.m., I almost called it quits.  However, I was so close, I just couldn’t let myself give up, as I knew I would be kicking myself later, if I did.  Again, because of my late start (and very late finish), the layout is fairly simple, but knowing how it was starting out, I’m very pleased with the end result.

There is one really big boo-boo, but there was nothing I could do about it.  And it was one of those boo-boos that happen on the Very. Last. Step!  Ugh!  Oh well, I’ll tell you about it below.

This layout rounds out the other layouts by detailing how, thanks to all the contributions of the stars in my life, I have become a star. Primarily in the lives of my students.  One weakness in my layout, is that I had to scan the photos on the right from the yearbook, so the photo quality was lacking.  But I think the biggest weakness of this layout was the journaling.  There was just so much more I could have documented.  Like how I felt when my peers selected me as teacher of the year and how I felt the last day of school this past year when a former student came to visit me to thank me for turning him onto science and for helping him to believe in himself.  He’s going to be a senior this year and one of the colleges he is applying to is MIT.  He’ll never know just how much that meant to me.  As I often wonder if I really am making a difference.  Every time I have those thoughts, I’ll remember his words.

I love doodling on my layouts.

I used a resist technique for some of the stars using Liquid Glass.  Another great technique I learned from my upline, Sherri Tozzi.  You stamp an image, then go over it with liquid glass, intentionally going off the lines.  After it dries, sponge a contrasting ink color on the image and buff off any extra ink.

Okay…here’s where the big boo-boo happened.  I was literally layering these stars…my very last thing I needed to do for this layout.  To insure that they wouldn’t fall off, I used liquid glass.  Completely unaware until after I had adhered the last star, I noticed a big glob of liquid glass on my photo!!  If you look at the yellow star on the right, you can see the remnants!  I would have cried, except I was too exhausted. LOL

To fill in some of the empty space and to tie the left page to the right, I stamped a star border…alternating ink colors.

Here’s a quick look back…

Well, that does it.  For those of you that voted for and supported me at convention , I greatly appreciate it.  Those tweets and emails of support meant so much to me.  
Unless something unforeseen happens, be on the lookout at next year’s convention in Orlando for my second album entry.  This round just inspired me to start earlier next year. 🙂 

Until next time…