Menu of supplies:
Artsy Layered Template #198 http://www.oscraps.com/shop/Artsy-Layered-Template-No.-158.html
Artplay palette #10 minikit (retired)
Buttons: Radiant artplay palette
http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Radiant.html
Brushes: Viaggio artplay palette
http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Viaggio.html
Stitches: Urbanstitchez7
http://www.oscraps.com/shop/UrbanStitchez-No.-7.html
TapedTextures No. 1
http://www.oscraps.com/shop/TapedTextures-No.-1.html
Photoglows: WarmGlows No. 8
http://www.oscraps.com/shop/WarmGlows-No.-8.html
MultiMediasuns1
http://www.oscraps.com/shop/MultiMedia-Suns-No.-1.html
Process:
I started out doing the unthinkable: Tweaking the color of a single stripe on my son's sock to be more compatible with the colors in the challenge. While this made me feel ultra-cool, it was really super-easy, thanks to Linda Davis' excellent tutorial on recoloring segments of a photo or element https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU74mZ7XRpM
I then selected my template and placed my photos. Because I had a story concept in mind, I did the journaling next, to get a sense of the area it would take up on the layout. From there, I built the background using the papers and transfers in the artplay palette as well as textures and a few brushes that looked like clouds. I did very little brush blending, but used lots of blending modes and recolored certain areas as I went along. To make the journaling readable, I cut up one of the papers to make a neutral background strip. Adding light to a layout is one of the last things I do, and I chose to use the MultiMediasuns in that way, as well as a couple of photoglows. I also liked the symbol of the sun smiling on my son the same way I was. Because I tend to be a maximalist (as opposed to a minimalist) at heart (more is more!), I punched up the yellow areas a little with blending modes to act as traffic cops to move the viewer's eye around the page. I then added the embellishments and little word strip and was done.