Products:
Gather in Peace ArtPlay Palette: http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Gather-In-Peace.html
Artsy Layered Template No. 214: http://www.oscraps.com/shop/Artsy-Layered-Template-No.-214.html
Gather WordART Mix No. 1: http://www.oscraps.com/shop/Gather-WordART-Mix-No.-1.html
Artsy Stains No. 2: http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtsyStains-No.-2.html
Beaded Threadz No. 3: http://www.oscraps.com/shop/BeadedThreadz-No.-3.html
Taped textures No. 1: http://www.oscraps.com/shop/TapedTextures-No.-1.html
Taped textures No. 4: http://www.oscraps.com/shop/TapedTextures-No.-4.html
Process:
Since this layout was all about the story, I wanted the photos to be big. I turned off the visibility of everything but the frames and paint/mask areas and enlarged these to best showcase my photos. After clipping in the photos, I did the title and the journaling, and added a solid paper for the background. Then I went back and clicked on the visibility of each layer, one by one. There are a lot of beautiful stains and textures that come with the template, and I wound up duplicating these and moving them around to add depth to the layout without overwhelming the page. To augment the textures that come with the template, I also used Taped Textures No. 1 and No. 4. I added the embellishments and Nelson Mandela quote last.