Scrapping your boys (with a feminine touch)

Scrapbooking boys is one of the eternal challenges of this craft. Most of us relish using our flowers, jewels and pretty papers and struggle to represent the men in our lives with the tools at hand. Jill Geraghty-Groves explains how to shed these hesitations and make it work — beautifully!

Those of us lucky enough to be a mother, grandmother, sister or auntie of boys know what a joy it is to have such energetic creatures in our lives. Boys are wonderful souls and they fill our lives with laughter, fun, noise (lots of it!) and seem to see the world through different eyes to girls.

There is so much to be learned from watching boys being boys — the way they solve problems, the way they dive headfirst into their games and their total acceptance of one another.

As the mother of three gorgeous boys, I have so many opportunities to catch them totally immersing themselves in life. Photos of them playing, laughing, screaming, running, riding and hiding can be found in almost every layout I do.

Scrapping boys offers an opportunity to really explore our own creativity. Too often, people seem to get stuck on selecting just the right ‘boyish’ colours, the perfect ‘masculine’ embellishments and find it very difficult to represent the men we are scrapping.

When starting a ‘boy’ page, I suggest you first let go of all your preconceived ideas about what you can and can’t include on the page. Instead, think about colours and elements that represent the emotion of the story you are trying to tell. Keep in mind that you are scrapping a moment in time, not just the sex of the subject.

Boys and all their different dimensions lend us an opportunity to combine all sorts of elements on our pages. Who says that using soft colours, adding a few flowers or adding traditionally ‘girl’ embellishments can’t be used on pages featuring boys?
Remember that this noisy, dirty child is the same one that jumps onto your lap and covers you in kisses at night. Or that this awkward, grunting teenager still fills with tears during a sad movie.

Gentle side
By Jill Geraghty-Groves
Materials
Cardstock: Kraft
Paper: Making Memories, Creative Imaginations
Adhesive: Helmar Super Tac glue
Other: Scenic Route Paper Company letter stickers, Heidi Swapp chipboard letters, Magistical Memories chipboard, 7gypsies rub-ons, 7gypsies stickers, Delish Designs brads, Collections journalling card, American Crafts chipboard, VersaMark ink

For this layout, I chose to use soft pink colours on a neutral background. If you want to make a page more masculine, try using soft pastels and contrasting them with natural tones like black or brown. I really wanted to celebrate the soft side of my boys here as well as their masculine side.

He’s all that
By Jill Geraghty-Groves
Materials
Paper: Urban Lily
Adhesive: Helmar Super Tac glue
Other: Vintage wallpaper, American Crafts thickers, Prima flowers, Jenni Bowlin Studio journalling card, jewels

This page features a black and white spotted background, some pink vintage wallpaper and cut-out flowers. Don’t be afraid to use bold colour combinations on your layouts and don’t shy away from using flowers if you feel they help to tell the story.

It’s all about the bubbles
By Jill Geraghty-Groves
Materials
Cardstock: Bazzill
Paper: Making Memories
Adhesive: Helmar Super Tac glue
Other: Heidi Swapp letter, KI Memories letter, Making Memories stickers, Li’l Davis Designs ribbon, sequins, beads

I really wanted to show just how gorgeous boys are in this page. I featured soft pink and white and highlighted the bubble theme by sewing on clear and pink beads. Remember that boys often enjoy their bath time just as much as girls do!

Seriously funny
By Jill Geraghty-Groves
Materials
Cardstock: Bazzill
Paper: Prima
Adhesive: Helmar Super Tac glue
Other: Magistical Memories chipboard, American Crafts thickers, LuminArte Twinkling H2O’s paint, Queen & Co flowers, Queen & Co brads, jewels, ribbon

Here I chose vibrant colours and included bright flowers and ribbon to bring out the sense of fun in this little series of photos. Don’t hesitate to put a splash of hot pink or orange into your boy layouts. Boys are vibrant creatures and you should use every tool you have to represent this.

He’s growing up
By Jill Geraghty-Groves
Materials
Cardstock: Bazzill
Paper: Scenic Route Paper Company
Adhesive: Helmar Super Tac glue
Other: Scenic Route Paper Company journalling stickers, Prima flowers, VersaMark Ink, ribbon

‘He’s Growing Up’ shows a (rare) photo of my 13-year-old, ready for his first camp for Cadets. I chose to use natural, earthy colours to portray the event. I even hand-cut the flowers to enhance that feel on the page.