Floral Anchor Layout

Hello Again! It’s Misty here on the blog today, sharing another 12×12 layout. Spring is in the air here in Texas, and all the flowers are beginning to grow tiny little buds and will soon be in full bloom. Walking through the Houston Airport heading to and from work each day, I don’t get to see many live blooms… but I do get to see hundreds of billboards and advertisements…some of which give me inspiration for my layouts. This layout that I created today is a perfect example.
I was passing the “Cruise Shuttle” desk, and happened to notice their new advertisement. It was a ship of course, but had an anchor covered with tropical flowers…and said something like…”Join us as we drop anchor in a tropical paradise” or something silly like that. The slogan did not catch my attention…the beautiful floral covered anchor sure did though! I knew I had to try to work it into a layout somehow…and so I did. This layout displays a photo of my husband and I, walking hand in hand on a pier. It was one of our “Engagement Announcement” photos that we took…and I thought it would be perfect to be showcased in the center of this anchor. He is truly my Anchor when Life throws it’s storms at me.

Here is are the quick links to the Cut Card Stock products used in this layout:
Anchor: Curious Metallic Galvanized
Silver Glitter Card Stock
Flowers: Curious Metallic Ink
Curious Metallic Rose Gold
Basis Light Yellow
Basis Olive
12 x 12 Wedding Cake White

I used my Cricut to cut out all of the pieces of my layout… 3 different types and colors of flowers, the leaves, the anchor, the chain, and my title. I did ink a few of the lighter colors to add texture, but I did nothing to the Ink colored cardstock at all. I simply layered the various sizes of flowers, gluing them together in the centers. When it was all dry, I separated the petals and used a paper piercer to roll and curl the petals to add depth.

Once I had my flowers assembled, I added some color and texture to the 12 x 12 Wedding Cake White to prep it for for the background. I used sprays, paints, Nuvo drops and glossy accents to splatter, spray and splash a “water effect” onto the background. Once It dried, I layed my anchor on it and tossed in the flowers, just to see how it would look…would it be as perfect as i imagined it?
Well…I was happy with this, and nothing was even glued down yet! ** Yes, I always assemble my layouts without gluing anything down so that I can see if I like it, and be able to make changes where needed.
I knew this was going in the exact direction that I wanted, so I added my photo… I simply placed the anchor on top of the photo and traced around the outside edges of the circle where the photo would go. I hand cut my picture and glued the anchor on to it.

Once I assembled everything…I did as I always do…and added MORE! LOL That was when I decided to cut the top layer of the chain with the Silver Glitter Card Stock and add it into the mix. I love how it POPS off of the Curious Metallic Galvanized Anchor!
The last thing I did was to add the distressing to the corners of the white and add in the color corners with the scraps from my cardstock. Yes…These are actual scraps of cardstock pieced together to make the corners!

Once I had everything set and in place, I slapped on the simplest title ever…but one that has MAJOR significance. He is definitely “My Anchor”. This crazy old Texas Mama has a tendency to get a little bit moody and depressed when I think of my son that has passed away…or loud and mouthy when I have a strong opinion of something. I also tend to have super high expectations, and a low level of tolerance for reckless behavior, laziness, etc. My husband helps me to maintain balance, and he keeps my grounded when I want to fly off the handle. LOL. I also tend to give credit where credit is due!
Thank you for stopping by today! I hope I have inspired you to get crafty today in some way. If so, Head on over to the Cut Card Stock Store to pick up your cardstock to make your own Anchor project!

Other items used:
various colors of inks
pearl centers for flowers
jute rope
real mini dried starfish (*left over from Wedding projects)