First Day of High School

Published on April 13, 2026April 13, 2026 by Michele Jutrisa

Hi and welcome to my blog.

On the weekend—when I really should have been doing so many other things—I decided to spend some time scrapbooking instead. I have quite a pile of photos sitting in my craft room that I’ve been meaning to do something with, and tucked in amongst them were some “First Day of High School” photos.

There are photos of Aaron and the other boys, but theirs will have to wait for another day.

Today, I’m sharing Aaron’s FIRST DAY of Year 7—the start of his high school journey. No longer a little boy, but those very first steps into becoming a young man.

How did this page come together…

This page took me two days to complete… and it definitely challenged me! Sometimes you just need to walk away and come back later, it looked so much better the next day.

There’s not a lot of colour in the photos—apart from Joe’s bright shirt, and he isn’t the main focus—so I really wanted to create something bright and bold to bring the page to life. But no matter what I tried, nothing seemed to do the photos justice.

In the end, I decided to pull out some black and white papers from my stash and pair them with a few colourful designs to create a balanced look. The papers I chose are from the Beautiful Ordinary Life Designer Series Paper (a little sneak peek from the new May–August catalogue), along with a couple of sheets from a recently retired pack Lovely Garden DSP.

At last I worked it out…

I cut five strips measuring 5 x 29cm(2 x 11½”) and tore some of the edges before inking them with Pecan Pie Ink. Adhering them together first allowed me to move the piece around easily until I found the perfect placement.

From the DSP, I pulled out three key colours—Daffodil Delight, Lost Lagoon, and Timid Tiger—to build a fun, vibrant background. I added texture using a mask from my stash (from another supplier), which worked perfectly with the overall theme. A few splatters of Pretty Peacock ink helped tie everything together and subtly balance the blue in Joe’s t-shirt.

Each photo was matted in Willow White, with the main focal photo given an additional larger mat. I added a torn edge along the right-hand side for a bit of extra texture and interest, also ink around the edges (lightly).

To embellish the page, I created some playful stars using the Swirled Designs Dies (now in the Last Chance Products) in Basic Black and Pretty Peacock Two-Tone Cardstock, creating 3 embellishment clusters around the page.

For the title, I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut lettering in Basic Black and White Willow. Finally, I added a stamped and die-cut tag using the Border in Beauty Bundle (another sneak peek from the new May–August catalogue ) to highlight the date and complete the layout.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my Blog. I hope you have enjoyed my projects & that you’re inspired to get crafty!

If you’re in Australia and need help with your crafting needs and don’t have a Demonstrator, I’d love to assist you. Feel free to reach out to me at 0408868771 or michele@jutrisa.com. Cheers!