I had every intention of following this sketch very closely when I first saw it.  I love a grid as a page foundation and they translate really well from a 12x12 into a 6x8  album.

As I started to build my page though I kept thinking about the 2x2 square page protectors I have in my stash and a new direction came to me.

I opted to use that rather than a page base, and it opened up for me to have some shaker pockets instead of ink splatters.

I am REALLY happy with the way this project turned out.  I am using the new "Happy Day" collection from Traci Reed Designs.  I have ALOT of birthday stories to tell and am going to use this collection for all of them. As this project will introduce the next few in my daughter's album I wanted to set the scene of the birthday theme AND the collection.  I think it does that nicely!