Some days, I feel like scrapbooking but I'm not in the mood to come up with a fresh new design. Also, with the pitter-patter of kids' feet all over our house, I don't have as much time as I used to and I want to make the most of the time that I *do* have. That's when I look for a sketch or a layout I can re-create.
Using a sketch or another scrapbooker's layout for inspiration is *NOT* a revolutionary idea, but I thought I'd do it with a tiny twist. I started with a layout, broke it down into a sketch, then built it back up a layer at a time. I'm hoping my little exercise in reconstruction might spark a little inspiration for you.
My project started out with a great-looking layout at my local scrapbook store. The owner, Sheri Fisher, created the layout and I'm using her design with permission. Thanks, Sheri! Her layout was a lovely mix of rich brown and green with a touch of light pink, but I was thinking Halloween. I took a photo of her layout with my phone and decided to reinterpret it with Boxer's Halloween papers. Gotta love technology! My phone is great for taking pix of little things that inspire me. I even got it out at the dentist's office a few days ago to take a picture of an ad for cosmetic dentistry because it had a great format, LOL!
Once home, I made a sketch of the layout. The basic supply list is - 2 sheets of 12x12 black cardstock for the layout base, 1 sheet of 12x12 purple cardstock for layering, and 2 sheets of Boxer's patterned paper for embellishment. Cut a 1x12 inch strip from the purple paper, then cut it in half to make two 6-inch strips. Then make one more cut on the purple paper, separating it into a 4x11 and a 8x11 piece. Cut black dot paper into two 6x6 squares and set aside the left-overs for cards or another layout. Cut the Halloween paper into two 2x12 strips and one 3x11 strip and set aside the leftovers for cards or another layout. The pieces come together simply and quickly, like this:
From here, there are lots of ways to place your photos. Try a 5x7 on top of the black-dot square on the left side of the layout, leaving room for a title down the side and journaling above the photo. A 4x6 photo fits perfectly on top of the black dot paper on the right side of the layout, with another 4x6 alongside it. And the long purple stripe would be perfect for two 3x5 or three 3x3 photos.
To add a little more oomph to the layout without a lot of extra time, make one more cut to the purple paper. Trim two inches off of the the 4x11 strip to be used as a tag. Round the corners of several (or all) of your papers. It's a quick change, but adds a bit of nice detail.
This would make a totally cute layout just as it is, adding photos and journaling. ...but I can't leave it alone... I'm an inker and a layerer to the core! Here are a few more versions of the layout, playing with more layering and showing a few ideas for photo placement.
Next week, I'll show you how I finished my layout with photos and embellishments. Also, if I can get my first grader to model his Red Power Ranger costume, I'll show just how versatile the same sketch can be with a change of papers, photos and embellishments.
Have a great rest of your weekend - Nancy