Once a month learn how to use scrapbook sketches and adapt them to fit different styles, photo sizes, and themes. Sketches = endless scrapbooking ideas with little effort. Sketches do all the heavy lifting allowing you to have all the fun!
I think out of all the layouts this week, this one was the one I had the most fun creating!
Here's the sketch that I have used as the starting point for each layout this week:
You can also grab the Sketch Support #15 Bonus Sketch Examples!
This month it is a 3-page PDF of 22 different sketch options. That makes 23 sketches for this month of Sketch Support. There are options that show how to change up the papers, use more photos, use less photos, use only 4 x 6" photos, there are three one-page options, and then an 8-1/2 x 11" option. The fun part is that you could use each option as a layout on its own, but you could also mix and match different options for endless possibilities!
Supplies used - Cardstock: Bazzil and American Crafts; Patterned paper and die cuts: Bella Blvd.; Test tube cut files: Bella Blvd. from the Silhouette Design Store; Chipboard alphabet: American Crafts; Alphabet stickers: unknown; Word/phrase stickers: Authentique; Embroidery floss: DMC; Computer font: Avenir Next Condensed
Variation #1 - Using a large photo in place of the background piece.
I love working with large photos! I really lucked out here and happened to have an 8 x 10" photo of my son Drew along with six 3 x 4" photos from a science party he attended. Perfect for this sketch!!
I cropped the 8 x 10" photo to 6 x 8" and used it in place of the background piece on the right page. The biggest adjustment I had to make to accommodate the larger photo was figuring out where to put my title and journaling. I ended up placing them almost exactly as they are, framing the 4 x 6" photo on the sketch.
I mentioned that for my other photos I had all 3 x 4" photos. Three of those showed Drew participating in different experiments so I used all of those for the 3 x 4" photos on the sketch. The three remaining photos were just of him sitting there waiting on experiments so I cropped those down to just his face, which worked out perfectly for the 2 x 2" photos.
Variation #2 - Replacing the strips with a themed element.
When I went through my photos, trying to decided what to use with this sketch, I knew that I wanted to use these photos, but I still hadn't thought of what I wanted to do with this layout. I was fast asleep one night when I woke up and suddenly thought to myself, "I should create test tubes to use for the strips!" Now, I know that I think about creating and scrapbooking a lot, but I had no idea that I was thinking about it while I was sleeping too!
I found a test tube cut file from Bella Blvd. that matched the test tubes on the card that I used. For the test tube I used a gray cardstock and for the contents in each test tube I used cardstock in colors that matched the colors in that Bella Blvd. paper collection. Then to add some texutre, I added a hand-stitched border on each one. For a finishing touch I added some small bubbles on a few of the test tubes.
There are lots of themes that you could play around with to customize those strips. Think about things like:
• trees
• falling leaves, snowflakes, or confetti
• hanging ornaments
• birthday candles
• arrows
• vines with leaves and flowers
You could use horizontal things too like:
• waves
• clouds
• tree branches
• rows of grass
• banners
Variation #3 - Changing elements to fit.
My test tubes are slightly larger than the strips on the sketch and they ended up extending a little further to the left than you see on the sketch. Matched with my 3 x 4" photos, this made things look a little off balanced. I wanted the photos to be as close to centered on the test tubes as possible. While I couldn't change the size of my photos since they were printed as 3 x 4" photos, I could change the size of that card/rectangle piece on the sketch. Thankfully, the collection I used had 4 x 4" cards, which was exactly the size I needed to give me that balance. I love it when things work out like that!
That's all for today! Check back tomorrow for the fourth layout!
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