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!
With my day #2 layout I went theme heavy and made some big changes!
Here's the sketch that I have used as the starting point for each layout this week:
You can also grab the Sketch Support #23 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: American Crafts; Patterned paper: Simple Stories, Echo Park, and unknown; Glitter paper: unknown; Foam "celebrate": Simple Stories; Alphabet stickers: Echo Park; Chipboard balloons: BasicGrey; Word/phrase stickers: Simple Stories; Star punch: Recollections; Flame cut file: Echo Park from the Silhouette Design Store #77963; Embroidery floss: DMC; Computer font: Century Gothic
Variation #1 - Using vertical strips in place of the background & making the background a themed element.
Anytime I'm using a sketch multiple times and I see a large background piece I'm always thinking of the different ways I can break that up into smaller pieces for a completely different look. My go-to ideas usually involve strips, squares, hexagons or other smaller more theme specific shapes like hearts, stars, flowers, etc.
For this layout I went with vertical 1" strips and to take it even further, I decided to incorporate the theme of my layout into that background design by turning those strips into birthday candles.
Turning strips into candles is something I do often with birthday layouts. They are so easy to make and customize from big to small or simple to elaborate. The base design of my large candles is very simple. I used a 1 x 8" vertical strip, added a stitched line for the wick, and a flame that I cut on my Silhouette.
Anytime I have a background of lots of strips I like to add some stitching to it in some form. My usual go-to is a simple stitched line or border. However, since I turned those strips into birthday candles I decided to use stitching that enhanced that element by adding a border and slanted lines. This took A LOT of time, but I'm so glad I did it because I love the end result.
Now, drawing the slanted lines looks like it might be time consuming as well, but I used a method that was super simple and it really didn't take long at all. I used my Omnigrid ruler and instead of drawing the lines on each strip one by one, I was able to draw over multiple strips at once. I'll demonstrate in the YouTube video on Friday so you can get a visual of what I mean.
Variation #2 - Using a number in place of the large heart.
I always love designs that use a large shape and I knew right away with this sketch that one of the changes I wanted to make was replacing that heart with a different shape or themed design.
I was torn between creating a large birthday cake or using a large number 13. I eventually decided to go with the number mostly because it was the more simple of the two options. I had already decided to go with a lot of detail for that background with the birthday candle strips and I thought the cake might be a little too much. Mostly because I'm a stitching addict and I would have wanted to stitch a lot of detail on it as well.
That large heart on this sketch is really easy to change up and customize to different themes. You could easily swap out the heart for a large...
• circle
• scalloped circle
• square
• hexagon
• wreath die cut
• star
• large word/phrase die cut
• really any large die cut design
There are so many possibilities with that area of the sketch! And, because there are only two photos on that side of the layout with the large heart, you can really work in some detailed large die cuts or designs that won't be covered up with lots of elements.
Variation #3 - Changing elements to better fit the theme.
Instead of using hearts for my embellishment clusters and to better coordinate with the birthday theme, I used balloons, glitter stars, and word/phrase stickers.
Variation #4 - Using different photo sizes and amount of photos.
With this set of photos I had five 4 x 4" photos. The good thing is that the 4" height is the exact same as the height of the 3 x 4" photos on the sketch so I didn't have to make any adjustments there. The biggest difference is that I wouldn't be using as many photos as there are on the sketch. I would have to use one less. However, that worked out just fine since I only had five photos.
In place of the 4 x 6" photo, I ended up cropping my 4 x 4" photo down to 3 x 4" to help it better fit with the large number 13.
Variation #5 - Moving elements to better fit.
Originally I had planned on placing my last 4 x 4" (the one that would replace the 4 x 6" photo) in the same spot as the sketch. But, I just really didn't like the way it covered the three. I felt like it made it harder to see that it was a 3. An easy solution was to simply move the photo over to the left edge covering the 1 instead and then using the open space of the 3 for my journaling.
That's all for today! Come back tomorrow to see my day #3 layout!
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