I think sketches are a great way to jump start your scrapbooking layouts. While I don't always follow sketches to the exact detail, I love how a good sketch can inspire lots of different layouts by focusing on one or more elements and bringing them to life in a new layout. Creative Scrappers recently started up their sketch challenges again and I played along for
Sketch 252. Here's the sketch:
I love so many individual elements in this sketch: paper strips, triangle, chevrons, and the photo cluster. I repeated these elements in my layout. Here's my take:
For this layout, I layered a trimmed down sheet of white grid paper from Bella Blvd on top of a blue sheet of plain cardstock. I used several strips and patterned paper pieces from Bella Blvd's "Trick or Treat" Halloween collection to create layers at the bottom of the page. Obviously, I did not follow the sketch exactly. I liked the idea of 4 square photos in the middle of the page - so I focused on that element, cropping my photos to 4x4s and arranging them in the center. You can see that I also used the layered strips idea, but changed the direction and location of them on the page - mostly because my photos are much larger than what the original sketch called for and the strips would have been lost behind the photos, so I created the cluster of elements to the bottom right. Additional elements that I pulled from the sketch include the use of triangles (loving them lately) and the chevron element (represented by the colorful chevron borders I fussy cut and the small file "Today is Candy Day" element). I love how this layout focuses on the photos, yet has plenty of room to highlight awesome papers. Do you enjoy sketches? Check out
Creative Scrappers - you still have time to join in the fun!
This weekend I was inspired by the current sketch on the Creative Scrappers blog. They always have wonderful sketches and contributions from their design team and others, but I don't always get a chance to play along. When I needed a sketch this weekend to jump start my scrap time, I got on their blog to see the current sketch. I liked all the layers in this sketch, so I incorporated that element in my layout especially. I used a 4x6 photo instead of the square and turned things around a bit. I reached for my stack of Heidi Swapp papers and embellishments (from her "Dreamy" line) - the water color feel and cool beach-y colors are perfect for the layout. I added some black borders which help ground and highlight some of the layers. The embellishment pack included these great doodle stars, which I think look a little like starfish.
