So if you've been following along so far this week, you've made a list, decided on three or four layouts to make, written all the journaling, and picked out photos to use. Today I'm going to show you the first way I got four layouts done in a really short amount of time (I think I spent less than three hours total on all four).
Look back at those older layouts you pulled out on Monday that you really love. One of the easiest ways to get three or four layouts done in short order is to base them all on the same same basic design. Remember this layout I posted Monday?
This was a fairly quick layout with a clean, basic design. I knew I could use this as an inspiration piece to base some new layouts off of - keeping some things the same and changing other things up each time. I wanted to make at least one “personality” type layout for each of my four kids. And I had snapshots of each of them I’d taken on an outing a few months before. I printed one 4x6 and one wallet of each of the kids, and set to work making four layouts, each based on the same basic design at the one above.
I decided to stick with white cardstock for the background on each of these layouts to make them as simple to create as possible. I started with a few pieces of patterned paper and one piece of coordinating cardstock for each layout, then just started moving things around on the paper until I found a basic layout I liked for each of the four different pages.
Once I figured out the basic layout it was time to add journaling. Since I already had the journaling typed out in a word document, it was easy to copy and paste into a new word document and format a text box where I wanted the journaling to go. I printed the journaling and adhered the photos and paper blocks.
Next I added a title, using letter stickers on most of these layouts. Finally, I tried to add one more small embellishment—either a rubon or a piece of fabric tape or a chipboard arrow. Nothing fancy, just something to add a little extra interest since the general layout was so basic.
I was able to complete all four of these layouts in just a couple of days (that means just a couple of 1.5 hour naptime installments). Yes, they look similar, but that’s what made them so easy! And if I don’t file them right next to each other in my album, no one will even notice the similarities. And if I do file them right next to each other the similarities will look intentional—like a little mini album right in the middle of my normal scrapbook layouts.
So today, find an older layout you love that’s fairly simple, and see how many times you can copy it and tweak it - I promise that getting three or four layouts done at once will definitely jumpstart your scrapbooking.
Check back tomorrow for jumpstart your scrapbooking, take 2!
