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Week with Sketches - Day Five

 

Welcome everyone in the last day of my "Week with Sketches" week.

I hope you liked last four days with me, and my sketches were interesting to you. I hope to see some of your layouts made with these sketches, so please, share them here and leave us links in comments.

Today I want you to make layout with a not centered composition. It is good to change something in your style, even if it is only composition of your layout. This sketch has so much potential, try it!

 

So this is sketch #5.

 And here is my LO:

This is my second fave composition right after the centered one. I really like it.

 

There is my other layout with a not centered composition:

 

And here are layouts by Lisa O and Sue with their take on this sketch. 

 Lisa Ottosson:

Lisa said: I went with a muted color scheme for this page. I loved to layer the patterned paper, but actually had my fiancé say where the photo should go! Sometimes I am a bit scared to use many patterns, but going by color they can become more cohesive.

 

Sue Althouse:

Sue altered this sketch by:
1. adding a frame around the entire layout
2. moving the journaling below the title
3. incorporating two visual triangles, one with brown stitching and the other with red stars and hearts

 

We have one last layered template for you, too! You may download it here!

Thank you so much for this week. Have a creative weekend! 

 

Week with Sketches - Day Four

 

Welcome everyone in day 4 of my "week with sketches" week.

I hope you like this week so far! We have only two days left, so  it's high time to start using those sketches.

Today I want to focus on using  lot of circles on your layout. Of course it could be triangles or hexagons,but I like circles so today's sketch has a lot of circles. It could be not only paper circle, you can use enamel dots, badges, brads, or even twine or pencil. Everything will make a great background on your scrap.

 

This is sketch #4.

 

And here is my take: 

  

I used twine to make  a large centered circle. Small circles are from paper, enamel dots and pencil drawings. It was fun!

 

Lisa Ottoson:

Lisa said: Circles are a little challenging for me since I am a pretty linear person when it comes to design. But it is always fun to think outside your box! The photo has lots of different colors, but I picked out yellow and orange for the papers.I wanted to use the circles as embellishments, so I roughed up the edges and added wood veneer hearts to them.

 

 Marnie Flores:

Marnie said: Oh, this sketch was fun! At first I thought it wasn't really me with the circles in the diagonal but then I realized that the diagonal was a linear element and that it was still really structured! I did swap out a couple of the circles for circular elements. Is it okay for me to admit that might have happened by accident when I ran out of coordinating color papers? :) 

 

WaiSam:

Sam said: I have always love the use of repeated shapes on a layout. I am inspired by the circle elements on the sketch than span across the page so I decided to die cut some round doilies and sprinkled them all over the page. 

 

This is very creative sketch, and easy to use. You can use lot of embellishments and patterned paper. If you will use it, please let us know and leave link in comments. If you prefer, you may download a layered template here.

See you tomorrow!

Week with Sketches - Day Three

 

Welcome everyone in day 3 of my "Week with Sketches" week.

I hope you liked the last two sketches, and maybe they inspired you a little..

Today I want to focus on using  bigger scraps of paper on your layout, or using long stripes of paper. Using this, you can create a simple layout but with lots of layers; especially if you use foam dots or stack two strips of paper one on another.

 

This is sketch #3.

 And here is my take: 

 I like using long strips of paper in my scraps. I can use of patterned papers and they still fit so good together. 

 

Here is my other project with similar composition:

 

And there are other girls' interpretations:

Marnie:  

 

Marnie: I loved how the strips of paper add so much color and texture. I am totally going to do this again but go a little more freestyle with varying lengths. I see so much potential!

 

Lisa Ottoson:

 Lisa said: When I first saw this sketch I knew I wanted to make rows of hearts using my watercolors. And so I based my colors from those.

 

Laura O'Donnell: 

 

Diane Payne:

 

As you can see, there are a lot of possibilities as you use these sketches. Please, share your work with us, leaving links in comments. If you prefer, you may download a layered template here.

See you tomorrow!

Week with Sketches - Day Two

 

Welcome everyone to day 2 of my "Week with Sketches" week.

I hope you liked yesterday's sketch, and you are ready for more.

Today I want to focus on using small scraps of paper on your layout. It could be  stripes or cut elements, paper embellishments, buttons, stickers etc. They can make a great layer to your photo.

 

 

This is sketch #2.

 And here is my take: 

 I cut all these feathers from patterned paper and sewed it together on my layout.  I like to make this on my projects.

 

My other projects with similar composition:

 

 This is Jennie's layout:

Jennie: I was excited to work with this sketch, as it's a style I am used to. However, the one photo was a little different for me -- and I was excited to see how it would turn out.

 

Amy Sorensen:

 

Amy said:  Since I went with a larger photo on my layout (I used a 5x7), I decided to flip the three rectangle shapes on the right. This let me use a few scraps of snowflake paper I had left over from another layout. My favorite thing about this sketch was the jagged lines of the journaling; I love displaying journaling in different ways.

 

WaiSam:

Sam said: Love love love the horizontal grid on the layout. So I line up the three instagram photos by following the sketch. I love how I could incorporate 3 photos into one layout to document about my current obsession - crochet amigurumi (making stuffed dolls). I switched the title of the layout to the top of the horizontal grid, it is just a tiny title type with my vintage typewrite.

 

As you can see this is very fun, versatile sketch, and easy to use. If you will use it, please let us know and leave link in comments. If you prefer, you may download a layered template here.

See you tomorrow!

Week with sketches - Day One

 

 

Hello everyone, Monika here. Welcome in a first day of  "Week with Sketches" week. I'd like to  invite you to spend with me five days on this blog, and I will show you some sketches with layouts made with them. I hope that you will find the sketches inspirational and useful. 

 

So let's start.

For every beginner, but also for those who have been scrapping for years, a sketch is always a good way to find quick inspiration. It's a great way to make a layout when you don't have an idea how to start, or how to compose a page.

On the internet you can find a lot of sketches, challenge blogs etc, but in this week, I will show you sketches prepared by me, with  compositions I like the most. I also asked girls from WCS DT to make some layouts based on those sketches.

 

Here is sketch No.1.

When you have more than one photo, or you have a short story to tell, but don't want to make an album with that, the first sketch is just for you!

You can use two smaller photos, or even three (as I did). It's good to built some layers, do some sewing and splatters with ink or paint.

 

This is my take on this sketch:

I like to scrap more than one photo, especially when they tell a short story. Here I used papers and dies from 4heures37 and made layers with them. I made splatters with mist inks.

 

There is  my other project made with similar composition:

 

 

This is Jennie's layout.

Jennie says: This style of sketch, with more than one photo in a strip -- is exactly my style. However, with the elements running along the bottom of the page, it changes up the look immensely!

 

And Marnie's layout:

Marnie says: This was a fun sketch! I liked having everything along the bottom. I actually think it gives the photos more prominence than if they were across the middle!

As you can see this is very fun sketch, and easy to use. If you will use it, please let us know and leave link in comments. If you prefer, you may download a layered template here.

See you tomorrow!

Sunday Photo + Words

In Review

As January draws to a close, we are diving back into our January gallery, The Times, for one last chance to be wowed, and to be inspired to better our pages through journaling, photography, and design. Please, won't you join us?

 

Journaling prompts are often the fastest start to a layout. Nothing like a good story to drive a page forward. We thought these six layouts had terrific ideas for journaling. 

2013 | Aliza Deutsch

12 x 12 | materials cardstock (Bazzill Basics Paper) + patterned paper (My Mind’s Eye, Cocoa Daisy) + enamel dots (My Mind’s Eye, Freckled Fawn) + brads (My Mind’s Eye) + thickers (Maya Road) + wood veneer (Cocoa Daisy) + embossing powder (Ranger) + flowers (Fancy Pants) + fonts (Linenstroke)

Do you ever think to yourself, "How did I get here?" As time goes by, we are still our same old selves but yet, the mirror shows someone else. Take a moment to journal about the growing up/old and how it makes you feel.

 

 

Current Slang | Lisa Ottosson

8.5 x 11 | materials patterned paper (BasicGrey Persimmon A+B side, Jillibean Soup Cold Avocado Soup) + font (Blackout, Veteran Typewriter)

Our language is constantly evolving. Pages like these are fun to look back on, as we tend to forget what was current as time eeks by. Might we suggest you enlist the aid of the teenagers in your homes? They are great at knowing all the hip slang. Though chances are they won't call it "hip slang!"

 

 

Top Headlines | Marnie Flores

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Creativity by Crystal, BasicGrey) + fonts (Engravers MD, Amertype MD)

Lists like this are easier than ever with the help of google. No longer do we need to rely upon our memories! This time of year, though, several news sites have lists compiled from which you can pick and choose headlines that matter to you.

 

Currently | Lisa Ottosson

8.5 x 11 | materials patterned paper (Cocoa Daisy Haystack A+B side) + stamp (Rukristin.com, Cocoa Daisy)

Some of our teams most favorite layouts are those that document the here and now. These are great pages for teens and selfies alike.

 

 

2013 Year in Review | Valerie O'Neall

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (My Mind's Eye) + cardstock (American Crafts) + brads, buttons, enamel dots & shapes (My Mind's Eye) + pen (Copic) + fonts (Howser, cut with Silhouette Cameo)

Get out your timer. Set it for two minutes. Now take a moment to think back through your year. Make a list of 20 things you remember from 2013. Once your two minutes are up, get a new paper and start over. Sometimes it is tricky to get started, so the second list is helpful. If you are stumped, spend some time with your 2013 photos and then make a list. Or make a list of 12 things, coordinating with the months of the year. Or gather round the table as a family and make a list together!

 

Binge Watching | Marnie Flores

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (BasicGrey) + fonts (Century Gothic, Seaside, Bebas)

Have you changed the way to watch tv or listen to music lately? We have moved from tv to cable to dvr to netflix/hulu. These changes in technology, or how the changes affect you, are important to how we live our lives. Thus making it a terrific starting point for a layout!

 

The gallery was filled with well shot photos but we felt like the photos on these layouts were additionally inspiring.

 

What We Watched | Sue Althouse

12 x 12 | materials cardstock (Bazzill) + patterned paper (Pebbles) + thickers (American Crafts) + ink (Jenni Bowlin) + stickers (Pebbles) + Epoxy Letters (My MInd's Eye) + typewriter (Remington)

When I think of screen shot I think of my computer screen. But Sue smartly took a shot of her tv screen to capture these images. Which gave the added bonus of a consistent black border in all her shots. Such a smart way of getting the images you need to document your favorite shows.

 

 

Decades | Jennifer Larson

12 x 12 | materials cardstock (Bazzill) + patterned paper (Studio Calico, Echo Park) + buttons (My Mind's Eye) + die cuts (Heidi Swapp) + thickers (Heidi Swapp) + punch (EK Success) + circle cutter (Coluzzle) + stickers (7Gypsies, My Little Shoebox) + pen (American Crafts) + ink (Jenni Bowlin, Stampin’ Up!) + floss (DMC) + stamp (Studio Calico) + font (Times New Roman)

Pick three decades. Find a representative photo. Then start your layout! Easy as that!

 

instalunch | Laura O'Donnell

12 x 12 | materials digital template (Valorie Wibbens Stitched Pockets #6) + digital cards (Gina Miller Insta-Cards 1) + font (Print Clearly)

Food is a huge part of our lives. Either making it, eating it (or avoiding it!). Our phones are the perfect cameras for foodie photos. A design such as this will mask the limited quality and allow the subjects to shine.

 

 

2013 In Review | Cristina C. Scrap

12 x 12 | materials cardstock (American Crafts) + stickers (Studio Calico) + alpha (American Crafts) + wash tape (Studio Calico) + adhesives (Zig 2 way glue) + stamps (Studio Calico) + ink (Versafine Tsukineko) + embossing powder (American Crafts) + heat gun + stencil (Amy Tangerine for Studio Calico) + thread

Cristina's layout is good to remind us that we need to get in our photos. With our beloved. Or without. But get in our photos!!!

 

I Give Up | Francine Clouden

12 x 12 | materials cardstock (Bazzill Basics Paper) + patterned paper (Studio Calico) + spray ink (Kesi’Art, Studio Calico) + journal card (Jenni Bowlin) + wood veneer (Studio Calico) + chipboard stickers (October Afternoon) + stickers (October Afternoon, Provo Craft, Sasafrass Lass) + stamps (Kesi’Art, Label Tulip) + sequins

Here is another screen shot, not of the computer screen! This one is Francine's phone. Showing her favorite books. For all the reasons we love Pinterest with its visual lists, a shot like this truly is worth a thousand words!

 

Every Time | Amy Sorensen

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (scraps from my green drawer) + alphabet stickers (American Crafts) + background stamp (Close to my Heart) + fonts (Sanchez Slab, Foro Rounded)

Siblings love one another so much. And then they grow up. They still love one another. But are afraid to show it. Or say it.

Little kids loe having their photos taken. And then they grow up. They still want to have photos. But are afraid to ask. Or say that they love it.

So growing up sibling photos are a double whammy of fun. So know it might not be well received. But also know, in the end, much appreciated.

 

 

This month's gallery provided myriad templates to follow for layouts, but also included so many many ideas for making great pages. Here are a few layouts/ideas we wanted to highlight for you.

 

Nook Lover | Celeste Smith

Celeste's layout is a study in the use of coordinating papers. Companies work hard to create lines with perfectly proportioned and balanced pattern scale. Then they select colors that work beautifully together. So let them do all the hard work. And then just sit back and enjoy the easiness of putting a layout together using a few or a plenty!

 

 

Moments | Stephanie Bryan

12 x 12 | cardstock (American Crafts) + patterned paper (Studio Calico, American Crafts) + labels (Studio Calico, Carta Bella, Two Peas in a Bucket) + mists (Heidi Swapp) + stickers (Carta Bella, Webster's Pages) + clothespin (Crate Paper) + other (doily, crepe paper, sewing machine)

Do you see Stephanie's stamp just above her title? See the three colors? What a great way to use a stamp. Paint the inks on with your pen and stamp a multicolored image. So much more fun to look at, no?

 

 

Thirty Years| Jina Jean

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (October Afternoon, Gossamer blue, Studio Calico) + metal badges (October Afternoon) + wood die cuts (BasicGrey, Dear Lizzy, Studio Calico) + die cut shapes (Studio Calico)+ sticker (Pink Paislee, Dear Lizzy) + tag (Dear Lizzy) + cork (Studio Calico)

Now and then. A fun idea for photo comparisons. Look at the similarities in Jina's photos. What a sweet thing to identify and then discuss. And it allows for a giant ampersand to be a part of the layout! A lovely layout in every way.

 

Hello | WaiSam Ho

12 x 12 | materials cardstock (American Crafts) + patterned paper (Chic Tags, Carta Bella, Studio Calico, Heidi Swapp) + mists (Heidi Swapp) + stickers, embellishments (Carta Bella, My Mind's Eye, Prima Marketing Inc.) + stamps (Kellie Stamps) + inks (Hero Arts) + miscellaneous (washi tape, gesso, doily, ribbon, twine, sewing machine)

See the doily? See how it's pink? A little mist here and a little mist there and you can change an embellishement to be jsut he color you need it to be!

 

 

2013 | Kate Christensen

12 x 12 | digital materials paper (Favorite Things by Gennifer Bursett; Iconic by Audacious Designs) + buttons (Abundance by Dawn by Design) + stitching (Bare + Necessities No.2 by creashens; Once Upon an Imagination by Allison Pennington) + tags (Washi Tags by Gennifer Bursett; Simply Said by Gennifer Bursett) + flowers (Let's Go by Scotty Girl Design) + mist (A Wonderful Day by Sahlin Studio) + sequins (Torquay by Kaye Winiecki Designs) + fonts (Rad Alphas by Karla Dudley; Traveling Typewriter)

Tags and washi tape. Two little items that together make an embellishment with a big impact. And allow for your journaling to take a place of prominence on your layout. So it doesn't get lost when it matters!

 

What Does the Fox Say? | Diane Payne

8.5 x 11 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, Webster Pages) + flair (Freckled Fawn) + paper clip (Freckled Fawn) + wood veneer (Studio Calico) + mist (Heidi Swapp) + stickers (Freckled Fawn, Studio Calico) + ink (Jenni Bowlin) + pen (American Crafts)

One of the bonuses of scrapbooking current photos is that trendy embellishments are available. Try to base a page around an iconic trendy element. Just like Diane's fox. Mmm good.

 

 

A Moment's Peace | Amy Coose

12 x 12 | materials cardstock (Bazzill) + patterned paper (Studio Calico) + thickers (American Crafts) + tags (Chic Tags) + stickers (Skipping 5) + wood veneer (Studio Calico)+ pen (American Crafts

Cool titles are cool. Let's follow Amy's example and find a word in some patterned paper. Or use varying shades to create an ombre title. (If you don't have varied letters, you could create some with mist...)

 

That's it! We hope you enjoyed our gallery this month and we look forward to seeing you next Saturday for our brand new one!

Keep Warm day 5: Places

It's Jennifer Larson again, finishing up a week where, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, we totally needed warm pages. We're ending the week looking at pages that celebrate warm places.

 

This is a favorite place for us when we go home to Maine: Acadia National Park. We love the Ocean Path.

Laura O'Donnell also scrapped a vacation spit with this gorgeous page about Cape May.

I love spending time in my garden. Is there an around-the-house place you tend to go in summer?

Our family as a tradition goes to Minnehaha Park. Are there any parks you tend to go to as a family?

Como Park is a great local summertime treat here in Minnesota. What local places do you like to go to?

If you are in a place as cold as I am in right now, is there any place you'd rather be than the beach? Diane Payne did a perfect job scrapping the cool waters and warm sands.

Like the beach, the pool pairs the cool water with the warmth outside. Marnie Flores scrapped some lovely pages remembering time spent at the pool.

Sue Althouse scrapped another vacation spot--a drier, warmer place--and her colors and products match the envirnment perfecty.

Amy Sorensen scrapped a magnificent page here: if your photos are stunning like they are in Amy's layout, let them take center stage. Enlarge them and embellish them very little.

Thank you so much for visiting the blog this week! I hope it gave you ideas on using scrapbooking to keep warm.

 

Keep Warm day 4: Activities

It's Jennifer Larson again. Another frigid day in the Northern hemisphere, so we need some warm subjects to scrap about, this time warm weather activities. Here's some pages:

My one summer being a soccer mom, I had to scrap. Here I am at night watching my boy play.

We like to run 5K's as a family, though mostly in the fall. Here we ran a 5K at the Minnesota Zoo in August to raise money for the tigers. (My son was interested in knowing if the tigers would chase us through the zoo, LOL!)

Minnesota has so many fun outdoor events in the summer; here I scrapped my son doing one of his favorite activities, rides at the state fair. With his arms in the air, of course.

 

I've posted this page before. Remember when the lakes were in a liquid state, not solid? Sigh.

Here we are walking thorugh my favorite summer outing, the Landscape Arboretum.

More summer activities: visiting the outdoor ball park.

Laura O'Donnell scrapped the start of fall sports in summer in the Project Life spread.

Swimming at the pool and the beach...what a terrific summer activity! Laura scrapped many photos on this Project Life spread. I am amazed at how good her pool photos look. Mine are never so sharp!

Here Marnie Flores also shares some summer pool time. One can never have enough water in its liquid form...

Thank you for shring in these warm summer activities! Tomorrow we round out the week by taking you to warm places...

 

Keep Warm day 3: Seasons

Jennifer Larson again with a confession: I don't always scrap current photos, especially in the winter. On a day like yesterday when it gets up to -4 degrees Fahrenheit, I want to scrap summer photos.  Here's some warm summer pages to take you to a warmer place:

Few things are more relaxing than just sitting around outdoors, even with mosquitoes.

Marnie Flores' page depicts a summer outfit and a funny story--can you scrap the two?

Little boys fishing with grandpa is another priceless memory.

Here's one that's personal: every time we depart on a trip in the summer, we say, "And away we go!" like my Grandpa used to say. This photo of him next to Niagara Falls inspired this page.

In the summer we have a tradition of making tie dye shirts--this time we scrapped our wacko tie dyed zombie hands. Have you scrapped summer traditions outside of vacations recently?

Marnie scrapped some summer events--trust me, the best time to relive these warm memories is in January! What event from the summer have you not yet scrapped?

I love the title of Diane Payne's page. Take the title "Hello Summer" and pick your favorite photos from last summer to scrap.

Laura O'Donnell did one of my favorite scrapbooking things: she took a terrific photo and enlarged it, pairing it with bright colors to evoke the spirit of summer. When is the last time you enlarged the heck out of a photo? Do it!

Thanks for reliving summer on this coldest of days in the Northern Hemisphere! More warm subjects coming...