Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Sketch Week, Day 2

I'm triple excited for today's post! There are not one, not even two, but three layouts today! This is a great day in Sketch Week History!

To see how Katrina and Lynette used the June free sketch to create their layouts click on the links below:

Katrina Hunt

Lynette Jacobs

Yesterday was Download Day so there are new sketches in the Scrapbook Generation online store. Be sure to go grab the June free sketch. The free sketch is the same sketch that I am using as a starting point for all my layouts this week. Check out this post from yesterday to see the other sketches that were added to the online store.

Scrapbook Generation's June Free Sketch
* you can download by clicking here
"Go Springfield Cards"

Supplies - Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: Fancy Pants Designs, Echo Park, and Simple Stories; Alphabets: American Crafts (Go, cardinals) and October Afternoon (Springfield); Die cuts: Fancy Pants Designs; Embroidery floss: DMC
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I think I am becoming slightly predictable with these one-page sketches. I seem to be following the pattern of day 1 - one-page layout, day 2 - two-page layout! While I do like creating one-page layouts I have to admit (it's no secret really) that I love two-page layouts!
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I also love creating two-page layouts from a one-page sketch. There are many, many different ways to do it and you can make a one-page sketch work for any two-page layout.
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Variation #1 - To create a two-page layout I followed the sketch pretty closely for my right page. The biggest adjustment I made was extending the largest background (the one furthest back) to go all the way to the left edge of the page. I did this to help connect both pages as a two-page layout.
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On the left page I created a photo block that has the same height of the background paper on the left page. This is one of the easiest ways to use a one-page sketch for a two-page layout! Just simply make a block/collage of photos for the second page and leave all the details and design for the other page. You could even cover the second, added page with just photos and add a few small embellishments to tie it to the first page.

Variation #2 - I used larger photos in place of the three photos on the sketch.  Since they are larger than the sketch suggests and I wanted to turn the sketch into a two-page layout, I moved the photos to the left.

I had a mix of normal pictures and Instagram pictures that I wanted to use together on the layout. The Instagram pictures were perfect for the sketch and the added frame filled in for the photo mats on the sketch. I also mixed in two more Instagram pictures on the left page. I use my camera phone and Instagram a lot for the more everyday type of photos. Especially for pictures of me and the boys! With my big camera I am rarely in the photos but with my phone camera I can easily snap a shot of me with the boys. 

Variation #3 - I moved the title and embellishments around a little to accommodate what I wanted to use. 


For the most part it follows the sketch but because of the smaller space left with using large photos I didn't have as much room to work with. I went without the embellishments below the title.

Be sure to check back on Friday to see the last layout of Sketch Week!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Download Day and a Sneak Peek of Katrina's Layout!

If it's the third Tuesday of the month, that means it's download day! Be sure to go grab the free sketch that I'm using for Sketch Week this month. You can find all the new sketches in the Scrapbook Generation Online Store. Here's a look at the new sketches I have for this month.


Boys/Father's Day Bundle - $10.00
Includes: 6 two-page boy themed sketches, 6 one-page boy themed sketches, 4 boy themed cards, 5 boy embellishment ideas/sketches, boy/father titles, boy/father quotes

You can purchase the Boys/Father's Day Bundle by clicking here. (While these sketches are geared towards a boy theme they can be very easily adapted to fit any theme.)

Individual Sketch #1 - 49¢
A one-page sketch perfect for use with 6 x 6 paper pads. The sketch has three 2-1/2 x 3-1/2" photos with one 6 x 6" square with 6" strips for the background and is accented with hearts.

You can purchase by clicking here.

Individual Sketch #2 - 49¢
A two-page sketch. There are two 3 x 5" photos, two 6 x 4" photos, and one 4 x 2" photo with squares, large title block and large journaling block accented with stars.

You can purchase by clicking here.

Sketch Trio - $1.29
Three two-page sketches from a popular Allison Davis class held at a Scrapbook Generation event. The first sketch two 3 x 3" photos, one 3 x 2" photos, six 2 x 2" photos, one 6 x 4" photo, one 4 x 4" photo, and one 4 x 6" photo with lots of vertical strips behind a title block and journaling block. The second sketch has five 3 x 4" photos and two 6 x 4" photos with several vertical strips, a large title block and accented with arrows. The third sketch has five 3 x 3" photos, one 4 x 6" photo, one 3 x 4" photo, and one 6 x 4" photo with lots of banner pieces.

You can purchase by clicking here.

Four Pack - $1.79
Four new two-page sketches that all feature 6 photos. The first sketch features six 3-1/2 x 5" photos with several horizontal strips, large journaling space and heart accents. The second sketch has three 2-1/2 x 2-1/2" photos, one 7 x 5" photo, one 4 x 4" photo, and one 3/4" photo and has a large background, vertical strips and is accented with stars and stitching. The third sketch has six 4 x 4" photos with several vertical strips, a banner, and accented with stars. The fourth sketch has four 4 x 3" photos and two 4 x 6" photos with a large background, banner pieces, and is accented with hearts and a camera.

You can purchase by clicking here.

Be sure to grab the new free sketch! The same one-page sketch that I'm using as my starting point during Sketch Week. 

Free one-page sketch - you can download by clicking here.

You can also check out previous sketches by visiting my downloadables page.

Katrina sent me a few sneak peek pictures of her layout that I can't wait to share with you! Katrina never fails to surprise me with what she does with the sketch. She always has a creative way to make the sketch her own and she is the queen of layers! Here's a little peek at what she'll be posting on her blog tomorrow!




Lynette will be posting her layout tomorrow too! (How awesome is that? Three Sketch Week layouts in one day!) I'm so anxious to see what Lynette has created. For those of you that love two-page layouts, Lynette creates beautiful two-page layouts. And, she doesn't stop there, she also does wonderful one-page layouts!

Tomorrow is going to be a great Sketch Week Day! 

Monday, June 17, 2013

Sketch Week, Day 1

Sketch Week! I always love it when this week arrives!

This month I'm so happy to tell you that Katrina Hunt and Lynette Jacobs, both past Sketch Support Creative Team members, will be joining in on the Sketch Week fun. They have both created layouts based on the free sketch for this month and will be posting their layouts on their blog. I'll post a link here when they post their layouts or you can check out their blogs: Katrina and Lynette.

If you are new to Sketch Week here's a little run down of how it works:

Each month I'll be using the free download sketch that you can find in the Scrapbook Generation online store. (On the third Tuesday of the month we introduce a bunch of new sketches both as individuals and as groups of sketches that you can download for a small price. We also offer a free sketch each month. I'll post all information for the new June downloads tomorrow.) Today you are getting an advanced look at the free sketch since it is the sketch I'm using for Sketch Week.

This month the free download is a one-page sketch.


Scrapbook Generation's Free June Sketch
*available for download on Tuesday, June 18

 
"Flowers For Mommy"


 Supplies - Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye; Alphabets: American Crafts (flowers, mommy) and October Afternoon (for); Chipboard: My Mind's Eye; Word stickers: My Mind's Eye; Embroidery floss: DMC

Variation #1 - I only had one photo that I wanted to use for this layout. Because the photo has more height than the photos on the sketch I had to make a few minor adjustments. Since the photo had 1-1/2" more in height, I added an 1" to the heights of the two large background pieces. I needed to add a little extra height so I had room for my journaling.

Variation #2 - Another adjustment I had to make had to do with the width of the photo. With it being smaller I had more space on that area of the layout. To help fill a little bit of that space I stretched the embellishments in the bottom right corner to reach a little higher.


I also moved the title a little to accommodate the flowers.

Sketch Week Giveaway

This week the winner of the giveaway will receive their choice of one of my online classes (Sketch Support, 6 x 6 Paper Pads, or Photo Arrangement Replay) or one of the sketch bundle downloads (Halloween, Fall, Christmas, Winter, Love, Spring/Easter, Birthday, Girls/Mother's Day, or Boys/Father's Day).

To be eligible you can leave a comment each day. If you just comment one day you have one chance, if you comment on two days you have two chances, and if you comment each day you have three chances. (If you comment twice on one day, only the first comment will be eligible for the random drawing.) After Sketch Week is over I'll post the winner of the giveaway on Monday. 

Be sure to check back:

Tuesday (evening) - to get the information and links to the new June downloads
Wednesday - to see layout #2 for Sketch Week
Friday - to see layout #3 for Sketch Week
Monday - to see who won the download giveaway

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Eight


They say eight is great and I agree!

I've had the best time watching Drew grow into a charismatic, strong willed, hilarious little boy for eight years. I would be lying if I didn't say that I'm a little sad and shocked at how quickly those eight years have flown by but, spending those eight years with Drew has been nothing short of wonderful.

Happy Birthday Drew! Thank you for making the last eight years the best eight years of my life!



Saturday, June 1, 2013

A few things to be excited about...

One thing I am not excited about is tornadoes. Or tornado season. Or living in an area that tornadoes are a constant threat. Wait. The title of this post was things to be excited about, right?

Tonight, as I write this, I am excited that I survived what I can only describe at one of the most scary experiences of my life. I won't babble on with the details but, it came down to taking cover under a bridge on the highway. It was absolutely terrifying. But, silver lining, we are okay and I am very excited about that. Surviving tornadoes is definitely something to be excited about. A little shook up, but excited.

Another thing I'm really excited about is Simple Stories and their new Life Documented Team that I have been asked to be a part of.


Simple Stories has been a favorite of mine from the beginning. I love not only the concept/philosophy of the papers but also the designs. I love that when I put a page together with Simple Stories it always seems to come together quickly without compromising my style and the detail I like to have on my pages. Their concept just fits so well with how I like to scrapbook. I really enjoyed working with Simple Stories products for our Sketch Fusion book and am so looking forward to that partnership continuing!

To say that I'm happy to be on the team is truly an understatement!

Keeping with the theme of this post, I'm also excited and looking forward to sharing with you what I'll be doing with Simple Stories as a member of the Life Documented Team. Hint, hint: it might involve sketches!

Have a great weekend!

Monday, May 27, 2013

Sketch Week Recap and Winner

What a fun Sketch Week it was! At least, I know I had a lot of fun making those layouts!

First things first, I want to share with you a few more layouts based on the free May sketch.

The first layout by Jennifer Cowan at http://thecowanlife.blogspot.com is awesome! She converted the sketch to a very cute 8-1/2 x 11" layout. Personally, I love the subject of the layout. We just got home from a Springfield Cardinals game and had a blast!

The second layout is a one-page version that you can see at http://scrapthat-myheartmyart.blogspot.ca/. The layout is a wonderful use of the left side of the sketch!

Here's a look at the May free sketch and the three layouts that I made based on that sketch. I always love to see them all together with the different variations. It's fun to see the differences among them.

Scrapbook Generation's May Free Sketch
* you can download by clicking here
 
 
"Hot Chocolate Happiness"
 
 
"Just One Picture"


"Muddy Buddies"



This was definitely a fun sketch to use and I wish I would have had the time to make more layouts for this past Sketch Week. There are really a lot of possibilities with this one!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to leave a comment. I always love going through and reading them and I hope you all are enjoying Sketch Week as much as I am.

The winner of the downloads giveaway is:
 
Wendy Wieland Brassart said...Everything about this is stunning! Thanks for sharing!
 
You can email me at allison@scrapbookgeneration.com and let me know which download you would like and I'll get it to you.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Sketch Week, Day 3



If you haven't yet be sure to visit the Scrapbook Generation online store to grab the free sketch for April! It the same sketch that I've been using as a starting point for my layouts this week.

Scrapbook Generation's May Free Sketch
* you can download by clicking here


"Muddy Buddies"


Supplies - Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: Echo Park; Alphabet stickers: Echo Park; Chipboard alphabet: American Crafts; Stencil: Crafter's Workshop; Mist: Tattered Angels; Corner rounder: EK Success; Star punch: Fiskars; Stickers: Echo Park; Embroidery floss: DMC; Brads: unknown

Variation #1 - Sometimes the pictures I want to use just don't work for smaller photo sizes like the 2-1/2" square photos on the left page. Part of that had to do with not wanting to reduce the size of any of the three pictures I used. My solution for that was to use them all as 4 x 6 photos and eliminate the smaller 2-1/2" photos.


The photos are still arranged very similar to the photos on the sketch. The best part was that using the larger photos didn't require any major adjustments!

Variation #2 - Like the layout from Day 2, I added a background on this page. I used a stencil and mist to create the pattern. I thought it was a great accent to the muddy theme.


Variation #3 - I also add a few strips to the background of the left page. I wanted to get some color on that page and the strips were an easy addition. That's one thing I love about this sketch! There are so many different things you can add to that left page to enhance it and make it fit your own style.


Variation #4 - I moved the placement a few stars. Since I had larger pictures and they stretched across more of the page, I lost a little bit of space for the stars on the right. I just moved them down by the title.

Variation #5 - I had a lot more photos I wanted to include on this layout and, like I mentioned in Variation #1, I didn't want to crop my photos down too much. I added more photos and moved the strips on the right to make room. Really you could fill that whole right page with photos if you wanted and leave the main embellishing and designing on the left page.

Variation #6 - I used different strips to make room for the extra and larger photos. I used a 1/4" strip on both sides of the photos and then a few at different lengths on the right. I mostly added the shorter strips to add in more color.

Be sure to check back Monday to see who won the download giveaway! And, if you create a layout based on the sketch from this week leave a link in the comments and then on Monday I'll post all the links so everyone can go check them out.  
 
Have a wonderful weekend! :)