Sketch Week, Part 5

A first glance of the layout I'm sharing today you might be thinking, "Is this girl crazy! That doesn't look anything like the sketch!" Trust me, once you take a closer look and read my variations you'll begin to see how this one came from the sketch even if it doesn't look like it.

I try to be very open minded when using a sketch. If you want to get multiple uses out of a sketch do what I do with Sketch Week and try to challenge yourself to do something different each time. It could be the papers, the photos, or the embellishments but do something that makes it differ from the others you've done.

The sketch, from Sketches for Scrapbooking, Volume 2, that I have used as the starting point for each layout this week.

Layout #5 - "The Candy Cane Card"

Supply List - Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: BoBunny and Crate Paper; Chipboard hearts: Maya Road; Alphabets: Prima, Making Memories, and American Crafts; Stickers: Scenic Route

From the year that I was born to the year I turned 18 my mom had Christmas photos taken of my sister and I for our Christmas Cards. The only thing I liked about it was getting to see the photographer's indoor goldfish pond with a bridge and the spiral staircase. Other than that I hated it. Of course now I understand why she did it and I have the same tradition with my kids.

One year for Christmas, Mom gave me a scrapbook with every single Christmas Card from year one to eighteen in it. It is one of my favorite scrapbooks to look at. Since I do the same photo Christmas Card, minus the professional photographer and goldfish pond, I knew that I wanted to make a layout for each year. I wanted to have the actual Christmas card of the year, some of the photos that didn't make it onto the card, and, of course, the story behind it all.

Variation #1 - I'll start with the papers first. I, at first, was just going to make each of the background strips the same length but after seeing the amount of photos I wanted to include I decided to go ahead and extend the strips to the edges. The strips of patterned paper have the same height as suggested on the sketch but the width on all is 12".

Variation #2 - I kept the 3/4" strip on the bottom in the same place as on the sketch but on the top one I moved it to the top edge of the patterned paper background. For some reason, with the strips extended off the page, I just thought it looked better on the top.

It always bugs me when I can't give a better explanation than "it just looked right". I don't have much of a background in design other than my time in high school. Most of the time when it comes to designing I do things the way I do because it looks right to me, not because there is some design rule that I feel I must follow.

Variation #3 - Since I was using one of our Christmas cards on the layout I thought the best place for it would be where the 4 x 6 photo was. I used foam adhesive so that it stood out from all the other pictures.

Variation #4 - Since I extended the papers off the page I did the same with the photos along the middle strip. They all have the 3 1/2" height but I changed the width to 2" so I could fit a lot of them onto the layout.

On the left page, the measurements would have been off if I would have started a picture flush with the left edge of the card. I would have ended up with a space on the left end of the paper or I would have had a picture going off the edge of the page. I wanted the overall look of those pictures to look the same as the right page so I started on the left edge and worked my way to the right. I didn't want a big gap in between the fourth picture and the card so I took a scrap piece of a picture and adhered it so that the row of pictures appeared to go underneath the card.

Variation #5 - For embellishments on this page I tried to create something similar to the hearts that Drew was making in the photos with the candy canes. To do this I first paint a chipboard heart with a pearl paint and then wrapped red embroidery floss around it. I left spaces all over it so that it kind of resembled a candy cane.




Variation #6 - On the left page of the sketch, beside the photo on the left there is a tab with three small circles on it. I ran into a little bit of a problem with where to put that embellishment piece on my layout since there isn't an end the row of photos. I felt that the embellishment was needed to help frame all of the photos and journaling with the other two groups of embellishments. I could have overlapped the hearts onto the photos in the general area of where it is suggested but with these photos it would have covered up too much. Here's a closer look at my solution.


I added three 2 x 2 photos and placed my embellishments at the left edge of those. It's still in the same general area but this way it isn't covering up parts of any pictures. Plus this was an easy way for me to add even more photos! (There are eighteen total photos on this layout!)

If I would have put the hearts in the same spot I have it now without the 2 x 2 photos it would have just looked odd. I'm a big fan of everything being grouped together on my layouts. I think it's just easy to see everything that way.

A few things to share:

• I loved the glittery chipboard letters I used in my title and knew I wanted to use them. When I realized I was short on "A's" I was a little bummed. After trying a few other alphabets I was determined to find a way to use the glittery ones. I decided to replace the "A's" with alphabet stickers from a different set.

• The journaling on this page was so easy to my blog. If you don't have a blog I strongly encourage you to start one. Not only is it so easy to post a quick little daily update but you'll be amazed when you go back and read past posts and realize how much you had forgotten. Another great reason to have a blog? Sometimes, like on this layout, you don't have to worry about the journaling because it's already been done. I used the blog post I did with these pictures as my journaling. Talk about quick and easy!

Today is the last day of Sketch Week and the last day for the Sketches for Scrapbooking and Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker giveaway. I'll be posting the winners on Monday along with the starting date for July Sketch Week and maybe a little hint about our July sponsor. Trust me, you'll love it!

Have a great weekend! We've got a busy one full of 5-year-old birthday festivities. :)

I'll answer all questions in the comments on Sunday evening. I usually do that after I post the next day but I'm stuck in party planning mode right now. So please don't think I'm ignoring you because I'm not. I'm just up to my ears in Scooby Doo party details.