Sketch Week, Part Four

The last day of Sketch Week is here but what a fun week it's been! I've got another layout to share today and Christy Arthur has one that she is sharing on her blog.  You can find the link to her blog and of course, if you haven't had a chance yet, you can check out the other links below to see more layouts based on the free September sketch.

Christy Arthur

Lynette Jacobs

Ashley Horton

Ruth Bonser 

Jennifer Larson

Katrina Hunt 

Scrapbook Generation's Free September Sketch

Download by clicking here.

  

"Birthday Balloons"

Supplies - Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: TPC Studio, Cosmo Cricket, Fancy Pants, and Little Yellow Bicycle; Baker's twine: The Twinery; Alphabet stickers: Prima (birthday) and Doodlebug (balloons); Word stickers: Authentique; Ink: Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink; Embroidery floss: DMC; Corner rounder: Fiskars; Star punch: Fiskars

At first glance this layout looks nothing like the sketch but that's what is fun about sketches and what makes them so useful. Sometimes the sketch can just be a starting point, which is the case with my layout today. I looked at the sketch and let my creative ideas take over instead of following every detail on the sketch.

Variation #1 - I used all 4 x 6 photos in place of the 3 x 4 photos on the sketch. I basically took that line of photos and stretched them across the whole page. I used the same amount of photos too. Since I used photos with more height I decided to remove the larger background piece. 

You could do the same, stretching the photos all the way across the page, with many other sizes too like: 3 x 4", 4 x 4", 3 x 3", or 3 x 5".

Variation #2 - I flipped part of the sketch. I kept the title and journaling block in the same spot but flipped the rest of the sketch. The balloons are what I used in place of the banner strips and stars at the bottom of the sketch. Since I flipped that part, I have the balloons along the top. 

Flipping the sketch is such an easy way to get a different look from the same sketch. For my layout I flipped the sketch from top to bottom but you can also play around with flipping it from side to side or flip just one side of the sketch. There are a lot of possibilities there!

Variation #3 - One thing I do often is try to find a way to play around with the theme of my layout and incorporate it into the design on my page. I love taking elements in the pictures and making them come to life on the page. I did this by creating the balloons that replaced the stars and banner strips.

Here's a closer look at the balloons:

To make the balloons I drew an oval with the little triangle on the bottom in three different sizes to use as a template. I traced and cut out the balloons from several different patterns and colors. 

After I adhered the balloons on my layout I used a ruler to draw a line from the bottom of the balloon to the top of the photos. Then I added the hand stitched "strings" on the balloons. 

To finish them I added a few little details like stars, bows, and word stickers. 

They were really easy to make! 

Variation #4 - Along the top of the photos I didn't do any of the stitching or add the striped strip as it is on the sketch (it would be on the bottom of the sketch since I flipped it to make my layout.) I ended up just adding a striped strip along the bottom of the photos and a super small orange strip to fill in for the suggested stitching on the sketch. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend and be sure to check back on Monday to see who won the giveaway! :)