Scrapbooking Sketches

Have you ever used any scrapbooking sketches to make your album pages?

"My husband says it's him or the scrapbooks. I'm gonna miss that man
~Author Unknown"

I asked this question on my blog, Susan's Saga, to see if people would think about trying this. Many people do hunt for such designs to help them to make a lovely page, but have you ever considered drawing your own?

I thought it would be hard to do at first, but after going ahead and trying it, I think designing my own sketches actually helps a lot to organise my pages. It's a great scrapbooking and cardmaking tip I never would have thought of if some paper crafting friends had not suggested it to me, so now I suggest it to you.

There are some basic principles of design you might like to consider when making your own sketches.

It might also help you to know what I do when sketching. You will develop your own process but this might be a starting point for you.

Here's how I work:

Step 1: I choose my subject and pick out the photos I want to use, maybe even choose some colours and possible embellishments

Step2: I think about my subject and the style that would suit them. If I have a masculine subject, I would not generally use too many flowers, for example, but I would draw in some stars or arrows perhaps.

I ask myself:

• Does the person in the photos like more classical styles, or are they more likely to be enhanced by a modern theme, or country or decorative etc?
• What colours might I use? Are there any colours in the photo(s) I could base my page on? Do I need more layers f paper because of the colours, to make my subjects 'pop'?
• What proportions do I need to think about? How big are my photos?

Step 3: Then I take a pencil and paper and start drawing out my sketch. If I use a piece of paper that is the same size as the page I am going to use, I can usually see how things are going to fit better.

The beauty of drawing up your own design is that you can alter it before you commit to cutting up paper or ribbon. You can rub out lines and redraw them, and you can change your mind about whether you will use shapes such as circles or squares. You can see if a layout is going to look balanced before you start adhering things down.

Another advantage to using your own scrapbooking sketches is that you can change your mind about things as you go as well. Your finished product does not have to look exactly like your sketch, but it will have provided a starting point for you. You are always free to use the sketch as a tool, not as a prescriptive map that absolutely must be followed no matter what.

Here's a layout based on the sketch I showed you at the top of this page. My subject is a classical person with style, and I think she would appreciate more unadorned space around her image than I usually leave, so I made the drawing quite simple and I like the end result:

Here's another sketch and the resulting layout, using a monochromatic theme:

Now here is the finished layout using the above plan:

So now you have the idea, why not run with it? Try making your own scrapbooking sketches. And be sure to have some fun with it all.

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