Mar 22, 20214 min read

Sketch Support #19 | Learn How to Use and Adapt Scrapbook Sketches | Day 1

Once a month learn how to use scrapbook sketches and adapt them to fit different styles, photo sizes, and themes. Sketches = endless scrapbooking ideas with little effort. Sketches do all the heavy lifting allowing you to have all the fun!

It's time for another week of Sketch Support!

This month I have a new, FREE two-page sketch and I have created five layouts examples, all based on that one sketch. I'll be sharing a layout Monday through Friday and then next Monday I'll share the video version of Sketch Support on YouTube.

I admit, this sketch was a little out of my comfort zone. That probably sounds funny since I am the one who designed the sketch, but really, it's not typically the way I design. If you look back at my past layouts you'll see that most of the time my photos are connected across the two pages. With this sketch, there are two sections, one on each side of the layout without any kind of connection between them. That might not seem too crazy, but it was definitely a push outside of my comfort zone!

Here's the sketch that I have used as the starting point for each layout this week:

You can download the full sketch with measurements and placements by clicking here.

You can also grab the Sketch Support #19 Bonus Sketch Examples!

This month it is a 3-page PDF of 22 different sketch options. That makes 23 sketches for this month of Sketch Support. There are options that show how to change up the papers, use more photos, use less photos, use only 4 x 6" photos, there are three one-page options, and then an 8-1/2 x 11" option. The fun part is that you could use each option as a layout on its own, but you could also mix and match different options for endless possibilities!

You can purchase the bonus sketches by clicking here.

Supplies used - Cardstock: American Crafts; Patterned paper: Simple Stories, Echo Park, and BasicGrey; Film strip cut file: Silhouette from the Silhouette Design Store; Film reels cut file: Lori Whitlock from the Silhouette Design Store; Popcorn cut file: Paige Evans from the Silhouette Design Store; Chipboard pieces: Simple Stories; Star punch: Recollections; Nuvo Drops: Tonic Studios; Word stickers: Simple Stories; Embroidery floss: DMC; Computer font: Century Gothic

Variation #1 - Using smaller photos.

I had two issues I ran into with using this sketch and these set of photos together. The first was that I had more photos I wanted to include than what you see on the sketch. The second was that most of my photos couldn't be cropped into a square because both Drew and Jackson filled the frame. I decided to go with nine 3 x 2" photos in place of the five 3 x 3" photos on the sketch. This allowed me to solve both problems, including more photos and not cropping into a square.

Since the photos are the same width as the photos on the sketch I didn't have to make any adjustments there. They did add more height to that photo block, but there's plenty of room for it so it didn't require any special adjustments for it to work.

Variation #2 - Removing pieces to simplify and coordinate with a theme.

I did remove several pieces all due to the theme idea I really wanted to play around with.

First, I removed the small vertical strips that frame the background piece with the 3 x 3" photos on it. I wanted to keep the colors and patterns on this layout very simple. For that background piece I used a red and white striped paper to go with the red and white striped popcorn boxes in my photos.

The second pieces I removed are the striped strips. One reason is I really didn't want to use striped strips because I had already used a stripe for one of my large background pieces and I didn't want it to be stripe overkill. The other reason is that I loved the idea of using lots of popcorn die cuts along the edges, like they are peeking out from behind that background piece. I always love finding ways to incorporate the theme in the design! You could do this with any shape or theme and create an interesting frame to your layout design.

I used several different shapes and sizes of popcorn in a variety of patterned papers. I also added a stitched border to most of them. Some of them are adhered flat on the layout, somewhat tucked behind the background piece. Others are adhered with foam adhesive for a little dimension to help them pop off the page. To finish the look I added some Nuvo Drops in yellow in a few spots here and there.

Variation #3 - Changing up elements to better fit the theme.

Instead of flowers I created large clusters of movie details and popcorn.

I started with a film strip, added some film reels and a clacker (I have no idea if that is the right term!) on top, and then went in with some smaller details like popcorn, stars, word/phrase stickers, and some Nuvo Drops.