Oh man, guys, I went a little crazy with this sketch.
Sometimes a sketch just speaks to you and gets those creative juices flowing. This sketch spoke to me and said, "You could do this and this and this, this, THIS, or this..."
I could not stop myself!
That means that instead of the usual 3-4 layouts, I have 6 to share with you. Six! There will be a Sketch Support post with a new layout each day this week and on Monday of next week. Then next Tuesday I'll have the new Sketch Support YouTube video to share with you guys. It's going to be a really fun week!
Here is the one-page sketch I used for the starting point of each layout I'm sharing this week.
You can download the full sketch with measurements and placements here.
Supplies used - Cardstock: American Crafts; Patterned paper, chipboard alphabet, stickers, and chipboard embellishments: Echo Park; Star stickers and word stickers: Simple Stories; Embroidery floss: DMC; Watercolor: Pink Fresh Studios; Computer font: American Typewriter
I made quite a few changes to accommodate the pictures I wanted to use.
Variation #1 - Rotating the sketch.
I really wanted to use these 6 x 4" photos so I rotated the sketch to the right so that the photos are going from top to bottom instead of side to side for the 4 x 6" photos on the sketch.
Rotating a sketch is an easy way to get a completely different look out of a sketch without having to make major changes. A lot of times you can rotate to each side and create a layout and then you end up with four completely different looks.
Variation #2 - Flipping the sketch.
After I rotated the sketch to the right, I ended up flipping the sketch so that the elements on the left would be on the right. I did that because in the middle picture, Drew is really looking off to the right and to me, it just didn't look right to have him so close to the right side while looking off the right side of the layout. I know that in the top circle photo he is looking off to the right as well, but it's not near as much so I can live with it.
Variation #3 - Removing a photo.
With this set of photos I only had two 6 x 4" photos, one 3 x 4" photo, and one 2-1/2 x 3-1/2" photo so I had to make some adjustments. The first was removing one of the 4 x 6" photos on the sketch and replacing it with my journaling. I could have put the two smaller photos there, but I had a decent amount of journaling and I wanted to include some circle photos in the design. Moving the journaling to a larger area gave me the opportunity to use those smaller photos somewhere else.
To create my journaling area, I used two 3 x 4" cards to create a 6 x 4" background and then the white cardstock piece with my journaling is 5 x 3".
Variation #4 - Adjusting elements to fit what you want/have.
I didn't follow the circle design exactly as it is on the sketch. I tend to gather materials that I might want to use and then lay them out and layer them to see what arrangement I like. It's going to be completely different depending on the elements you are clustering together.
A big part of why I adjusted and changed things was to fit the title. I didn't want my title to stay as it is on the sketch since I had rotated the sketch. My solution was to arrange the title "Sand Box Play" around the main circle with the picture.
On the smaller cluster of circles I added another photo in place of the journaling circle on the sketch.
TIPS FOR CREATING THE CIRCLE CLUSTERS
I think the cluster of circles ended up being what made me really enjoy this sketch and a large part of all the ideas that I had for the six different layouts I'm sharing came from that grouping of circles. Circle are such a fun shape to work with and layer together. I feel like they are one of the easiest shapes to use to create cluster designs like this because they are such a simple shape. No matter what part you might cover up, you can still tell it's a circle. That means that it's really hard to mess it up!
With that said, there are some tips that can help you create eye-catching circle clusters.
1. Use a variety of circles. I typically like to use one large circle, a couple of medium circles, several small circles and then fill in some areas with tiny circles. Sometimes I'll add in some rings.
2. Use a variety of textures. Try mixing patterned paper, cardstock, chipboard, stickers, watercolors, hand stitching, and Nuvo Drops.
3. Layer some small circles on top of large circles. I like to use a large circle as a frame/mat for smaller circles.
4. Use a variety of colors and patterns. When layering on top of other circles, make sure you are pairing colors and patterns that contrast. A dark on a light or a subtle pattern on a crazy pattern.
5. Use foam adhesive to adhere some of your circles. Adding dimension can help pieces stand out among all the other circles.
6. Mix in some other shapes that fit your theme. I add some stars and cogs/gears to my layout. You could also add hearts, flowers, butterflies, arrows, etc.
Well, that's it for today! Check back tomorrow to see the next layout based on this sketch!
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