Day 2 is all about bringing shapes into the design.
Here is the new, FREE two-page sketch that I am using as my starting point for each layout this week.
You can download the full sketch with measurements and placements by clicking here.
Supplies Used - Cardstock: American Crafts; Patterned paper: Echo Park Paper Co.; Alphabet stickers: American Crafts; Chipboard alphabet: American Crafts; Stickers: Echo Park Paper Co.; Embroidery floss: DMC: Ink: Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink; Hexagon punch: Fiskars; Computer font: DMC
Let me tell you, I have had these photos on my table for what feels like forever waiting for the perfect paper and opportunity. This sketch and the Little Lumberjack collection from Echo Park were just what I was looking for. I love it when that happens!
Variation #1 - Changing a background into shapes.
When ever I see a background on a sketch, whether it's vertical strips, horizontal strips, squares, circles, or a solid piece, I see it as all interchangeable. I look at it as one piece as a whole and ask myself, "What can I do differently to fill the same space?" In the case of this layout, I went with one of my favorite shapes - hexagons.
The reason I went with hexagons is that it is a shape that interlocks together so I can create one whole piece, one background made up of several individual shapes. Squares would be another great option if you still want a background that is connected that way.
My background is slightly larger than the background of strips on the sketch. My main concern isn't necessarily about getting the background to be the exact same size as the background on the sketch. I look at having an even background with equal margins. I want the margin from hexagons to the top of the layout and the hexagons to the bottom of the layout to be the same. The same goes for the hexagons and the left and right edges. I'm looking for equal and even placement of the hexagons over the size of the background. All of this came down to the size of the hexagon I was using and finding that centered placement for them.
Variation #2 - Use multiple smaller photos in place of a large photo.
I had all of these photos printed in 3 x 3" so I used two 3 x 3" photos in place of each 3 x 5" photo on the sketch. I didn't have to make any adjustments as far as the width, because it is the same as the 3 x 5" photo. The combined height of the two 3 x 3" photos did add an extra inch over the 3 x 5" photo size on the sketch, but usually an extra inch doesn't cause a need for a lot of extra adjustments for it to fit and if it does, it's usually nothing major.
The good thing is that my background is already larger than on the sketch so even though I added that extra inch of height to the photos, it's not covering up too much of the background.
Variation #3 - Changing the size of elements to fit.
The only adjustment I had to make to go with the extra inch on the photos is that 6 x 5" rectangle piece. I used a 6 x 6" piece instead to fit the same height of the photos.
Speaking of 6 x 6", I created this whole layout with papers from a 6 x 6" paper pad. It's pretty amazing how much ground you can still cover with small papers!
Variation #4 - Using a larger photo in place of two or more smaller photos.
I ended up using a 3 x 3" photo in place of the top two 2 x 2" photos. I only one more picture to use and like I said earlier, all of my photos were printed as 3 x 3".
Variation #5 - Adjusting elements like the title, journaling, and embellishments to fit.
I shuffled around and changed up the elements on that 6 x 6" piece. Having the larger photo takes up a little more room and I had a larger title, so I had to move them around to find an arrangement that fit.
I also pretty much eliminated all embellishments. This layout has so many patterns and details in the background and I was afraid that adding embellishment on top of that would be a little overwhelming. I liked the idea of keeping it simple here.
I did add some extra small hexagons in a contrasting cardstock to the hexagon background. I used foam adhesive to adhere them for a little dimension and a few of them have a little, tiny star sticker on them.
That's it for today! Check back tomorrow for layout #3!
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