I LOVE SKETCHES!
by Laurie Evans

I love sketches! I have a huge notebook filled with sketches I’ve printed out from the internet, torn out of magazines, sketched from layouts I love. I buy every scrapbook sketch book that comes out, and search the blogs and websites for more sketches.

One of the problems with most of the sketches I find is that they are for 1-page layouts and I am a confirmed 2-page girl. I always seem to have at least 5 or 6 photos from every event I scrap and I just can’t fit into one page.

So what’s a sketch-a-holic to do? I adapt all the one-page sketches I find to 2-pagers.

It isn’t hard, just use a few techniques and a little creativity and you can turn any one-pager to a two-pager. The works in reverse – you can easily adapt any 2-page sketch into a 1-page masterpiece.

Flip It Over.

One of the easiest ways to expand a sketch is to flip the design and use it over again, scrapping the mirror image for your second page. If that doesn’t work, try turning the 1^st page 90 degrees and then flipping over.

Keep on Going

Another way to expand a sketch it to just continue the main element of the first page straight cross the second. If your sketch has a horizontal line of photos marching across it, just keep those photos marching along across the second page, scattering your smaller embellies (flowers, eyelets, buttons, etc.) along the line as you go. If the sketch has a vertical line of photos, turn it 90 degrees so the photos run horizontally.

Stretch It Out

A busy 1-page sketch can often be expanded into a second page stretching the original design across 2 pages. Print the photos in a large size to take up more room, while keeping the basic original design intact.

On the Border

Add a wide boarder of coordinating paper to the left side of your 1^st page, scooting the design over and expanding it on to the second page. Or run your title down the left side of page one and the journaling on the right side of the second page, centering the design across the middle of the two pages.

Less Is More

Stretch your single sketch across 2 pages by centering the design between the pages and leaving more white (or blue or red or pink) space on either side. This technique works really well when you want to focus on a few really good photos.

Chop It Off

Got a two page sketch you’d love to use but not enough photos to use it? Cut the sketch in two and use just one side of it.

Need to find some sketches? Check out the Page Map Challenges section of the forum as well as our own Miss Jill’s Sketches. Need more? Look in the Blogs of Interest forum.

SHOWCASING YOUR PHOTOS ON A LAYOUT
by Jill Penske Felker

One of the big reasons we scrapbook is that it gives us a chance to highlight or emphasize photos either because of their well-loved subjects or because they are just darn good photos.

There are many tricks and techniques you can use to give a little oomph to your photos on a scrapbook page. Of course you can always mat the photo with cardstock, but there are some other nifty ways to make your pictures pop off the page.

Matting, of course, is the scrapper’s quickest and most obvious tool for emphasizing a photo. But don’t settle for just one mat. One, two, three, or even four layers of cardstock, patterned paper or vellum will really show off that special photo!

Here’s an oldie but a goodie - tear a hole in your paper to reveal the photograph underneath. You can tear the hole as large or as small as you like so that it frames just one particular area of the photo.

Another tried and true technique is a frame around the outside of your photo. Use a store-bought frame, cut your own with a Sizzix frame die or just cut one out with an Exacto knife. With this method, you can decorate the edges of the frame to coordinate with the theme of the photo.

Frames don’t have to be made with paper either. Why not frame a photo with buttons, strips of ribbon, brads or punches?

Paint is fun way to frame your photo. Just take a sponge brush, dab a little paint around the edges and you’ll get a very cool effect. You can also use ink directly from the stamp pad on the edges of the photo to get a similar look. This also a great way to hide distractions in the background of the photo. On the photo below, I sanded then inked the edges.

 
Rub-ons are a fun way to accent a photo. They can give a photo a bit of a ‘grunge’ or fancy look, which can change the feel of the layout.

 Sandpaper your photos? No way! Yes, way! Just take a sanding tool or even an emery board around the margin to expose the white edges. It gives a casual feel to the layout, while drawing your eye to the subject of the photo. This method is also great if you wanted to ink, chalk or paint the edges.

 
Photo corners are hot these days. You’ll find them made from just about every medium you can think of —metal, paper, plastic, fabric and even the old-fashioned lick-and-stick photo corners. And they come in loads of sizes from tiny accents to huge photo-framing page elements. They tend to give your photo a more classic look.

 
If you’re handy with photo editing software, try printing out a photo in sepia tones or black & white. For a real punch change the photo to black & white before tinting certain features of the photo to make them pop.   The second photo was done in Photoshop Elements 5 with the setting "old paper" to get the lined appearance.

 
Don’t be afraid to try one of these cool methods for making your pictures pop. Remember, you can always print out another copy of the photo. (And don’t forget to post your layouts when you’re done. We want to see ‘em)