My Scrapbook Evolution-Blog: #tracireeddesigns #hawtmamas

Friday, February 27, 2015

My Personal Sketch Challenge

I like to get the most of my supplies The same can be said of magazines and sketch books.I recently shared my thoughts on using your inspiration as soon as you can. As easy as it is to talk about what you should do, it's not always something we implement. I tried keeping a list of things I wanted to use last year. The list became so long that it was difficult to work with. I ended up throwing it out. This year, I wanted things to be different. I am trying to focus on just one or two aspects of my supplies and inspiration at a time.

One of my goals this month was to use up the sketches in my 2014 planner. Scrapbook and Cards today has a monthly calendar planner which features one Page Maps sketch per month. The appendix also has a few bonus sketches. When I bought the planner, I did so with the intention of using it for my blog planning, figuring I could do the one sketch per month as a bonus. In 2014, I used a sketch from the planner only two times. 2015 rolled around and I got this year's planner. It was now time to throw out 2014, except, I felt like this was a waste. This month, I have been diligently looking through the planner and marking off the sketches.

Might as Well be Cousins by Christy Strickler| Supplies Cardstock: American Crafts; Digital kit: Twitterpations by Traci Reed and Jady Day Studio; Jewel: Studio Calico, based on a Page Maps Sketch

When I make a layout for a design team, I usually strive to make the design one of my own. I rarely use a sketch unless the assignment specifically calls for it. This month, I made an exception. I was determined to use up the sketches whether the layout was for LOAD215 or a DT project. This layout is for Traci Reed Designs. It's a hybrid layout using her latest kit, Twitterpations. As of this layout, I have used up all but six of the monthly and bonus sketches from the planner. I hope to finish the rest of the sketches off within the first few weeks of March. There is also a section for greeting cards. I am considering how I might use the card sketches to design a few of my own Project Life cards. Why not make the most of the planner, right?

There are always going to be a few supplies or bits of inspiration that we overlook. However, if we choose to focus on just one or two things at a time, we can be more successful in using these tools. Take a look at what it is you want to accomplish and choose one or two things to focus on per month. It's more productive and it feels so good to know you made a dent in your supplies or stash of ideas.

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Twitterpations by Traci Reed and Jady Day Studio

Friday, February 20, 2015

Tales of a Craft Class Junkie: Design with Single and Pretty

One of the classes I never fail to finish each month is the Masterful Scrapbook Design series from Get It Scrapped. The most recent class is called Single and Pretty. It's focus is the design of scrapbook layouts centered around one photo. To be honest, the word "class" kind of falls short of describing the material. Design is not just discussed. There is also a accompanying Scrapbook Coach. This is essentially a video that walks you through the steps to making a layout centered around a particular design concept. It's like scrapbooking alongside a mentor. I put the Single and Pretty Scrapbook Coach and templates from the membership section to work this month while creating layouts with some of Traci Reed's latest kits.

Rise and Shine-Not By Christy Strickler |Supplies Cardstock: American Crafts; Digital Kit: Rise and Shine by Traci Reed and Amber Shaw; Other: Glossy Accents; Based on a template from the Get It Scrapped Membership

What I have always loved about Get It Scrapped is that it guides me along while still allowing me to do my own creative thing. This page started with a 8 1/2 x 11 template.I don't typically scrap smaller layouts as I prefer 12x12 albums. I liked stepping out of my comfort zone and practicing design on a different scale from what I am used to working with. On the occasions that I scrap on a smaller canvas, I live to mount the page to a 12x12 piece of paper so that I can easily fit it in my album.This time, I wanted to do more with it then just to stick it down on paper. I chose to add a stitched grid to the canvas.

There Is a Story in Her Eyes by Christy Strickler |Supplies Cardstock: American Crafts; Digital Kit: She Is by Traci Reed; Other: Buttons; Based on a sketch from the Get It Scrapped Membership

The block design is my typical go to style of page. However, the more I work with Scrapbook Coach, the more I find myself extending the types of designs I typically work with. I am really starting to love having 2-3 clusters on my layouts. Though this page is based on a sketch, working with it helps me to subconsciously incorporate it into my repertoire. The more I practice, the easier it get to create with a wider variety of designs.

I am no stranger to documenting a story with just one photo. However, after completing the Single and Pretty class along with the accompanying Scrapbook Coach I find myself stepping outside my typical layout style. Once again, I am growing and developing.

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