October 2008 Sketch Challenge

Do you often find yourself in a creative rut? Sitting at your scrap space with lots of photos and gorgeous products to play with but without any inspiration as to what to create?

I find myself there often and this is when I turn to my sketchbook. I love using sketches to help me create my layouts and often find myself scribbling ideas for layouts down in my notebook when I am away from my scrap room.

This month's sketch is one of those from my emergency sketchbook! It's a very versatile sketch with plenty of room for you to be creative. I like its simplicity and although it is designed to use one larger photo, you can use as many as you want. It will be a good layout plan for all those Halloween photos you will be taking at the end of the month.

I asked four designers to join me in using this sketch and making it their own.

Nilsa Gonzalez (chicky6363) created the gorgeous layout below. She has used paper from BasicGrey which is bold and bright. She has combined this with pretty pink ribbon attached to her page by staples. Her embellishments, which really make the layout pop, include a fabric flower folded in half and layered with a naked chipboard swirl and heart to add even more dimension. It all draws you in to her cute little photo. Nilsa has stuck to the original sketch and added both a title and subtitle in a strong black color to make it stand out. The faux stitching around the outside of her layout adds the finishing touch. I like the way she has combined stripes and flowers with dark and light embellishments to accent her photo and the children in it.

Sheredian Vickers (Sheredian) has adapted the sketch to create a layout that just keeps on giving. She has used two photos on top of each other, both with a neutral background, which sets the mood for the layout. She has accented this with a light blue background and layered this on spotted paper. I love how she has picked out the main colors in the photos (pink and blue) to continue throughout the layout on to her brad-centered flowers. This really makes it flow nicely and combine perfectly. She has positioned her flowers in a triangle of three that immediately draws your eye into the photos themselves. A splash of extra color with the rick rack along the bottom of the page ensures this layout has a really summery feel.

Carrie Hill (Carrie H.) has used the sketch to create a digital layout. She has used a plain black-and-white background and flipped the placement of the photograph to the opposite side of the page. Two bright lines across the bottom of the page add some color and her large star is the central embellishment, pointing you to the photo itself. Carrie has continued the color theme of her son's tongue into the subtitle, which makes you identify with how he is enjoying his fun dip!

Jennifer Sizemore (Sizemore) has designed a funky layout with really bright colors that completely grab your attention. She has stuck to the star embellishments but cleverly scattered these across the page to enhance the background paper. The star theme continues with a band of Making Memories edges. Her thick bold title really jumps off the layout and the use of inking on the edges of cardstock helps to add even more depth.

I (GH26) have created a layout about my cheeky nephew. I have used one main photo of him and layered this onto a scalloped border and paper from the Fancy Pants About a Boy collection. I have used some acrylic paint to create a frame around the center of the layout to make it really jump from the page, and have then aimed for a three-dimensional look by stacking the metal embellishments with buttons over the top of some ribbon strips. The felt subtitle is attached with small brads to add some texture to the page. I too have opted for a white title to ensure its importance is stressed.

It's interesting to see the variety of layouts that this sketch has inspired. Why not give this sketch a go yourself and upload it to the gallery?

Shop at the Scrapbook.com Superstore for all your Scrapbooking Supplies!
Enjoy 5-Star service, HUGE selection and LOW prices!
Click here to start shopping!