Layout Share: MARTA and Using a Sketch

Please note: This artwork was originally shared on my stamping blog last year. I'm currently in the process of migrating all the stamping blog posts to this page and removing the links that are no longer relevant. Sometimes that means just keeping the artwork. :)

Close to my Heart offers an idea book filled with sketches for scrapbook pages called Make It From Your Heart Volume III. Previous editions of Make It From Your Heart have been for cardmaking, so Volume III is very special. Each sketch is a double page spread (which I almost never do) and has two full-color example spreads included. Volume III includes sketches for 36 double page spreads. There are cutting guides and measurements included as well. 

These sketches are designed to be used with the most common photo sizes such as 4x6 and 3x4, and include 4 to 8 photos on each spread.  (You know I never use that many photos, so I adjust as I go.)  As you might expect, 100% of the supplies used in the page designs shown in Make It From Your Heart are manufactured by Close to my Heart but it's fairly easy to substitute supplies from other sources.  

As you probably know, sketches are simple recipes for design that can be copied exactly or used simply as a jumping-off point. 

Let’s just be totally honest here—I have a very difficult time following directions of any kind when it comes to scrapbooking, so I tend to use sketches as a jumping off point. I don’t look at the number of photos in a design because I use only 1-3 photos on a page and I basically never create a 2 page spread. So you might ask, do I actually use and like this book?

In a word, YES! Using a sketch as a jumping-off point insures that I know where I’m going creatively and helps me know when I have have arrived. I’m not a literalist...a sketch showing 7 pictures and only a few sentences of journaling in the book can magically and easily feature 1 or 2 pictures and a ton of story on my page. I find that starting with a sketch enhances my creativity by giving me a basic framework from which I can invision my finished page, while allowing me to enhance it with other items I have chosen, such as patterned paper, story, title and embellishments. 

For this layout, I used Pattern 27 from Volume III,  the left side.

This layout features flowers cut from the Gimme Some Sugar paper and the Marker Alphabet Stamps! I went with the flowers to convey the princess-y feel referenced in the journaling. The card in the upper right corner is the actual MARTA ticket.

Never let your design be locked up by the sketch. Instead, make it your own by:

• Flipping it around. 
• Changing up the number of photos. 
• Adding extra journaling. 
• Making the page larger or smaller. 
• Using just the left or just the right side of the design. 

Using a sketch is like wearing a little black dress. You can wear the perfect little black dress 100 different ways because in truth, it’s not about the dress--It’s all about the earrings, necklace, bracelet, shoes and the handbag! Am I right? 😁

Thanks for stopping by. 

Happy sketching,

Sarah