Making Faster Layouts
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I am a slow scrapbooker. When I first started scrapbooking and was simply adding photos to a page with a few pieces of paper and a smattering of themed stickers, I could make several pages in less than an hour.
Then I went to a crop with a much more experienced scrapbooking friend and I took a few workshops. I learned that there are design principles (rule of thirds, leading lines, etc); that one typically uses a title and journalling on each layout; and that layering papers and clustering embellishments and balancing colours all make a layout look beautiful. Suddenly, it was taking me hours to make one layout.
That was years ago, but the truth is that although I’ve gotten faster at scrapbooking, I still average 1-2 hours per 12×12 layout. I am okay with being a slower scrapbooker – I am not usually in a rush and I prefer to savour the time I have scrapbooking, enjoying the process of creating as much or more than the final product. That said, there are times that I just don’t have that long, or I wish to complete a layout faster. Here is what I have learned about how to do that.
- Don’t start with a blank space. Nothing is more intimidating than a plain coloured or white piece of cardstock and no idea where to get started. If you choose a background paper that already has a pattern and space for the photos, it cuts down a ton of time. I used Pinkfresh Studio’s ‘Life Noted’ collection for the following two layouts. (their Felicity collection had similar patterned papers). All I had to do was layer a few pieces of paper and embellishments from the same collection behind and around the photo, create a title and add a bit of journalling and I was done. Each layout took me less than 45 minutes.
- Use a bigger, bolder title. In both the above layouts, the title features prominently. In Awesome View, “Awesome” is a central part of the paper, and I simply added view.
- Repeat, repeat, repeat. Keep your embellishments simple and repeat the same shape (heart, circle label, star, etc.) in different colours or sizes.
- Make your journalling easy – sometimes I type my journalling or print from my computer, but when I want to do a faster layout, I handwrite on a journalling card or directly on my layout.
- Limit your products for the layout to either one collection or to a kit that you purchased or made yourself. I waste a lot of time searching for that perfect piece of paper or that one embellishment I know I have somewhere in my stash. If I work with just a few products on my desk, I create much faster.
- Use a simple sketch. Or look for a fairly simple layout that you did in the past that you like the look of. Copy that. For this layout, I used a sketch from Pinterest by Brenda Ragsdale of http://www.granddivasscrappy.blogspot.com.
- Create with a lot of whitespace. It is not necessary to fill every part of a page, and in fact simple layouts with a lot of white space draw attention to your photo(s) and title.
What are your strategies for making faster layouts? Have a wonderful scrappy week!
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