Heather's Sketch & Template #13

Hi everyone! It's Heather, and I'm back to share my last sketch and template here on Ideas For Scrapbookers. I was one of the original contributing artists when Pam first started this blog so I'm really sad to leave. I've had a wonderful time working with Pam and the other contributors have been amazing as well. I'll miss posting and hanging out with everyone. This will be the last sketch I post here. It's sketch #13. 

I based the sketch on this paper page that I made with the March Scraptastic Club kit and add on called "Celebrate Life". I used the octagon shape as a background because I wanted to try something new. The pinwheels are also a new thing for me. I've never made them before, but they were super simple to make. 

I sent this sketch to quite a few of my talented friends. They definitely didn't disappoint me! Nancy emailed me this fabulous layout about a fundraising concert that she attended with her husband. I love that she made this layout with some of her older paper. The bracket shape she used in place of the octagon looks great! 

Lesley contributed this adorable layout about her grandson's first train ride. The train embellishments are awesome. The photos really make this page stand out because you can see the wonder and amazement in his eyes. She capped her page off with some really cool rosette embellishments. 

This sunshine filled layout is by Dolores. She used some really special pictures from a recent family gathering. I really love the color combination on this page. The sun peeking from behind the octagon is a perfect way to draw attention to that corner. A very inspiring, happy layout! 

This beautifully distressed page is by Vicky! I love all of the paper tearing and the butterflies look like they are about to fly right off of the page. I think the chicken wire looks fantastic too because it makes the page more masculine. 

This last layout is mine. It's a digital page that I made with Jenni Bowlin Studio's Homespun Collection. I used the template, but I deleted the octagon layer. It gives the design a more graphic feel. 

Thank you very much for contributing to this post ladies! It has been a pleasure to work with each of you and I won't forget the friendships that I've made here. 

If anyone is interested in following my personal blog so they can continue to see my sketches and downloads please click here.

This is the download link for template #13. I hope you enjoy the free download!

http://www.box.com/s/f8yq9e8lsddv2x08ntns

Heather's Sketch 12

Hi everyone! I'm back with another free template to share. This template features more hexagons because I'm on a hexagon kick lately. In fact, I used the negative hexagon cut from the last sketch I posted on my example page. So if you have the free .svg file from my last post, you'll be all set to work with this sketch. 

The sketch was based on this layout that I created with my February Scraptastic Club kit called "Hearts A Flutter". I loved these photos of my daughter concentrating while addressing her Valentine cards. She always works really hard to pick out the perfect card for each one of her friends. 

I only have a few extra example pages because I was too sick to send the sketch out early! Marlene came through for me with this absolutely adorable snow themed page. I love the letters that she chose for her title work, and the layered octagons totally rock! 

Nancy also supplied an example page using the sketch. I love the awesome color combination she used and the super fun title she chose for this layout about her husband making his own cheese for the first time. I think it's great that she adapted the sketch to work without the hexagons too! 

I was able to create a digital layout with the sketch this week. I did it yesterday morning! There's nothing like waiting until the last possible minute. Right? I used some Jenni Bowlin Studio digital supplies from the store at Jessica Sprague's website to complete this page about my son playing at the park.

Before I go, I have a free matching digital template that I made in Photoshop Elements for digital scrapbookers. Please click the link below to download it!

http://www.box.com/s/a3lf70v57a0rq681z3rm

Heather's Sketch/Template 11

Hi everyone! It's Heather, and I'm back to share another sketch with everyone. I also have a free template, a free .svg file, and some awesome example pages from a few friends to share. Let's get going! Please feel free to download the sketch image to your computer by right clicking on the image and then clicking "Save As". This sketch was inspired by the hexagons that are popping up all over the internet. I'm hopping aboard the latest scrappy trend and you can too! 

The first example page is by fellow IFS contributing artist Nancy. I love the photo of her with her husband and the quote she used as a title is just perfect! She used fabric hexagons and they turned out wonderfully. All in all, this page is super sweet! 

The next page is by Juliann Marchant. She's on the Scraptastic Club design team with me and she used the awesome "A Boy's Life" kit to create this layout. Juliann used a polka dot mask instead of hexagons and she did some wonderful stitching to draw the eye around her page. Her photo is so fun too! 

Thank you for the example pages Juliann and Nancy! I always appreciate the creative help.

I created an example page as well. I used the Scraptastic Club Hearts A Flutter kit and add on. I cut the hexagons on my Cricut using Sure Cuts A Lot software and the free .svg file that I'll link below. I usually make a digital example as well but I ran out of time before the post was due. 

This is what the .svg file looks like. It's sized at 8.5x11 inches but it's easily resized. You can also use the negative space between the cuts as chicken wire if you cut some of the edges off. I love it when you can use one file for two different applications. 

Here's the download link for the free hexagon .svg file. http://www.box.com/s/z49motgaiyboz1ph2sr3

This is the link for the free layered digital template. http://www.box.com/s/c84p1pmcciq625q4oy06

Don't forget to email the pages you create to Pam so we can feature you in future readers' pages posts! We love seeing what you make.

Scrapbooking the Hard Time/Events

Hi everyone it's Pam here sharing a post idea that I think pertains to everyone. I know that scrapbooking is great for capturing the good times.  All those good memories with happy titles, smiles, and fun is what you see mostly in the scrapword, especially in my gallery... you would think everything was great all of the time.  But of course it's not, like every other person in the world. I really wanted to do a post on scrapbooking those hard time and events, because they are so important to look back on and remember what happened. I know I don't do enough of this, because sometimes it can be painful, but consider doing a page once in a while.  I have gotten help from the contributors today for ideas on how capture those hard times. Each layout is very special to each person as you will see..

I am sharing a page about losing my dog, Daphne, who was a wonderful part of our family. Rather than using dark colors I chose the palette of soft colors to represent her beautiful personality (or dogonality).  This page was hard to do, but I wanted to finally get it done and I like how it turned out. I surrounded her in sewn heart and went with the title, "In Our Hearts". Here is my page.

Heather's page is an excellant example of scrapping the hard time. This is a page about her daughter and the struggles that she has. I am so proud of Heather for capturing this and scrapbooking,  as it so important to document those hard time. Seeing this page makes my heart go out to her family. The journaling reads, "Seeing you so down and depressed breaks my heart. When we're out in public you put on a different face. You smile and pretend to be happy, but when we're home you feel safe enough to let it all out. Sometimes your mood swings disrupt the whole house. We try to understand that it's your bipolar disorder that makes you act this way."

Vicky created a beautiful layout in remembering the passing of her grandmother. This photo was the last photo taken before her grandmother passed away. As you can see, this layout is scrapped with love and affection and really reflects the love she had for her grandmother!

Marlene created a page about when she visited Oklahoma City and took photo remembering the events that happened here.  Again another hard page to scrapbook, but Marlene did such a great job of capturing those hard times. Notice her color palette and the use of the pink rose on her page. Here is what Marlene had to say about the event,"P. Murrah Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK. There is engraving over the entry that says "We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, peace, hope and serenity". My journaling reads: This monument marks the place where 168 people (including 19 children) were killed by domestic terrorists on April 19, 1995. The strength and honor of this site is moving, unforgettable and a fitting tribute to the loss of so many innocent lives. For the Old Page Maps 26 challenge Sketch #1"

Cathy is sharing another hard event with us. Her page is about losing her job and how it affected not only her but the small company she worked for. I think not using photos is a great way to go about scrapping this page. This is what Cathy had to say about her layout, "I seriously threw this page together. I needed to create, to help me feel good about myself, to document and to begin to move on.  I packed a whole lot of symbolism into this page. It's made on an old piece of cardboard, (probably one that scrapbook supplies came on!) I distressed the cardboard and inked it.... but you'll see that I used some green ink over the "torn" spots to represent healing. There had to be lots of green on the page since that is my fav color and means "life" to me. The trees represent strength, growth and consistency, the little button with the new tree is like starting over, the owl is my higher power keeping watch over me and my family. And the journal paper is actually from a pad that we used at work for marketing projects. I crumpled it up and inked it to distress it, then purposely placed it behind the trees.  The tree with the fruit on it has the 3 things that I can not function without; Faith, Family and Spirit. I journaled about each of these on the page and placed a small brad next to those words to be like a seed to sprout new growth. Spirit got a green one to show how that is a major force in allowing me to move forward. And the forest is representative that I am not alone. There are many in this boat with me. Not a good thing, bad for the economy and bad for all of those trying to find a job, but I do realize that while I am unique, I am not alone. The journaling reads:
Changes in life, sometimes we find ourselves on a path we did not select... it is those times that the strengths in our lives will help see us through. Faith gives me hope and the belief that there will be an open window. Family is my whole reason. There is nothing more important. Spirit - no matter what life brings me, I will get through it. I will be smarter, I will be stronger. I may have lost my job, but I did not lose my spirit. I truly believe I am right where I am supposed to be."

Last but not least there is a layout by Cindy dealing with when her husband's workplace burned down. She did an amazing job of capturing the terrible event with photos! I also like how she ties her hard time into a blessing in disguise! This is what Cindy had to say about her page, "Here's a layout I made in 2006.  My husband's workplace burned to the ground.  When he returned to his office after the ATF investigators left, he recovered a few charred quarters and nothing else.  The fire was devastating, but there was a silver lining for us.  Steve was able to work from home full time while the company rebuilt.  Trevor was an infant, so Steve was there when he learned to sit up, learned tp crawl, learned to walk- all things he might have missed if he'd been gone 10+ hours a day like before.  It turned out that the blessing in disguise was short-lived, as the company struggled significantly after the fire and ended up laying him off about 9 months later."

Do you have hard times pages that you would like this share? Send them to me at scrappingpam73@yahoo.com and I will feature them.

Heather's Sketch & Template # 10

Hi everyone! It's Heather, and I'm back to share another sketch/template with you. I included room for a vertical 5x7 photo, but you could also put several smaller photos in the same space. If you would like to save the sketch to your computer, feel free to right click on the image and then click "Save As".

I asked the wonderful contributors here at Ideas For Scrapbookers to create example pages with the sketch. I was grateful that several of the ladies offered their assistance. Dolores sent me this beautiful page with a photo of her sweet dog! I love the color combination that she used, and the way she kept the scalloped circle accents. 

Marlene made a very frosty, fun page! I love how she substituted the photos inside of the scalloped circles. It's a great way to include more photos in the design. I also love the journaling on her page. It tells such a fun story! I'm a big fan of never growing up.

Nancy made this beautiful scrapbook page with four photos instead of one large focal photo. I love the floral accents and the spool of twine. I think her take on the sketch is a great reminder that a sketch is only a suggestion or jumping off point. Changing things up or making different design choices is a neat way to make the sketch uniquely yours! 

I made two examples with the sketch. This is a digital page that I created with supplies from Elle's Studio. (They're available at Jessica Sprague's website.) I stayed pretty true to the sketch but I added some swirls and a big cluster of flowers. I also didn't journal around the edges as indicated on the sketch. 

This is a paper page that I made with a Scraptastic Club kit. I loved the patterned paper with the banners on it, so I chose to fussy cut and use them on my page. The writing on the photo was done digitally in Photoshop Elements before I printed it out to scrapbook. 

Thank you very much to all of the lovely ladies who helped me provide example pages for this post! I really appreciate your help and creativity. 

I didn't forget the freebie! Please click on the link below if you would like to download the layered template that I created in Photoshop Elements.

http://www.box.com/s/i6gd33f1p6m87m3aagga

Heather's Sketch & Template #9

Good morning everyone! It's Heather again, and I'm here to share a sketch and free template with you. I asked a few of my friends to contribute inspirational layouts for this post. I ended up liking the sketch so much that I made a few pages to share as well. You will find the sketch below. Please feel free to right click on the image and then click "Save As" if you would like to save the .jpg to your computer for later use.

Michelle contributed this page of her kids playing in the snow. I really love how she changed the sketch to work with the photos she had. I also love the misting on the blue paper and the super adorable snowmen!

The next page is by Amanda Johnson. She stayed pretty close to the sketch design, but she enlarged the title and that makes it have so much more impact! I also really like the way she added the brad to the wooden banner in the upper left corner.

Juliann did a wonderful job converting the sketch to 8.5 x 11 so it would work with her scrappy style. I think the way she overlapped the letters is really neat. I also love how she double matted the photos!

I am inspired by the way Jessica left the centers in the alphabet letters.  Her design choice really helps them stand out a little more on her blue background. She also cut a flower diecut so it would look like a cloud. That's such a good idea! 

Thank you all very much for using my sketch! I really appreciate your help and creativity. 

I created the next three pages. The first one is a paper page. (*All of the paper layouts in this post were created with supplies from Scraptastic Club kits!) I loved being able to use lots of different embellishments on this layout. The Prima flower was my favorite accent. It's just so pretty!

I also created two digital layouts using products from Becky Higgins and the other fabulous designers at Jessica Sprague's website. This page was for my Project Life last year, I was able to fit seven photos on one page!

This is the second page. Again, it was a page that I included in my Project Life. I used it twice because it was an awesome way to cram a ton of photos on one page. Don't worry, I didn't put them side by side in my book so no one will ever notice!

I followed the sketch and template pretty closely on my pages. It made scrapping go much quicker. That's one of the reasons why I love sketches and templates so much! 

If you're a digital scrapbooker and you would like to download the layered template freebie, you can click on either of the links below to download.

4shared OR Box

Designer Showcase: Favorite Layouts/Projects from 2011

Happy Wednesday, it's Pam here and this is my first post here on this blog in 2012! Yay!  I am doing the designer showcase for a very special post. I posted my favorite layouts from 2011 a couple of weeks ago here. If you haven't yet, you really should go through you own projects and layouts and find your favorites from last year, it is sooo fun!
I asked the contributors to share some of their favorite layouts/projects from 2011 and today, for the designers showcase, I will be sharing their pages. I will share half and then next week I will share the other half!

Heather send me three great pages. I think you will why see why each page is special to her. The way she captures each moment is great and inspired me! Here are Heather's favorite pages from last year!

Cathy is sharing some of her favorite layouts and projects. I love looking at the work people have created in the past and I adore these projects. Each one is special and unique and captures her cool style perfectly! :)

Vicky is sharing some favorites layouts/projects as well that really capture her style and range of scrapbooking!  I think it's easy to understand why these are her favorites as they have such beautiful qualities to each one!

Last for today are four favorite layouts by Nancy. I think you will enjoy seeing all of the techniques she used on her four favorites! I can see why these are her favorites... they capture her children in an amazing way!

Don't forget to tune in next week when I share more contributor favorites! Have a great day!