scrapbook saturday..... getting started!

 Creating Your First Layout
So you’ve bought all the supplies but just aren’t sure where to start. Everyone has his or her own individual style and idea of what a page should be, but all good layouts usually have some common elements:




Pictures -
First, choose the photo(s) for your layout. You do not need to use every picture you take, only those that best represent the event or memory you wish to capture. Good photo's to use usually focus on the main image with little or no fuss around to distract you from the main image,


Theme or Concept -
look at the pictures and see what theme you want your layout to have. The theme can be anything and is essentially the subject of the page: Christmas, new baby, love, friendship, traditions, etc. Think about the story you want to tell (journaling) and a title for your layout.



Colour scheme -
Picking the right colours of card stock might seem a little daunting, but the ea

siest way to choose your colours is to take the colours from your photo's

In addition to choosing colors based on the colours in your photos, you might also choose your color scheme based on the theme (such as pastel blue for a baby boy page).
 


A great tool for helping with choosing your layout colours is the Stampin' Up! colour coach Click here for more information




Embellishments - Next, embellishments buttons, brads, eyelets and ribbons to name a few, can help unify the photos, paper and journaling. They can be simple or elaborate. Once again, look at your photos and concept for inspiration such as using fabric flowers that mimic a child’s dress in the focal photograph.



These don't need to be expensive embellishments a button or a brad or may be have a go at creating your own a paper flowers, stamped or punch shapes work really well too. Remember to refer to your pictures for inspiration.


Unity -
The last step is to put it all together. If layout design is a challenge for you, you can work with a layout sketch or “floorplan” to help you decide where to place each element on your page. The floorplans have already taken into account basic design principles such as focal point, repetition, balance and unity, but if you are working from scratch remember to keep it simple to start with too much could spoil your page,



Last but not least don't stick straight away play around with your chosen elements first and see what works with your image(s) It's much easier to remove those "mistakes" without adhesive and will save those valuable memories on your page.


If you would like some layout ideas then check out the challenge site some of the challenge sketches are perfect for  your scrapbooking layouts!