I don't know about you but I've always had ahard time setting up my layouts. Even if I have a sketch to start with, I just can't seem to get myphotos and all the other elements of my page where I want them to go :( I have sat in front of a page for hours, trying to decide where to start or how I'm going to move forward. I found an article onhow to make sketches easy and get, not only one page out of a sketch layout, but maybe 3, 4 or even 5 pages from just onelayout sketch!!
This technique is called "sketch spinning" and you will see just how easy it is to get multiple pages out of one sketch :) It's simple really....just find a sketch that you like and start spinning it, turning it 90 degrees each time! By "spinning" the layout, you get a "new" sketch with every turn :) It looks like this in the original position...
You can add or remove any part of the sketch that you want and make it all your own. See how she added a 4 photo collage in the square space below the journal spot? She also left the top square on the right empty for an overflow area of her embellishments :) I love seeing other finished layouts because when it comes to setting upmy pages, my brain just doesn't think that way...LOL! I see the sketch and my page ends up looking the exact same as the sketch whether I like it or not...ugh!
So now you are done with one page and you want to make another. Let's say you are in a great scrapping mood and ready to pump out some pages but you don't want to waste a whole lot of time in between. So you take the sketch that you found and that you like and turn it 90 degrees to the right, so the sketch looks like this....
Wala! A brand new layout, tweaked to fit your new page :) The 4 separate photo boxes are still in the layout only now they are at the bottom. The larger square is not at the top right with only one photo this time and the title is now on the far right. Neat huh? You learn something new everyday ;)
Obviously you could continue to rotate 90 degrees until you have 4 completely different-looking layouts :) Unless you put the layouts right next to each other, in a row, on a table for people to examine, I bet nobody would ever know that you've used the same sketch for every layout!
This little article changed my crafting life forever...LOL (as silly as it seems)! I now feel like I don't have to be stuck looking at the same blank page for hours, trying to figure out what to do :) And since I have 7 years of scrapbooking to catch up on, I'd say that's a pretty valuable piece of information to know :)
Here is a digital layout I did using this sketch :) I used my "I Love NY" Lady Liberty bear PNG to add a little of Paper Piecings by Nikki to this layout :) If you are more of a paper crafter, my patterns also come in cuttable formats. Whether you have an electric cutting machine or you hand cut, you can do any kind of crafting with my designs :) I had this photo plng time so I couldn't wait to get to Liberty Island and actually take it because I knew it was going to be a great shot! This trip had been a dream of mine ever since I was little and my husband finally made it come true for me just recently <3
Hope I was able to show you something you never thought of before :) I know that I will be using the "sketch spinning" technique all of the time now ;)
If you like this post and you enjoy my blog, please suggest it to a friend :) I would love as many followers as I can get :) And just so I can see how many people will read this post, here is a small challenge for you ;) Leave a comment on this post about what you think of the "sketch spinning" technique :) Let me know if it's something you've been doing for awhile or if this is a brand new idea that you will use in the future. Those who leave comments will be assigned a number according to their comment order. I will then use Random Number Generator to choose a number :) The winner will get a free die cut pattern/printable pattern set of $5.00 or less from my store :) Let's see how many people actually read my blog ;) Good luck :)
Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more new techniques and ideas for all of your crafting hobbies :)
Lots of Hugs!
Nikki
©Paper Piecings by Nikki
