Inspiration Everywhere

Happy Saturday!  As many of us have heard many times before, inspiration is all around us.  That sounds like a wonderful concept...until you sit down to create a project and realize you are experiencing "scrapper's block."  How do you find inspiration when you are stuck?  One simple solution is to open up a magazine.  When you think about it, magazines are FULL of layouts.  If you think about it in scrapbooking terms, a magazine can be a book of sketches!  Here's how I took a magazine layout and converted it into a digi-layout.

First, I found a magazine layout that I thought would work well as a scrapbook layout.  Tip: Search for layouts that have distinctly shaped photos as opposed to layouts where the image floods the entire background (although that might be a cool idea also).

 

Next, I created a sketch in Photoshop.  If you choose not to work in a digital program, you can also draft a magazine-inspired sketch with good old-fashioned pencil and paper.  (Download this sketch for free.  Just right click and save.)

Here is my completed layout!  I really like how it came out and I will definitely use this technique again.  Give it a try!

Inspiration Magazine Layout Source: www.dbadesign.com.au

Keeping You In Stitches!

So, I had a ball last night at the June Scrapbook Pajama Party hosted by Classygirl!  I was able to complete this layout with the sketch that she provided here. (You can see the replay here.) It also gave me a chance to use my new stitched embellishment.  

Have you noticed the trend of machine stitching on cards and layouts lately?  I certainly have. But, the idea of pulling out my sewing machine everytime I want to add that detail just seemed to be too much.  So, I came up with an easier way to add machine stitching to my layouts.  

With this technique, you can create a bunch of stitched embellishments at one time and keep it handy for when you need it!  Check out the tutorial below and give it a try.  You can use different colors of thread and different styles of stitches. 

 Here's a close up look!