Saturday, March 31, 2012

Sketches of the Week: 2012-04-01

I'm going to be traveling with my family tomorrow, so I wanted to get the Sketch of the Week (or in this case, sketches) posted for your use!  Based on your votes, the winning format was 8" x 8" single.  I got some extra inspiration today, so I decided to make two.  :-)  I really liked the simplicity of these sketches.  If you prefer a different format, make sure to vote and then you'll get a free sketch next week!


Happy Scrapping!

Meeting Grandma and Grandpa

So, we've had a page in your new baby scrapbook featuring Mom, Dad and even siblings, but what about Grandma and Grandpa?!! We can't forget about their first visit, especially if they travelled many miles to get there.  And...just so there is equal "billing" among the two sets of grandparents....this layout features two 4" x 6" pictures.  


If you'd rather, you can use this layout for other "introduction" pictures, like your new son or daughter meeting their Aunts, Uncles, Cousins or family friends for the first time.  Happy Scrapping!!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Announcing...Your New Baby!!

You saw this sketch 10 days ago, but I wanted to put I wanted to put it in its proper context....


The design of this layout is taken almost directly from (of all things) a birth announcement.  I loved the design of my cousin’s announcement and thought it would make a great layout for a new baby scrapbook. Unlike “traditional” scrapbook layouts, where the focal picture is on left….this one has the focal picture on the right.  Now, while it may go counter to standard design criteria, it still maintains proper visual flow from left-to-right (those standard design criteria are more like guidelines anyway...).  You can use store bought patterned paper for the one-inch strip that runs across the bottom of the page or you can make your own with your new baby’s birth information (click here for more information) and for a title, you can put your baby’s name in big chipboard letters.  Happy Scrapping!!

Monday, March 26, 2012

Special Delivery!

You’ve waited nine months for the stork to arrive with a “Special Delivery”, so find two of your favorite pictures (4" x 6") of your little one or two pictures from the hospital to fill in the next two pages of your new baby scrapbook. Of course, you can always use this layout for something completely different, like baby’s first bath, pictures with siblings, the trip home or baby’s first Christmas.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Daddy's Pride and Joy

Gather up those precious pictures of Daddy with his “Little Angel” or “Little Man” and show them off on these two pages of your new baby scrapbook.  


You’ve got room for a 5” x 7” and two 3” x 5”.  You can switch up the title based on whether or not your new bundle of joy is little girl or a little boy and…if you’ve rather use another format for your “Daddy” pictures, then you can use this for “Big Brother/Sister” pictures because they are important too and it is too cute to see your first born cradle their baby brother or sister.  Happy Scrapping!!

Friday, March 23, 2012

Cute as a Button

So, how many of you loved to collect stickers as you were younger?  Or maybe you just love to accessorize?... Then you will probably love to embellish your scrapbook pages too, but what is a scrapbook embellishment?  Click here to learn more!!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Precious Moments

Precious “Mom”ents…  You can’t have a new baby scrapbook without a layout featuring Mom!  In this example, the two-page layout calls for three average size pictures (4” x 6” and 3” x 5”), but you have the room to turn your focal picture into a 5” x 7” or change the two 3” x 5” pictures into four 3” x 3” pictures.  Click here to learn more!!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

New Baby Scrapbook

The birth of a child is a great motivator to start a new baby scrapbook - what better way to show off your new bundle of joy, or new grandchild! Of course, the prospect of scrapbooking can be daunting…to someone looking for the outside in. What size scrapbook to use? What kind of adhesive should I use?...and probably one of the hardest of all… How do I arrange all my pictures (in other words…how do I make a layout)?  Click here to learn more!!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

What is a Scrapbook?

By its simplest definition, a scrapbook is a collection of memories, usually in photographic and/or written form (a picture does tell a thousand words, but sometimes it helps to embellish with words) bound in an album.  Of course, these albums come in many shapes and sizes and the definition of a scrapbook "album" has morphed over the years from a ring-bound photo album (with those yucky sticky pages) to 12" x 12", 8" x 8", etc., all made with archival products.  For more on how to make a scrapbook, check out this article!


For more scrapbooking definitions....visit the Scraptionary!!  Happy Scrapping

Monday, March 19, 2012

Sketch of the Week: 2012-03-19

Happy Spring (or Fall depending on where you are in the world)!!  


This week's winner of the Sketch of the Week is a 12" x 12" double page layout.  This sketch was actually inspired by a magazine ad....there were huge letters across the middle of the page with pictures all around advertising clothing and jewelry.  I thought it might make a good layout, especially for a birthday. 


I'd love to see what your layouts turn out like!!  You can post them in the Choubox Scrapbook Layout Gallery and don't forget to VOTE for your favorite layout size for the Sketch of the Week.  Happy Scrapping!!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Three New Sketches

These three sketches are all in the "baby" scrapbook series.  They are 8.5" x 8.5" and two of them are actually new....I was inspired to make the first one based off a baby announcement I recently received and the last one was actually inspired by a website for one of our fine State Capitols.  It is truly amazing where inspiration will come from, so always keep your eye out for it.  Happy Scrapping!






Thursday, March 15, 2012

NOLA

Last year, I took my first trip to New Orleans.  It was....an experience.  It was beautiful and crazy and tasty all at the same time.  This is a digital 12" x 12" layout based on my trip using the March 13th sketch.  This particular layout uses the "muted" photo idea I mentioned in that blog post.  Happy Scrapping!!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Get Out The Vote!!

As we get further into this election year, the campaigns will heat up and our opportunity for memory making will go up as we become involved with volunteer efforts for our favorite candidate.  Whether it will be your first opportunity to vote in a national election, a special post-election party or a memory of doing your part, check out these ideas for political scrapbook layouts!

Happy Scrapping!



Tuesday, March 13, 2012

More Sketches Please!

I have to say that I "cheated" when I came up with this sketch....I saw a similar design on the front of an informational magazine and thought it would make an interesting layout.  


The cool thing about this design is that you can make the squares whatever size you want.  It's a 12" x 12" single layout and in this example I used 3" squares throughout.  


Now, the 3" squares that surround the four pictures can be (1) patterned paper blocks or (2) other pictures that have an opaque layering on them that make the main pictures stand out even more (see example here).


Now, if this format isn't your favorite, then all you have to do is vote for the Sketch of the Week!!  Right now, the front runner is a 12" x 12" double page layout.  I count the votes each week and whatever layout format has the most votes wins - all you have to do is vote!  Happy Scrapping!



Monday, March 12, 2012

Sketch of the Week: 2012-03-12

Happy Monday!!  Thanks to everyone for your interest in the blog!  


Here is sketch #2 in the baby scrapbook series (along with a real life example of the finished product).  


It's another 8.5" x 8.5" double scrapbook layout.  This is a non-standard scrapbook size, but actually a very common "smaller" size for K&Company.  In fact, I will often use their Itsy Bitsy Baby Girl or Baby Boy lines to make this baby scrapbook.  


The example below actually uses Basic Grey (another one of my favorites).


I'm hoping to get a few more sketches up this week (baby book and others)....the last week was spent getting ready for my boys' 8th birthday and everything else was put on hold as a result.  In the meantime, hope everyone has a great week.  Happy Scrapping!!

Sunday, March 04, 2012

Sketch of the Week: 2012-03-04

This is the first in a series of sketches related to a project I'm working on....a scrapbook to capture those first few baby pictures.

It's an 8.5" x 8.5" format, but can easily be modified to fit 8" or 12" scrapbook and this happens to be for a baby girl, but you can just switch up the titles and make it for a baby boy as well.  In fact, I've used a lot of the same sketches for both a baby girl and baby boy scrapbook.  They're easy and great for gifts.  Happy Scrapping!!  :-)








Don't forget to vote for the Sketch of the Week @ www.choubox.com!