The Sawyer Scott

To keep your creative juices flowing....here is a layout I created using this week's sketch of the week.


Happy Scrapping!!

Sketch of the Week: 2012-01-22

Thanks to all those who voted!!  This week's sketch is a 12" x 12" Double layout with room for SEVEN pictures and lots of journaling.

As you will find, my focus is usually on pictures (I love to take pictures) and journaling (I love to write), but you can always switch things up and replace pictures for embellishments or add even MORE pictures!!  A sketch is just that....a draft to get you started....you can use it to get the creative juices flowing and turn it into something you love!

Happy Scrapping!!

Scrapbooking Tools: Paper Piercers

I was asked the other day about paper piercers..... What are they?  What you can do with them (besides stick your finger)?  Where can I get one?

Well, in its simplest form, a paper piercer is a handheld tool that looks like a large needle with a handle. It works a lot like a hole punch, but on a much smaller scale. The purpose of a paper piercer is, as its name indicates, to pierce paper, but instead of creating an eraser-sized hole (like a hole punch), a paper piercer makes a pin-sized hole.  


A lot of scrappers will use it to make a hole in their cardstock when attaching brads because brads by themselves aren't sharp enough and have a tendency to rip your precious scrapbook paper.  A paper piercer will make a nice pin-size hole in your paper for the brad to fit in. You can also use it to make starter holes for thread work, if you like to embellish your scrapbook layouts with fancy thread or ribbon. 


You can find paper piercers at about an arts and crafts or hobby store and even on Amazon. They're inexpensive and a must, in my opinion, in any scrappers tool kit.

Happy Scrapping!

Sun Days....

Sun Days...., a photo by choubox on Flickr.

Here's a layout based on this week's sketch of the week!

Sketch of the Week: 2012-01-15

This week's sketch is a 12" x 12" single layout with four pictures!  The great thing about 12" x 12" layouts is that they are easily modified for those that prefer the 8" x 8" format.  In this case, the 5" square photo would become a 3" photo and you only use two 2" photos instead of three.

In either format, you can also swap out patterned paper or embellishments for the smaller square pictures and get creative with the title.  You've got lots of space!

Don't forget to vote each week!  Happy Scrapping!!

Sketch of the Week: 2012-01-08

It's not often that there are enough votes for an 8.5" x 11" sketch, but there were this week!!  Vote early and vote often for your favorite layout and you can help decide the next free layout sketch of the week!!

Happy Scrapping!!

A Year in the Life - Week 1

So, I'm a week into my Picture-a-Day challenge and it is well....a challenge. By the end of the day, I usually have a picture to use, but I determined very early on that it's easy to take a picture, but I'm trying to take a picture that is representative of the day....or a tradition of my family.....or something particularly striking. So far, I've taken several pictures of my boys, an incredible sunset, a thermometer and a book. As I've gone through this week, I've also made a list of those things that I could or want to take a picture of. For example, I always have a Starbucks in the morning and my current favorite is a skim cinnamon dolce latte, so I take a picture of the cup every morning....just in case I don't get anything else for the day. Of course, when that actually happens, I'll have to find a new "go to" picture. :-)

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!  I trust you had a safe and wonderful evening (and may still be recovering)!!  :-)  Here is this week's sketch - an 8" x 8" Double Layout - based on your votes.  If you'd like to see a different sketch - don't forget to vote.

Have a great week and Happy Scrapping!!

Christmas Cards

Now, I realize that this is a little late, but better late than never, right?.....  These are the Christmas cards that I made this year.

They are little pouches and I actually used the same design for baby announcements earlier in the year. The finished product is a 5" x 7" card that is made from a 5" x 10" strip of paper with a 4.5" x 6.5" inlay.  To finish up the card, fold up the bottom 3" of the 5" x 10" paper strip.

I've found that double-sided paper with a solid color on one side work best and the pouch format is great for those Christmas pictures!! Happy Scrapping!!

2012: A Year in the Life

So, it's no secret among my family and friends that I've been known to take a picture or two....of normal and, not so normal, things ( I have more than one picture of manhole covers....yes, manhole covers). So, when I saw a recent blog post about a "Photo a Day - 365 Project", I was intrigued and thought this coming year as good as any to take on this kind of project.

The advent of smartphones with their built-in cameras means you always have a camera with you and since I end up doing a "year in review" for our annual Christmas letter anyway, I will be doing all my prep work throughout the year instead of all at once.

If you haven't heard of it, the challenge is to take at least one picture a day. It's very much like a diary, but in this case, a visual one and one that I will be sharing the progress and sketches for the resulting scrapbook pages. It starts on January 1, 2012 and I hope you will join me on this adventure!! Happy Scrapping!

Back from....the Other Side of the World

Hi!  I'm sure some of you are wondering whether I fell off the face of the Earth, but in fact, I just traveled to the other side of the Earth.  Every now and then, my "real" job takes me to far away places....places I've never been and this is no different.  As a result, though, my love for scrapbooking (and being able to post sketches and scrapbook ideas) takes a back seat as I rack up the frequent flyer miles.  :-)

In this particular instance, I spent one week in Little Rock, Arkansas and promptly turned around and spent a week in Seoul, South Korea.  I had never been to Asia before and it was a great experience, so I will definitely be going back (when it's warmer)!!

The good news is....the very long plane ride back allowed me to work on more sketches, so while my plan of handmade card sketches every week during the holidays kind of fell through, there will be more of those and of regular scrapbook pages coming very soon.

I hope everyone has an excellent holiday season and Happy New Year!!

Handmade Cards

I used two of these three templates for Thanksgiving cards.  I used small 4" x 5.5" cards. The same templates can be used for Christmas cards too and are super easy to make!!

Sketch of the Week 2011-11-13

OK....so I "sort of" lied.  Last week, I said I'd be switching to holiday card templates/sketches this week, so you can all start working on cards to your loved ones....and we will!  Just wanted to post one more scrapbook sketch for those of you that voted this week - the winner is a 12 x 12 (Double).  The first card template (and finished product) will follow shortly!

Hope you all have a great week and Happy Scrapping!!

Choubox Sketch Pad

Sketch of the Week 2011-11-06

Since one person made the effort to vote for their favorite format (6x6 Double) five times.....that's what we went with for this week's sketch (12x12 Single was a close second)!! ....and from here on out, since we're in the holiday season, the sketches are going to focus on handmade card templates - either to "Give Thanks" at Thanksgiving or wish friends and family "Happy Holidays".

Happy Scrapping!!

Sketch of the Week 2011-10-23

I oops'd last week and didn't post the Sketch of the Week on the blog!  So, here are both this week's and last week's sketches.  This week's is an 8" x 8" and last week's was a 12" x 12".  The voting results were literally split right down the middle this week, so I flipped a coin!!  Make sure to keep voting for your favorite!

Have a great week and Happy Scrapping!!

Sketch of the Week 2011-10-09

Wedding Vow Layout

One of the most common wedding pictures is of the bride and groom's hands, intertwined, with shiny new wedding bands. It's a simple, yet, powerful picture symbolizing their love and new life together. The vows spoken during the ceremony are equally powerful and the perfect journaling to accompany the "ring" picture, especially if the vows were written by the bride and groom.  The layout itself can be simple....no need for a huge title or lots of embellishments....the image will "do the talking" with the vows serving as an appropriate complement. The colors you use are up to you....you can use "traditional" wedding scrapbook paper in black and white, go metallic to match your rings (with brads and eyelets to match) or use paper that matches your exact wedding colors. You may even want to frame the end product and put it on permanent display in your house as an ever-present reminder of your love for each other. Happy Scrapping!

A Twist on The Clothes Pin Game

We've all played it....whether at a baby or bridal shower. Everyone is handed a clothes pin and you get to take others' when they say the "secret" word. The person with the most clothes pins at the end of event wins. Pretty simple, right?  Well, let's kick the "baby shower" version up a notch and make it something you can put in a scrapbook.

In my twist, everyone at the shower gets a large tag with a ribbon that they can wear like a lanyard. The tag has the baby's name or baby related words on it. Instead of starting out with a clothes pin, everyone starts out with one or two letters on their tag (attached using repositionable adhesive tabs). As you've probably figured out, the goal is to get other people's letters to complete your tag...if they say the "secret" word, you get to take one of their letters. The first person to fill up their tag WINS!!

The great thing about this version is that everyone gets to take their tag home to scrapbook as a remembrance of the event. Have fun and Happy Scrapping!!

Scrapbook Consistency

I was asked the other day whether a themed scrapbook has to be consistent from page-to-page. As with all things scrapbook, I truly believe there is no right answer, but here are some guidelines that I go by.....

Page layouts, with the exception of the Title and Closing pages, should be two-page layouts. This gives you maximum space for pictures and journaling, while focusing on a single topic that allows for a smooth flow in your visual space. Single page layouts are still doable, but, to me, limit what you can put on a page....usually just a few pictures and a title.

Colors should be as consistent as possible, but it also depends on your pictures. If your pictures allow for the use of a few main colors, with coordinating patterned paper for accent, that will allow for a nice color scheme throughout the scrapbook.

As for page order, chronological order fits most themes, but you can always mix it up if you think certain items are more important than time-based order.

Happy Scrapping!!

Valley Forge Review

Let me just get this off my chest, and I promise I won't mention it again, but next time I consider driving up I-95 in the summer - on a weekend - please stop me. I spent more than eight hours getting to and from Valley Forge. Fortunately, though, while there were storms, none were strong enough to knock out the power. :-)

So, you're wondering, how was it?...

Overall, I'd rate it a B. I could never rate (1) an opportunity for "me" time or (2) the opportunity to scrap or shop for scrapbook supplies in peace badly. But, while I made some really great layouts and bought A LOT of really cool scrapbook supplies, I was disappointed that I didn't learn more technique-wise, though it does harden my determination to go to CKU next year for sure!

Here's a review of all the clases:

A Thing or Two about Boys - This was sponsored by QuikQuotes. This was simply a process of building layouts based on their kits. The one thing that I did get reinforced is a neat way to make slide mounts match your layout.

LuCKy Girl - This was sponsored by CK and taught by Creating Keepsakes, Managing Editor, Brittany Beattie. We made a little scrapbook of the things were are most grateful for that fit in a little tin. Definitely very cool scrapbook...I see Christmas presents

All About Heritage - This was also sponsored by QuikQuotes. Again, it was simply a process of creating layouts. Neat way to do photo corners out of vellum.

Boys Go Zoom! - This was a class on board books, which I wasn't quite expecting. The board book was made with glossy chipboard - I had been thinking of natural chipboard. But...I did learn a cool way to make photo corners with ribbon (if enough people are interested - write me to let me know - I'll write something up about this, the vellum photo corners and slide mounts).

You've Been Framed! - This was a class on creating unique frames with your scrapbook supplies and was sponsored by Simple Scrapbooks. Nothing fancy or complicated, but a super-cool idea!

10 Things Every Scrapbooker Should Know - This too was taught by Brittany Beattie and was full of great little tips that "every scrapbooker should know," such as...it's OK to scraplift, it's OK to create a layout without pictures, it's OK to take LOTs of pictures and more! Definitely recommend it if they offer again next year.

Now, by the time I was coming to my last class...I was exhausted and knew that I had a long drive in front of me, so what probably would have been a lot of fun ended up being disappointing in a way.

Keep it Simple, Make it Quick, Get it Done with Metropolis - It's a really long title and was set as a two-hour class, but as the title states, it was simple. In fact, too simple for my liking at the time. I wanted to be challenged, but instead I was given a pack of Scenic Route scrapbook supplies with instructions to make four two-page layouts. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about great supplies, but I wanted to learn something different and quickly realized that wasn't going to happen in this class. So, about an hour in, I decided to pack up and hit the road - even if I was giving up the chance to win a door prize.

Another year is done and I look forward to what next year will bring in my scrapbook education!