Free Scrapbooking Ideas: How to Recreate This Design

This article features a 12-by-12 scrapbooking layout using papers, stickers and embellishments by Reminisce. The article will give you instructions for recreating or "scraplifting" this layout using your own photos. The article also includes suggestions for how you can use these papers to create your own variations of this theme.

Please take a look at the photos at left. The first photo shows the layout that you will be learning to make in this lesson. This layout uses three 4x6 photos, which is ideal for use by scrappers who don't like to hassle with making enlargements. My photos were cropped in order to get this effect. This is a layout that I created to celebrate our wedding anniversary, but since this is not specifically an anniversary themed layout, you can adapt it to suit your own needs. It's a versatile design that you could use for pretty much any theme.

Supplies used in this scrapbooking layout:

2 sheets of Reminisce double sided cardstock, Basic Graph pattern. This is from the Black and White Basics line, item #BW-101.

1 sheet of Reminisce double-sided cardstock, "Shelley" pattern. This is item #SST-009 from the Stripestock line. I used the side with the red and pink grid.

1 sheet of Reminisce Magic Polka Dots patterned paper. This is item #RM-011 from the Real Magic line.

Reminisce Black & White Basics self-adhesive die cut alphabet stickers; these are the plain black letters, item # BW-101 from the Black & White Basics line. One sheet of these was sufficient for my title, but I doubt you are going to copy my title exactly, so plan accordingly for the title you have in mind. Since there is a generous amount of letters on these sticker sheets, most titles will only require one sheet of these stickers. When in doubt, though, buy 2 sheets.

Reminisce Black & White Basics self-adhesive die cut stickers ~ this is the smaller sticker assortment featuring stickers with black and white geometric shapes, hibiscus flowers, and a couple of border stickers. In my layout I used 5 of the stickers from this sheet. This is item #BW-100 from the Black & White Basics line.

The 2 arrow stickers on the layout are from Reminisce's Great Outdoors Line. I used the arrow stickers from the Great Outdoors journal sticker sheet ~ item #TGO-107.

Autumn Leaves Stitched Journaling Panels Clear Stamp. (The stamp is used to make the heart shaped journaling area.) You also need ink of your choice. I used black ink.

Scalloped decorative scissors ~ any brand will do, but if you are going to buy new scissors I highly recommend Fiskars brand.

A variety of different kinds of patterned ribbon: polka dots, stripes, checks, ginghams, plaids, solids, and florals. The ribbons I used were all either black and white, black and red, or red and white. The brand names on these ribbons are Offray, RibbonFX, plus there are some that were manufactured for Michael's stores. The ribbons are all used in 12-inch lengths.

Pens & Pencils: In this layout, I used black marker, red marker, and white colored pencil. My markers and pencils are all by Prismacolor, but you can use whichever brand you happen to have at home.

Chalk: I used the red chalk from my palette of chalks by Craf-T products. The chalk is used on the title and the journaling block.

Adhesive of your choice.

Instructions for making the layout:

First, choose the photos you want to use with this layout. There are several things to keep in mind when choosing your photos. The photos I chose for this layout are effective because they are clean, focused, and uncluttered. They also include lots of white space in the background. The white background of the photos contrasts nicely with the black grid of the Reminisce Black and White graph cardstock. The white space in the background also enables me to add some stickers and embellishments on top of my photos, which makes the layout a bit more interesting. Photos with busy backgrounds will not work as well for this idea. If you choose similar photos, your finished layout will retain this look too. Of course, you can choose whichever photos you like; half the fun of scraplifting is seeing how different your layout will be from the layout that you are scraplifting.

Cutting the papers:

You are going to keep one sheet of the Basic Graph paper uncut to use as your background. Use the black side of the paper. (Since this paper is double sided, the other side can be made into a whole other layout later!)

The other papers mentioned in the supply list are going to get cut up.

The second sheet of Basic Graph paper is going to be used to make the title and the journaling block. The awesome thing about this paper is that it is so easy to measure and cut ~ having the grid is great! It's so easy to work with. My title is about 6 ½ blocks high (roughly 1 ¾") by about 40 blocks long (roughly 10 ¼" ). Yours may vary slightly. I cut my title using regular scissors, but you could use your decorative scissors if you prefer. I used the white side of the Basic Graph paper for both the title and the journaling block.

My journaling block was cut out using my decorative scissors. It measures roughly 13 blocks high (3 ¼ inches) by 16 blocks wide (about 4 inches.) Yours may vary slightly; adjust it depending on how much you crop your photos.

The Shelley Stripestock paper is used on the left hand side of the layout. I cut it out using decorative scissors. It measures approximately 3 inches wide by 11 ½ inches high.

You only need a tiny bit of the Magic Polka Dots paper; cut off one strip of polka dots (about 12 inches long by 5/8" wide). If you look at the right hand edge of the finished layout, you can see the Magic Polka Dots paper (it's layered under the journaling block.)

I also used bits of the Magic Polka Dots paper to cut out the hearts that are layered on top of the photo of my husband. I cut them freehand. You could use a heart template to help you if you prefer. The hearts are about an inch and a half each.

Doodling:

I doodled on the journaling block, the title, and the hand cut hearts, and some of the stickers. Feel free to copy my doodles if you'd like. You can always dream up your own, instead. Believe me when I say that I am not doing anything that anyone else couldn't be doing too ~ these silly doodles really aren't anything extraordinary.

The writing on the arrows says "Mine! Got that?" which made my husband laugh when he first saw this layout, because I am always telling him, "You are mine. You got that?" So if you'd rather, you could choose to put something a bit more personal to you in your own layout. But, if you want to scraplift it the way I did it, please feel free. Maybe it will make your sweetie laugh, too.

Chalking:

Using eye shadow applicators, I applied chalk around the edges of the title, and around the edges of the journaling block.

The journaling:

The journaling on the left hand side was created around a stamped impression of the Autumn Leaves Stitched Journaling Panel. It reads: "A Love Story: You and me. FOREVER. The end." There are doodled hearts at the end.

The journaling on the right reads: "September 1997 through Sept. 2007 ~ and still going strong! (with a row of doodled hearts) Happy Anniversary! I Love you!"

There is not much space on this layout for detailed journaling, but you do not need to write an essay for your journaling to be effective. Since my layout shows just a few everyday moments from our lives, the journaling isn't extensive. At the very least, a date should be included (if you know the date on which the photos were taken. The best I could do in this case was the month and year.)

Ideas for variations on this theme:

This would be a great layout to showcase photos where you get dressed up to go out ~ you know, the sort of photos where your man's wearing a tux or dark suit and you're wearing a little black dress. It would also be great for Valentine's day photos. It would be cute to use in a layout of your pets, or your kids, or your family photos. There are a lot of different possibilities!

General scrapbooking tip:

Don't be afraid to mix and match product lines. As you've seen here, you can choose papers and embellishments from a variety of different lines to get the effect you want. Also, don't feel like you need to use each line exactly for its intended theme. As you see in this layout, I used some stickers from the Great Outoors line, and my layout has nothing at all to do with the great outdoors!

Show us your layouts!

If you actually use these ideas to create your own layout, please post a photo online and leave a comment in the comments area with a link to your layout! I know I would love to see them, and I am sure you will inspire many other people too.

Please bookmark my articles for more free scrapbooking ideas! I will be posting many more layouts in the future. If you found this article helpful, please pass the link on to a friend. Thanks for taking a look!