Kelly Goree and a PageMaps sketch = magic! (and a giveaway!!!)

Hi, everyone!!   It's Kelly Goree here with you today and I'm really excited to be back on the SCT blog! It's been a while since I've had a chance to share with you and yet I still couldn't figure out what I wanted to talk about. My mom used to tell me it's always best to start with what you know so I am going to share with you  just exactly where I am in my creative/scrappy life and we'll go from there. To do that means I need to put this out there in the universe. Are you ready for it?

THIS WINTER ALMOST KILLED ME!! AND BESIDES THAT IT SUCKED ALL MY SCRAPPY MOJO WITH EVERY INCH OF SNOW WE GOT!!  No lie! But now, with the coming of spring and the melting of the snow, I need to figure out exactly where my mojo has been hibernating all winter because I am itching to create!

So for inspiration and hopefully a return of my long-lost mojo, I went straight to my favorite source: SKETCHES! Those of you that know me know just how much I adore using sketches as a starting point for my layouts. I keep a huge folder on Pinterest as well as on my computer's hard drive for exactly this purpose.

When I had to create a double page layout recently and the creativity just wasn't there,  I immediately went to my sketch folder to find some inspiration. I came across this sketch which is an all-time favorite of mine.

 I've used this PageMaps sketch before - more than once even - and each time I loved the results. So I knew it would be a great kick-start for my project. But the problem I'm sure you've already guessed? Yep. It was a single page sketch.

There are a couple of ways I've found to deal with taking a single page sketch to a double. One involves mirroring (flipping) the first sketch so it's identical but opposite on the other page. The other is what I ended up doing here - streeeeetchhhing the sketch out so that it spans both pages.

If you look closely at this layout, you will notice that I stayed almost identical to the sketch for the left page but for the right, I took the middle section and just extended it across the page spread to accommodate more photos.

I kept the same notebook/journaling block as the original sketch but it simply moved to the right page. And rather than one large banner, I made several small banners to guide the eye across one page to the other.

 

I even used the same idea for a circular embellishment area but rather than use it for my title, I switched to floral embellishments to accent my page and before I knew it, the layout was complete.

I hope that trying this simple trick helps you jump start your own creative juices and gets you scrapping again if you've been on a small hiatus like I have! I look forward to seeing what you create! Please link me up and show me your pages using this technique and thank you for letting me share with you today!

~ Kelly

 

We are not done celebrating yet friends!  Don't we have some of the best partners EVER?  Love them all.  Today Maya Road is joining us to share the brand new April card kit with you!  Look at all this Maya Road goodness...

If you would like to be entered into win this great prize just leave a comment below OR you can leave a comment on our facebook post when you see this prize posted!  We are celebrating all our readers and fans and will be giving away one prize per day during this celebration  :)   Comments are open until tomorrow at midnight and winners will be announced on Friday both here and on facebook.  Good luck!

We would love you to take a moment to hop on over to Maya Road's facebook page and let them know how great this kit is!  Caroline and team would love to hear from you and they are getting close to 30K fans so if you don't "like" them yet, now would be a great time.  They do lots of giveaways on their page!

Have a great day friends!  

~  Catherine

Comments

[HeatherH]

This looks like a fun kit. Thanks for the chance to win!
I really like that sketch-I am going to have to try it for a single page layout.

[Carole RB]

Nice kit. Thanks to Maya Road and you for the opportunity to win it!

[Kelly Massman]

that is one beautiful layout!!!!! and what a great prize-tfs!

[Brenda]

I love how you stretched the sketch! I've done the mirror trick before but never stretched one definitely going to try it! Thanks for another amazing giveaway!

[Denise Bryant]

Sweet layout with such cute pics!
Thanks for the chance to win a prize from Maya Road!

[Cheryl Hutcherson]

That April card kit from Maya Road is amazing! LOVE the layout Kelly!! Too fabulous!

[Val]

Thanks for the chance to win...Really nice and original stamps!!!

[Lynne in NI]

Beautiful LO and fab giveaway too :)

[Twila Young]

Love those burlap flowers in the kit! Too cute!

[Denise Luscan]

great lo! Love Maya Road! Thanks for the chance to win!

[Debbie Piercey]

Beautiful work! tfs What a lovely kit! Thanks for the chance to win it!

[Rhonda Strickland]

This looks like an awesome kit! Thanks for the chance to win. :o)

[Wendy Orme]

LOVE the "stretching" method of using a sketch! Darling layout.

[Nancy]

Pagemaps are a favorite...thanks for sharing this one! Your layout is fabulous! :)

[Laurar Turcotte]

I have been wanting to get my hands on one of those maya Road kits since they first came out! Thanks for the chance!

[Julie {CalleLillyCafe}]

Love your layout & yes! the Maya Road kit is fabulous!

[Janet P]

A lovely kit and I'd be overjoyed to win it!

[Amy C.]

Your layout is so sweet! Thanks for the chance to win this prize pack! It looks awesome!

[Linda V]

I've lost my mojo, too this winter, but this kit inspires me! Love your layout!

[Ange]

Fantastic!!! Love Maya Road!

[Susanne]

I love how you've extended the sketch for 2 pages - super sweet spread. The card kit looks like fun - especially those stamps.

[Jeniff Sthory]

Beautiful layout!!!

[sharla~]

I love sketches too and love how you stretched this out to a 2pager!! Very cute colors and details!

[Helen]

I am always looking for inspiration for 2 page layouts. Thanks so much. It looks beautiful! Maya Road is a great source for wonderful embellishments. Just love their stuff!

[Sally Cranney]

What an adorable layout!! Love how you stretched the sketch for your double page!! Darling!!