One of the simplest ways to start creating a page, whether you’re new to scrapbooking or have been doing it for years, is to start with a sketch. Some people call sketches page maps, some call them layout designs or templates, but they all refer to the same thing: a simplified line drawing that shows you where to place paper, photos, journaling, title, and embellishments.

Let’s start with a simple one, so you can see a sketch in action:

We’ve got a background paper in the light purple. When you’re putting your page together, this can be a solid cardstock or a patterned paper. Just make sure as you build your page that you’re using papers that are stiff enough to support your photos and endure living in your albums.

The light blue is a combination photo mat and journaling spot. For this particular page, I had a lot to say, so I designed a large journaling spot, and room for one 4×6 photo.

The title fills the space above the photo mat, and there is minimal embellishing with two strips of ribbon/washi tape/paper, and a teeny tiny heart.

This is how it looked after I was done:

As you can see, simple design can be beautiful. You don’t have to use a lot of techniques or embellishments to create something you love.

Now, you could make a ton of pages using this design, and simply because you use different papers and photos, they will all look different. Not only that, you can also think of each piece as a simple place holder, and vary what goes into each place. For example, the journaling block could be a spot for another photo, and the strips could become spots for journaling instead of just being embellishments.

Use this sketch, and see what you can come up with. I’ll show you lots of variations on this page on Friday.

You can do this.