When it comes to scrapbooking classes, normally I feel like a giant failure. I always sign up for online classes and other big events like this with the best of intentions. But then -- life happens. I get busy, something comes up, and suddenly I'm behind. 

That's the beauty of Ella Publishing's Spring Training. The videos are short and informative, and the exercises take just ten minutes and can easily be applied to whatever project you have in progress at the moment. 

Today, for example, I sat down with Design Coach Lisa Dickinson's video on Effective Embellishing -- after dropping a load of laundry in the washer and filing a couple of reports for work.  Lisa has assembled a great collection of tips to take the guesswork out of embellishing your scrapbook layouts. (And since your supplies are nice and organized after watching Organization Coach Wendy Smedley's videos over the past few days, you should have no trouble pulling out the perfect embellishments to finish off your layout).

One of Lisa's tips that I use over and over again is #3: Create a Visual Triangle. Not only does this give me a starting point for placing my embellishments on my page, but it also helps me keep the focus of my page in mind -- whether that's the photographs, the journaling, or both. 

My layout features a fairly tight design, with the photograph, journaling and title tucked amid layers of dimensional embellishments and paper memoribilia. With Lisa's advice in mind, I created three clusters of embellishments, each one featuring a round element so that the three points are united in shape to emphasize their connection. In this instance, two of the embellishments are buttons, and the third round shape is an antique pocket watch.

MY TIP: When you create a visual triangle, make sure at least one element of your three points is similar -- in shape, color, or texture. This will help to unify the three points.

credits: Wesley elements, papers, and word art by The Ardent Sparrow (One Story Down); font: Pea Sara Print (KevinandAmanda.com)

Embellishing doesn't have to leave you stumped when it comes to effective design. Just follow Lisa's four tips and you'll be creating effective embellishments on your pages with ease!

 

Interested in Spring Training? Learn more about this live event here. Yes, you can still register.

Already registered? Click here to visit the exclusive Craftnasium. (Must be logged in to your Ella user account for the link to work.)

Spring Training participants get the chance to win great prizes from 13 crafty companies, including today's spotlighted sponsor:

When my daughters first started playing organized sports, I was so excited to capture these experiences for them. That is, until I was faced with several folders' worth of photos that basically all looked the same. My original intention of creating one layout for each game suddenly seemed overwhelming -- and way too repetitive. Now, after more than 10 years of sports seasons scrapped (including soccer, cross-country, and track), I've found that it's easiest to create a couple of two-page spreads, featuring my best photos, to sum up the season. I also enjoy including the season's stats (wins and losses, race times and finishes) in these layouts.

I was really inspired by Ann Costen's formula for designing a two-page layout in Double-Page Design: "a large photo, a collection of smaller photos, a mirror-image design and one unifying element to pull it all together." This is what I kept in mind while searching for products to help me scrap my youngest daughter's first traveling soccer team experience. I also wanted a design that would let me feature an essay that Cami wrote about making the team.

(credits: Tiffany Tillman, Oh Joy Templates No. 3 and 4; Robyn Meierotto, Let's Go elements, Everyday papers, Cut It Out masks; Agnes Biro, Sewing Kit 1; Audrey Neal, Currently elements; fonts: Pacifico, LeibeErika, Georgia)

Digital templates make creating double-page layouts even easier; that's why templates are one of my go-to scrapbooking tools. They can be modified in multiple ways, so one template can provide you with a variety of looks, allowing you to stretch your design dollars even further.

The 8 is Enough e-book, with its message of stretching supplies and using leftovers, takes me back several years to my switch from paper scrapbooking to digital scrapbooking. My paper supplies were taking over my craft room, and it seemed as though scrapbooking had become more about the products than about the process. My switch to digital scrapbooking was a means of simplifying my memory-keeping process, and it was the right choice for me. As part of the switch, I became a one-kit scrapper, pulling papers and elements for each layout from one single kit. 

I also paid more attention to how much use I could get from a digital kit, seeking out kits that had items that were easy to recolor or alter in different ways. I've found that text-based elements often provide me with the most flexibility, as shown in my layout "Right Now," which uses papers and elements exclusively from my Currently digital kit. 

I used 8 items: the red cardstock, striped patterned paper, paint, staples, word tab (loving), stitched stars, paper stars, and confetti. In addition, I put the font Dirty Headline to use in three different ways:

1. I created a series of words on my background paper in red, then set the blend mode to multiply and reduced the opacity.
2. I stamped "RIGHT NOW" in white ink on all of my photos, rotating the orientation.
3. I merged the phrase "RIGHT NOW" with my striped paper and then deleted the letters, creating a papercut effect. I then outlined the phrase in dark gray and put that beneath the cutout layer to create additional depth.

Whether you are a digital, hybrid, or paper scrapper, text-based elements provide you with an amazing array of design opportunities, so grab those alphabet stamps, peruse your font collection, and start scrapping!

Guest blogger Audrey Neal writes:

I've been a book lover for as long as I can remember; in fact, I'm lucky enough to say that some of my earliest memories involve books. And while I consider myself a gadget girl in many ways, switching to an e-reader has been one technological advance I'm not willing to take. Not only would I miss the familiar heft of a book in my hands, but I'd miss out on the amazing cover art that accompanies some of my favorite books.

Those same book covers have served as inspiration for my scrapbook pages time and again. Whenever I'm feeling uninspired, I browse my bookshelves and come away with so many great ideas. Let's take a peek at a couple of my favorite books and I'll show you what I mean.



Design style: This cover features a playful look with hand-drawn illustrations. You could easily achieve the same look with doodles -- either digital, stamped, or hand-drawn.

Technique: The cover artist created a neat effect by using negative space on the hillside to create the outline of a man. Punches give you the same look on your layouts, and clipping masks help you achieve the look with digital layouts.



Photo treatment: Get the same vibrant look for your photos with photo actions, or play around with overlays and textures to mimic the blurred background on the main image.

Typography: This funky font would look great handcut from cardstock or printed onto a subtly patterned paper. Create a block of color to back your title.

The opportunities for inspiration are endless. In fact, I've found that some of my most meaningful layouts have been strongly inspired by the books I'm currently reading and their covers. Here's one of my favorites:



I had just finished The Help and was moved so strongly by this story; I couldn't stop thinking about it, even as I moved on to other books. There was so much about the book that resonated so strongly with me, and in part I knew it was because of the relationship I had formed as a small girl with three older black women who worked at the restaurant my grandparents owned when I was younger. It wasn't long before I knew the story I wanted to tell, but I was having trouble coming up with the layout and style. That's when I turned to the book cover for help.



Color scheme: I pulled patterned papers from some of my favorite designers in the same purples and yellows of the book's cover. (Being able to recolor just about anything makes this really easy with digital scrapbooking!)

Visual element: The birds and birdcages helped me to think more symbolically about the story I was telling; while I never really discusss the idea of being caged by society's ideas about class and race, those ideas are hinted at with the images I chose.

After participating in a circle journal based on books and reading with a number of scrappers this past year, I wanted to continue and expand this idea of getting scrapbooking inspiration from the books I was reading. That's when The Open Book Challenges were born. Every other Monday, seven talented scrappers and I take turns offering up our latest reads for your scrapbooking inspiration. We offer a short review and then include a variety of challenges, both inspired by both the content and the design of the book. To play along, all you have to do is create a layout (digi, hybrid, or traditional), card, or other paper project of your choice (any style, any format) and post a link to it in the comments. That's it -- though we do welcome comments and discussion about the book as well.

Click here to see the current challenges we have posted, as well as short bios of our challenge team.

We've got a new challenge going live on Monday, July 12 -- we hope you'll stop by, check it out, and play along!