Hi Everyone! I am so happy to be back today as Ella’s guest blogger. I have a few
new sketches to share with you as well as a fun tip to help you get the most from your
sketches.

Today I wanted to share with you how you can stretch your sketches in ways that you
may not have previously thought about. The idea was originally inspired by a set
of die-cut sticker photo frames made by K & Company. When I first received this product
I’ll admit, I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it. The frames are very cute, but they are all
for small cropped photos. As I started taking the frames out of the package I noticed three
photo-strip style stickers and I lined them all up together on my work table. They reminded
me of a 5x7 photograph and it immediately struck me that that is how I should use them,
not as three separate items but as a single element. With that idea in mind I searched through my sketch notebook for a sketch featuring a single 5x7 photo. Here is the sketch I chose:


And an 8.5x11 version of the sketch:



Here is the layout I created using the photo-strip frames in place of the 5x7 photo:



This time around I actually worked backwards. I made the “stretched” layout first and
then decided to make a layout using the sketch in its original form. Here is the layout I
made using a 5x7 photograph:



Other ideas for stretching your sketches in this way are to replace one or more of the
photographs in a sketch with tags, patterned paper, or memorabilia (truly, the list could
go on and on). Maybe you have a product that has you stumped and you’re not sure how
to use it? Sketches are meant to aid the creative process. Use a sketch as a starting off
point and then perhaps look at that product in a different light. I want to challenge you to
think outside the box and beyond photographs to see how you can get creative with your
sketches and your scrapbooking stash. And, if you make a layout using this idea or any
of the sketches I’ve shared with you today I’d love to see your creation.

Finally, here are some bonus sketches to help kick-start your creative process:






Get more of Donna's sketches from her Ella eBook, Stretch Your Sketches