sketch support blog hop | let’s party

*If you are just starting at my blog, make sure you begin at the Sketch Support blog to begin the hop!

Welcome to the blog hop to get to know the design team for Sketch Support! My name is Christine Chain. I am a preschool-based speech-language pathologist, wife, and mother of three--Brandon (7), Olivia (6 in a week!), and Abbie (3 1/2).

The hop is running today, April 14. If you leave a comment on each blog, you get a chance at some individual prizes on each blog, as well as a chance at another prize from Sketch Support!
In addition to many chances at prizes, I hope you enjoy going from blog to blog, seeing the wonderful takes on this sketch:

*If you want a downloadable version of the sketch, please get it at Sketch Support.

Here’s my take on the sketch:

Supplies – patterned paper: Jillibean Soup, Fancy Pants; letter stickers: Thickers by American Crafts, My Little Shoebox; tags & buttons: American Crafts; ink: Tim Holtz’ Distress Ink by Ranger

I really liked this sketch & was glad that I got to scrap some pics from my son’s birthday party in February. I kept the photos & paper pieces the same sizes as in the sketch, but I did make a few variations.

1) I decided to use journaling strips. Mostly because I had adhered the paper & photos & then realized I still needed to write something! I could’ve just hand written it, but I didn’t want that look on this layout.

I also changed the arrow to another strip of paper & a button. I didn’t have any arrows and didn’t like the ones I tried to make. So I grabbed a pack of fun buttons that went with the paper I was already using.

2) Again, I didn’t use arrows. This time I thought I needed something bigger, so I used two tags; one on top vertically, and one underneath horizontally.

3) I forgot the title was supposed to go across the photo until after I printed it. I totally could’ve cropped it differently, but thankfully I could still fit what I wanted to say above the photo. I still have two lines & I love how it turned out!

And because this is a “get to know you” blog hop…let’s get to know me!

How long have you been scrapbooking? I’ve been “scrapbooking” (as we all know it) since sometime in late 1999. However, I’ve been cropping photos, trying to organize them in albums (yes, the old “magnetic” ones!), labeling them, and adding stickers & other tid-bits since probably 7th grade…back in 1989. Wow!

Why did you start scrapbooking? I didn’t like how when you opened my parents’ albums, you didn’t know what you were looking at (besides lots of pictures). They took tons of photos, and had tons of albums, but the only information was the year on the spine of the album. So when I started putting together my own photo albums in 7th grade, I cropped my photos down and used a sharpie on the page so anyone would know what they were seeing. I even added my own little cute titles on each page! As time went on, my pages (and style) evolved into what it is today.

What is your favorite time of day to scrapbook? If I could choose? In the afternoon when my kids are playing in the next room. But I usually don’t get to choose & scrap late at night.

How often do you scrapbook? Only a couple of times a week now. Boo! I just went back to work 4 days a week this last August, so between that & three kids…well, I scrap when I can!

Where do you scrapbook/what does your space look like? I have an office, and I have a desk. But that desk has been hidden under a bunch of supplies for a while. I really need to clean it up & reorganize…but I’d rather scrap (or shop!).

When I'm not scrapbooking you can find me...at one of my girls’ dance classes, at my son’s baseball games, or running errands at Target. And generally behind a camera at the same time.

What is your favorite thing about using sketches? I don’t have to think! Ha! My brain is on overload all day long, so when I want to unwind by scrapbooking, I just want to play with my photos & some paper, and know that they will look great when I put them together because I started with a great sketch!

What is your favorite sketch from Sketch Support? Hard to choose! I love them all, but as I went back thru a bunch of my older layouts, this one caught my eye:

Based on this sketch:

I like that there is a lot patterned paper, a few accents, and a large block of photos that can be resized as needed.

Thank you for visiting my blog! Feel free to scroll around, and please sign up to follow if you want to keep track of my posts. And be sure to leave a comment to get a chance to win one of two “Sketches for Scrapbooking” books! I am giving away Allison Davis’ most recent editions: One-Pages Sketches volume 2 and Travel Sketches.

The contest closes Monday 4/16 at 6pm, PDT.

Now head on over to Lynette’s blog to continue playing.