Power Layout!

Something a little different today my friends! I'm going to a crop tonight - and I like to be prepared. I don't want to get there and not have the right paper, or not have the right embellishment or tool or glue. So, first, I pick/print out the pictures I want to get done. This month, I'm working on my kids' monthly albums. (I have an album for each kid, one picture from each month of their life. Sometimes it is just my favorite picture, sometimes it is one that really shows personality, or an accomplishment, or a milestone. I'm going to stop this once they start school, then do an album for each school year.)

So, after I've got a picture, I look through my inspirations. I have sample layouts I've printed off the internet, stolen out of magazines, etc. I choose one I think would work with my photo and put it on an index card so I can make any notes on there.


My next step is to put the picture with the notecard and mark the notecard for that layout. This layout is of Chloe, January 2009. She was laying down to watch a movie and wrapped herself and her baby in the blanket. After a little squirming, she ended up snoozing with the baby as her pillow.


Step three is papers! I pick out the papers I want to use. Sometimes they match the photo, sometimes they match the event, and often it is simply because I love the papers and have a burning desire to use them ;) For this layout, I chose red and black (with some blue highlights) because Chloe was wearing a red dress, the blue blankie, and black as a good neutral to tone some of the patterns down.

Step four is to choose embellishments! I decided to go with rub-ons for the title. I usually use rubons, stuff cut out on my cricut, or cool vellum quotes (and every once in a while a neato sticker) for my titles. I chose some primas in red and black with some little rhinestones for a little embellishment set.

And that's my powerlayout! If I've got an intricate cut, sometimes I will do that at home so that I won't lose concentration in the middle of it in a crop where I'm chatting and snacking and so forth. If I'm afraid I'll forget what goes where, I make the notes on the index card. I have a 12x12 box where I stack them up (smaller embellishments go in a plain old envelope for safe keeping if needed).

I also have a post-it I keep on my desk. Then as I do my powerlayouts, any specific tool, glue, etc. that I will need to complete the layouts goes on it. When I pack up my crop bag, I just take what I will need. It really makes life a lot easier. I can go with just one bag and not have to pack up my whole craft area. It really only takes a few minutes of planning for each layout to make the crop a LOT LOT more productive.

I hope that maybe this has inspired you to scrapbook, and/or attend a crop. Tomorrow I'll post my finished layout for you!

~enjoy~