If It Ain't Broke...

Use it over and over again!

On a forum I frequently visit, someone asked if there are "standard" layout formats that other scrappers use over and over again as a basis for their page designs.

Many scrappers purposely use the same base page for several designs. Pam Callahan, who is often published in Scrapbooks Etc. and Creating Keepsakes, sometimes uses the same page design for several different pages. Change the embellishments, change the paper, maybe flip the page, and you get a really different look. You can see some of her work in her gallery on scrapbook.com. Here's one example of her use of the same design several different ways:

October Hunt
My Gabby
Favorites At 5 (original layout)

Pammy also hosted a challenge on scrapbook.com in which she challenged other scrapbookers to scraplift themselves by copying one of their own pages. Here you can see the ways in which other scrappers "copied" themselves: Copy Yourself Challenge

I have found a couple of formats that I really like to use over and over myself. I'll move one element, add another...just changing the papers and embellishments really makes a difference. Here are some pages I have done that are all basically "the same" layout.

DESIGN #1:
This is the original page:

Here's the "copy". I made the vertical strip go all the way to the top and bottom of the page, used one larger picture instead of the two on the right, and added a photo corner. The title and journaling at in the same spots.


DESIGN #2:

The "original"-- June kit of the month I designed for SGT:

Here I used the same page again but added mats and twisted the background mats so they were crooked instead of straight:

I copied that page to make this one, straightening everything back out:


Then I used the same design for this page, moving the partial circle from the upper right to the lower right:


DESIGN #3:

This one I made myself, inspired by a class sample by another instructor:


And this one is a copy of that page, with the embellishments moved. I also rotated the individual pages (90 degrees clockwise on the left and 90 degrees clockwise on the right page):


Here are some other ways to make the most of your favorite page designs:

• Rotate: rotate the page to get a different look. Rotate 90, 180, or 270 degrees to get different perspectives on the same layout. One a 2 page layout, rotate just one of the 2 pages to get a total of 16 different looks!
  
• Reflect: Act as if you have a mirror to reflect the page. Reflect from on side, reflect diagonally, or reflect from the halfway point.
• Change: Change the papers. If you used vintage shabby chic papers on the first layout, try bold, playful prints on the "copy". If you used stickers on one, use flowers as accents on the other.
• Sketch: Use a sketch from a book (like "Imagine" from Close to My Heart) or from a website or blog (try PageMaps or Pencil Lines).
• True Scraplift: Find a design you like that someone else did. Check out online galleries, idea books, magazines and other people's scrapbooks to find ideas you like. Then copy their page design, making sure to change the paper and embellishments to suit the topic you are scrapping. Just remember, if you share the layout publicly (in a class, in a store, or online), it's a good idea give credit to that person for the design.