Hi there Cocoa Daisy’s! Suzanna here today to share with you a little bit about my design process. Last month I showed you how I set up my kits for designing and this month, we will take that a step further and actually work on a layout.

Here’s the finished product;

Not only do I like to pull paper combinations, as I mentioned previously, but I like to sort embellishments and coordinating “goodies” that match as well. Most of my scrapbook layouts and pocket layouts are color coordinated. Rarely will you see an embellishment that doesn’t have the exact same color family as those found in the main patterned papers I have chosen to coordinate with the picture or pictures that I am using.

Here you see all the bits and pieces that I have pulled together by color; patterned papers, DITL pocket cards large and small, printables and the picture that I intend to use with this selection.  The uniting elements here being the colors; mustard, navy and that lighter, aqua bluey hue. I then go to work arranging and rearranging until I find a layout that suits the elements that really grab me, the picture and the story that I want to tell.

The llarge cut file was my original foundation for this layout. My original intent had been to fill the hearts with patterned papers. As you can see from the finished layout, that didn’t work out. With the cut file being that shade of yellow, the delicate file got lost when not against a crisp, white background. Thus, that idea got shelved.

Once the foundation of the layout is established; background, patterned papers and DITL cards, then it is time to further embellish and fine tune. Again, so as not to get overwhelmed with too many choices, I pull coordinating stickers and elements and see how they work with the spaces that could use some “filler”. In this case, the “Capture the Moments” which is fussy cut, flowers, letter stickers for title and “this” embellishment and bird. I didn’t use any of the printables that I had originally pulled but that’s okay. There is SO much product between the main, add on and DITL that there is potential for at least 2 or 3 more layouts from just the initial papers and elements pulled and not used on this layout.

How do you create your layouts? Do you pull things ahead of time as I do or do you just build from the kit as you go? We all have our unique way of doing things and that’s the beauty of papercrafting; the ability to move in YOUR work flow as it works for you!