This 8 photo sketch uses one of my favorite new shapes. If you are paper scrapping, you can use a diecut or chipboard shape, which is what I did when I used this sketch.

Templates (includes each side separately, and both sides together.) The scroll shape on the template was created by Brittney at “britt-ish designs” and can be found at ScrapMatters.com

This layout uses 7 photos, because I wanted to include journaling. I used Crate Paper’s “Brook” Collection for all 4 of the patterned papers, and most of the embellishments.  There is 1 solid paper used.  The awesome 4″ chipboard letter (and the scroll shape, as mentioned above) is from Keller’s Creations.

This second, 8 photo, layout is digital (I used my own template!) and was created for a challenge at Persnickety Prints, using the Heirloom freebie add-on kit by Deena Rutter, part of her Scarborough Fair collection.

This 6 photo sketch uses all uncropped 4×6 pictures and can be created with just 5 sheets of 12×12 paper.  It uses a large title, and the large right side circle balances that.

The layout uses 8 photos, and arranges them just a little differently. On the left side, a photo was used in the title, and 4 2×3 photos replaced the 2 6×4 photos. On the left side, the journaling circle was replaced with a photo, and two larger photos were used instead of the four. Three patterned papers were used.

This 8 photo sketch uses somewhat larger blocks of background papers, which make it easy to put together.  If you are working from scraps, try to piece it instead, though you may have to move your photos around some.

This layout uses 9 photos, arranged just a little differently, but still recognizable as the sketch.  There are 5 patterns and 0 solids.

This 8 photo sketch is another with a “big circle”, but this time the big circle is a photo instead of patterned paper.  To successfully do this, you will have to put a little bit of forethought into what photo you want to enlarge, and if it will be “crop-able” into this shape.

The layout is exactly like the sketch, with 2 patterns and 3 solids.. With the size you see here, you can’t see the fuzziness of my large photo, but I want to point it out to you.  Why point out a “flaw”?  Because I believe that it is okay to use a less-than-perfect photo as your enlargement/focus.  If it is the only photo that you have, and important to the story, use it!

This 9 photo sketch is circle-licious!  Don’t take the exact placement of the circles in the right-page border too literally.  Just punch a bunch and play with it until it looks right.  Don’t overthink it!

I created this 8 photo layout before the sketch, and it is one of my personal all-time favorites. I used papers from K & Company’s Urban Rhapsody collection.  I think there are 9 different patterns here, but that is only because the paper is double sided (I do try to limit myself to no more than 5 patterns, when I buy paper!)

This 8 photo sketch is simple in it’s design, both in the arrangement of the photos and in the layering of the papers. If you are new to using sketches, this is a good one to start with.

This layout is almost exactly like the sketch. It uses 4 patterns and 2 solids.  The papers are from the “Storytime” line by Cosmo Cricket.

This 8 photo sketch is inspired by a layout my friend Christine P. created. The rick-rack could be doodles or stitching or rub-ons or ribbons, but it is an important part of the sketch.

This is the 7 photo layout that Christine created. It uses 4 patterns and 1 solid. She amazes me how she can just start cutting paper and sticking it down, without knowing how she’s going to crop her pictures or where they’re going to be placed. Her layouts always turn out looking great, though!

Before I created the sketch, I was inspired to create my own version of Christine’s layout. I only used 6 photos, but kept the same basic elements of the layout and the sketch. It uses 3 patterns and 4 solids.

This 12 photo sketch is fairly simple.  The repeating squares are a strong design element.  The double mats on the photos are a part of the sketch, and help pull the design together, while also helping the eye focus on the photos.

This layout uses 8 photos, but holds true to the sketch by filling in the other squares with another patterned paper. The journaling takes the place of the smallest photo on the left page. This layout uses 4 patterns and 3 solids.

This 8 photo sketch, uses a large half circle (again!), but it is so covered up by the other layers that it is more just the idea of the circle. Notice that it ends under the vertical strip on the right side.

This layout uses 4 patterns and 1 solid. It is only 7 photos, and you can see how I adjusted the sketch to make room for embellishments. Almost all of the photos are cropped just a little smaller, and the journaling is limited to the circle on the right side of the layout. One of my favorite things about this layout, though, is the bent corner. To achieve that, you must use double-sided patterned paper.

Here’s another 10 photo sketch.  Ten is the 2nd most popular number of photos for my sketches!  (Eight is tops, so far)

This layout is 8 photos, because I combined the strip on the left and used part of a brochure in that place, and on the right I shortened the top right photo and added a small one under it. The photo on the bottom right is a postcard, which allowed me to include a perspective I otherwise couldn’t. Don’t be afraid to use postcards and brochures on your layout (the title on this one is also from a brochure)! There are 4 patterns and 2 solids used here.

You ask, I try to answer! I had a request for a sketch that used an 8×10 photo on one side, with several others on the 2nd side.  This 8 photo sketch is the answer to that request.  The weight of the large circle on the right helps balance the size of the photo on the left.

In this layout, I used a 5×7 photo, plus a large-scale embellishment, instead of the 8×10.  Using a busier pattern behind it helped take up some of the visual space that was left by using a smaller photo.  I used 3 patterns and 2 solids.

This 11 photo sketch was inspired by scraps!  Yep, scraps. I was given some scraps by my friend Christine, and decided they were enough for a layout, just as they are.  All I had to do was figure out the arrangement… and here you are!  The half circle on the right side of the layout is actually cut out of the larger piece of paper, but you don’t have to do it like that if you don’t want to.

The layout is different from the sketch in that I only used 8 photos. Using fewer photos allowed me to have a larger title, to include the cute crab embellishment (I couldn’t resist, even though I haven’t used a die cut in years!) and to include more journaling (part of the Sea Lion brochure). I used 3 patterns and 3 solids.

This 8 photo sketch features a classic layout element on the right page. I call it “The Spiral”, and have used it on many layouts. “The Spiral” almost always consists of 2 verticals and 2 horizontals, arranged as above, usually with some kind of embellishment (or another photo) in the middle.

The example uses 4 patterns and 2 solids.  The focal picture isn’t a 5×7, so that there is room for journaling.

This 6 photo sketch requires very little measuring of your papers.  The circles are 2 sides of a 12 inch circle. The large strips are both 6 inches, with 1/2 inch strips layered on top of them.  From there you really could arrange your photos in whatever way you like.

The first example is just like the sketch.  I used 3 patterns and 4 solids.

The 2nd example is one of those layouts that combines 2 sketches. You can see the influence of this sketch, with the side circles, but there are also the strips from Sketch 22. The pictures on the right side of the page are in a classic arrangement that works for almost any sketch. I used 4 patterns & 3 solids.

Time for another big circle sketch! The circle in this sketch is 12 inches wide, though of course you can make yours smaller or bigger.

For the 1st example, I followed the sketch pretty closely (adding 1 picture, but making the circle and embellishment). I used 4 patterns and 4 solids.

For the 2nd example, I changed things up a little.  My photos didn’t work for the sketch’s layout, so I did my own thing, though the layout of the papers are the same. This example uses 6 photos, 5 patterns, and 1 solid.