Monthly Archives: August 2009

Yesterday we looked at creating two page layouts for your albums.  Two page layouts allow you more room for more pictures and journaling and they also help give a cohesive look to your pages.

Today we are going to look at using templates to help you create two page layouts.  If you are unfamiliar with templates, then you should start with our article USING LAYERED TEMPLATES.  It is no secret that I LOVE templates…I love creating them, I love using them, and I love seeing how people can make them their own.  If you want to know my reasons why you can check out my series of posts on “10 Reasons to Love Templates” part one, two, and three.  Ever since I first starting selling templates (in September 2006!) I have created two pagers for people to use.  And in my own scrapping I reach for them all the time.

Today I am going to show you three ways to use templates:

• Using a two-page template
• Cropping a two page template to make one page layout
• Using a one page template to create a two-page layout

USING A TWO PAGE TEMPLATE

A two page template can be used just like any other template.  Just open the psd or tiff file, prepare your page, and then crop to separate and prepare for printing as I explained yesterday. I opened up this two pager (coming soon to a DIGI FILES near you) and about 15 minutes later I had this:

Imagination by Dani Mogstad, staples by Shabby Princess, template by Janet Phillips, font is Typewriter scribbled

CROPPING A TWO PAGE TEMPLATE TO MAKE A ONE PAGE LAYOUT

Sometimes you have a great two page template but you really only want half of it…easy peasy!  Just select your crop tool and set it to crop 12 inches by 12 inches at 300 dpi and select the side you want to keep.

Just note that in your layers palette the layers from the side you cropped off will still appear — they will just be blank.  I usually just throw them out.

After cropping my two page template I ended up with this simple and quick layout:

Scrapping and Snapping kit from THE DAILY DIGI, template by Janet Phillips

USING A ONE PAGE TEMPLATE TO CREATE A TWO PAGE LAYOUT

If you can’t find that perfect two page template you can create your own!

I created this one page template but then decided that I wanted to use it for a two pager. In order to modify it, I went to Image > Resize > Canvas Size and changed the dimensions to 24 x 12.

After my canvas was resized, I selected all layers and then dragged all the the layers up the the new layer icon to duplicate them all.

With all the layers still highlighted, I went to Image > Rotate > Flip Layer Horizontal to create a mirror image

I then moved the new layers over to the right side of my page, did a little tweaking (stretching paper, adding a photo spot) and then in about another 20 minutes ended up with this layout:

Scrapping and Snapping kit from THE DAILY DIGI, stitching by Lisa Whitney, template by Janet Phillips, fonts are Clementine and CK Handprint

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Happy two page scrapping!

I love two page layouts!  I love the look of them in my albums, I love how many photos I can get on one layout, I love the “complete” stories they can tell that are too much for a regular one pager. I would say that 1/3 to 1/2 of my layouts are two pagers…I love them!  I have been planning on doing a post on two page layouts for a while now.  And then we got a number of reader questions about them and I was excited to tell them it was already on the schedule. I am a huge fan of two pages spreads and so I am very excited to share a few things with you!

Here are a few things we will look at today:

• Creating a two-page layout
  
• Saving and printing a two-page layout
• Two page layouts in your album

And then tomorrow we are going to look at using two page templates!

CREATING A TWO PAGE LAYOUT

There are two main ways to work on a two page layout in your photo editing program:

1. as one large canvas (usually 24 x 12)
2. as two 12 x 12 inch canvases.

I prefer working as one large canvas so that I can see what the whole thing looks like at once. I create a new document, sized 24 x 12 (I almost always print my pages 8×8 but I always scrap in 12 x 12 so that I don’t have to resize everything).

The next thing I do is to create a midline for myself so that I have a constant visual of where my page will be cut.  Many scrappers don’t mind if a photo is cut down the middle or a title is broken up but I prefer my two page layouts to not split anything.  By adding the midline, I can always know where there need to be breaks between photos, where journaling should end, etc. I create a new layer,  turn my grid on (view > grid), and then use a square brush (sized about 20 pixels) make a line right on the 12 inch mark.

I then create my page like I would any other scrapbook page — adding photos, papers, elements, title, and journaling, being careful to keep things off the center line.    My final page looks like this:

Imagination kit by Dani Mogstad, brush strokes by Michelle Coleman, fonts are Typewrite Scribbled and Clementine

SAVING AND PRINTING A TWO PAGE LAYOUT

The first thing I do is save my 24 x 12 canvas as a psd file. That way, any changes I make from here on out won’t risk changing my layout.

After saving, I prepare for printing.

First, I remove the midline so that it doesn’t show up on my final print.

Then, in order to prevent photos/elements near the middle from being cut off, I usually nudge them over about 5 pixels.  Everything in the right side of the page goes 5 pixels to the right, everything on the left goes 5 pixels to the left. It looks like this:

Next, I flatten my layout.  I then need to separate my two pages in order to print.  I choose the crop tool and set it to crop 12 x 12 at 300 dpi

And then, starting in the left corner, I crop the left hand page to 12 x 12

After cropping, I save the 12 x 12 page as a jpeg and it is ready to print.  I then undo my crop and then crop the right hand page the same way. Now they are just like any other 12 x 12 page, ready to be uploaded to your favorite printer!

TWO PAGE LAYOUTS IN YOUR ALBUM

One of the most often asked questions about two page spreads is “How do they look in your albums?” My answer is always, ” I LOVE them!”  I love how they present a cohesive look and story as I flip through my albums.

When I first bought my albums, I bought all post bound.  My reasoning behind this was that I wanted my two page spreads to line up next to each other as close as possible when I opened the album.  They look like this:

Because I don’t scrap in order, I started to get really frustrated with the post bound albums.  They look great, but they are a pain to take apart and rearrange.  So, the next time I ordered albums I decided to go with the d-ring binder style.  When they arrived I had a little freak-out moment: I had totally forgotten about two page layouts and how they would look in a binder-style album.  However, once I put some in, my fears were relieved and while they don’t look as good as the post bound albums, they certainly don’t look bad.  I’m still on the fence about what I will order the next time I need albums.

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If you haven’t given two page layouts a try, you really should!  There are so many possibilities with them!  If you are having trouble from a design standpoint, be sure to come back tomorrow and see how templates can help you in your quest to create a great two page layout!

I have a challenge for you today:  I want you to look through your albums (assuming you have actually printed some of your pages — if you haven’t, your challenge ends there.  GO PRINT NOW!)

I want you to look through you albums, taking notice of the pages you like, the pages that you don’t like, and the overall feel of your album.  When we stop to look at our pages as a whole, we can get a better idea of the story we are telling. You can see if there are major gaps in your albums — either time periods, people, or types of stories.You may not realize that as you scrap away using the newest kit or the latest fad that you are neglecting things (or people) that are important to you.

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As I look through my albums it is very clear to me that the pages I love

• Have journaling that tells a story (not just a random word like “dream” or “wonder”)
• Tell real “moments in time” stories — things that I would have completely forgotten about had I not scrapped about them
• Are honest — sharing even the hard times
• Are consistent with my style (I am not good with using lots of elements and don’t like the pages when I try)
• Are often two pages spreads (more about two page layouts on Friday!)
• Often have numerous photos on them, often from different days, time periods
• Are dated

What I don’t really care about  when I see my pages:

• Who created the kit
• How many comments I got on it
• What CT it was for
• If I had used the kit before
• If my kids clothes match the kit I used
• If the photo is technically perfect
• If my kids hair is messy and their are crumbs around ( I live with four kids age 6 and under…what can you expect?)

We all scrapbook for different reasons so your reasons for loving/not loving your pages might be different, but it is still good to look through and see what jumps out at you. You might be surprised and it might change the way you scrapbook.

Here are a few of my favorite pages:

This one, titled “Waiting for Someone To Call Me Mom” is about my journey of infertility and miscarriages.  Those three years were defining years for me and I love that I have shared the story.

Even though this page contains no journaling (very rare for me) I LOVE it because it is, in one page, a snapshot of my life at a certain time period.  Each of these photos brings back a specific memory and I love being flooded with emotions when I look at them.

I love this page!  The pictures are FAR from technically perfect but I just love the real emotion that they capture.  It’s just me, piled high with kids, loving every minute.  THAT is my life right now and I love that it has been captured and preserved.

I love this two page spread because it totally conveys the energy and excitement that went into our day.  I also got 31 photos on one layout!

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Here are some of the things that THE DAILY DIGI artist team had to say about their albums:

KAREN: “When I first fell in love with scrapping, I felt completely compelled to use every unique element that came in a kit. I found after looking through my pages that they were too cluttered for my taste… I kept getting distracted from the photos and stories I was trying to showcase/tell.”

JACKI: “I’m still just having so much fun with all the beautiful kits out there. I try to do double pages so that facing pages in the album look nice together, but that’s not always the case. Nowadays I’m enjoying making Shutterfly books using just one kit and a template kit. The pages coordinate nicely and it looks very put together. I’m trying to do that for vacations. Ultimately I’d love to make one simple book for each of my kids with my most favorite photos. That way they’ll have something neat and tidy and not so overwhelming. In the meantime, I’m just having fun creating a hodge podge of pages and filling up my albums awfully quickly! “

DUNIA: “My first albums look like a mess   Nothing matches — photos, pages, kits, etc.  I have hard time making double pages but I think if I could do it, I will have more harmony in my albums.  For me it’s hard to make a full album with only one kit, so I try to have something in common with all pages, like a white background, the same font, etc.”

AMY: “I just sorted through my albums again and it frustrates me that I didn’t really scrap the stories.  My favorite pages are the ones that give a glimpse into our life at the moment…because our lives change constantly, from week to week, season to season, and year to year.  You think you’ll remember the details but you don’t (at least I don’t).  I also fell into the trap of scrapping a pretty page just for a CT assignment.  Those pages are gorgeous to look at but have no journaling, no details, just a picture, the date, and pretty papers and elements.

I’m a big fan of Stacy Julian’s method of scrapping (I highly recommend her library of memories class at big picture scrapbooking and her book Photo Freedom).  Once you focus on the things you do, the place you go, and the people you love, it all falls into place and your scrapbooks become a reflection of your life, not a showcase of the popular designers at the time.”

AGGIE: “The most celebrated pages I did ever were the ones I never thought my kids would appreciate – and these were the day to day events and little things they did way back that they don’t remember anymore. I sometimes forget that, going along with scrapping for a kit instead scrapping for a story or a picture.

And I obviously need to date my pages. I’m still in the process of deciding how to archive my pages so at this time everything goes into protectors as they are printed. I have close to 400 printed already and I don’t have dates on almost half of them!”

KATIE: “Of course there has been a learning curve with my pages. I don’t like some of the earlier pages as much because I didn’t understand about shadowing, recoloring, photo-editing, and some of the other tricks that make a difference. I find that my favorites are always the layouts with the most journaling on them. They are rewarding to read and I feel good that I took the time to tell the story that went with the memory.

I’m finding that I love 2 page spreads or coordinating layouts over the 2 page area. It just feels more organized.

I was looking through my oldest layouts online and found this one. The layout is very simple and I know a lot more tricks now, but I still love this one as it is because I told the story behind the photo.”

KELLY: “I think the best decision I ever made regarding my scrapbooking was to be “me”. Once I quit worrying about what I was “supposed to” do and went with my simple linear style it all came together. I’ve found that the pages I create in “my style” are still “in style” years later. I love most of the pages I’ve created since 2005 but my family loves them ALL. They even love the crazy ones where I cropped pictures into stars and scalloped circles! LOL! I love looking through my old pages but even more than that, I love watching my family look through my pages. My kids are now grown and their appreciation for the memories I’ve scrapped is a total thrill to me. I don’t think I’ll ever get over that part.”

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So what do YOU see when you look through your albums?