Sketch Day with Jen McMurtrey

Hello friends! It’s Jen today with a bit of autumn inspiration using the October Kit and add-ons. When I am stumped creatively, as we often find ourselves, using a sketch is one of the go-to methods I rely upon to kickstart my mojo. Today’s sketch certainly did that for me:

For bit of back story, I have been holding onto this picture for some time waiting for just the right product to use it with. Honestly, I have never taken such a beautiful photo, and I am not sure I ever will again. While the picture has been printed and sitting on my craft table for quite some time, I had yet to use it on a project. After seeing the Autumn Printables, I knew I’d found a home for this special photo.

Supplies | Autumn Printables, Thankful Chipboard Label Stickers, Autumn Tiny Shapes and Dots Puffy Stickers, Jewel Polka Dot 6 x 8.5 Inch Paper Stack, Autumn Days 6 x 8.5 Inch Paper Stack, Documented Stamp, My Heart Metal Die

You’ll probably notice that my finished layout does not exactly match the sketch, but that is okay. The purpose of a sketch, I believe, is to use it as a starting point and draw inspiration from all or parts of it for inspiration. I was immediately drawn to the stripes on the background of the sketch and began there.

To create my background using the Autumn Printables, I enlarged the “autumn” tag as much as possible to make it fit across a piece of 12” x 12” white cardstock. Because the actual size is much smaller, I duplicated the enlarged file, rotated it, and lined up the grids using Photoshop. Next, I printed it using my large format printer.

To mimic the stripes from the sketch, I pulled papers from the Jewel Polka Dot Paper Stack and Autumn Days Paper Stack that coordinate with the colors in the printable. Next, I used the same papers with the My Heart Metal Die and cut several hearts that were then layered on the stripes around the photo.

To keep the overall aesthetic of the project neat, I typed rather than hand wrote my journaling and placed the strips of text below picture.

To give more texture to the photo, like the sketch, I added Thankful Chipboard Label Stickers to two corners.

Along the bottom of the layout, I added three more of the “autumn” words from the Autumn Printables in their actual 3” x 4” size. The base of my layout needed a bit more color and this seemed the perfect solution. In the center, I stamped the “pause + reflect” sentiment from the Documented Stamp using light grey ink to match the grid lines. 

Lastly, I added three grey hearts from the Tiny Shapes and Dots Puffy Stickers, which add the perfect finishing touch.

Thank you for stopping by today! I hope you have been inspired to create using the beautiful Elle’s Studio October Kit and add-ons as much as I was. Remember to share your projects on social media using the tag #EllesStudio, or head to our Facebook Group and share with fellow ES fans so we are sure to see them!

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