Shimelle's Starting Points

In a previous post, I mentioned a concept called Starting Points which I learned from Shimelle Laine on her blog and in more detail in her class, Hitchhikers Guide to Scrapbooking at Two Peas in a Bucket.

I love it!

One thing I rarely do in scrapbooking is create even the foundation of a page without photos in mind. (More on my process in a future post.) But with Starting Points, I sat down with some patterned papers and card stock and created several page bases that I loved, then added photos and embellishments and journaling to match the theme of each page.

It was fun, and I got several pages done in a shorter time than it usually takes me.

The House She Called Home

(Supplies: Buttons by Daisy D's and My Mind's Eye. Brown chalk ink by Colorbox. Baker's twine by Doodlebug. Letter stickers by October Afternoon and American Crafts. Card stock by Bazzill. Patterned paper by Studio Calico and Basic Grey. Stickers and elements by Crate and Sassafras.)

I used a lot of supplies from my January Cocoa Daisy kit, and I loved how easily it all fit together.

Lyndsey and LaLa

(Supplies: Paper flowers by Petaloo. Spray ink by October Afternoon. Patterned paper by Basic Grey, American Crafts and Sassafras. Card stock by The Paper Company. Alpha stickers by American Crafts. Glitter by Stickles. Stickers by Crate. Shimmer spray by Glimmer Mist. Trim and buttons, unknown manufacturer.)

Same basic design principle, here, but a whole different look. I love that yellow spray ink by October Afternoon, too. Such great coverage and texture.

Pumpkins at the Orchard

(Supplies: Card stock by Recollections. Patterned paper by Bella Blvd., American Crafts, and unknown manufacturer. Small letter stickers by October Afternoon. Large letter stickers by American Crafts. Pumpkin stickers by K&Company. Harvest sticker by Little Yellow Bicycle. Shimmer pen by Gelly Roll. Shimmer spray by Glimmer Mist.)

And yet another completely different look, this one with two photos, instead of just one, but the same basic design.

What I love about this particular Starting Point is the 2 x 7 inch strips because that uses up patterned paper scraps, and we all have lots of those. I can imagine adapting this concept to smaller pages, too. A 6x6 page would use six 1 x 4 inch strips instead and provide the perfect background for a small photo, like the popular square ones taken with our phones. I might have to give that a try.

I'll be sharing more Starting Points layouts in a future post. Give it a try, and if you do, be sure to leave me a comment with a link so I can take a look.

And thanks to Shimelle Laine for being a continuing source of so much inspiration to me and so many other scrapbookers.