Do you know...

[mrs_jb]

What a layout is going to look like before you start? Meaning, do you have a general sketch in your head (or on paper)?

I don't, ever. I start with a photo and go from there. I've found that if I try to envision too much, I don't let myself deviate and then it just won't come together like it is in my head.

I ask because I have an obsession with scrapping magazines (paper-scrapping) and they are big on sketching. Which makes total sense for paper scrapping because there is more planning involved beforehand, but I was curious if many digi-scrappers are like that as well!

[nesser1981]

I never know what my page is going to look like unless I'm using a template or trying to lift someone. Even then it doesn't turn out the way I expect it to.

[alansrock]

Heck no! I mean sometimes a template will inspire me to use a specific photo or something but most of the time the photo is the inspiration for me! I spend more time trying to figure out which photo to use than anything when scrapping!

Though I have to say the challenges here have TRULY inspired me lately, I've done like 10 pages in 4 days and I am luvin what I've come up with! So thanks to all you CHALLENGE hosts, you really are an inspiration!! And can I just say that Holly's Treat of the Month Gallery has TONS of inspiration! I could seriously scraplift ever one of her LOs!!

[meems]

nope. never.

[~Julie~]

Some times I have an idea. I usually don't know what picture I'm using till about half way through.

But even if I have an idea in my head my layout usually looks totally different.

[rochelle789]

I always start with the picture. Once that's decided, I choose a kit. I'm a kit scrapper, so after the picture and kit are chosen, the papers and elements in that kit kind of dictate what I do next. Plus, I like to tell the story of the pictures, so I also have to make room for journaling. I'm not that good at that, so it usually gets stuck up in a corner somewhere. LOL!

[Paula]

Not normally. Sometimes, I have an idea, but once I get started on it, it goes in its own direction.

[AmyM]

Originally Posted by nesser1981

I never know what my page is going to look like unless I'm using a template or trying to lift someone. Even then it doesn't turn out the way I expect it to.

Same here.
When one of my designers has a new kit we need to work with, sometimes I can kinda tell what I want to do from the theme or the elements...but if I start with a photo I have no idea. I love starting with the pictures from scratch and just going from there, but usually that's not how it works. LOL

[krystalhartley]

I might have a "vibe" or mood that I'm hoping to convey, but I generally have NO idea how it will evolve. I've done my very first scraplifts and templates just over the last couple of months...and I've been scrapping for more than 12 years...I still really struggle with those approaches, while some people are so naturally talented at it.

[Shawna Clingerman]

When I really hit my grove, i will find that ever picture i take or kit i see puts into my head a general layout idea with not only the picture/title/kit/ but also a general "sketch" but its sort of undefined until i get it put together.

My best pages are always the ones that i have an idea of before i start it - and ofcourse SCRAPLIFTS which are my biggest love LOL.

[Brooke W]

No, my pages just kind of evolve,lol. I'm learning more and more skills through all these fab challenges here and only use the scraplifts or templates for those; those're the only times I will have an idea where a page is going before hand.
I always start with the picture and go from there. I don't know where it's going to go when I begin.

[EveRecinella]

Sometimes I have an idea on HOW I want to to look, but most often I just go with the flow!!

[newfiemountiewife]

No, I never do. What I find myself doing is, scrapping like a paper scrapper....meaning that I want my LOs to look like paper LOs.

[pbumbaca]

Only if it's a template or a scraplift! LOL! Other than that I start with the kit and go from there. I never even know what photo/photos I'm going to use until the page is half done!

[Anso]

Whether we're taking digi or paper scrapping I never have a clue where I'm going LOL! I start with my paper, then pick another item and put that in place. Having no idea what I will do next. Then pick another item (yet again not knowing where I'll go after that) and so on. LOL! Sounds mad, I know

[Stacey42]

I don't generally start scrapping until I have a general idea of what I want the layout to look like. My time to sit at the computer is limited so I like to sit down pretty much knowing what sort of look I am going for. That look might change some once I pick a kit, once I have a base idea I find I can deviate from it quickly & easily. I also use templates and lifts fairly often because of the time issue

[ColleenSwerb]

Originally Posted by Shawna Clingerman

When I really hit my grove, i will find that ever picture i take or kit i see puts into my head a general layout idea with not only the picture/title/kit/ but also a general "sketch" but its sort of undefined until i get it put together.

My best pages are always the ones that i have an idea of before i start it - and ofcourse SCRAPLIFTS which are my biggest love LOL.

I'm the same way! I almost always have an idea in my head of what direction I want the LO to go in. When I don't, I just push things around on the page for hours.

[dballance]

I love sketches, my own and others!!! I scrap my pics in order so that takes the guesswork out of what pics I'm working with. So it's only a matter of picking what kits I want to work with and (if I'm using one) which sketch, most of the time they get changed up alot when I'm in the middle of the layout, so often my finished layout looks different than the sketch. I have a book full of sketches that I've come up with on my own that I use mostly. I even have a little notebook in my purse that I will whip out when I have an idea.

I'm like Shawna my best are usually the ones that I've mulled around in my head for awhile before sitting down at the computer.

[LeeAndra]

I prefer templates and scraplifts for this reason. I hate process so I could waste 30 minutes figuring out placement of the photo and elements on my page. I'd rather spend those 30 minutes actually scrapping, kwim?

I think it's a security blanket kind of thing for me, actually. My 'lifts and template-using layouts oftentimes change a significant amount to the point that you may not realize it is one or the other, but knowing I can fall back on a design if nothing else comes to me frees up my brain to actually scrap and journal.

[cindys732003]

No clue whatsoever! I usually grab the kit I am going to work with (or use as a base anyways), find a pic to go with it and go from there! Sometimes I have a photo I want to scrap and then go search for kit to go with it.

[scrapmonkey]

Unless I'm scraplifting/spinning, I have no idea what it will look like 95% of the time before I start. Sometimes I go the template route, but I find a template that fits with my photo and theme, and even then I don't follow it 100% anyways. I guess I like to fly by the seat of my pants when I scrap...

[MelissaL88]

Sorta, kinda, in a weird sort of way LOL! I almost always start with a photo (or photos) and then I figure out what kind of story I want to tell. Then I start grabbing papers and/or embellies that I think will best help me tell the story. So, I kinda have an idea of what I want the LO to look like, but I don't have a formal sketch that I am using. Of course, it's completely different if I'm doing a lift or using a template

[kscwgirl]

I don't, unless I come up with a page while I am at work, and then I sketch it out. Other than that, it just kind of goes on it's own.