Amy enjoys the saved time and new sense of focus that designing in 8.5 x 11 gives her.
Amy Kingsford recently moved from making scrapbook layouts on a 12″ x 12″ square canvas to using the 8.5 x 11″ format.
Amy’s cool thing right now is making 8.5″ x 11″ pages
Scrapbooking on an 8.5″ x 11″ canvas isn’t exactly a new concept, but, says Amy, “it was definitely one that I had mixed feelings about. Though I was intrigued by the possibilities of cutting down on time, printing my own pages and spending less on page protectors–I was also terrified about losing all of that extra design space.”
She was finally motivated to give the smaller canvas a try with a design team assignment to use 8.5″ x 11″ templates. “After doing a few pages with the templates, it was like looking at my memory keeping with a fresh pair of eyes. I was in love with the new look.”
Amy says, “Silly for Spiderman was one of my first 8.5″ x 11″ pages, made with a template. I wanted it to be a very story-focused page so used minimal embellishments with elements, colors and patterns that drew attention to my photos and reinforced their meaning. In the end I came away with a clean page and a clear story–two things that had not always been huge priorities for me in my scrapbooking, but that I’m now committed to exploring.”
Silly for Spiderman by Amy Kingsford | Supplies: Sahlin Studio: Project Mouse Papers and Elements, Project Mouse Character Word Bits, Project Mouse: Character Cards, Subtle Stamped Alpha; Robyn Meierotto: In Stitches: Bright Basics, Cut. It. Out Stitched Frames; Simple Scrapper: Template from Premium Collection.
Scrapbooking in 8.5 x 11″ saves time and improves focus.
Amy has seen both the amount of time that she spends making pages and the focus of her pages shift as she works on a smaller canvas. “In the beginning I was scared that less space meant less choices and therefore a less creative page overall. That hasn’t happened, though. Instead, working in a smaller space, has translated into more focus on the parts of my memory keeping that truly matter and more creativity as far as experimenting with new design options.”
“Just Me and You, is more true to my own (less clean) style and a perfect example of how I was able to take the things I loved about the 8.5 x 11″ format and integrate them into my process. This page combines my love for embellishing with a strong design and an improved focus on my journaling and photos. I feel that even though there is lot more on this page, there is still no question about the focus.”
Just Me and You… by Amy Kingsford | Supplies: Crystal Livesay: Fun With Shapes V. 3 – Circles; The Ardent Sparrow: Let’s Go Papers and Elements; Creashens: Griddy Frames; Gennifer Bursett: Fly Away Wood Grain
You don’t need new supplies to scrapbook in 8.5 x 11″
“Whenever we make a big shift in our memory keeping process or even when we decide to try something new there is always that feeling that we’ll have to buy all new stuff or some anxiety about our current supplies going to waste. Happily I did not experience any change in the supplies I was using only a shift in how I approached them.”
- I combined my 8.5″ x 11″ pages with my 12″ x 12″ pages in my albums.
- I sewed and cut down my remaining page protectors to size.
- I cropped and re-sized templates, papers, borders, etc. to work with my smaller canvas.
“And on some of my supplies I was even saving money:”
- I found that I was using digital kits more than once because I wasn’t putting as many of my favorite patterned papers and embellishments onto a single page.
- I was printing my pages at home and started actually getting them into albums.
- And, let’s face it, 8.5″ x 11″ page protectors are less expensive than 12″ x 12″.
Always Watching by Amy Kingsford | Supplies: Amy Martin Designs: Templates: Listen Up and Need More Stitching 5; One Little Bird Designs: Stay Tuned; Fonts: Homestead and New Courier
Give 8.5 x 11″ a try
It was templates that inspired Amy to try out her “cool new thing,” and she’s offering a few free sketches and templates for anyone who wants to give the 8.5″ x 11″ page format a try. Who knows you might love it too!
Download sketch/template zip file here
The Perfect Egg by Amy Kingsford | Supplies: LetterTemplate A by Amy Kingsford; Jenn Barette: Kinda Awesome; One Little Bird Designs: Sweater Waether and Meadowlark; Sahlin Studio: Key to My Heart Elements, Rejuvenate, Insta Frames and Treasured Memories.
Amy Kingsford
Amy writes for and administers the Get It Scrapped blog. She’s also our Creative Team Coordinator and a teacher at Masterful Scrapbook Design.
Amy Kingsford is a happy wife and blessed mother from Northern Utah. In addition to her work here at Get It Scrapped, she also teaches at Creative Passion Classes and shares ideas, inspiration, and instruction on creative approaches to modern scrapbooking and papercrafting at her site AmyKingsford.com.
