Studying scrapbook pages by others is a great way to get scrapbooking ideas for growing your own style. In this “study” look at how the other scrapbooker has used product and design principles and how she’s handled the 5 parts of a scrapbook page (canvas, photos, title, journaling, embellishments).
Our creative team studied pages by Celeste Smith and shares what they took from this study. This is not a LIFT of one page. Rather they made pages inspired and instructed by what you they saw in a collection of her work.
see some of Celeste’s pages.
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Take a look at Celeste’s work on our Chanelling Celeste Smith Pinterest Board and get inspired.
Here, also, are a few pages by Celeste from our blog posts.
stargazer by Celeste Smith | Supplies: Lauren Reid & Valorie Wibbens: Twinkle kit.
Good Reads by Celeste Smith | Supplies: Karla Dudley & Valorie Wibbens Good Stuff kit, cards, and flair; Laura Passage: Stitched Down Vol. 1; Fonts: Underwood Champion, Bebas, Branboll Fet.
haiku by Celeste Smith | Supplies:Gennifer Bursett: Far & Away kit, Amy Martin: Clearly Christmas Date Stickies, Sara Gleason: Plant Your Story Journaled v.2.
Awesome by Celeste Smith | Supplies: Karla Dudley & Valorie Wibbens: The Good Stuff kit; Audrey Neal: Neutral Cardstock; Gennifer Bursett: Made of Awesome kit; Font: Underwood Champion.
hese two by Celeste Smith | Supplies: Valorie Wibbens: A Bit Worn; Studio Basic & Pink Reptile Design Take Note kit; One Little Bird: How It Began kit; Alison Pennington: Away We Go elements, Pop Brads, They Keep Falling elements; Amy Wolfe: Labels; Gina Cabrera: Cork Elements; Echo Park: Note to Self kit; Mari Koeglenburg: Fresh Picks kit, Puddle Jumper kit; Micheline Martin: Trendy Tween kit; Karen Lewis: Snapshots Elements; Robyn Meierotto: In Stitches Neutrals; Fonts: Underwood Champion, Bebas, Mission Script
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see our pages inspired by Celeste’s designs
cardstock backgrounds and simple embellishment clusters
Devoted by Susanne Brauer | Supplies: Cardstock, We R Memory Keepers; Patterned Paper, Fancy Pants , American Craft and Pink Paislee; Alphabet Stickers, Basic Grey; Wood veneer, Maya Road; Ink, Smooch Spritz; Edge Punch, EK Success; Stamps and Crochet Lace, Stampin Up, Stickpins, Making Memories, flowers and buttons from stash.
Susanne Brauer says, “This is a page about my husband’s maternal grandparents.”
“What caught my eye about Celeste’s pages were large circles, plain cardstock backgrounds, and generally restrained use of embellishments. “
“For this heritage page, I used circles on a neutral ground and layered other prints on top. I repeated circular elements in more subtle variations of punched paper circles, dotted paper and round alphabet stickers. The large circled paper gives the page drama, but the context provided by other elements keeps it from becoming playful.”
border strips and short stripes
Rome by Stefanie Semple. Supplies: Kimeric Kreations: Traveler (bundle), Britt-ish Designs: Tack it down (stitching).
Stefanie Semple says, “I have had Rome on my bucket list since I first developed a bucket list, with visiting the Colosseum ( or Flavian Amphitheatre as it should be known) a top priority.”
“Celeste often adds strips of patterned papers at the top and bottom edges of her canvas, frequently using striped prints trimmed to run in many short lines (vs. a few long ones). The photos always steal the show on Celeste’s layouts, but her titles are also prominent. She often embellishes with buttons and stitches down her paper strips.”
“Inspired by Celeste, I’ve got a prominent photo, clear title, striped prints, border strips, stitching and buttons. As much as I was channeling Celeste, I think this is close to my own style too.”
white space, matted photos, and asymmetrical design
Best Buddies by Brenda Becknell | Supplies: Cardstock; Bazzill; Patterned paper: Basic Grey, Am. Crafts, Studio Calico; Alphabet stickers: Basic Grey, Lily Bee; Sentiment sticker: Studio Calico; Font: CK True Type; Hero Arts charcoal ink
Brenda Becknell says, “This is a random photo of my dad and my grandson. I love the smiles on their faces.”
“When I looked at examples of Celeste’s work, I noticed several things:
- paper strips at the top and bottom of the page
- white space
- matted photos
- a grouping of papers, embellishments, photos and title, often placed off-center on the page
- journaling in a typewriter font”
“I used several of these techniques on my page, placing my matted photo on top of layers of patterned paper, and placing the grouping on the lower right hand side of the page. I cut some of the papers into banners (also a technique often used on Celeste’s pages) and added journaling and my title on the same grouping.”
layered foundations
Summer by Andrea | Supplies: Katie Pertiet, Chandra Kit.
Andrea says, “This page is about a fun memory of our summer vacation.”
“I like the way Celeste uses layering and white space.”
“I used a composition with layering and white space with the different that blended my photos with texture to add my own artistic touch.”
blocked foundation
Just Another Day by Rosann Santos -Elliott | upplies: Studio Calico Red River Gorge, From Where I Stand, Heidi Swapp letters; Simple Stories 24/7 Brads; We R Memory keepers Sheer Cevron Washi Tape
Rosann Santos-Elliott says, “My son loves to be photographed. As the title here implies, it doesn’t have to be a special occasion to take a photo. I love photos like this because the story can be about anything.”
“I happen to have several pages inspired by Celeste Smith. This layout in particular was inspired by “Lila,” a pink layout with the photo of an adorable girl. Her design is set up in a blocked or grid arrangement, but there are also elements off the blocked area.”
“That is what I tried to accomplish here – a grid foundation with some elements off the grid. I like this technique because it’s simple and classic but the the wheel and hearts elements add visual interest. The simplicity does not compromise the style.”
photo and title united
Jessie Like A Question by Katie Scott | Supplies: Studio Calico, Jillibean Soup, and October Afternoon patterned papers; Studio Calico Thickers and Tim Holtz letter stickers; Heidi Swapp and Maya Road mists; Recollections stamp and ink; Sharpie pens, Studio Calico flair, and machine stitching.
Katie Scott says, “My old dog Dandy loved when we asked any sort of question. Uur new dog Jessie is still getting used to us and even her name, so when she tilted her head for me, I had hope Jessie will come to love us as much as our old dog did.”
“After studying Celeste’s pages I noticed six things that I tried to incorporate into my page:
- Strips of paper at the top and bottom of layouts adhered down with machine stitching
- Craft, white or grid foundation paper
- A messy block layout design
- The title goes either within the messy block or very close to it
- Use of mist or a splatter of something around the messy block design
- Minimal embellishments – usually buttons but I used flair”
“I also happen to know (from a Masterful Scrapbook Design Office Hours) that the very bottom strip of Studio Calico paper Compilation from the Anthology line is Celeste Smith’s favorite scrapbook paper of all time – so I had to use it on this page.”
