One way to tell the story of a page is to write actual conversation.  We know that when the mind reads conversation in print it is responds as though the talk were real.  That’s why these pages seems so immediate and so engaging. It’s like you are actually IN conversation.

There are lots of approaches to the method.  And it is important to remember that our one or two page format is tight and limited.  You can’t cover an in-depth subject but you can sometimes plant the questions or curiosities which will lead to an ongoing conversation in the mind of your reader. When you plan a page around conversation, think carefully about the essentials… the tone and the content you want to convey. Don’t try to repeat every word which was said.  Just kraft the words to be truthful to the speaker and tight enough for the page.

I drew my first two examples of this style from the Creative Team Gallery. 

Myra is a master a reporting her son Jake’s insightful considerations of life and it’s ultimate meaning.  Her method is virtual story telling at it’s finest.  You can hear her voice, her son’s voice and the sweet harmony between them. This recent page is a good example of her style.

The Best Life Ever

Another way of using conversation in a page to great effect is what Cassie did here.  She writes this page a dialogue between herself and her son.  By addressing him directly from the page and then asking him a question she immediately engages the reader in an overheard chat about the nature of her son.  It’s a vivid way to make the page come to life. And if you know the Mom, there is her typical tongue-in-cheek, ironic humor here, too! 

Auto Pilot

Finally, here’s another way to use dialogue … a little chat I had with myself, or with my own inner voices, to be precise.  Just a record of my day, my current state of inner landscape but told as a conversation within. Sometimes I pretend I am my own psychologist and sometimes, it works!!

Right NOW, I’m Sailing

Think about how you can use dialogue to tell you story and give it a try. 

Please share your pages with this technique in our PageKraft Gallery  so that we can all learn from you and enjoy your work.

Congratulations to Melissa Hill. Her layout love you everyday has been selected as the featured layout of the week where she won a $ 5 DesignerDigitals Gift Certificate for product of her choice!

This week’s Adobe Photoshop or Elements tip of the week is now available on video. This weeks tip is on Grouping Photos Within a Circle in Photoshop and PSE.

Building up a scrapbook layout can be like a construction project. Building it up layer by layer so that even though it is a digital scrapbook page it has depth and a feeling of weight.

This week I have chosen a layout bykmatorina:

Doesn’t a helicopter ride in Alaska sound amazing? And this is an amazing page to remember it by, as well. I love how all those layers are built up, and how they all conect and overlap so they form one cohesive unit. None of them are left floating - and the page does not look cluttered. Lots of space left for the page to “breathe” plus a strong border to balance the weight of the cluster of photo and elements make this a really strong and eye-catching layout.

Maybe you’ll want to try your hand at lifting this great page, just as Jodi, Wendy and I did. Here’s what we came up with:

Credits: layout by Lynn, Travel Word Transfers , and LoopdaLoop Flowers No.01 by Anna Aspnes, Notepaper, and Painted Accents (coming soon) by Katie Pertiet, Battered Alpha No.02 and “Late Summer” mini-kit (coming soon) by Lynn Grieveson.

Credits: layout by Wendy, Glorious Days Paperpack (coming soon), Roughed Up notepaper paperpack, LoopdaLoop Flutterbys No.01, Notebook Edged Frames No.02, Stitched by Anna Red. No.01, Straightline Stitched Orange No.01, Grunged Up Photo Blocks , Alana Solids paperpack, Metal Monograms No.02, Vintage Storyboard frames No.02, Artsy Blooms No.01, Journeyh Grunge Strips, 2010 Alphabet tabs, Arsty Clocks No.02.

Credits: layout by Jodi, Kiana paperpack, Classci Curled Photoframes No.01, Stitched by Anna White No.05, Date Strips Stamps No.04, Basic Paper Alphabet: Orange, Dragon Trainer Element pack, My Family Geneaology Clipping No.03, Stitched by Anna Baby Blue No.01, Stitched by Anna Borers No.02, Stitched Labels, patterned brushes and stamps.

Do you usually scrap a single photo on a page or many photos on a page? There’s no wrong answer to this question, especially if you’re using our featured template, Pattie Knox’s Speed Byte No. 025. It’s so versatile you can use it for either scenario. There’s a spot for a focal photo, a spot for journaling, and lots of small spaces for paper and/or pictures and accents. So take your pick!

I love the way Bailey (Starlite9711) used the template to recap how her family spent the summer. She filled many of the small spaces with shots of their fun-filled activities and included a terrific focal shot of her handsome husband and two adorable children. Her title work is a gem, too!

Credits: Speed Byte No. 025, Summer Set Solids, Summer Simplicities Mini Kit, My Wonderful Adventure Kit, Summer Memories Words Brushes and Stamps, Word Strip Labels No. 04, Photo Corners: Colors No. 01, Essential Words Hand Drawn No. 02

Jess (jesshunt) tells the story of her son’s summer swimming lessons using Pattie’s template. She used more than one of the small spaces for three of her four supporting photos; this is a great technique when you don’t want your photo to appear too small. Aren’t those two splashes just brilliant?

Credits: Speed Byte No. 025, Epoxy Extravaganza: On the Beach, Jelly Alphabet No. 14, Pencil Lines Words Brushes and Stamps: Summer, Beach Bloom Dude Solids Paper Pack, Beach Bloom Dude Paper Pack, Sweet and Salty Crumbled Stickers, Painted Edgers No. 01

I rotated the template because I had a landscape-oriented photo that just begged to be scrapped. I also reduced the template’s size so that I could indulge my latest addiction: multiple mats and stitching. My other addiction is patterned paper, so I filled most of the squares with some of Anna’s yummy polka dot papers.

Credits: Speed Byte No. 025, Cardstock Banner Alphabet, Have a Heart Felts No. 05 (recolored), Epoxy Extravaganza: In a Word, Filmed Overlays No. 06, Roughed Up Solids: Eggplant Harvest Paper Pack, Tied Fasteners No. 03, Puffy Stuff: Date Stickers No. 01, Dated Postage Strips, Digital Date Stamps Vol. 15, Weathered Neutrals Paperie No. 06, Rainbow Polka Paperie, Mariska Solid Paperie, Stitched by Anna Borders No. 02, Stitched by Anna White No. 01, Birthday No. 01 Brushes and Stamps, How’d They Do That? No. 19: Recoloring Essentials

I can’t wait to see how you’ll use Pattie’s template. Pick it up in the store for 30% off today, and post your finished page in the Template Challenge Gallery.