Everyone has a go-to dish--that meal that's easy to make, uses the most basic ingredients, and is always very tasty. Now, consider how you can apply this concept to scrapbooking. Start with a recipe for a basic layout--a go-to design you can create with basic supplies. Then, add three extra supplies--or spices--to give the layout a special kick. If you're looking to save time during the busy holiday season, follow along with us to discover how you can use these recipes to create satisfying layouts in a hurry.

We asked our designers to cook up layouts using the following basic recipe.

Basic ingredients:

* Cardstock

* Patterned paper

* Letters

* Punches

* Scissors or trimmer

* Pen

* Adhesive

* Photos in common print sizes (3.5" x 5", 4" x 6", or wallet size)

Extra spices: Choose your favorite three embellishments.

"Christmas Morning" by Mandy Douglass, as seen in the November/December 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes.

"Gingerbread House" by Suzy Plantamura, as seen in the November/December 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes.

To see layouts for each of these scrapbooking recipes, check out the "Recipes for Quick & Easy Layouts" article in the November/December 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes.

Download Free Quick & Easy Layout Recipes

Try these recipes for fast, go-to scrapbook layouts! You can download them in a PDF file or as a PNG file.

Appeared in:

November/December 2010