I have two styles of scrapbooking I love. I love the super simple look, and I love the super cluttered, layered look. What does that say about me? Do I have two personalities?
But, in all seriousness, I do love both. I want to focus on how to get that layered look in a quick, and easy way. The first step is looking at your photograph and finding papers that will look good with your photo. What colors are in the photo? Look through your papers and find some solids and some patterned papers that will fit with your photo nicely.
Next, you will need to choose a solid colored cardstock for your background. Choosing a solid color for the background will make your other papers stand out even more. If you aren’t sure what to use, pick black, white, or brown. This will help you choose your other papers more easily.
Many times, papers are two-sided, and you love both sides. This is where the layering gets easy. I simply like to cut my favorite patterned paper and use both sides in the layout. Place one horizontally, and one vertically. You know that these two patterned scraps will always match because they came from the same 12×12 paper, and they always coordinate.
After you have your first 3 papers layered, decide where you want to place your photograph. In my layout pictured below, I chose to put it off center. But, this depends on what type of look you like. I tend to like negative space in my layouts. Matte your photo, especially if you are placing your photo on patterned paper. You don’t want your photo to get lost, because after all, isn’t that the point? The photo is the focal point.
You can add yet another layer if you feel like it is missing something. A great way to do that is to add a ribbon running along the edge of either your horizontal or vertical piece of paper. You can even run it over the photo (as long as you are not covering up something important) or under the photo.
Last, top off your layout with a title and some coordinating embellishments. You are finished. It’s that easy!
You might also find these interesting:
Making Your Own Fabric Flowers
Do I Have to Scrapbook in Order?