Saturday Tip: Using Patterned Paper

Hi everyone ... Amy here to talk a little about patterned paper! It can be VERY intimidating to use some of the beautiful and bold patterned papers created by designers but I'm going to give you some tips and show you how I've used patterned paper on my own pages.

My first tip - JUST DO IT! Don't be afraid to just pull out the paper you love and make it your background paper. You can then add some solid papers to balance that pattern out a bit. Here's a layout that I did using Wendy's Great Escape kit which has some amazing patterned papers ... I loved the rectangle/blocked background but was worried that it was 'too much' for my page so I decided to just go for it and try to balance that out with my other papers and element choices. In the end, I'm really happy with how it turned out. Sometimes you just have to do it!

My next tip is to use patterned papers as a page border because it can frame your layout and add visual interest without overwhelming you. It also allows you to use solids on most of your page, allowing you the opportunity to easily add journaling without trying to do so with a patterned paper getting in the way! Here is a layout that I knew would be journaling heavy so I wanted to include primarily solids but also have some patterned paper here and there! This page uses Wendy's Month By Month Vol 2 Papers and Elements.

Another tip that I have for you is to use patterned paper to draw the eye to your photos ... I often use strips of patterned paper to focus attention in a certain direction. In this layout, I used Wendy's Vintage Summer kit and used only patterned papers.  I selected a fairly subtle patterned paper for the background but then used a patterned paper in a brighter, bolder color to bring the eye right to the photos!

Last but certainly not least, I recommend that you try to partner your patterned paper(s) with solids, especially around your photo or photos. Keeping a solid paper or papers as a mat to your photo will really help keep your photo grounded on the page. With a solid mat to ground things, you can layer lots of patterns underneath to add some POP to the page!  I used this technique with this page using Wendy's Family Matters Collaboration with Graham Like the Cracker ...

Thanks so much for joining me to talk patterned paper! I hope that you found a tip or two that will help you as you use patterned papers on your layouts. Have a great rest of your weekend!