Page Patterns recently celebrated their one-year anniversary and with the new numbering system they are now easier to use than ever. Page Patterns are templates you can use again and again for designing attractive scrapbook pages. The idea behind these is to offer you creative inspiration for your scrapbooking page layouts. I like to print them out and store them in a notebook so I can take them to crops or leaf through them over a cup of coffee.
This month I felt that I was able to streamline the time I spent creating my pages because I used Tami’s Page Patterns. I was drawn to the Page Patterns with the 2 1/8 inch squares and once I got going, I could not stop! Instead of spending precious time staring at an empty piece of paper and a pile of photos, I simply chose the Page Pattern that fit the number of photos I wanted to scrap. This way I could concentrate on the color scheme, embellishments and journaling.
1. First up were some photos from February of last year. With the 2 1/8” squares, I was able to fit in all those photos that were important to the story, even though they were not my best photographic work. I simply followed the plan of Page Pattern # 20 without making much of a change; the only difference was title placement. This Page Pattern also gave me plenty of room to tell the story about this very fun event. (By the way, don’t be afraid to use the back of your Grid Papers as mats for your photos -- and a tip for matting photos on black paper is to lightly ink the edge of your photos with black ink so that the white paper edge does not glare out at you.)
2. Next up was a recent trip to the beach. (Yep, living on a sub-tropical island sure has its advantages.) I chose Page Pattern #14 but because the arrow on my sign pointed the opposite direction I flipped the Page Pattern so that the design is mirrored. The thing to keep in mind is that Page Patterns serve as a source of inspiration and guidance. There is no rule to say you must follow them exactly (although of course, you can). The journaling is hidden under the main photo. Once again I used the back of some Grid Paper as mats for my photos.
3. For my last page, I turned to Page Pattern #22 and printed one photo quite large. Before trimming my photo into 2 1/8” squares I chose the part of the photo that I wanted to remain intact – my husband’s head – and began my cuts there. A bit of pattern paper for the border gave the page a completed look.
It’s so quick and fun to work with the Page Patterns. Simply adapt your photos to the arrangements shown in the Page Pattern -- but don’t be afraid to flip the pattern around, layer on some embellishments, or change the location of your title. By adding some of your own artistry, your albums will soon be filled with unique pages!
