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Home / Newsletter / Mixing Patterns

Mixing Patterns

I like to compare a scrapbook page to decorating a room in my house. The principles for pairing patterns are basically the same.

First, the walls. I like colorful, yet plain-colored walls because they give a good foundation for everything else to build on. Same thing with a scrapbooking page. Starting with a solid- colored paper (or one with a little texture) is easiest.
Next, the couch or bed or whatever – the largest piece of furniture in the room. On a scrapbooking page, this would be the biggest piece of paper that you layer under your pictures. Again, I wouldn’t go too crazy because it is such a big piece, and I don’t want to overwhelm any visitors. Maybe a light or small pattern.

Now comes the fun part. Curtains, accent pillows, rugs, etc. These small elements are where all of the color and patterns and fun come in. For scrapbooking, these could be squares of paper, paper ribbons, strips, circles, layered pieces – remember that you usually only need a little piece of the pattern, not the whole sheet. There are four things to keep in mind when picking accent patterns.

Type

In general, using several different types on the same page looks best. Pairing a floral with a stripe or a polka-dot will look better than using two similar floral patterns together.

Size

Contrast is the key. A large floral next to a pinstripe looks great because they contrast. Mixing up the sizes keeps it visually interesting.

Weight

Pairing a more visually dense pattern with one that has more white space also makes it more interesting to look at.

White Space

The balance between white (or neutral/solid/empty) space and pattern on a page is important. White space gives our eye some place to rest while processing all of the busy elements on the page. If you are using several busy patterns, make sure there is some empty space around them.

I hope these tips give you some ideas on how to mix and match patterns on your pages! I would love to see the combinations you come up with, so be sure to post them in the Scrap Girls Gallery!

Article written by Anna Mansfield
Using  Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 with Windows 8

Welcome to the SG Design Shop Blog - where modern memory keeping meets heritage scrapbooking! Here you'll find digital products and all the inspiration you need to complete your projects.

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