The last thing you’d want me to be is your accountant. I make a lot of math errors. Now that I think of it, you wouldn’t want me designing your new home, either. I’m just not good with measurements. And I’m just not patient enough to measure twice.
That is why I prefer to “eye ball” the placement of various elements on my layouts. Fortunately, it fits with my personal scrapbooking style to have a little messiness on my pages.
When Precision Is Key:
Error-prone or not, there is a time when I want to be very precise; so much so that I can force myself to get out that ruler, dig deep for some patience, and double-check my measurements. The time to be precise is when creating margins. Scrapbookers create margins every time we lay down a block of something. We create the most margins when gathering a group of photos like the one above.
By laying down the block of photos, i created margins on the two outsides. Those are the obvious margins. I usually do okay if I eye-ball these types. But by taking the extra time to measure, it makes a bigger impact. You will have a greater feeling of cohesion when looking at it.
The more difficult margins are the ones in between and around the outside of the grouping of photos. I often see (and have created) groupings where the margins are not quite perfect. Such imperfections usually don’t draw a lot of attention, so they are acceptable.
But the difference between a layout with perfect margins and a layout with imperfect ones is equal to the difference between a car manufactured by a Japanese company and car by an American one. The Japanese are just more precise. The specs may be exactly the same, but the Japanese will do it better every time.
Slightly off margins may be acceptable. Precise margins will deliver impact.
When To Relax:
Once you’ve knotted up your stomach and finished measuring and adhering the elements that create margins, you can let out a breath of air, get your hands dirty, and relax on all the other elements of your design.
Of course, your overall style may be elegant or precise, in which case, you are choosing to use precision with all of the elements. But that is your choice. It isn’t necessary. If precision is your style, you probably like taking the time to measure anyway.
Notice the word strips that line up as part of the background of my layout. I could have lined them up with a ruler like I did my block of photos. Instead, I gave my page a touch of my own personality by eye-balling them instead. Because they do not create important or identifiable margins, it is okay to do that. And while I often pay more attention to perfection when I use formal letter stickers on a title, I relax when I am using stamps and ink or paint. This is because ink and paint lend to a messier style. It works.
Expend your energy where it makes the greatest difference. If you don’t like to measure, just do it where it counts: when you are adding an element that creates a margin. Then relax and have fun with the rest of the page! Relaxing where you can will give your scrapbooking personality. Being precise where it is important will create impact.
