We all love embellishments; they’re fun. But many scrapbookers complain that they see an over-use of embellishments on some people’s layouts, which takes away from the photos.
It doesn’t have to be that way. If you treat your embellishments well (in other words, place them well), they will highlight your focal point photo, direct the viewers’ eyes, and create interest where you want it.
1. Gather Your Embellishments–Don’t space them out.
You can space the gatherings out into a few spots (for more than one spot, a visual triangle of gatherings is a good idea), but don’t space too many individual embellishments out. Gather them. Cluster them.
In the picture below, you can see that I gathered about 7 different items:
1. Rub-on decorative flourish with quote and heart.
2. Scalloped paper edge.
3. Two black photo turns.
4. Wired beading.
5. Number sticker.
6. Two word strips.
7. Rub-on word (“of”).
2. Place Gatherings In Strategic Spots
Where do you want people to look? Layer your embellishments in little gatherings around those spots. For this layout I made three gatherings that draw your eyes to the focal point photo:
1. The Title: I stamped a flourish-like image before adhering my title, especially emphasizing the “O.” Then I added the red flourish rub-on to underline the word, “Once.”
2. The Focal Point Photo: I placed embellishments around three different points in this area (again, making a visual triangle): 1)Above and between their heads; 2)The bottom right; 3) The bottom left (the Mother Goose book cover).
3. The Side Of The Page:I added this gathering of word-strips as a balancing point and the third corner of one of the many visual triangles on this page.
How is it a balancing point? Before adding it, there was too much weight on the right side of the page with all those photos and embellishments. This gathering makes the photo arrangement feel it’s in the “right” place.
If you love embellishments but fear they overwhelm the pages, gathering them into strategic spots satisfy your craving for artistry without pulling attention away from your photos.
Note: Paperclipping Live is tonight at 6:30pm MST.
