Here’s my first project with the color scheme I found in a pile of leftover pieces.
I say first because I still want to do something more with the larger pieces. But I had this photo-less page to make for my class assignment in Ali Edwards’s Yesterday & Today class and it needed something at the top.
(Need to see a smaller or larger version? Click here, then click Actions > View All Sizes).
This layout is very much like Ali’s with just a few changes to suit my style and story needs.
- Instead of the wider block and horizontal word art that Ali used, I made a narrow journal column and used digital word out that would further emphasize the vertical shape. Paperclipping Members will soon receive their free Design Course where they’ll learn what vertical and horizontal lines and shapes tend to communicate!
- The longer journaling left me with a smaller area for patterns at the top than what Ali had. I just used the smallest scrap pieces I had in my pile of leftovers. Then I added the embellishments to that area (Ali’s had only the patterned paper plus stitching).
- I highlighted the paragraph that is the turning point of my story by making it pink.
Symbols
For years I’ve used the butterfly to symbolize myself and my personality — particularly the part of my personality that feels a desperate need to be free and independent and do my own thing. I started doing that after reading a picture book to my daughter about a sheep and a butterfly.
The sheep was upset to know that the butterfly didn’t need to be with its mother. The sheep wanted the butterfly to anchor down with her flock and be stable and steady. But the butterfly needed to be free and on her own. She needed to wander and jump from flower to flower, from one experience and adventure to the next.
I identified with the butterfly. Powerfully. But over the last few years I’ve learned how to give my children the benefits of being a sheep while still maintaining my need to fly from flower to flower.
Colors
Now you know why I chose the butterfly pieces on this page. I chose the colors because they were the colors I wanted to use. That’s it! If it hadn’t been for that beautiful pile of leftovers, I would have chosen orange instead of pink. Orange is my color — a mix of happy yellow and bold red that results in an energetic, playful, confident (if not a bit wacky) hue.
Then again, maybe the pink and cream work to represent the fact that I’ve learned to calm down and allow myself to make some roots. I do think there is something to be said about our urges and our gut instincts and how they can represent what we want or who we are at an sub-conscious level.
