Hey there SCT readers! It’s Meghann Andrew, and I’m excited to be here with you today. This summer, I had the opportunity to play with the amazing SCT Delivered Picnics and Popsicles Kit and created one of my favorite layouts of the year with it:

This layout may look quite simple, but there was a lot of thought that went into its design to make it a successful page. Being able to apply good design is my favorite aspect about creating layouts, and I get a huge sense of satisfaction when I create a page that not only documents memories, but is pleasing to the eye. Today I’m going to dissect this layout to point out a few of these design decisions and why I made them, so that you can think about these points when you’re creating your next scrapbook layout! Let’s start with the overall page design.

*Choosing to frame:* I originally started off creating this layout by using the Dear Lizzy Stay Colorful grid for my full layout background, but something felt like it was missing once I had my photograph and ribbons of patterned paper in place. As you can see in the image above, all of the weight was in the center of the page, and I needed to disperse it more evenly around the outside of the layout. That’s when I trimmed the grid background and backed it with a piece of the pretty teal Atlantic cardstock. This decision meant that the weight was dispersed around the edge of the page, which supported the heavy weight of my photo in the center, and as a bonus, the cardstock matched the color of my pool in the photo perfectly!

*The placement of lines: *Lines are a powerful design tool that anyone can use—on a card, layout, pocket page, anywhere! Lines lead your eye to what is most important by creating an arrow of sorts: a big “LOOK HERE!” on your page. Since my photo is the focal point of the page, and my subjects are right in the center of my photo, I chose to center the photo on the vertical line on my page, and added the colorful strips of patterned paper intersecting my husband and daughter. These lines also create contrast to the background, which also helps to draw your eye to the center of the page. Next time you want something in your photo to really stand out, use lines to draw attention to it.

*A triangle of embellishment:* When it came to adding embellishment, I wanted to keep it all close to the photo, and keep the majority of the page weight there in the center, but the question was, where should I place it?

I started out with my title, since it was a necessity on the page, and it fit well in the top left corner of my photo, in the negative space. To decide the placement for the next two embellishment groupings, I thought about a triangle. A triangle, you ask? Yes! Odd numbers create the most pleasing ratios, and when you create a triangle with a placement of similar items, whether colors or shapes, you make whatever is in the center the most important element on the page. As you can see in the image above, it’s the subjects in my photo that end up in the center of the triangle. So between this visual triangle, and the vertical line that intersects my photo, I’m emphasizing its importance on the page!

*Casual vs. formal: *Wait just a second before you adhere your page elements, because there’s one more decision I want you to consider. Since I had a very straight vertical line, and kept my photo on a straight, horizontal plane, the layout was looking a bit formal. Since this page documents a casual, fun and summery day, I didn’t want everything to be straight. I needed to give my embellishments a casual tilt, so I adhered my sunglasses die-cut shape at an angle, and made a pocket for my “favorite memories” die-cut tag that put it at a sloping angle, adding a playful, relaxed feel to the page.

I hope these four points have shown you a peek into my brain during my decision-making process. I hope you’ll consider them when you create your next layout using the beautiful Picnics and Popsicles Kit! Happy creating!

Meghann Andrew

Blog |  Instagram |  Classes