Have you become more a collector of patterned paper than a user of patterned paper? Our local scrapbook stores are filled with dazzling arrays of patterns and colors that range from sophisticated to whimsical. There are now styles available to suit every taste and need. It's hard to walk out of a store without buying at least a few of the latest and greatest. But once you get these beautiful papers back to your craft room are they more likely to end up in your storage box rather that in your albums?

Patterned papers, when used with some basic guidelines, can add visual interest, reinforce your theme, help you express your creativity and add beauty and style to your layouts.

Contrast

Papers with small, low contrast patterns are usually the easiest to use. Often times, if the pattern is a similar size (or larger) as the subject in your photo, the subject becomes lost on the page. Also, if there is a lot of contrast in the colors (light against dark) this too will compete with your photos. In the Quail Botanical Gardens layout I uses a tone on tone background. The patterns in the yellow paper are especially subtle. When looking for background paper with a low contrast try blurring your eyes, the pattern should almost disappear.



Matting A good rule of thumb when using patterned papers is to mat the photos with a solid color. The more visually obvious the paper is, the wider the mat should be. This will provide a visual buffer. Notice how large the vellum mat above is? Even though the leaves in the paper were tone on tone it still has a pretty busy pattern. The large vellum mat keeps the readers eye from taking in too much at once. In the Birthday Surprise layout I used a four-layer mat to draw the eye into the photo.

Emphasis With such a huge variety of papers on the market today it's easy to find one to help reinforce the mood or theme of your photos. Try using paper that repeats an element from the pictures. Patterned paper can pull out several colors at once like the green and yellow in the Becky Bo Ecky layout below. Convey a mood by using soft, wispy patterns for romantic or serine photos and bright, cheerful patterns for parties and festive photos. Checks can be particularly challenging because of their strong visual impact. Use them in small amounts for details such as boarders, cutout letters etc. In this example, I chose the check because it repeated the colors and pattern in my daughter's dress. I only used it sparingly as a boarder and again around the title.

Here are a few more layouts using patterned paper to help inspire you to dig into your storage box and start using the rich collection of creative materials you already have at your disposal.