Hey all, glad to be back on the blog this month! Who has had trouble creating balanced layouts without using a sketch to work off of? I’m sure I’m not the only one. Today I’m sharing 3 tips for creating layouts that will result in eye catching projects every single time.

Tip #1: Work In Odd Numbers

You may have heard of the Rule of Odds in design and this tip works off of that rule. Using an odd number of elements is an easy way to have a balanced scrapbook page.

In this layout using the Aflutter collection, I’ve applied this tip by using 1 photo, 3 layering papers, 3 wood embellishments, and an odd number of elements inside of each of my 3 clusters.

Hi friends, Theresa here with a fun travel-themed layout for you! I am playing with the Anywhere But Here collection from Traci Reed Designs, and this layout documents our weekend getaway close to home in Raleigh, NC. Recently I have been working on my 2024 Project Life album using some great templates from Erica Zane, available here: Weekly Template Vol 04 at Sweet Shoppe Designs. I am loving templates such as these because they allow more photos, and more different sized photos, and they are quite flexible for journal cards and patterned papers. Today I wanted to share how I’ve made different papers, travelers notebook signatures, and journal cards from the Anywhere But Here collection work for my layout!

First, you can see the title and ending card on the layout both house this gorgeous floral patterned paper as the home base for words, elements, and journaling. These two blocks ground the layout and introduce the color palette for the layout, and all of these colors will be found throughout the layout. The title block here measures 7” x 3 ¾”, which allows for a very eye-catching title, the adorable stamp, and the arrows directing your eye directly into the page. Those fantastic map alphas are a part of the Anywhere But Here collection, and the blue puffy stickers are from Elle’s Studio.

Up next is the square block, measuring just shy of 4” x 4”. This one was simple, I’ve brought in a traveler’s notebook signature from this collection and that is all it needed! The journal card directly below that says “Let’s escape and breathe….” Is a journal card, and measures a bit more than 3”h x 2 ¾”w. This one also did not need any changes other than sizing to fit the block. It does cut off a bit of the top and bottom of the card but the design of the card makes it hardly noticeable. And totally worth it for the fabulous word art!

At the bottom of this side of the layout is another journal card that has simply been sized down to fit into the block. This block measures 5 ½” x 2 ½” and the word art plus icons on the card fit so well it looks like it was made for this block! You can also see the stamp blocks that are repeated across the layout: those are backed with solid contrasting colors to help give them more presence on the page. It’s a ton of fun to find little goodies in this collection to fill in these spaces!

On the right side of the layout, you will see another repeated element – the black and white diagonal stripe. This is one of the patterned papers sized down to about 8” x 8” and then clipped to the block. This is another home base for fun embellishments, which for here is the speech bubble and florals. So cute! The journal block directly below the photo of River and Asher is also a journal card sized down slightly, and for this one I cut off just a bit of the bottom of the card. I love how it fits perfectly here, and allows for more words on the page. And so easy!

Lastly, the final block that balances the top left block with the blue floral. This block houses a journal card that is actually turned sideways so I could use the yellow frame and the grid background. The original journal card has cacti, which don’t really fit in with the Raleigh vibe, so I’ve added these other fun embellishments – the hot air balloons, suitcase, the darling car, and another stamp.

I hope this helps you see how easy it is to make your collections work for you! I also have a process video that you can see here: