Moving out of a period in which florals and ruffles were popular for fashion and home decor, geometric shapes provide an uncomplicated and modern look.

Hexagons go a step past basic squares and circles to present a shape that’s interesting to arrange and present. Hexagons are meaning neutral and work with a range of scrapbook page subjects.

Make a band of hexagons.

Amy Kingsford clipped coordinating patterned papers to the band of hexagons spanning “Family Photog” a page about how she loves being the person in her family with the camera, the one responsible for capturing the wonderful moments and stories.

Amy says, “I addressed the one problem with being the one behind the lens, by substituting an “image holder” accent for my photo.  I think the patterned hexagon foundation brings energy to this photo-less page.”

Family Photog by Amy Kingsford | Supplies: Paislee Press: Diptych, Photobooth; Allison Pennington: Not Pictured; Anna Aspnes: Silver Glitter Alpha; Sara Gleason: Olive Tree; Nettio Designs: Geometric Vol. 1; Karen Funk: Simple Stitches.

Add diagonal flow with hexagons.

Leah Farquharson used the repetition of both positive and negative chipboard hexagons to add interest and movement to her page “Chicago Bound.”  As these hexagons trickle down her page so does the viewer’s eye–taking in key details like her map and journaling.

Chicago Bound by Leah Farquharson Supplies: cardstock: Bazzill. Patterned Paper: October Afternoon. Hexagon Chipboard pieces: Maya Road. Stickers: October Afternoon, Jillibean Soup. Brads, buttons, diectus, flair: October Afternoon. Wood Veneer stars, Chipboard letters: Studio Calico. Inks: October Afternoon, Ranger. Paints: Jenni Bowlin for Ranger. Pen: Signo Uniball. Sewing Machine: Viking

Embellish with a stack of hexagons.

Debbie Hodge embellished a vintage-feel page with a stack of three hexagons in progressively smaller sizes cut from felt and topped with handstitching.

Favorite Photos by Debbie Hodge | Supplies: Pedal Pushers by One Little Bird; In Motion by Ashalee Wall; Artsy Feathers No 1 by Anna Aspnes; Summer Camp, Key to My Heart by Sahlin Studio; Headliners by Paislee Press; Vintage Photo Frames No 16 by Katie Pertiet; Worn Photos 2 by Lynn Grieveson; Ephemera by Mye De Leon; Stax On Hexagon by Kaye Winieki; Trocchi font; Totally Rad Labs photo editing; Inspired by photo by Simply Hue on Flickr

Crop your photos in hexagons.

Kiki Kougioumtzi captured snippets of her summer island-hopping hexagonally-shaped photos.  She cropped them in Photoshop adding a white stroke to the edges for definition. Kiki says “I used larger patterned-paper hexagons to make a haphazard mat for the photos.” The photos are raised from the background with pop dots.

Island Shopping by Kiki Kougioumtzi | Supplies: Patterned paper:My Mind’s Eye, K&Co; Alphas:American Crafts, Basic Grey; Acrylic paint:Plaid.

Audrey Tan  took a similar approach with photos of her children holding the Olympic torch. Her page is digital, and she “clipped” her photos to hexagonal shapes in Photoshop, an approach. Three of the hexagons each hold single photos, while another cluster of three hexagons holds one large photo spread over the three.

Treasure by Audrey Tan | Supplies: Ju Kniepp Designs: Old Sweet Times; Crystal Livesay: Hex Shapes V2; Karen Funk: Simple Stitches; Anna Aspnes: Precious Word Art No1, Achieve Word Art No1; Fonts: Tangerine & Tangie AJF Oyster

Make a quilt of folded hexagons.

Katie Scott punched squares from scraps of double-sided patterned paper then folded two opposite corners into the center of each to create hexagon shapes.

She arranged three rows of these pieces for a quilted look that’s accentuated by the machine stitching running over each row. Katie says “I love the way it makes them look quilted and how all the random colors work together.”

Who Was She by Katie Scott | Supplies: Little Yellow Bicycle stickers; American Crafts letter stickers; square punch, machine stitching, random double sided patterned papers.

Find hexagons in everyday materials.

Deborah Wagner matted a photo of her handsome nephew on a scrap piece of chicken wire which has an underlying hexagon pattern .  Deborah says “My sister doesn’t scrap so it is my pleasure to document my nephews’ and niece’s lives.  I chose the chicken wire, because of how well it supported my chick magnet theme.”

Chick Magnet by Deborah Wagner | Supplies: (All Products by Designer Digitals) Katie Pertiet – Readymade Circles You, Ledger Paper Pieces Edges, Watery Chevrons No.1, Farm Fresh Kit, Prince Edward Kit, Lovely Photo Masks No. 3, Hot Floral Mini Kit, Email Inspiration 3-6-11, Blendable Photo Cards No. 4, Clean Stitched White No. 3, Zipper Pull Dates No. 2, Paper Strips Words Love No. 1; Patty Knox – True Love Alpha, Scrap2gether Freebie 9-10-11; Art Warehouse – Photo Captions Boys; Andrea Victoria – Essential Tapes Hearts; Ali Edwards – Remember This and That Paper Collection; Maple Brook Studios – Paleo Paper Pack; Cassie Jones – Bending Shadows; How’d they do that? Blend Burn & Dodge

Cut hexagonal openings.

Adriana Puckett cut a honeycomb-patterned mat with her Silhouette die cutting machine.  It layers over her photos of chickens like the very chicken wire of their run.

Adriana says “It was fun to layer Instagram images of our chickens both in front of and behind this die cut mat. As I was working with it, I thought of all sort of uses for this pattern – for pictures of kids, a collection of pinned images or even as a holder for various notes tucked here and there.”

Our Brood by Adriana Puckett | Supplies: Patterned paper: Crate Paper, American crafts dark kraft cardstock; Title: AC Thickers (Amy Tangerine); Other supplied: shipping tag, Glitter Angels mist, lilybee rub-ons, white uniball signo pen.

Repeat hexagons in a variety of mediums and sizes.

Jen Matott says, “I have a love affair with hexagons! I find it so easy to use these shapes scattered around a page or as layers.” Here she mixed cut hexagons with stenciled hexagons and stenciled hexagon outlines.

Jen says, “I started with gesso and worked it through a Crafter’s Workshop chicken wire template.  I used an old credit card to smear it through the openings. I then used the still messy template to stamp outlined hexagons in the upper right corner–I hate to waste anything!  Finally I cut a few hexagons from patterned papers and added Pink Paislee mistable shapes to create depth.”

Free by Jennifer Matott | Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; Gesso: Liquitex; Artist’s Cement (modeling paste) 101 by US ArtQuest; Patterned Papers: Studio Calico, My Mind’s Eye, and Echo Park; Stencils/ templates: Crafter’s Workshop (Chicken Wire & Punchinella 6″); Punch: Creative Memories; Stamp: Studio Calico; Ink: Faber Castell PITT Big Brush Artist Pen in Black & PITT Artist Pen in Silver, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Tarnished Silver, Crocheted Doily, and Rolling Tide, Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam in Palm Leaf; Bling: Prima
Helmar adhesive and ZapDots

Add oomph to a solid background with misted hexagons.

Tanyia Deskins  says “I wanted a plain background so that I could journal a lot, but I also wanted to add a little ooomph to it! So I went with a spray painted mask of hexagons! It added a great touch of color and a bit of pattern to the paper in the areas where there wasn’t any journaling.”

Week 20 by Tanyia Deskins | Supplies: Insta Me -weekly 1 by Cornelia Designs, Mye De Leon Cool Change

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