How to Push Your Scrapbook Page Pattern Story

Most of us have a “pattern story,” print patterns that we’re drawn to and choose again and again. Here we show you how to push that pattern story and do new things with looks you already love.

[twocol_one]Take a look at one of your strong pattern preferences. (For example, I love floral prints.)

Now study that preference. Get to know all of its incarnations and see if you’re using all of them.  (For example, I like floral prints, and they come in small and large motifs, and the density of these prints varies. Styling ranges from botanical to tropical to romantic.)

Use pinterest.com to search for your preferred pattern (i.e., “geometric pattern”). Look for designs that you’ve used AND that you’ve not used before but that you see you’d like. Look also to see what other patterns your favorite pattern would mix well with. And now try new combos and styles.[/twocol_one][twocol_one_last]

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try an unexpected motif

Sue Althouse says, “This page is about my granddaughter at one day old.”

“My typical pattern story is one of simple and geometric motifs: dots, stripes, chevrons and grids. The baby blanket in the photo inspired me to create this Pinterest board and push my pattern story to include a leopard print as part of the design. I’m happy with the result because I included just enough of the new pattern to make a statement while staying true to my style.”[hr]

try print patterns in a new size/scale

Heather Awsumb says, “This page is about capturing the everyday event of snuggling with my pets in the morning.”

 “My typical pattern story is one that uses patterned paper with small geometric prints. I pushed my pattern story here in two ways:

1. by going with a larger scale motif than usual, and
2. by incorporating print pattern in ways other than patterned paper.”

“Using the digital Gelato Chevron Brushes by Just Jaimee added a large chevron print that mimicks the look of stamping with gelatos on “traditional” paper projects”[hr]

use your go-to patterns in different quantities and ways

Sian Fair says, “When my daughter is studying for exams I make sure to get her out of the house every day, even if it is just a country drive to take photos in the rain.”

 I often gravitate towards polka-dot or floral print patterns. I look for miniature dots so I can use a whole sheet as a patterned paper background, and I look for flowers big enough to hand cut and use as embellishments. To push my pattern story, I cut up my polka dot papers so that the pattern all but disappeared. This gave me a different way of looking at patterns I would usually have set aside to use as backgrounds. Without my dots as a background, I had to find something else for the base of the page, and so I use Kraft paper, which isn’t a regular choice for me.”[hr]

try styling that’s a change from your usual

Jennifer Kellogg says, “This is my baby picture.”

“I am typically drawn to geometric patterns and modern style templates. I tend to use bold, solid colors most of the time. I chose this digital kit and template because they are completely out of my comfort zone. They are feminine, vintage, and frilly. If you had told me a month ago I’d make a page using doilies, I would have told you were crazy! Is this my new style? Probably not, but I’m happy with the page.”[hr]

figure out which of the typical pattern types is missing from your pages

Ronnie Crowley says, “When we got our new dog I was a little nervous to take her for a walk, as it wasn’t something I had any experience of. I wanted to record how great out first walk was on this page.”

“I reviewed recent layouts I’d made and  couldn’t quiet believe how little pattern I’d used–and I noted that when I did use pattern it was likely to be a geometric motif and that there weren’t any floral prints on my pages.”

“To push my pattern story I decided to find a big bold floral pattern and use it as the background paper. It was fun to use all the pattern papers from the kit I chose.  I’m always a little scared of patterned papers, and when I watch the Scrapbook Coach videos I’m amazed at how Debbie is able to combine patterns I would never think would work. I need to re-watch the video and study more the use of multiple patterns.”[hr]

try representational prints

Amy Kingsford says, “This is a photo of our campsite in the Olympic National Park in Washington. It was the most breathtaking spot!”

“I’m not a stranger to using bold patterns on my pages, but I’ve noticed that I often tend to stick with geometric prints, stripes and patterns with clean lines.  As a result, I shy away from representational motifs and grungy papers, and I tend to rely on my embellishments more than patterns for visual storytelling.”

On this page, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone by mixing several representational patterns on my page.  I chose this grungy background for my canvas because I love the way its texture contributed to my story. I selected the bold tribal print and the tone-on-tone mountain scene pattern for my foundational layers and I also used a few other outdoorsy patterns in smaller doses throughout my page. I really love how it turned out and I think I will definitely be trying out these types of patterns more often in my pages as a way to reinforce my theme.”