Embrace Those Busy Patterned Papers

The November Scrapbook Kit featuring the Simple Stories, Winter Farmhouse collection has some fun and busy patterned paper! I love a busy pattern but once in a while I find them hard to work with - this month I am all about finding simpler ways to make the busy patterns in this collection work for me and loving it! 

If you have a magic machine (my name for any machine that can cut intricate designs on paper - magic), busy patterned paper is your best scrappy friend. Cut files backed with patterned paper look amazing! If your paper is super busy - choose files that have smaller windows or openings  (the sections you back) to show less of the busy and more of the cut file. Use a solid colour to cut the file will also help. I prefer white so it really pops off the page and contrasts fabulously with the patterns - giving the eye a place to rest. 

The Christmas Banners Background cut file from Cut To You offers a great balance between large and small openings making it a great way to showcase the simple and busiest patterned papers in this kit. Also, it’s just a really fabulous cut file! Check out how un-busy these busy patterns look now: 

I love how it turned out! The photo is of me as a little girl and clearly either I have or my family has stuck all of the Christmas present ribbons and bows on me as we opened presents - I probably did it to myself. The picture is pretty cute but wow, did you notice the couch I am sitting on? Speaking of busy patterns!  

Here are a few other ideas for embracing busy patterned papers in your projects: 

• Add a thin layer of white Gesso over the page. This will make the colours more subtle and adds a mixed media element to your layout. 
• Use patterned papers to mat your photos. The peek of the pattern behind your photo will really separate it from the background and draw the eye! Use a few different patterns to get that layered look. 
• Instead of cutting patterned paper to the size you need  - rip it! Not only is this fun (and maybe a little adrenaline pumping if you only have a sheet or 2) it also looks fabulous. Bonus, the ripped edge will be white - giving the eye place to rest and break up all that busy pattern. 
• Create a background image or design using small squares, triangles or circles of the patterned paper. A quilted heart using triangles of various patterned papers or a Christmas tree shape created with lots of small circles of the patterned papers. A quilt pattern, Christmas presents (oh with stitching for the ribbon), buildings, and more!
• Cut the patterned paper in strips and use them like you would washi tape. Create a whole layout with these strips all down the page -  rip a few shorter than the others for a fun, washi tape look! 

If you still find your page is too busy (and I bet it's not), take a photo of your layout and see if you still think so when you see the layout in a photo. When we are creating we are just a couple of feet away from all the busy - preventing us from seeing the forest from the trees. I find taking a photo gives me an opportunity to see the project as if I had stepped back and I end up really liking it!  

Embrace the busy patterns - have fun, get crafty!