STORY OF THE PAGE: We recently attended a family wedding on a gorgeous, summer day in Wisconsin and my Aidan decided to invite her Aidan to come along. One thing you’ll have to know if you hang around my daughter long enough is that you’re going to have your picture taken, and very likely that picture will be Instagrammed. (Although I have been mindful of asking permission to do so first.) I also recently got some new scrapbook supplies from Studio Calico and wanted to try and incorporate some cute product in a simple way.
DESIGN BREAKDOWN: This page features a symmetrical balance. Each square space is mirrored from side to side, and top to bottom. The journaling block provides an anchor and fills in the rest of the space. I repeated the squares because my images were square (hello, Instagram!). I’ve also got repetition at work. I repeat the star embellishments, plus the color red (transparent alpha, patterned paper, stamp ink.) Repeating elements creates a visual rhythm to your layout. It also helps to tie the design together. One common design convention on many of my pages is to include a wide framing margin of white space. Notice this page has a full inch surrounding the content. This allows the page to breath and creates a restful frame of space. Of course, the “white” space here is actually a wood-grained patterned paper. White space doesn’t have to be white. The only thing I would change about this page is adding a bit more space between the elements. It feels a tiny bit too tight for my eye, but I didn’t want to reprint the journaling.
JOURNALING FORMAT TIP: Normally, I’m not a fan of wide spans of journaling and yet I’ve been doing it a lot recently. The key to enhancing readability is to include a generous amount of leading (the space between the lines). This introduces white space and makes the block easier to read.
DO YOU HAVE DESIGN ISSUES? Are there any scrapbooking challenges, or roadblocks, or other potential problems that you think might be solved through design? If so, let me know in the comments. I can’t guarantee that I can solve or illustrate your issue via my stories, but you never know until you ask. I’m really wanting to make a page a week as I have so many stories from my own life that I’d love to commit to the pages of my scrapbooks.
NOTE: Make a Page Monday will often feature one of my CZ Design templates as a base. To learn more about using a digital template to create a hybrid page, watch this video.
SUPPLIES:
kyarb says
Any tips or design ideas for 6×6 pages? I’m currently struggling with layouts for a mini book and using 4×6 or 4×4 photos. And 6×8 pages too.
Cathy Zielske says
Hmmm. I guess I haven’t done any mini books (other than the instagram book I shared last week.)
I’ll have to add this to my list of things I could do, because I so love a mini album.
My 30 Days of Thankful album has a 6 x 8 that might give you idea for that size. You can find all of my album sets here:
http://www.designerdigitals.com/digital-scrapbooking/supplies/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=Cathy+Zielske+album&x=-153&y=-168
Even if you’re not a digital scrapbooker, the few smaller sized albums I do have might offer some ideas. 🙂
kybarb says
Thanks for the reminder to check DD Cathy! I just went thru all your templates at DD and got some great ideas! I’m sure I all ready have some of those templates somewhere too!
Audrey says
Hi Cathy, I know you’ve mentioned increasing the ‘leading’ in many of your pages. Do you have a tutorial on how to do this. I use MS Word. I love your crisp look and know that these are pages that will look classic for years to come (unlike some of the pages I made circa 2003 :). Love the new site!
Cathy Zielske says
I could totally do that. It might make a nice bonus bit for Make a Page Monday. Adding it to my list. 🙂
Sandra says
I would like to see a tutorial on leading too!
Kris Beauregard says
That is so true ! CZ designs really are classic!
Breon says
man, her dating is nothing like I remember MY dates around that age. Yuck. And thats all I have to say about that.
Linda says
I love the simplicity of this layout!!! The simpler the better!!
Carolyn says
I love how the red really pops out the rest of the page! Simple but such sweet memories. So many moments worth remembering as she gets ready to keep moving forward in her journey. I hope positive layouts like this seeing how awesome your daughter is help to ease the transition just a little bit.
Sharon says
Hey, you’re on a roll with Make a Page Monday! Love them!
Jocelyn Thompson says
I love this and I love the 4×4 album you did. Any plans for a new template/album for 30 days of Thankful? I love doing that album every year! It really gears me up for the upcoming holidays!
Cathy Zielske says
Yes, Jocelyn! I am wrapping up work on a new class (launching in October) this week and then I’m diving into a new idea for 30 Days of Thankful. This year, there will be a product tie in, which I’m really excited about!
dannielle says
When I got on the internet this morning I found myself going to cathyzielske.com first to check out if a new make a page monday was posted… loved that it was!! plus a super cute page at that!!!
Jessica says
I think I’m going to learn something every Monday now. Thanks for explaining your design process! As a newbie with no background in design who is making it all up as I go along, it’s helpful. Also, I loved your interview on Elise Gets Crafty. 🙂
Suz OBrien says
I’m curious to know how you chose the color of the journaling block paper. Because of the clothing color? I’m always afraid to bring in other colors.
Cathy Zielske says
Suz, it was a paper that came in the Studio Calico kit and yes, I thought: Hmmm. That might look nice with the tone of the images, plus the clothes. Also, I thought it was fun with the wood grained background. What you can’t really see in the photo is that the blue paper has a slight geometric pattern to it. Which I also thought was nice.
Kelli Panique says
Woo-hoo! Three in a row! Way to go!
Thanks for reminding us that simple and sweet is sometimes all you need…in life as well as in scrapbooking. Lovely, lovely page.
ARC says
I LOVE this page! Thanks so much for sharing the design info as well. I learned so much from your books – in fact I read and re-read them many times before I got brave enough to finally make a page of my own 🙂
Pinning this because it’s the perfect blend of paper, cute things, reasonably sized photos and room for lots of journaling. Yay!
Quinna says
Ok …. I’m the Grandma who is a little slow! Is there an easy way to pin this post on Pinterest?
Cathy Zielske says
Quinna, well… i have a little Pinterest bookmarklet, but… I haven’t yet added Pinterest pins to my site yet. It’s a request for the developer. 🙂 Sorry. Working on it.
Jennie says
Love this page, Cathy, and your newly-designed website! Beautiful!
heidig says
Nice design! Thanks for starting this tradition again.
Jenny B. says
Love it! I have tried to make simple pages (all digital), but I always want to add more to them (like staples and frames and whatnot). When I try to keep them truly simple, they never look finished to me, and I’m always frustrated with them. Or they just don’t feel like “me.” I know that may be because it’s not “my style,” but if I love looking at the ones you and other talented folks make, why don’t I love looking at the ones I create? Something’s missing, and I wonder if it might be an element of design. Maybe my pages aren’t balanced somehow? I don’t know. I don’t have any specific examples to share, just lamenting. 😉
Cathy Zielske says
It can be frustrating to make something, and you’re like, “Hmmm… what’s not working?” I know that balance is a big part of the underlying structure of any page. That and the use of space. For example, having equal amounts of space between all touching sides of a photo group makes them feel more pleasing to the eye. Hope that helps! Lament away. 🙂
Michelle t says
Hi , Cathy, I’ve been reading a while but making my first comment. I love your style, really beautiful layouts. I’ve been scrapbooking for about a year and still learning. I’m a bit color challenged. No specific questions, really, just wanted to say your blog is awesome. Michelle t
Cathy Zielske says
Hey Michelle, thanks! 🙂