Do you ever open your MONTHLY box of Hip Kit deliciousness & feel completely overwhelmed by the gorgeous color & mix of PATTERNS? Causing you to say, “Where to now??”. Well, today I am setting you a CHALLENGE:

“Join me in the Big Pattern Palooza!”

Believe it or not, I have been there many a time, sitting on the floor of my craft room, surrounded by gorgeous paper but with a question mark over my head. So for today’s project I decided to include a few TIPS on how to deal with patterns & successfully mix them.

Oh before I carry on…aren’t the August 2016 kits DIVINE!!

Laugh & Love this Life by Kim Watson

If you have decided to use only patterned paper on your project and NO cardstock, here are some points to consider:

• One needs to firstly make sure their dominant colors coordinate together
• Make sure that no single pattern dominates the other
• Does the underlying vibe of each pattern work together e.g: A clean graphic patterns wouldn’t work here
• If layered will your pattern choices live together?
• Decide on your page design up front, making sure to select enough patterns to complete the layout successfully

You will notice that I used the yellow scalloped paper as the dominant pattern. Laying it slightly off center, it grounds the layout, allowing all the other elements to either run parallel to it or flow from it.  It also acts as a mat for the main photograph, drawing one’s’ eye towards it. Yellow will forever be my best friend when it comes to paper crafting.

This little cluster includes yet another pattern, the plus sign tag from Claudia van Rooijen’s ephemera pack. The fact that is has a muted, black, watercolor finish, makes it live with the all other patterns perfectly. A little blended area of blue color under the tag on the left & under the diecut on the right, using the Prima Marketing Pastels, is a great way to tie both sides of the page together; as does the bird sticker & gold wire bow, they help complete visual triangles elsewhere in the page.

This cluster has a dominant red flower. Not only does it act as a visual anchor for the photograph, but is makes up one of the three red accents, part of a visual triangle. As busy as this cluster is, because the colors are of a similar tone with pops of black thrown in, everything blends beautifully together.

The yellow, being light enough, is also a great place to hand write journaling. To avoid it getting lost within the pattern, I used a Dear Lizzy, clear sticker as a secondary title to act like a header. Now your eye reads the text as a single cluster.

Before I go…I have another project I’d like to share with you. It was one of the last projects I made using the July 2016 kits, but it is also a great example of how to put your patterns to good use.

The Good Life by Kim Watson

Can you believe I used x7 different patterns for this page? Why do they all work together you might ask…? I put it down to the white balance 🙂 The balance between white, black & solid color being in harmony. The patterns are graphic in feel but the playful treatment of the embellishments, helps the tone down the harshness of the black.

Even something as simple as a strip or two of vellum can do well to knock back patterns that might be too bold in areas.

Machine stitching is a good & subtle way to create a visual divide between patterns…even though really understated, the rows of stitching tell your brain to pause.

I really hope you have found this helpful to dispel any apprehension you might have when faced with a box full of patterns. Patterns are fun & add life to any project. I challenge you to be brave & try mixing some patterns you might not ordinarily have done so before. If you choose to participate in the challenge…please be sure to post your project in the Hip Kit Members forum on FB or on Instagram & tag it with this hashtag: ‘patternpalooza’ so we can leave you some love.

Thanks for stopping by!!