One of the things I love about design & stamping is creating pattern. If you notice, most of the stamp sets that I have designed for Papertrey contain at least one decorative element that can be used to create pattern. Also, the recent addition of patterned paper to our product line just makes me giddy. Creating the designs for this is one of my favorite tasks every month.
What fascinates me about pattern is how the combination of smaller elements builds into an overall pattern. And the slightest change in the arrangement can give you totally different results. I dug through my archives and gathered together some different techniques to use when creating pattern.
The small decorative elements included in the various Borders & Corners sets is a good example of pattern building as well. They are such small stamps, and may not look like much when stamped individually or alone, but once used as a group, they can really become a defining focal point on your project. This is an example of an image from Borders & Corners Oval specifically. (you can click HERE for details on the original project) Without the addition of these decorative elements to the scallops of the oval, the card would be really bland.
This fun technique not only allows you utilize your stamps & ink to build a pattern, but also your paper trimmer! I call this my Zig Zag Strip technique. By simply cutting your creation into strips and staggering them after building a basic striped pattern at an angle with Faux Ribbon, you can create a really unique & fun look. (You can click HERE for details on the original project.) This technique would be stunning just done in black & white, or any other color scheme you can dream up for that matter. (If you have ever had trouble getting Faux Ribbon straight, be sure to check out the tutorial I did HERE!)
This pattern shows how you can build a *grid* using Borders & Corners Circle. (You can click HERE for details on the original project.) This specific project utilizes images from Spooky Sweets to fill the circles and create a customized pattern, but really you could use any kind of images to re-create the same look for any theme or occasion. I loved the mixture of both images and sentiments. Having the grid already established with the circles made it fun & easy to go back through and fill-in the blanks.
Borders & Corners Square can be used to easily create custom plaid paper in any of your favorite color schemes. (you can click HERE for details on the original project, would be a perfect little something for Father's Day!) By beginning with some simple pencil lines, this repetitive pattern is easy to recreate. I loved how it really uses the squares in a new way since they are used on an angle, almost as you would a diamond. It is always interesting what you can come up with when you look at your stamps from a different point of view!
This ladybug paper that I made last year is a design I have always been partial to. (You can click HERE for details on the original project.) One of my favorite details was overlaying the starburst
image from Butterfly Kisses on top of the small flower from Little Lady. Not only did it help carry through the colors used in the ladybug images, but it also added the perfect detail to keep your eye interested and moving throughout the artwork.
This example uses one of the label images from Sweet Love (you can go HERE for details on the original project). By just stamping the image side by side, staggering the levels slightly, I was able to reinvent the stamp and create a totally different look other than when it is used solo. One of my favorite details is the even spacing between each of the label images, allowing for the addition of the white dots. It is a beautiful detail that helps to unify each of the label images into a continuous pattern.
I challenge you to pull out some stamps that haven't seen ink yet or that have been neglected for some time, and use one of the above techniques to invent your own unique pattern. Give yourself permission to play and just have fun! You never know what you might come up with when you give yourself that kind of creative freedom! Enjoy!
.................................................................
