by Sara Naumann for Hot Off the Press

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It’s true! One of the newest styles in scrapbooking is to create background spreads that coordinate rather than match. How? Start by picking two different, but coordinating, patterned background papers, then using matching elements on both pages to tie the layout together.

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Picking Your Papers

Susan wanted to create a double-page spread that showcased Lynda and Earl’s individual personality—and she wanted the pages to look great side by side in her book! Step one for Susan was to pick a “masculine” and a “feminine” paper that coordinated.

Susan selected a pretty vintage-look floral paper for her heritage photo of Lynda, and chose a coordinating plaid for Earl’s picture. “I picked these papers because the blues match perfectly, yet the flowers are feminine for Lynda, while the more masculine plaid is great for this sporty photo of Earl,” says Susan. “Why blue? Because blue is a ‘cool’ color; it picks up the cool black and white tones of these heritage photos.”

Where can you find perfectly coordinating papers like these? Susan used papers from Coordinating Florals & Patterns, a new release from the Paper Pizazz™ people at Hot Off The Press. The book contains 24 sheets of paper grouped in pairs: a floral and a coordinating stripe, check, plaid or other geometric pattern. “It’s really a great time-saver,” says Susan. “It’s almost like having your own Personal Paper Picker!”

Coordinating Your Photo Mats

Notice that Susan used pastel blue vellum, solid white and metallic silver to mat the photos and journaling plaques on both pages. The pastel blue matches the background paper and works well for both masculine and feminine pages.

Coordinating Your Page Embellishments

Susan accented Lynda’s photo and journaling plaque with pastel vellum punched pieces attached to the page with tiny silver fasteners. The pink pastel flowers match the flowers in the background paper, providing subtle hints of color without distracting from the overall blue tones. Each flower is attached with a silver fastener—those same fasteners lend a masculine effect to Earl’s layout.

Coordinating Journaling & Penwork

Another easy way to coordinate your double-page spreads is to use the same type of journaling on each page. Here, Susan used a formal script to write Lynda and Earl’s names and dates. She opted for a more casual print for the larger block of journaling. If your handwriting isn’t as perfect as Susan’s, try mixing computer fonts to achieve the same effect. Notice how Susan also used the same penwork flourishes on the mats for each page.

Want to create a gorgeous coordinating double-page spread like Susan’s? Take a peek at Susan’s supply box to see the materials she used.

In Susan’s Supply Box:

• Patterned Paper Pizazz™: Coordinating Florals & Patterns (available at www.paperpizazz.com)
• Vellum Paper Pizazz™: 12”x12” Pastel Vellum Papers
• Metallic Paper Pizazz™: available by the sheet
• Family Treasures flower punch
• silver Deco Mini Fasteners, silver Deco washers: HyGlo
• Sheer pink ribbon
• Black Zig Millennium pen

Hot Off The Press is the creator of Paper Pizazz™ books of coordinating patterned papers. Think of us as your Personal Paper Pickers! You can visit us online at www.paperpizazz.com to learn more about Susan, our Paper Pizazz™ books and read more scrapbooking articles.