One of the first things you might do when sitting down to build a scrapbook page is to consider the background. Generally, much of the background will not show and you certainly do not want to distract from the photos on the page. But what if you don’t have a lot to fill the page? You then might want to utilize a background that can be more than a piece of colored paper or a random pattern.
You might want to look at some of your pictures and use those as a background. Using photos as backgrounds can add more interest and convey a bit more meaning. For instance, if you are building a yearbook page, consider using photos from the school itself. Here is an example where I used the floor from one of the classrooms as a background:
The same idea can be applied to titles and journaling blocks. I scanned a copy of an orange note that we use at our school, and as shown in the previous example, I used that as the background for my journaling.
Here is another example where I used a scanned copy of a report card as the background:
If your child is in band or chorus, how about using a photo of a music stand as the background for your page:
Another idea is to take a picture of your subject and blow that up to fill a large portion of your background. This can provide context, and is a great way to fill empty space and make an impact.
So when you are faced with a page that you think is just a tad boring, try looking to photos to add some interest to your backgrounds. Enjoy!
