Mixing patterned papers from different manufacturers

TGIF! I am so ready for the weekend! But first of all I would like to 'teach' you something'..............

I always love mixing patterned papers and I am not afraid to mix 'non' matching colors and patterns. But I do know that many of you have a very hard time with this.
So I will try and tell how you can start doing it without the feeling of being the worse designer in the world, LOL.
Let me start with this: It is all about your personal style and taste! Well, that did not really help, did it?
Okay, even though it is about personal style there is also a little thin line between a good combination and a total patterned paper disaster.

Many of the rules that apply in home decor also apply in scrapping. In home decor they say that you can easily combine 4 or 5 different patterns together, but many more will be too much.

If you have never mixed patterned papers from different lines or different manufacturers before you might want to start like this. Start with combining similar colors.

• Go through your patterned papers and grab similar colors. 
• Do not look at the patterns or hues of the PP
• Do not overkill! Don't take 20 different PP if you normally only use two or three on a LO

And now: Just start scrapping!

Another way to combine papers is to go with patterns. Colors are not the main focus. What you are trying to do is find a couple of patterned papers, all with different patterns. 

Find some stripes, some dots, checkered, plaids and maybe some argyles or flowers. Even though your colors are not the main focus, it is necessary that one color comes back in every sheet of PP you picked. So, for example, your dotted paper can be having several different colors but one of those colors matches with your flowered PP. 

Now put the patterned patterned you picked out on your work space and start looking at the patterns, you can make three different categories: small patterns, medium pattern and big patterns. Pick one sheet out of every category and there is your combo! 

There are a couple of patterned that combine very easy with others. Those are: ledgers, stripes, dots and text. They can be used as you main patterned paper or even as your background sheet. 

You can get great mixing inspiration looking at the lines form manufacturers. They also mix their patters and they do that because they know some people do have a hard time with mixing. Well, they also want you to buy their whole line..........

NEVER never forget that the main focus on your layout should be your photo's, not your patterned paper. 

Hopefully this will give you a bit of trust to start mixing. And even when you do not feel safe to start mixing on such a big thing as a 12x12 LO, start small and make a card. Just do not be afraid of doing something wrong, there's no wrong in scrapbooking, every piece made is a piece of art! 

Last but not least I am going to show you a LO I did today with 6 PP (including my background sheet) from five different manufacturers. I combined reds and added a tiny black, all on a ledger background paper (there's the easy to combine pattern.........) 

PP: Basic Grey, 7Gypsies, My Minds Eye, Bo Bunny, Collage Press

Chipboard: Bo Bunny
Stickers: American Crafts, Making Memories, Adornit, Bo Bunny
Twine: Divine Twine
Safety pin: Queen & Co
Misc; sewing machine, hearty pins, puffy heart sticker, heart pins.

The heart pins were originally pink but I covered them with Tacky Glue and dipped them in fine glitter. All patterned papers were from my stash and the 7Gypsies one (the text book PP) is about 10 years old, still love it.......

Somehow the middle pennant of the banner looks sort of yellowish, but trust me, it is NOT, I think the scan made it look that way. But right now I do not feel like taking a regular photo of my LO, I just don't have the energy for it.

For those of you who need a scrapping boost: At Let's Scrap we still have the LOAD (layout a day) challenge going on, and we are busy preparing on of the largest blog hops ever, starting February 1st: Let's Scrap Leap around the World blog hop.

Thanks for popping by and have a great weekend!