Today’s Go To Design, the Rectangle, incorporates a rectangular inner canvas upon a square canvas. The principles are based upon the idea of the golden ratio and its implications for appealing design. But all that math aside, using a rectangle is a sneaky way to incorporate an 8.5x11design on a 12x12 canvas.
Placing all the major elements within the confines of the rectangle creates a strong, unmistakeable design. On my page about an outdoor concert, I used misting to ground the rectangle to my square background. Just like the singer's performance, I wanted this layout to be simple, yet elegant. Jennifer Hignite uses a playful blocked design on her layout, This Boy, and allows a few embellishments to break the borders. Marnie Flore’s beautiful simplicity captures the peacefulness of her photo on her page about My Sleeping Beauties.
Layering borders to divide a 12x12 background into two rectangles, then placing the design on the larger side is an easy method of creating something close to an 8.5x11 canvas. Amy Coose and I used pattern paper, while Laura O’Donnell employed a pocket page approach. Love that large photo!
Stacking two 4x6 photos vertically is another way to form the rectangle, as I did in this layout. The title, journaling and embellishments spill over onto the 12x12 background.
Using a portrait oriented photo turns the design on its side and creates a horizontal rectangle. This design would also lend itself well to pocket-style products.
If you'd like to see a collection of rectangle designs collected from all over the online scrapping world, here's a link to my Pinterest board. Besides the usual 12x12 pages, it's where I pin 8.5x11 layouts. They are perfect for rectangular inspiration! Are you inspired to try your hand at a rectangle design on your next scrapbook page? Is the rectangle one of your Go To Designs?
