I recall when there was a themed paper for every state and many countries. When a cruise layout meant using a paper with boats and bon voyage on it every time. It was a time of excess and over the top “themed-ness” and I’m glad we have moved past it.
So when is themed product a good match, and when is it best to go without? One of the lessons I’ve learned over the years is to watch out for theme-a-ria or sticker sneeze!!! The over-use of themed products can take over a page, take away from your story, and it can get expensive too!
Sometimes, more is not better!
Picture this: You have beautiful photos of your family in front of a cruise ship, a sandy beach in the distance, palm trees swaying over on the side… do you really need the cruise ship stickers and bold themed papers? Or would a more subtle patterned paper, perhaps some stickers with a travel label or stamp type image would add to, but not overwhelm these pictures.
So how do you know when to use themed product and when to go without? Today I will share my thoughts.
Above you see an older layout of mine with some themed stickers. I made sure to ground them and use in conjunction with other, softer elements so that they blend into the page rather than take it over.
My personal rules for vacation theme product:
1. When building your layout, take a close look at your photos and consider your story. Are your photos so strong that they need no additional theming? Or would adding in (for example) palm trees to enhance the photos of your time on a tropical island? Am I enhancing my story
2. How will the themed product fit in? Is there room for it, or am I cramming something too large in? Does it fit?
3. Is this product the right color/mood/style for my project? Is it too cute? Too muted? Too bright? Can I alter it and make it work, or do I need to look elsewhere?
4. Try to hold off buying products themed for a specific vacation until after. While hard, most often those pre-purchased items end up gathering dust. I still have stickers I purchased for a Disneyland trip in 2007….
Pictured above: Goofy and his pirate scene were more than enough theme for me mateys! No themed product used in the making of the above layout.
My biggest rule, is that I let the photos + story make the rules. Sometimes my photos benefit from more big and bold items being added – other times a more mellow approach is the clear choice. Just like any subject – the vacation themed scrapbook page is always subject to change!
Be sure to visit Melissa Stinson for more Vacation blogging – it was her idea to do a whole week of vacation scrapbook themed posts! http://www.scrappyjedi.com/
What did you use on your background paper? Did you add stains and a misty sparkly product or did it come that way? I am guessing you altered it. I love that you are scrapping about Disney, my favorite vacation destination.
I happened to be lucky enough to be at Archiver’s today when their shipment of Tim Holtz winter seasonal distress ink arrived. Talk about perfect timing. I had not realized that it had been released since I had not been online since yesterday AM. Color me happy.
I was so tempted to buy every single Disney themed scrapbooking product on our recent trip but held off because I knew that as cute as they are in the shop, I won’t actually use them. Great post May!