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Filled Pages.....Help required!

littlekiwi

littlekiwi

I charge by the hour for anything before noon
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Jan 21, 2012
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Now I am first to admit that a) I am not that great at them (if at all), b) that I admire them from others and c) I'd love to learn the tips and tricks on how to create them. To be fair, I struggle with even the basic concept of clustering so it could be a lost cause! I generally end up dressing down even Cheryl's dressed down templates most of the time.
 
You could try pocket style pages first?


Or tucking a bunch of stuff between layers, having as much white space as you'd like.


Maybe play with a large title.


Just start, create a layout that's your more clean and simple style and then try and create three clusters of 5 goodies each. You'll likely start making everything smaller but in time you can use them as is.
 
@StefanieS , I have done pocket pages years ago but way more into single photo scrapping these days unless for an event or something bigger. I am just such a minimalist at heart I think hence the struggle unless its paint and stitching.....those I can play with any day of the week!
 
Oh, but you can do pocket pages with just one photo. I do it quite frequently. Here is one with my little friend in the upper right.




And here is another from a baby shower I attended.

 
What about full page photos? I clustered heavily on the right side, over the existing greenery in the photo.

 
@littlekiwi If you prefer minimalist pages, why do you want to do full pages? Stick to what you love. If you want to have a play at it, perhaps find one photo and a kit and just have fun with it. Challenge yourself to use all of the elements or x number of papers.
 
Another full page photo with paper trimming the top and small clustering toward the bottom right.

 
mcurtt said:
@littlekiwi If you prefer minimalist pages, why do you want to do full pages? Stick to what you love. If you want to have a play at it, perhaps find one photo and a kit and just have fun with it. Challenge yourself to use all of the elements or x number of papers.
Click to expand...

I would like to challenge myself and use more of the gorgeous items!
 
I learnt to do element filled pages by using Cheryl's templates, and scraplifting pages I really liked.
My preferred filled page style is minimal though - using lots of photos, or a big photo, or maybe a patterned background paper.
 
Jennifer, I am not the queen of filled pages. But, I love making clusters! I often look to @SeattleSheri layouts to get cluster ideas.

My suggestion is to practice making clusters.
1. Start with a neutral or plain paper (so you can focus on cluster building rather than the pattern or color of paper).
2. Place a branch or set of leaves onto your paper. Add a soft shadow.
3. Add a flower that will serve as the cluster's focal point. Adjust the size, but keep in mind this will be the largest flower in the cluster. Add a soft shadow with no hard lines.
4. Add a compliment flower that is smaller than the focal point flower. Place this flower under the focal point flower. Pay attention to any shadows that already exist on this smaller flower. For example, the orange flower I used is half dark and half light. Place the dark part under the larger flower to keep your shadows (source of light) consistent. Add a soft shadow to this flower.
5. Add a third element. This can be word art, torn paper, a ribbon, or even a third flower. Here I added the the black with white polka dots fabric piece. This third layer goes under the two previously placed flowers, and here I kept it on top of the branch.
6. Add a fourth element. Here I added a piece of string. This fourth element could have been word art, a different type of leaf or branch, or even a different flower. This fourth element was paced under the flowers, but on top of the fabric piece. Add a shadow. Here I opted for a harder shadow with distinct lines (because the string is sitting close to the fabric piece).
7. Once the small cluster is made. I group it together. I can then duplicate the group. Once duplicated, I often change out a flower, replace the fabric piece with word art - so on and so forth - keeping many of the same elements, but changing a few for diversity. I think you'll find many filled pages full of clusters are actually full of the same cluster slightly modified.
8. With the small cluster built, you can now add a frame for a picture, a journal card, or even "cut" out a photo mat from paper. This photo holder would look great under the small cluster. But if you wanted, you could even add it on top of the leaves/branch. I stopped at the smaller cluster...but I hope you can envision a photo frame added to the cluster.

I say, start with small cluster building. Make a few pages that are kinda simple, but with the small clusters. From there, study layout design (rule of thirds, Z formation, vertical flow, horizontal flow, etc.). As I already mentioned, many filled, clustery pages, are simply full of the base cluster slightly modified.

z_ClusterPractice.jpg
 
Thanks @ArmyGrl for your suggestions. I will have a play I think later on today or tomorrow after I have finished other commitments....these darn job applications! (only joking about the applications being a pain - they do however interfere with scrapping!)
 
Like @Angela Toucan I used Cheryl's templates to learn to cluster. I always buy the dressed up pack but don't always keep everything in them except for the big clusters. @ArmyGrl those tips on clustering are fabulous. I'm going to keep them just because of the shadowing tips. That is my biggest struggle in clustering.

As for filled pages, I love having multiple photos on my pages. I struggle with single photo pages. And, when I do one with just one photo I have to have it large or surrounded by paper bits. I just don't like white space layouts.
 
I think if you really want to get comfortable with more filled looking pages.....

then truthfully I'd suggest instead of trying to "do" things on your own ie. create a cluster, fill the page etc....

I'd challenge you to USE one of Cheryl's templates, the dressed up version, and replace every layer on the page with something from the kit/collection you're using.

I feel like if then you like the look of YOUR OWN page and find that you liked the challenge. Do it again, and again, and again.....

I think templates for those that aren't great at clustering, allows you to learn "how-to" cluster by example and you kind of pick up on those basics after repeating them over and over.
 
Honestly I love to cluster. I think of clustering as dumping a bunch of elements onto a section of a page and making them look good together. You just experiment placing elements together till you get something you love. Lots and lots of layers.

My biggest suggestion is play.. and play.. get a blank background paper and just go to town . Place a photo and create clusters around it. Or just make one whole giant page of multiple clusters to practice.

Practice makes perfect dear. And the more you practice and have fun with it the more comfortable you feel. .
 
If you want to fill a page, I suggest that you start with a collection or all of your kits in a particular month BYOC. The more bits you have to play with, the more likely you'll find something that you like. I also find that sliding things under a budding cluster gives you lots of contrast and texture.

When learning, I would take a LO that I loved and force myself to reproduce it using the same kits. This really helps you visualize what you can do and it teaches you to see so much more in a LO.

Have fun!
 
I haven't always loved making clusters, but over the years have learned how to cluster by studying Cheryl's layouts and following her templates. Now, I'm comfortable making my own clusters and love filling up a page!

I agree with Kiana @LoveItScrapIt about practicing by replacing every layer in Cheryl's templates, so you get comfortable with how a cluster feels. You mentioned that you often remove items from Cheryl's {dressed down} templates, so maybe start by replacing every item in the {DD} templates. Then, as you get more comfortable with those smaller clusters, create the same layout using the {dressed up} template to get used to a more filled layout.

I also love @ArmyGrl Lisa's tips about looking to other scrappers for examples and her tips about shadowing as you go. I build my clusters in the same way she does with a focal point item. Then I and add a horizontal or vertical piece to ground it like she did with the fabric strip. Then, I fill in and with other items and have fun playing until I get something I love.

I would also add to Lisa's tips and say to think in odd numbers when making your clusters. It's more pleasing to the eye and odd numbers are also found in nature. Take Lisa's cluster for example, it has 5 items:
1. big flower
2. small flower
3. messy string
4. fabric strip
5. leaf branch

Sometimes the hardest part about clustering is figuring out where to place your cluster. I also use clusters to make a focal point on my layout. I start by placing the focal piece (flower, etc) on a corner of the focal photo and build out the main cluster from there. Sometimes it goes horizontally across a photo and sometimes it goes vertically along the side. It just depends on the orientation of the items I want to cluster.

Then, I might decide I want more clusters, so I repeat elements or maybe just colors from the elements in my first cluster to build a smaller second and third cluster. I used the visual triangle design principle to place these additional clusters around my photo.


Take this layout for example. I dressed up the scrapping with Liz template by first creating a cluster on the bottom right of the photo. This cluster consists of the the pink flower, the leafy vines, the red buds, the fall in love word art and the date strip.

Then, I went to the left side of the photo, tucked in the Eifel tower sticker and added the heart flair and some more leafy vines to fill out that cluster.

Last, I placed the triangle shaped i love you word art at the top of the photo. This finished off my visual triangle/focal point photo and helped tie in the leafy vine that was sticking out of the top. The triangle word art was an added bonus because it gives flow to the layout. Your eye starts with the point of the triangle word art and goes down through the photo into the title cluster.

Like Lisa said start small and then use design principles like repetition, visual triangles, flow, varying sizes, etc to expand your clustered designs. If you keep at it, you'll be a clustering pro in no time! You got this! :agree
 
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And here's another layout using the same kit with Cheryl's on this day 2 {dressed up} templates where I tweaked her cluster placement and reused some clusters from my first layout to make an even more dressed up page.




Note: Sahin Designs' Road to My Heart Bundle is normally one that I would use for a clean and simple page, but the leafy vines gave it lots of volume and movement, so I played with repeating the vines and flowers in varying sizes to get a more filled page.
 
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ArmyGrl said:
Jennifer, I am not the queen of filled pages. But, I love making clusters! I often look to @SeattleSheri layouts to get cluster ideas.

My suggestion is to practice making clusters.
1. Start with a neutral or plain paper (so you can focus on cluster building rather than the pattern or color of paper).
2. Place a branch or set of leaves onto your paper. Add a soft shadow.
3. Add a flower that will serve as the cluster's focal point. Adjust the size, but keep in mind this will be the largest flower in the cluster. Add a soft shadow with no hard lines.
4. Add a compliment flower that is smaller than the focal point flower. Place this flower under the focal point flower. Pay attention to any shadows that already exist on this smaller flower. For example, the orange flower I used is half dark and half light. Place the dark part under the larger flower to keep your shadows (source of light) consistent. Add a soft shadow to this flower.
5. Add a third element. This can be word art, torn paper, a ribbon, or even a third flower. Here I added the the black with white polka dots fabric piece. This third layer goes under the two previously placed flowers, and here I kept it on top of the branch.
6. Add a fourth element. Here I added a piece of string. This fourth element could have been word art, a different type of leaf or branch, or even a different flower. This fourth element was paced under the flowers, but on top of the fabric piece. Add a shadow. Here I opted for a harder shadow with distinct lines (because the string is sitting close to the fabric piece).
7. Once the small cluster is made. I group it together. I can then duplicate the group. Once duplicated, I often change out a flower, replace the fabric piece with word art - so on and so forth - keeping many of the same elements, but changing a few for diversity. I think you'll find many filled pages full of clusters are actually full of the same cluster slightly modified.
8. With the small cluster built, you can now add a frame for a picture, a journal card, or even "cut" out a photo mat from paper. This photo holder would look great under the small cluster. But if you wanted, you could even add it on top of the leaves/branch. I stopped at the smaller cluster...but I hope you can envision a photo frame added to the cluster.

I say, start with small cluster building. Make a few pages that are kinda simple, but with the small clusters. From there, study layout design (rule of thirds, Z formation, vertical flow, horizontal flow, etc.). As I already mentioned, many filled, clustery pages, are simply full of the base cluster slightly modified.

View attachment 541155
Click to expand...

This ought to be prominently featured in a tutorial!! So clear and concise and helpful!! I am going to try this because I do have a problem creating clusters. Even though they are in nearly every page I do, I struggle to get them done!
 
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