When creating a digital layout, using fasteners gives the page design a sense of realism, it helps to anchor items to your page and can help to bring focus to an area on your page.
Some of my most used fasteners include staples, stitches, paper clips and washi tape. Many kits include a selection of fasteners but, if not, the store has a section of fasterner products to choose from, found HERE.
A fastener can be used alone or grouped with multiples. One of my favorite fasteners to group together are staples i.e. a row of staples or a crisscross of staples. To quickly and easily duplicate a fastener (in Photoshop), with the fastener layer selected, press “V” (shortcut for move function), then press the “ALT” key while dragging the fastener layer up or down in the layers palette. When you let go of the layer there will be a second duplicate layer. You can repeat this process as many times as desired. Each layer can then be moved or resized as needed. The layers can be kept separate or you can highlight all the fastener layers and merge them together.
In this page, I added multiple rows of stitching. It anchors the paper strips and the larger photo, and the added stitching at the bottom adds balance to the design.
Valorie Wibbens has some wonderful products called “Sprinkles”; there are many to choose from. I use them often to add just a bit of added emphasis to a page, building up a fastener cluster. Here’s her “Sprinkles Foundation” set.
I combined fasteners from Just Jaimee’s “Office Space” kit with Little Butterfly Wings’ “Backyardscape” kit for this page. I grouped a heart tag with a yellow pin. I also grouped a paper clip with a wire arrow and wort art. I erased a bit off the paper clip and yellow pin to give it a more realistic look, as if it really had been attached to the photo and paper. The stitching was duplicated and moved to frame and anchor around the left side of the photo.
TLP member, myssp, used stitches and staples in this fabulous layout I spotted in the gallery today.
Twinsmomflor used multiple staples for visual impact and to horizontally anchor her pieces on the page.
Fasteners are generally small item but they can have a big impact on your page design. Look for fasteners to use in your digital kits and don’t be afraid to experiment, resizing, recoloring and grouping them with other products. They can be very useful. Have fun with fasteners!
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