Trendwatch Challenge

ALP Trend Watch Challenge: Put a Ring On It

Hi there! Tracey Fox here with another Trend Watch Challenge, and this month, I’ve got a challenge I’ve been saving up for a while. I have noticed this trend grow and grow over the last few months, and I’m calling it “Put a Ring On It,” because designers all over the scrappy community are adding large circles to their pages to enshrine their designs!

Even though there are lots of variations in the number and sizes of the photos and the types of stories being documented, the main characteristic of this trend always remains — one big, centered circle taking up most of the layout.

Here is how I played with this trend on a recent layout I made as a guest designer for Elle’s Studio. The variety of embellishments from the Family Fun collection were all so cute, I just couldn’t resist featuring them all as part of a large circle on my layout.

This design trend can be used for any occasion or story, but it is especially perfect for the fall and winter seasons since you can add a circular wreath of fall leaves or festive greenery to your layout. Or even a slice of a tree trunk! Here’s another page I created recently for Paper Issues, where I used a large foiled

Here’s another page I created recently for Paper Issues, where I used a large foiled diecut wood grain paper from Pebbles, Inc. to create an easy circle on my page. It gives a whole new twist to the idea of “putting a ring on it!”

I’d love to see you give this a try! Here are some tips to get you started:

Different ways to make a circle on your page

  • Use a circular cut file
  • Sketch the circle (freehand or traced)
  • Machine or hand-stitch
  • Stencil with mixed media like paint, ink, or mist
  • Create it with diecuts, punched shapes, or other embellishments
  • Use letter stickers or stamps to build a title that makes up all or part of the circle
  • Use a patterned paper that already is circular or has a large circle on it

Creative ways to mix it up

  • Instead of a circle, try another large shape – like a heart, spiral, or hexagon!
  • Vary the placement of focal points like your photo(s) and title. For instance, in my Elle’s Studio example, I placed these along the circle instead of in the center of the circle.
  • Play around with the colors and patterns in the circle or in the area around the circle. You might choose to make the circle bright and bold and leave the background simple, or you might make the circle a calm area of white space to rest the eye.
  • Play around with whether to add anything to the layout outside the circle, such as other embellishments or photos. Adding additional, smaller circles or shapes that go off the edge of the page will create a very different feel to your page than having just one main circle.
  • Experiment with creating just parts (or arcs) of the circle and allowing the viewer’s eye to complete the shape.
  • Play with the sizes and shapes of your photos on the page. While a circle can work great to frame square and rectangular photos, a large circular photo can have an extra impact, like this cool example by Meghann Andrew.

I’m challenging you to “Put a Ring On it!” For the rest of this month, upload a project to the Awesome Ladies Project (in your personal gallery) and share the link in the comments on this post.

Just log into your free ALP account and visit your personal gallery on your profile page (click “Register” at the top of the page if you are new to this site).

You can also share your projects on Instagram using the hashtag #alptrendwatch in addition to the usual #feministscrapbooking and #awesomeladiesproject hashtags. Feel free to tag me (@scrappylikeafox) in your post so I see your creations right away! You can even tag me or add the hashtag to past projects if you’ve already created something using this trend!

Have you spotted a scrappy trend while surfing blogs, galleries, or Instagram? I’d love for you to tell me what you see. It could be a theme, motif, product, technique, design trend — anything!  Send me a message in the Awesome Ladies Community (@scrappylikeafox) so we can chat about it, and it might end up as a future challenge here at The Awesome Ladies Project.

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