Change it up with a large photo | by Gia Lau

Hi friends! Today I am sharing a 12 x 12 layout using the Bom Dia Sampler Kit featuring the newest collection from Polish brand Studio Forty.  I fell in love with this collection at first sight. To change it up from how I usually start a design- with a photo that is at most 4 x 6" but very often even smaller--I thought I would try a challenge to use a very large photo on this layout. I had this cute, totally candid shot of my youngest son and his cousins sitting on the beach while we were on vacation last month. I printed it in a large square shape about 8x8" and centered it on the yellow paper from the collection. 

I spent the better part of a Netflix & chill evening fussy cutting all of the adorable cameras from another one of the Bom Dia papers. My plan was to use the cameras to create a frame for the photo. To add interest, I adhered approximately every other one with foam tape to add some dimension.  I also used the Bom Dia chipboards from the sampler kit and adhered some of them to the bottom of the photo. One element of design that is sometimes more subtle is the balance of elements. Elements can be large or small in scale, and can also be "heavier" or "lighter" in visual weight. I felt the bottom portion of the page needed a little bit more "weight" in order for the lower half of the page to have as much weight as the upper half with my title in it.

My title was created using a stamp from my stash and blue pigment ink from Kesi-Art. I cut the stamped image out and adhered it at the top of my photo with foam tape so that it almost looked like it was part of the sky. 

I love the way this layout came out and it was so easy to create with just a scissor, adhesive, the Bom Dia sampler kit, and some stamps.  I hope you will try changing it up on your next layout and try working with a large photo as the focus of your page!