The columns on the front porch of a southern plantation home make the house look regal, elegant, traditional and important. Similarly, columns on a layout provide us with a traditional, sophisticated, and sometimes formal pattern to place our elements.
Column patterns, one of the categories of patterns in the Mosaic Moments® Pattern Gallery, typically feature two to five vertical lines (or columns) of elements and are often best with vertical or square photos. But that is where their similarity ends.
Check out how different each pattern can be with this inspirational collection below.
Focus in the Center
"Alexis at Colonial Williamsburg" by Paije
Pattern #363
This layout features a strong focal point in the middle column with the photo of Alexis framed in an oval. The white border of the oval really makes it pop.
The page has a formal feel, even though the subjects are casual.
Use X-Factor Dies
Pattern #374
"Dead Horse State Park" by Paije
Specialty dies, like the X-Factor Collection, work well with column patterns. The lines of the dies tie the columns together.
Add Circles
"Opening Presents" by Paije
Pattern #277
Circles are a fun element and using them takes some of the formality away from the column pattern. They are a great way to frame details, as well.
Decorate It
Pattern #411
"Fun Beach Waves" by Paije
This layout only has two columns, but it has plenty of room for fun embellishments, papers and dies. Just look how cute those little fish are!
This would also be a nice layout if you had a long title, a lot of journaling, or wanted to showcase some beautiful patterned paper.
Use Horizontal Photos
"Jamestown Settlement Ships" by Tami Potter
Pattern #350
Although column patterns typically use vertical photos, this one uses only horizontal pictures. The size of these photos is easily trimmed down from 4x6 and is large enough to allow for you to see the details in the photos.
Cover it with Photos
Pattern #407
"Palace Gardens" by Paije
This four-column pattern has lots of room for photos -- 16 in all!
Paije used a Diamond Mine Die to create a focal point in the center of the layout, while still using all 16 spots for pictures.
Try Stripes
"Liam's Dedication" by Andrea Fisher
Pattern #294
Five columns allows space for many of the decorative dies in the Mosaic Moments® collection to be repeated.
In this example, Andrea used the Filmstrip Die, but you can see some other dies that would work, here. Of course, you could also fill all of those spaces in with photos.
Try Three Columns
Pattern #364
"Food Festival" by Tami Potter
The human eye loves odd numbers and three is one of its favorites. This three-column pattern has space at the top for the date, if you wish, along with 12 photos, or die cuts or journaling blocks or whatever you choose.
This is a great option for far-away shots, like the kids at the beach, as well as up-close photos, like the food Tami used in the example.
Mix It Up
"Grandpa's Backyard" by Tami Potter
Pattern #366
The columns on this design are a little harder to make out, but there are two of them. The breakdown of the two larger columns help to make this page less formal than some of the other patterns.
We love how Tami mixed up with photos with the die cuts to drag the eye around the page on this example.
Break the Column
Pattern #141
"I am Three!" by Tami Potter
On this three-column pattern, the columns are actually broke in half by the hand-cut strip all the way across the page. In scrapbooking, and design in general, rules are made to be broken!
Breaking the columns and having the column on the right wider than the other two makes this layout lighthearted and fun -- perfect for a boy's third birthday.