Those of us who scrap boys sometimes find it harder to create boy pages than when we make a girl layout. Sometimes it seems like there are fewer kits that work for boys and it can be hard to let go of the bows, flowers and frills we’re so accustomed to for girls. In search of inspiration for my own layouts, I decided to consult the experts: scrappers who scrap boys a lot!
I found amazing layouts (you can see the thread I started here) with tons of good ideas, so I thought I’d share my top six favorite tips for scrapping boy layouts:
- The flowery stuff can work well for the very young. This layout by JenLin is so sweet and the flowers don’t feel girly at all!
- Don’t be afraid of pink and flowers, just use them sparingly! The pink in this layout by Mom2atrio fits with the overall pastel theme and the flowers are so small they don’t dominate the page.
- Keep it simple; sometimes less is more. This layout by DawnMcD is so simple and graceful that the photo just shines!
- Focus on papers. This layout by Peppermint uses shapes cut from various papers as elements. The simplicity of the shapes and the colors make the rather feminine patterns on the papers less obvious.
- Skip the kit! When you have great photos, often you don’t need anything else. This layout by Stefdesign is full of personality with just the title added on. A small stroke around the small photos sets them off from the background image beautifully!
- Mix it up! Sometimes by picking and choosing papers and elements from various kits, you can get just what you want. Recoloring is fairly easy and will let you use almost anything on your layout. This layout by Scrapmommytn has just the right mix of elements and papers gathered from a whole bunch of different kits.
Next time you feel challenged by a layout for your boy, try one of these six great ideas and see if it doesn’t unlock a little creativity for you! And, don’t forget to share your boy-themed layouts with unique ideas and innovative uses of non-traditional male kit items here in the forums.
