For this ATC, I’ve used a vintage photo as my focal point. Keying off the colors in the photo, I’ve used a green floral as the background, and four pink rectangles stamped with script as my intermediate layer. Don’t be afraid to mix patterns, as long as there’s enough contrast between the two to keep them from fighting each other.

I used the same technique with this card, pulling the colors for the background and intermediate layer from the focal image. I chose a very graphic middle layer, but this card could have gone a softer, more romantic direction if I’d chosen some vintage text instead. I often lay the pieces on my background and try several different combinations before making my final choice and gluing everything down.

I really love using solid black as my background layer, because almost anything placed on top of it really pops. Here, I’ve used asian text as my middle layer, but softened the edges and toned them to coordinate with the focal image by edging with a little lavender chalk ink. I often tone my text papers to help them coordinate better with my focal images.

Using Layout Templates:

The black and white line images on this page are sized for ATCs, horizontal and vertical cards made from a half-sheet of 8-1/2 x 11 cardstock, and square cards made from a half-sheet of 12 x 12 cardstock. You can save these templates to your computer and print them out as guides. You can also simply use them as inspiration, and cut your pieces to your desired sizes without the templates.