FOUNDATIONS | Train Gang by Amy Kingsford

Shelf.

Amy Kingsford is a frequent single-photo scrapbooker, and she loves the shelf composition for this work. She tells why below.

Here I’ve used my go-to composition—the shelf. A lot like a horizontal band, the shelf utilizes horizontal borders to build a strong base to showcase photos and other key elements. However the biggest difference for me is that a shelf doesn’t span the full width of the page like a band often does.

I like the shelf because it automatically makes my photo the center of attention. I also like that it allows me to group key elements together in a way that connects them and creates a sense of unity.

I will usually float my shelf to one side of the page or the other creating a sense of asymmetrical balance, but every once in a while I’ll place my shelf smack dab in the middle of the page.

I often start by selecting one large landscape photo or a few square or vertical photos that I can group together.

I will choose a couple of eye-catching borders to layer together or sometimes even just bits and pieces that I can combine to create a strong visual barrier and I layer them across my page. Then I use this barrier to underscore my photos and other key elements.
I usually don’t do too much with the surrounding white space because I don’t want to take attention away from the focal point that I’ve now created by isolating the shelf on my page.

Train Gang by Amy Kingsford | Supplies: Valorie Wibbens : Lost and Found; Amy Wolff : Botanical Elements; Anna Aspnes: Globe Trotter Loop a Loops; Agnes Biro : Weathered Frames; Gennifer Bursett: Elemental: Kym’s Washi.