I was in Atlanta this past weekend celebrating World Card Making Day at a wonderful event hosted by two special stamping friends, Brian King and Pam Morris. It was obvious they worked tirelessly to make the day fun and inspiring for all of us.

I would like to extend a special thank you to Brian and Pam for inviting me to participate in the event as a presenter.  I was excited and honored (not to mention a bit nervous) to be included among such talented Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators as Julie DiMatteo, Donna Griffith, Jennifer Beatty Hill, Pam, and Brian.

I enjoy CASEing beautiful cards and I really, really enjoy creating original cards, especially simple collage cards.  Back in 2013, I posted a series of “Design Tips” blog posts which included a post on the “Design Rule of Thirds”.  Brian asked that I present a little something to the group about the “Rule of Thirds” for a simple collage card.  Below is the finished product and please pardon the grid paper background.

• If you want to experiment with the design “rule of thirds” it’s easiest to make yourself a “rule of thirds” grid.  I made this one using one of Stampin’ Up!’s Clear Envelopes.
• The envelope size is 5 3/4″ X 4 3/8″.  I trimmed the envelope to a standard A-2 card size 5 1/2″ X 4 1/4″ and with a fine tip Sharpie, I created the grid.
• The measurements for the grid lines are 1 7/16″ from each side, and 1 7/8″ from the top edge and the bottom edge.
• I also cut a piece of Whisper White card stock (A-2) to slip into the grid when I’m working with a layer. You can make a Basic Black one if you’re working with a light or white card layer.
• The grid is divided into three even sections horizontally and three even sections vertically.
• The grid illustrates the “rule of thirds” for a card layout.
• You can create a custom grid for any size card.

• Once I started placing all my card elements together, I used the grid to be sure the elements were where I wanted them to be and they were evenly centered for a “balanced” design.
• The pictures below illustrate how I put the card together using my grid.

You can take a look at my original post here.

Using this grid is a preference of mine and I have fun experimenting with it.  I hope you enjoy using it, too!

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