GCD + Circle Week: Exploring Patterns

       
             Hey friends, it's Circle Week at GCD and I'm excited to share two fun approaches to incorporating pattern in new ways; drawing attention to this sometimes overlooked, but very versatile shape. 
     Pattern, simply defined is the repetition of a design element. It's easy to be tempted to punch a lot of circles or scallops and then layer them onto a card to create a simple pattern. However, I like to challenge myself, so I needed to think of an approach that hadn't been done yet. To accomplish this, I like taking an idea and then twisting it to fit my style, as well as to inspire others, which is what I did for today's first card.
     To jumpstart my creative juices I wandered over to Pinterest to find some inspiration. I totally flipped when I found this image. I loved the layering of the circles, as well as the posititve and negative space the circles create where they overlap. Although, the design is pretty asymmetrical, the repetition of circles and colors create a dynamic, retro feel and an interesting pattern.

Source

Happy Birthday Card

Pattern does not need to be just simple repetition of something over and over. I used shape and the color (blue) to create an asymmetrically balanced pattern of circles.

This card was a cinch! All you need is a circle punch and a template to make the "x-shape." I wanted to focus on the circles overlapping and how they created new shapes that were still rounded and circular.

Circles are a great shape. They can stand alone boldly, but also create a fun intersection of lines when you overlap the shape. I love the chic and retro feel of this card and  GCD's Flower Child was the perfect collection for this design! Bold blues, bright pinks, cheery chartreuse and yellow--such perfection!

Hi Card

Using a template to create a design of repeating patterned paper is another fun take on circles.

For this card all you need to do is trace the template onto paper from  GCD's Oh Happy Day line! I chose Andrea because it was a great neutral background. After trimming the spaces, I added pieces of Emily Rose paper which a collage of all the fun patterns in the Oh Happy Day collection, but smaller scale. I like the idea of a color spectrum and the smaller scale patterns look super festive in the trimmed spaces of the template.

Well, that's it for me today.

Make sure to check the blog tomorrow for more fun ways to use circles.

supplies:

"Happy Birthday" Card: Patterned Paper: Wondering Geo(1638), Flower Child(1640), Flowery(1641), Hippie Plaid(1643), Layered Geo(1644), Organic Geo(1645), Peacock(1646), Swirling(1648) Flower Child collection.Cardstock: (White) PTI. Accents: (Yellow, and turquoise pearls) Queen & Co. Clear Stamps: (Sentiment) PTI.

Dye Ink: (Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko. Tools: (Corner Rounder) Fiskars.

"Hi" Card: Patterned Paper: (Emily Rose(1763) and Andrea(1773) Oh Happy Day collection.

Cardstock: (White) PTI. Fibers: (Orange ribbon). Accents: (Letter stickers) Basic Grey.

Tools: (Misting mask) Pink Paislee. (Corner rounder) Fiskars.