Matting Your Photos
By Angie Felix

Matting is one of the most commonly used words in the scrapbooking world, but not always one of the best explained. Knowing what this term means and why it's important could be a vital step to improving your layouts.

Matting is simply creating a "frame" for a picture or other element using paper. Mats are used to create a visual separation between photos or elements and the background paper and to help them "pop" off the page.

Our designers follow the "Golden Rule" of matting: Mat photos on coordinating, solid colored papers before placing them on patterned paper. This will visually separate the photo from the pattern.

Why should you mat your photos?

"For the same reason that you frame a picture before hanging it up on the wall!" scrapbooker LeNae Gerig explains. "A mat will act as a frame for your photos, giving a visual space of "rest" between the colors and shapes in the photos and those in the background paper. It also gives your page a more finished look."

How to mat your photos

To mat a photo, just glue it onto your solid matting paper and cut, leaving the desired amount of paper around the edges of the photo—anywhere from 1/16" to 1/4". It's easiest if you place the photo in the corner of a piece of paper so you'll only have to make two cuts.

You can use scissors, a ruler, X-acto® knife and cutting mat, or a personal paper trimmer to cut your mats.

Selecting the color of your mat

When in doubt, LeNae recommends using black and white or off-white, which coordinates with nearly everything. You can also take into consideration the dominant color and the secondary colors in the background paper, then mat the photos onto a solid of the secondary color. For example, if the background paper is mostly pink with some white, LeNae mats her photos with white. If the pattern is especially large or brightly colored, she'll use a slightly wider mat such as 1/2" to mute the bright colors.

Matting isn't restricted to a single piece of plain paper, either. Here are few ways to get creative with your photo mats:

Multiple matting: Begin with a neutral solid color, then a patterned paper followed by another neutral. The neutral layers provide a nice transition between the photo and patterned paper. LeNae recommends reserving this technique for photos meant to be the focal point of your layout.

Color Blocking: Add dimension to a photo by matting it with geometric shapes. This technique works best with simple photos.

Offset matting: Layer papers of the same shape in sequential angles for a dramatic effect or simply use multiple mats and place the photo to one side of the mat, hanging over the edge.

Torn edge matting: Add texture to a mat layer by tearing along the edges. Use it between cut edges or layer several torn edges together for a soft effect.

You can also try matting with vellum or metallic paper. Vellum is great for giving a variety of tones and textures to the page, but you'll want to be careful not to unintentionally diminish the shade of a background paper with a piece of vellum. Using vellum on a solid paper can sometimes change the color of the vellum, resulting in too many shades on one page. Metallic papers work well for coordinating with other page elements such as gold or silver embossed charms, brads or metallic thread.

Matting is a simplistic way to step up your layouts, giving them dimension and interest. It's also a quick and easy way to make your photos the central focus of your layouts.

For more information on matting and other basic tips and techniques from LeNae, check out Scrapbooking101.net or LeNae's Scrapbooking Basics.