Never underestimate the power of simple things, like the surprise of your infant the first taste of real food or the first time the feel grass on their feet. These moments are the ones that you want to last a lifetime! The same emotions hold true for scrapbook pages. When you design using a few images and select a few decorative embellishments, your eye is drawn to the photograph and the story. Discover the technique of focusing on a single accent can add life to your favorite photos and ensure that the ordinary becomes extraordinary.

Keep your eyes open for clean, simple and easy accent ideas. Limiting yourself to only one accent my make you feel a little limited in your layouts at first, but you will be amazed at how much can be achieved by the simple elegance of the design. Here are a few ideas and tips for keeping it simple.

Recreate the image from your photo. If you are taking pictures of kids playing in the sand box, make a simple shadow box with vellum and fill it with sand. Dry a leaf from the fall background. You can always use stickers, acrylic stamps, die cuts, punchouts, or clipart images that match the theme of your photos and pages.

Use a tag as a cute accent. Tags, on their own are very versatile. Use them as the base of another accent or on their own. Use them as your journaling item or to bring something out in the pictures on your pages.

Small groups of the same item can make unique accents. Use the same delicate item, such as a simple overlay of two lacy skeleton leaves. This is a beautiful way to make tiny items noticeable yet still keep the photos the focal point of your page.

A decorative accent can visually connect secondary photos to the primary photo. They can also add meaning to the whole layout. Accents can also help highlight the tile or text of your pages. To keep your accents in a supportive role, keep them small and on the same paper as the text or title. Try accents in different shapes, colors and styles. For a unique look, try dangling the accent from photo. Little accents like eyelets and brads can add to your pages without distracting from your photos.

Just remember the simpler the better on some of your pages. This will keep your pages clean and different form each other but be able to show your photos and the special time that you want to express in ever page.