How To Use Zentangles On Your Scrapbook Layouts

How to use zentangles in your scrapbook layouts? This blog post will inspire you by showing many different ways in which zentangling can be incorporated on a scrapbook page. So scroll down and take a look at all the different zentangle scrapbook layout ideas!

Zentangling is the art of creating beautiful images using repeating patterns. As the name suggests, it can be a very “zen”-like activity. There is something very relaxing about scribbling all those little lines and dots over and over. So why not give it a go and embellish your scrapbook pages with some zentangles of your own?

Go For It And Fill Up The Entire Page

No need to be shy about your zentangle talents! Just fill up the entire page with all your lovely creations! This way, your zentangles will become a very dominant page element. Let’s take a look at some examples of how this can be done. 

The creator of this layout has used zentangles to fill those lovely big mushroom shapes! What a great idea! It’s like she created a whole new fantasy mushroom forest where the photo of her and her friends seem to have a lovely time together. The patterns used in the zentangling are not overly complex. I love the use of color in the zentangles. This livens up the page and is yet another very “zen”-like activity when creating a page. Just don’t be in a furry to finish it!

This zentangled layout has a completely different vibe to it. The zentangles frame the large colorful photo and fill up the rest of the page. Even some colorful zentangled embellishments were added on top of the photo. Notice how they form a design triangle with the letters of the title “Minnie”. Filling the page with zentangles is a great way to scrapbook on a budget. After all, all you need is a black marker! 

The zentangles on this page represent the zentangles of the tattoo! What a great idea! I love how there is a direct correlation between the shapes of the tattoo and the shapes of the zentangles on the page. The white stars are clearly recognizable as are the black circle arrows. Those stars also function as small havens of white space on the page. Notice how the addition of red to the photo frames and some of the zengtangles helps to pull the page together. 

This zentangled scrapbook layout has been kept completely black and white. The shapes that surround the photo and that are filled in with different repeating patterns have a very organic vibe. The photo is very cute and the title is a good fit! I love how zentangling is a great way to both keep the need for elaborate scrapbooking supplies down ánd still produces a very vibrant and interesting looking page. 

Another completely black and white zentangle scrapbook layout, designed by the same creator as the previous. It is stunning how two scrapbook pages with the same basic “ingredients” (black and white photo, big bold black title letters and zentangles) can look so different. The zentangles on this page are more exuberant with the striped snake-like line crawling all over the page. The zentangle patterns chosen are less dense and therefore produce a “lighter” looking page. 

Go Vertical

Zentangles can go in any direction, so why not go vertical with them? Vertical stripes of any kind will help anchor the rest of the page elements to the layout. Let’s take a look how some very different kinds of zentangled stripes do just that!

“Just Do It”! Exactly! Get that black marker pen out of that drawer and add some awesome vertical zentangles to your page. I love the waviness of the lines and the very simple patterns chosen to fill the shapes. The rest of the page is kept simple with lots of white space! Notice how the journaling is written all around the page, pulling the zentangle vertical strip in with the rest of the layout. 

If you’re looking for something more simple and less dominant, take a look at how zentangles are used on this scrapbook layout. The zentangles heart is adorable, what a great way to make your own very unique embellishments! The vertical zentangles are very simple and elegant. I love how the little hearts are used as a zentangle pattern. Do what you like and go for it! 

The zentangles on this scrapbook layout are also vertically oriented, but give off a completely different vibe. They have been colored in, which is a great idea. They also don’t run across the page as a continuous vertical strip. This gives the layout a more playful look and also produces a design triangle between the three zentangled areas. 

This layout uses digital zentangle paper as the background with an orange (gorgeous color!) overlay in the middle. Notice how both borders between the zentangle paper and the orange area is bordered by a very cute zentangle strip. Even the photo has an adorable zentangled photo frame! Using prefabricated zentangles, whether in paper or digital form, is a great time saver. 

Play With Colored Zentangles Versus Black & White

Colors can have a great impact on a page. It is therefore very interesting to see what happens when either colored zentangles or black and white zentangles are used and how all those zentangles interact with the featured photo. Are you ready to play with color? Let’s get inspired!

A sunset photo has to be in color and so the zentangles around it have been kept in black and white. The page colors around that zentangle photo frame have been inspired by the colors of the sunset photo itself. This wonderful play with colors and black and white really draws your eye towards that gorgeous sunset! 

This layout plays with colors in a totally different way. The monotone yellow-gold that has been added to the zentangles and to the photo frame complements these page elements beautifully. The zentangles themselves are gorgeous organic shapes with both dense and lighter repeating patterns. Notice the use of white space and how it gives the whole zentangle-photo cluster even more impact. 

It is Middle Eastern and it is Christmassy! And the stars of the show are the beautifully adorned camels in the photo. I love how the round zentangled circles give a bedouin tent-like vibe. The tear-shaped zentangle elements hanging from the ceiling are a great way to fill the page and to pull the photo in with the zentangling. 

The use of zentangles on this page is very subtle: the cute photo of the kid has been framed in a premade digital zentangle frame. The colors of the photo resonate with the colors of the geometric grid of colorful squares, almost zentangle-like in their appearance! This layout shows that you zentangles really don’t have to be a big overpowering part of your page and that a little goes a long way! 

Such a cute and goofy photo! The color photo is surrounded by both colored and black and white zentangles. The color scheme fits the photo colors. Notice the little green butterflies forming their own little cheeky design triangle! Some paint splatters were added, bringing even more whimsy to the layout. The page elements are grounded by the little zentangle “blob” resting on the bottom of the page. 

Show Off Your Zentangles In A Gallery

Using zentangles on your scrapbook pages is all very well and good, but what if you don’t have that perfect photos or layout idea to match them? No worries: just zentangle away and display your beautiful creation in a gallery! This is such a cool idea! You become the artist you’ve always wanted to be!

The creator of this layout took the gallery idea and ran with it. Her zentangles are neatly displayed on her gallery wall, all framed in funky and grungy green picture frames. She journals about her zentangling around some of the frames. What a fun and creative layout!

This is a completely different gallery-type layout. The little zentangle squares are displayed in a grid taking up more than half the page. The title “Feeling Groovy” seems very apt! I love that the featured image has a cute little zentangles frame around it. The red frames around all the zentangle square and the photo give a pop of color. 

Use A Colorful Frame To Accent Black & White Photos

Coloring in your zentangles when you use them on a scrapbook page can result in a layout that has way too much going on. A great way to avoid that mistake is to make either your zentangles or your photo black and white. This way they always match together. Let’s take a look at a great example of this principle. 

This is a beautiful layout. The colors of the zentangle frame really pop with the background colors and the black and white photo is still the star of the show. I love that the zentangle frame is divided into four squares leaving a white border between the different pieces. The color scheme with greens and purples is just gorgeous. The effect of all the page elements combined is so refined! This layout is truly “One of a Kind”!

Use Stencils Or Zentangle Pattern Paper

In zentangling you fill up a shape with different repeating patterns. Why not use a stencil to create those shapes? This way you can create uniformity on the page and play around with different colors and patterns. Or go even one step further: use pre-made zentangle patterned paper! You can still add your own twist to it with colors etc. These techniques are perfect for those of us who love the zentangle look, but don’t have a lot of time or just don’t feel very creative. 

In this layout, the zentangled background is made by stenciling different colors on the cardstock, outlining the different shapes and filling some of them in with zentangle patterns. The effect is truly stunning! What a wonderfully colorful layout! I love the fade out where the colorful shapes give over to white space.  Notice the journaling around the edge of the page, pulling the layout together. 

This layout uses premade and pre-colored zentangle patterned paper. The colored background is combined with a black and white photo. The playfulness of the zentangle paper echoes the joy that radiates from the photo. No wonder the title of the page is “Birthday Joy”! Notice the black and white zentangle paper strip border running horizontally on the bottom of the page. 

Use Subtle Zentangling

When you decide to use zentangling in your layout, it doesn’t always have to be a dominant page element. Zentangles can also be used in a far less dramatic way, as the following examples will show. Just a little touch of zentangling here and there, a photo frame or a small zentangled embellishment: the possibilities are endless!

You have to look quite closely to spot the zengtangling used in this layout. The photo and images used are very colorful and draw the eye and the zentangling is quite subtle! It is used to create photo frames for several of the color blocks. What a great way to add even more playfulness to an already fun and funky page!

Another Disney-inspired layout documenting an eventful time at the Disney park for these “little mice”. The photo is kept in black and white, quite an unusual choice for a Disney-themed photo! The color pop comes from splattered pink paint on the background behind the photo and the yellow circle embellishments. The zentangling on the right side of the page balances the layout nicely and, although clearly visible, is not a dominant factor on the page. It fits in with the hand-lettered title and handwritten journaling. 

The zentangling on this page can be found in the frame around the photo. This time it is the black and white that provides the bright pop on the layout. The rest of the page is a beautifully colorful unity. The black and white zentangled photo frame lifts the layout and prevents it from being too stuffy for its young subject. This layout shows that you can combine zentangles even with a very classic looking scrapbook layout. 

Zentangle In A Cutout Shape

You usually zentangle in a shape of some sort. The shape doesn’t have to resemble something, it can be geometrical or have a more organic vibe. But what if you wanted to use the zentangles to support the chosen theme for you scrapbook page? Well, then you choose to zentangle in a shape that fits that theme! It is a versatile and fun technique to liven up any kind of layout!

What a fun layout! The ice cream cone shape is filled with zentangle patterns and thereby becomes a prominent element on the page. Notice the zentangles around the photo (so cute!) and around the whole layout, this latter pulling all the page elements together. I love the idea of creating this larger than life shape and fill it with zentangles to support your theme. Especially if the theme has to do with delicious ice cream! 

The shape that was chosen to zentangle in on this layout is a wonky rectangle. This seems a bit boring until you realize how perfectly it balances out the rectangle of the photo itself up to and including the wonkiness! In this zentangle masterpiece lettering and words were added, which is quite unusual. The words were colored to stand out a little better. Big doodles were added on the diagonal to the background. Also notice the doodling in the two corners of the page (getting bigger and smaller) and the little stripes around the two rectangles. These are the perfect finishing touches! 

Let’s zentangle in a heart shape! And let’s use white on black instead of the other way around. What a great effect! This heart element has gravitas and pulls the whole layout together. I love the combination of the black and white heart with the colorful striped (and almost zentangle-like background)!

In this layout the numbers of the year “2014” are filled with zentangles. And to continue the zentangle theme, flower type zentangles were added in the upper right corner. This creates balance and harmony. The page is laid out as a simple grid, but the zentangles add a bit of whimsical playfulness!

This layout shows another number filled with zentangles, but also several other shapes that have been given the zentangle treatment. I love how the number “2” and the flowers are not only filled with delicate patterns, but are also colored. Notice the design triangle of the three biggest zentangle elements on the page. And also notice all that delicious white space that make the whole page element cluster really pop!