CANVA TIPS // Rotating a Page

Are you self-publishing your patterns? Read: designing, writing, photographing, tech-editing, laying out pattern instructions and printing/stuffing physical patterns from home?

With feedback from self-pub designers (thank you, btw!), I’ve added a bonus printable front/back cover page to our 8.5” x 11” and A4 CANVA templates so that you can easily print your entire pattern from home. Print out the individual pattern sheets, fold them in half and stuff between the folded front/back cover.

While CANVA makes life easier in some ways, we need to find sneaky little work arounds for others. Watch me show you how to make this bonus template page work for you. Fair warning: I need to up my video skills, but watch it for the info!

If you have any other questions or ways that you feel the template could work better for you, please reach out!

Happy Designing!
+ Kristy

kristy@pageandpixel.net

Canva Pattern Design Templates!

Am I the last person on earth to dip my toe in the magical layout world that is Canva? I wouldn't be surprised as I didn't own a cell phone until 2002!

As a book designer, I wasn't all that interested in Canva as I like to have a lot of control over what goes on on my pages...I mean, a LOT. So I've happily lived in my InDesign bubble over the years, styling and formatting my way to printed-book-bliss.

Over the past few years I’ve worked with individual pattern designers who own a Creative Cloud subscription and use Illustrator and Photoshop and thought, “Hey, what’s this InDesign…I should give it a shot since I am paying for it!”. So I worked up some InDesign templates for you all to use, to style and design your very own patterns! To me, that sounds like fun! But Nissa sat me down for a come to Jesus moment: People want fast and simple. Not everyone thinks setting type and putzing with fonts is fun like you do. Learn Canva, Kristy.

Got it.

Whoa, you guys! I spent some time digging around Canva and it’s fantastic! What a great way to create a cohesive, fluid branding presence. It’s all drag and drop, there are stock images you can use for free and tons of free fonts at your disposal! There are a ton of templates you can choose from, too. Best part? You can use it for free!

Only thing was, I didn’t see much by way of a template that would support a pattern layout. You need numbered lists, multi-level heads, a chart option, front/back cover options with spaces for a barcode and a large image and a materials list. Seems like using some of the templates they offer on the site would be fairly clunky for a pattern designer…so I created one with you all in mind!

This is just the first of many templates that I have planned. I call it Minimal, because that’s what it is! There are a few simple design choices included but the images of your pattern will make this design shine. I’ve used a simple, readable, clean sans serif font and leave white space in the layout for a modern look.

There are 5.5” x 8.5” and an 8.5” x 11” options as those are the two most common pattern sizes and are easiest to print.

With 23 different page designs including tables, bulleted lists, numbered lists and various ways to layout images, there is a ton of flexibility and lots of room for customization. All you need is a Canva* and Acrobat Reader account (to open the Page + Pixel template) and you’ll never start a layout with a blank slate again!

Keep checking back in as I will be adding more design styles. Is there something I’m missing? Please let me know! I’m eager to make something that you can all use to make your pattern-selling lives easier.

Happy designing!

+ Kristy

*Note: The download from our site is not affiliated with Canva. If you have any questions or concerns about the template, please contact us at info@pageandpixel.net

VIDEO TUTORIAL // Placing Text in InDesign

Calling all pattern designers that have patterns to publish and have access to InDesign but are procrastinating because “I just don’t know how to get started and are you kidding me with all of the menus and options and toolbars within this freaking program…how is someone supposed to even get started with something like that?”

Does this sound like you?!

Ugh, I’m sorry, it IS frustrating to start working with something new—HELLO! That’s me attempting mitered corners on my binding for EVERY SINGLE QUILT I make.

Take a look at this 6-minute video where I talk about easy ways to import your text into an InDesign file. Throughout the video I throw out little tips and tricks that will make your work time in InDesign more efficient. And stick with the video until the end, I saved the best import method for last!

If you’re feeling ready to do this thing, visit our shop to download a P+P Pattern Design Template that has pre-designed Style Sheets and Master Pages—all you need to do is update the styles with fonts and colors that are specific to your brand.

I will be posting more tutorials specific to the P+P Pattern Design Template. Are there any specific topics you would like me to cover? I’d love to hear from you!

Happy Designing!
+ Kristy

FREE DOWNLOAD // Design Your Summer

Back by popular demand—or let’s face it, because I demanded it—it’s the 10 Weeks of Summer template.

Working families everywhere love to dread summer and it’s infamous 10 Weeks of unscheduled childcare. When I worked full-time at a publishing house, it was so difficult to fill up the 10 weeks in a cost-effective way without burning out my kids and going broke. Now that I’m on my own, it’s tempting to just say that my girls will be able to entertain themselves while I get work done in the middle of the day so we can save some $ and not over-schedule them….HA!!! I’ve been fooled before, it doesn’t work that way. I NEED TO GET MY KIDS OUT OF THE HOUSE for their sanity and mine. But I can’t just sign them up for camps every week, I can’t afford it.

Enter: my trusty template.

Mapping out the weeks lets me visualize where the girls will be and helps me spread out the cost over the course of the summer. Let’s say I have Grandma come for Week 2, then I’ll sign them up for that cool camp (read: $$) for Week 3, followed by the super-affordable Girl Scout camp for Week 4. Maybe I do a kid-share for Week 5 & 6 with neighbors and then we go to WI for Week 7…you get the idea, right?

If you’ve got 1 or 2 kids, just print this bad boy out and start penciling in your plans (print a few out for 3 or more kids). It’s simple but really helps me get going on the planning and keeping on track.

So mash up some guac, crack open a Lacroix and get planning your 2019 summer!

+
Kristy