Wand Academy – Enchanted Places - 3 Quarter Designs Design Team Reveal

 I’m sharing another 3Quarter Designs Design Team layout created with the Wand Academy Collection, and this one was a bit of a challenge I set myself. Rather than using Wand Academy for a traditional magical or wizard-themed page, I wanted to see if I could turn it into a travel layout. Once I looked closely at the gorgeous brickwork, stone textures and aged papers in the collection, I knew exactly which photos I wanted to use — our visit to Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

The brick background was such a perfect starting point. It worked beautifully with the old stone walls and incredible architecture in my photos and gave the whole page that ancient, weathered feel I was after.

I made the large photo of Adrian and me at Angkor Wat the main focus and framed it with a stone arch, which almost feels like you are looking through an old doorway towards the temple. I then added a long strip of smaller photos down the left-hand side to show some of the amazing details we saw while exploring the complex — the carvings, corridors, stairways and stonework.

I wanted the page to feel a little bit like an old explorer’s journal, so I used plenty of torn layers, distressed edges, foliage, flowers and feathers around the photos. I also added splatters across the brickwork to break up the background and give it a slightly more aged and textured look. The quotes from the collection worked beautifully with the travel theme too. “Mystical moments await those who look for them” was perfect above the main photo, while “Curiosity unlocks enchanted places” summed up the whole experience so well.

That is one of the things I really enjoy about working with 3Quarter Designs collections. You don’t have to use a collection exactly as the theme suggests. By looking at individual colours, textures and elements in a different way, you can take it in a completely new direction.

Wand Academy may be filled with magic and fantasy, but for me the brickwork, stone textures and vintage details were just as perfect for capturing the mystery and history of Angkor Wat.