By Brandon Hill on March 24, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

Cancun 2017: Chichen Itza

One of the places in the world that has been on my bucket list for many years is Chichen Itza, which is a Mayan city centered around a large pyramid. This was the one thing that I wanted to do on this trip, and I was afraid that my son would not like the trip because it would feel “Historical” and “Museum-y”. But at the end of the trip I asked him what his favorite thing was – and he said that it was this day! This is an amazing location and I believe that if you are anywhere near this area it is a must see destination.

I created a six page spread for the time spent at Chichen Itza using 2 panoramic fold-out page protectors. This allows for a double spread to open up onto a 4-page spread which you can see below. For the opening double spread I cut out a full 12×12 title page using my Cricut Machine for the left hand side, and then I used the remaining circle to create a frame for a professional picture taken at the location along with our two tickets for entrance. I bordered the picture in the same colors that can be found in the title on the left hand page to help tie the two pages together.

This second picture reveals the inside of the panoramic view. I encourage you to click on the picture to enlarge it so that you can see more detail in the photographs. There are three design features that I want to point out on this 4 page spread – all done to tie all 4 together:

If you look closely at the background on pages 2 and 3 (right in the middle) you can see a cutout of the Pyramid – this is the same cut as on the opening page. I used a 12×24 mat to cut this so that it would go across 2 pages. I know that it is very subtle – but I enjoy when the viewer realized that it is there.
Notice that the arrangement of the photographs on page 1 and 2 match, and that the pattern is slightly different on pages 3 and 4 which match.
Notice that the background paper and borders on page 1 and 3 match, and that a different matching color scheme matches pages 2 and 4.