With all the snow that everyone has been having I thought I'd show you a scrapbook page layout you can view. Thanks to DebMelmon Illustration for the background paper. Check her out at: http://www.debmelmonstudio.com/.
One tip on adding photos into a page with bright, bold backgrounds, is to keep your photos on the larger scale, keep colors within the same hues and range, and place the colors opposite from each other. Example, the yellows in the background are offset by the yellow in the bottom two photos. Also, the pinks were used to back two of the photos and by adding the pink ski on the side, you'll have balance in the page. Also, note that I DON'T back the photo that has the pink ski glasses with pink paper. This is a common occurrence that I see in scrap booking. By not doing that, you'll keep more balance, versus having the color overstated.
Hope these tips help and feel free to leave comments or ask questions! Thanks for stopping by.
For a 4 x 6 originating size to be enlarged to a 12 x12, a portion of the sides will be cut off, however in the case below the photo was copied then pasted. The copied photo was cropped down to just show the right side portion of the mountain. Therefore, it went from a 12 x 18 down to a 12 x 2, then pushed in (squished in) to make it look slightly different and at the correct width. Placed on the right side of the photo collage, it appears as if it is just an extention of the photo on the left.
The to use it as a backdrop for wording or a story, take the photo and lighten it so it just gives the illusion of it. You can see how both upper and lower layouts are the same, just depends on what you want to highlight. The above is highlighting the waterfall, below is highlighting the story. 
