Staggering Images in a Triangle

If you've been reading Simplicity for a while, you know about the rule of threes and visual triangles. Three things are more interesting, generally, than two, and if you can arrange those three things in a triangle, boy howdy you've got something. But how do you balance the triangle?

Try something like this.

These heart stamps come from a very old Stampin'Up set. The tallest is in the middle (slightly to the left of center on the card) and was stamped first. Then, the left heart was stamped slightly below the midline of the background area so it spills outside the background slightly. Finally, the third smallest heart goes even lower down the background, which leaves the perfect space for the sentiment and adds some visual weight to the right to balance the fat heart on the left.

The leaves on the stems are arranged with the same placement, with the largest leaf in the middle and the two smaller leaves lower down. There is a LOT of pattern happening on this card, and the very stable arrangement of images surrounded by a crisp, white frame, keeps it from looking chaotic.

Yesterday, I received my first order of the year from Hero Arts. I used Creative Play, and let me tell you, my package arrived in record time after they called to confirm my address since it's new construction and their PO program didn't have the address listed. They even included a free Sakura stardust pen! I'll get a chance this afternoon to unwind in my craft room with the new goodies after two potentially stressful meetings today. New goodies!!! Yee-ha!!!!!

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts (background), SU (hearts, discontinued), Papertrey (sentiment Love Birds)
ink: Memento Angel Pink, Tuxedo Black; SU Real Red
paper: Papertrey
accessories: none