I’ve been getting into bullet journaling lately. It’s just so relaxing to see the neat rows & columns of ideas! Maybe that’s why the idea of having my designs spaced evenly around the page is so appealing. In this series, I’m showing you quite a few tricks on how to do that. We’ve learned how to use Snap to Grid, Snap to Guides and Fill Page. Today, we’ll look at how you can make duplicates in nice rows and columns.
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Making duplicates in rows and columns
You’ll find some more options in the Replicate panel to make aligned copies. With those, you can make single or multiple copies right next to your original design.
Duplicate lets you make an single copy to the left, right, top or bottom of the original. You can make 3 or 4 copies in rows or columns as well. Here, I’ve made a row of 4 and column of 3.
Pros of this method
- The images are all aligned perfectly and neatly without any extra effort.
- It’s quick.
- There’s no wasted space.
Cons of this method
- It’s only for duplicates, not different designs.
- The designs are all touching and that can cause problems when you’re cutting the pieces out. Once a line has been cut, if another cut line goes too close to it, it can pull the shape with it. The thinner the parts, the bigger the risk. If you’re cutting in the exact same spot, then well, you can just imagine the issues.
- They aren’t in a specific location on the page — just relative to one another. This may or may not be what you want.
Bonus tip
You can alleviate the issues with the shapes touching with a simple trick.
- Draw a box around your original image, leaving a bit of space between it and the design — about half the distance you want to leave between the designs. Give it a line color that’s different (that will save time in a later step). Center the design and box with the Centralize icon.
- Use the Replicate options to create your duplicates, rows and/or columns.
- Look in the upper left of the software for the Select by Color icon. Select By Line and click on the row for the color you gave the box you drew. That will select all those boxes at once.
- Now you can delete them with one click and BOOM — you have your nicely-spaced duplicates.
If you’re cutting from something like vinyl, then you could choose to leave some of the squares as weeding boxes. Delete every other one instead of all of them.
Another way you can do this is to create offsets of your design instead of boxes.
Up Next
Yes! There are even MORE ways to make evenly-spaced duplicates! Next time, I’ll share a few keyboard shortcuts.
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