We love to use cardboard to create different shapes and backgrounds for the Halloween house.  So, finding large, free cardboard is always part of the design process.  Once we have our cardboard (thanks to those who helped us get some great, large, flat cardboard!), we need to figure out which pieces will work for different parts of the design.

To begin, I measure each piece of cardboard and take down its dimensions.

Then, I make a quick version of each piece in PowerPoint (yes, PowerPoint – it is great for quickly creating shapes that are to scale).

After that, I transfer those shapes into Photoshop (scaled to the correct proportions for the house) where I can move each piece around to determine the best place to use it.

A little bit of extra work, but it really helps us use each piece’s size to fit right where it works best.