Autumn Love ...... Simple Stories Vintage Autumn Splendour

 Anita here with you today and I have been using some slightly older papers this time for my pages.

My favourite time of year is the Autumn! I adore the colours, the richness of it all......the hazy golden light of Autumnal sunshine, the earthy scent in the air and the crisp, fresh feeling of cooler mornings and evenings!

This beautiful collection is Vintage Autumn Splendour from Simple Stories and it captures it all.... and is just so lovely to craft with.

So I have combined a single sheet of white cardstock, a few sheets from the Vintage Autumn Collection pack and added bubble wrap and acrylic paint to the mix.

I decorate my sideboard each year as the seasons change and I always look forward to the gorgeous tones that come with Autumn.....I also enjoy using the Snapchat App and when this pumpkin filter appeared obviously I had to grab a pic using it!

I used the bubble wrap to create the pattern in the background on the white card.....bubble wrap is lovely to use to add paint, ink, texture paste etc for a varied effect each time you use it, plus its cheap and fairly easy to purchase. I used 3 colours of paint and gently dabbed it onto the bubble wrap using a chunk of sponge to apply it with.

I basically just cut sections out from  4 x 4 Elements 

and the  2 x 2 Elements sheets, gently inked the edges and then layered them up, placing foam pads behind some. I scattered them down the left side of the page and along the bottom. I also used some to layer up to decorate the top right of the page and next to the photo just to finish the page off

 

I will be back in a few days with my 2nd layout using this gorgeous collection.

If you love Autumn too,, why not have a look around the SHOP, there is a great selection of Autumnal papers to be found HERE

 

Happy Crafting!

Anita xxx

Be a Rainbow... - Cocoa Vanilla Studio - Daydream Collection

Hello, Rebecca here with you today.  I can't believe how fast September is going! It feels like only  yesterday my little boy was having his first day at pre-school and suddenly that was 3 weeks ago!

Today I'm sharing my latest layout created with the stunning 'Daydream' collection by Cocoa Vanilla Studio, which I've titled 'Be a rainbow in somebody else's storm'.

I started with the 'Over The Rainbow' patterned paper. This paper is gorgeous and each band of the rainbow has a different, beautiful detail - but I wanted to add more texture and dimension to my layout. I fussy cut each band, distressed the edges with my scissors and then machine stitched around the inside and outside of the bands. 

I then used a craft knife to remove each of the hearts on the outer band of the rainbow.  I adhered the rainbow onto plain white cardstock using foam and used my finger to distress the edges further, and then replaced the hearts onto the outer band - raised up on two layers of foam pads.

I've used a 4x4 inch photo on this layout. I printed it in black and white and matted it onto white cardstock. I added two further distressed layers behind it using the B sides of the 'Sun Shower' and 'Up in the Clouds' patterned papers. 

I embellished my layout by creating clusters either side of my photo using flowers which I'd fussy cut from the 'Garden Variety' patterned paper. I also added some fussy-cut rainbows from the 'Up in the Clouds' patterned paper, and some butterflies from the 'All Aflutter' patterned paper. 

I felt that the top right corner of the layout was looking bare, so I created a cluster by cutting a banner from the 'Sun Shower' patterned paper and adding a few elements from the Die Cut Ephemera Pack. 

I added a tab to the left of my photo, and a banner across the bottom of the photo, both from the Die Cut Ephemera Pack.

I finished my layout by adding my title using several different alpha stickers from my stash.

I hope you've enjoyed this layout. If you'd like to watch how it came together, I have a process video which you can find here.

Looking forward to next month - Halloween is one of my favourite times of year and I'll be working with the 'Boo Crew' collection by Simple Stories for October!

Take care,

Rebecca x

Pebbles Jen Hadfield ~ The Avenue #2

Hi, it's Anna back with you today, I have another layout to share with you using the beautiful Pebbles Jen Hadfiled The Avenue collection. Take a look at the whole collection here .

So to create this layout, I used a Paige Evans cut file to create the tree branch. I backed it using the reverse of Wooded Wy and Seventh Ave. The colours worked really well for the tree cut file.

I packed my photo onto some cardstock and then onto a thicker mount using Wooded Wy.

I cut out some of the words from the Welcome Home patterned paper and added them alongside my photo.

The edges of the layout were looking like they needed something, so I decided to create some tears. I then backed these with patterned paper - and some stitches as well. I also cut out a couple of trees from the Seventh Ave patterned paper and a 'love' word strip.

I punched out some Martha Stewart butterfly's and added a pebbles puffy dot to them, I also used Glitter Nuvo Drops to create antenna as well as some dotted around the layout.

Thanks for looking!

See you again next month.

Anna

X

Pebbles - The Avenue - Family Ties

Hi Guys,

Claire here again today sharing my second layout made with The Avenue collection from Pebbles. You can view the full collection here.

This 'Family Ties' page captures my Mum's first day in her new house after relocating over 200 miles to live closer to us.  

I decided to focus on the floral papers and embelishments. They are so beautiful and just perfect for capturing the essence of Autumn.

I started with a piece of plain Premium White Cardstock and cut a strip of the Vineyard Av. paper, using the delicate tones of the B side.  I was super brave and decided to add stitching down the centre and rough up the edges for a bit of texture. I also added a strip of Dark Kraft Bazzill cardstock and again added stitching and distressed the edges using my scissors.  To be very honest - the stitching did not go well on this smaller strip - I am still very much a novice - but it's nothing some well placed ephemera didn't fix!

Alongside the strips, I incorporated a small saying from the Welcome Home paper. This paper is full of little phrases - there must be over 50 cute little tiles that can be cut up to add that extra touch to your page. Definitely a paper worth having in your stash! 

I wanted to use the long paper strips to act as the anchor for my page. Once I'd worked out their placement, I used the Carta Bella By The Sea Coastal Shiplap Stencil to add some background stripes to the page using a stencil brush and Iced Spruce Distress Oxide.

Next, I whipped out a good pair of scissors and started fussy cutting....a lot! I really love fussy cutting but I know it's not for everyone. I cut some florals from the Peony Pl. paper and some extra leaves from the A side of the Vineyard Av paper which is a gorgeous leaf pattern. These kind of patterns are my favourite because they can be fussy cut to work on any layout and are a real staple of my craft stash.

I layered the florals so that some were flat and others were raised on foam pads, arranging them diagonally across the page with space for my photograph in the middle. For those that were glued flat, I left the ends glue free so I could curl the paper slightly to add a bit of extra dimension.

I backed my photo in the Lavendar Ln. paper - this paper is stunning! Beautiful shades of pinks, blues and greens which echo the floral fussy cuts. I also added a small piece of torn paper from the B side of Peony Pl. to help the photo stand out.

Once my photograph was stuck down and the florals arranged around it, I began embelishing. I added a few statement pieces of ephemera from the Floral Ephemera pack and added a chipboard flair saying 'currently loving' from the PinkFresh Studio Noteworthy collection.   

To finish it off, I added a mutli-font title with thickers, a few gold gems and sequins from my stash and a couple of gold ink splatters.

I've really enjoyed creating with this collection - I think it's my favourite of 2020! There are so many colour options which make it really versatile to make a whole number of different projects.  I hope you've enjoyed seeing how I've used it.

That's all for now. I look forward to seeing you all again next month with a new layout.

Take care,

Claire xxx

Two layouts using Simple Stories 'Bro & Co' Collection

 Hello, Rebecca joining you today! What a turn-around - last week I was wearing my winter coat and this week the flip flops have been back out! 

I'm popping by today to share two final layouts which I've created using the 'Bro & Co' collection by Simple Stories. Both of these layouts would be great for busting those final scraps we all have leftover from various collections as I've used really small pieces on both of them. I definitely feel like less is more with both of these layouts!

'Epic'

I took the '2x2 Elements' patterned paper and cut all the squares out. I knew I wanted to create a 3x3  grid design, using 5 small photos so I selected 4 of the squares to use and arranged them onto a sheet of 'Natural' Bazzill cardstock from the Bazzill Plain Matchmater Pack. 

I trimmed my photos ever so slightly and backed them onto some of the leftover 2x2 elements. I marked up where I wanted them to sit on the layout and then used my sewing machine and black thread to stitch vertical and horizontal grid lines.

I adhered the 9 squares with craft foam behind them to add some dimension to the page. I then trimmed the edges of my layout by 1/4 inch and added a border using the B side of the 'It's All Good' patterned paper and stitched around the entire layout. I had major arguments with my sewing machine over this as it insisted on eating my layout!! My straight stitch wasn't very neat, so I went over it again with a zig-zag stitch to try and disguise it!

I then concentrated on embellishing the layout.

I used the word 'Epic' from the Foam Stickers for my title. I really like these foam stickers - they make for perfect titles and also have lots of other smaller bits on the sheet. I've used the word 'cool' from the same sheet on the opposite side of the layout.

I added a couple of tabs and stickers from the Combo Stickers sheet and finished the layout with some fussy cut stars from the 'It's All Good' paper and the phrase 'killing it' from the 'Totally Legit' patterned paper.

'My Boy My Dude'

I focused on squares for my first layout, so for the second I decided to use circles.

I used a selection of different sized punches to create circles and stars from both the A and B sides of the  'It's All Good', 'Level Up!' and 'So Rad!' patterned papers. I also used some of the leftover squares from the '2x2 Elements' paper and punched the stars out with a circle punch.

I arranged my circles and stars on the page, raising some up with foam dots, and sat my photo on top. I created my title by using some of the foam stickers and just a couple of thickers from my stash.

I then added some raw chipboard chevrons by Dusty Attic which I painted using black acrylic paint, and a scattering of Doodlebug 'Star-Fetti' shapes.

I finished the layout by trimming the edges of the layout by 1/4 inch, distressing the edges with my scissor blade, and adding a border using the B side of the '4x6 Elements' patterned paper. This layout came together really quickly and was really simple to create. I love how the colours of the patterned papers pop against the crisp white cardstock I've used for the background.

I hope you've enjoyed these layouts and they've inspired you to try and bust some of your scraps! You really can make a little go a long way.

I'll be back later in the month with another layout created using the new 'Daydream Collection' by Cocoa Vanilla Studio.

Until then, let's hope this hot weather continues!

Stay safe and take care,

Rebecca

x

September Papermaze Kit

Hey, Lynn here today with the travel destination themed September Papermaze kit. I can see many layouts of holidays abroad being created with these beautiful rustic papers. 

Before looking at how the layouts were made, here is a peek at what you will find in the kit.



Patterned Papers:
Prima - Capri collection - Marina Grande and Punta Del Monaco
Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Coastal collection - Paradise Found
Bo Bunny - Boulevard collection - De Versailles
Ciao Bella - The Sound of Summer collection - Coastal Wood
Kaisercraft - Ladylike collection - Pearl
Bazzill: Natural and Blue

Reverse side of papers:



Embellishments: 49 & Market stitching stamp, Stamperia tag, 2 Tim Holtz thought tokens, Prima flower, 30cm washi tape, 2 paper flowers,Tando chipboard bookplate, 50cm twine, 8 pink dewdrops.

Extra Bazzill Pack: Quartz, Coastal, Mocha Divine and Stonehenge

 

Travel - This layout uses a photo of a pretty view from a trip to Lake Garda, Italy. I wanted to make it look like the view from a window as it was taken from out table in a restaurant in Malcesine with Monte Baldo in the background. 

I started with a sheet of Coastal Bazzill and using a Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Gothic, I worked Evergreen Distress Ink through the stencil with a blending tool. Then I moved the stencil and repeated the process with white texture paste and a pallet knife.

I attached the photo and with the Tim Holtz Window Frame Bigz die, I cut two windows from mount board, I also cut a few strips of mount board to join the windows together to create a window frame and two windows thrown wide open. I painted the pieces with Evergreen Bough Distress Paint. Once dry I rubbed in some bronze gilding wax to create aging and shading. I then glued the pieces around the photo to create the scene. Gold holeless beads were added to the windows.

From both the Prima Capri papers, I fussy cut large and small flowers, butterflies and various other images including some of the foiled pieces. These were inked with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink and arranged around the photo, some were raised on 3D tape.  

I used a scrap of the mount board and a little of the Quartz Bazzill to cut the 'Travel' title using Sizzix Shadow Script 3 Thinlits die set. I scribbled my journalling onto the Stamperia tag from the kit, then I tied it to the title, attaching it to the layout with more 3D tape.

Paris - The photos on this page were taken when we visited the Eiffel Tower, the lift was not working so we took the stairs!! The photos are of views on the way and a photo from the ground looking up.

For this layout I gutted the Stonehenge Bazzil, making a frame of 4cm deep. Then I took the
Kaisercraft - Ladylike collection - Pearl paper and tore all four edges. I inked the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, and added a couple of tears into the paper. I stamped around the edges with the 49 & Market stitching stamp from the kit.

I  fussy cut more images from the Prima Capri papers - flowers, postage stamps and foiled images, and arranged these with two doilies and the three photos onto the page.

I applied the paper over the Bazzill frame, tucking a small piece from each doily under each tears in the paper.

I painted the Tando chipboard bookplate with some Hickory Smoke Distress Paint, and some more Gilding wax. This was applied over some pleated seam binding ribbon. I used a scrap of the Capri paper in the space in the bookplate. I used 3D foam tape to attach the bookplate, and added silver brads to the holes on each side. With a short length of twine, I added a tiny silver Eiffel Tower charm to the base of the bookplate.

From the foiled areas of the scraps of the Capri papers, I cut the word 'Paris' and the date using the Sizzix Thinlits die set - Alphanumeric Label.

Finally I added the pink dew drops and the paper flowers to the page (adding a few extra from my stash). 

That's all for today, back in a few weeks with two more continental travel layouts made with the September Papermaze Kit. 

Thanks for looking.
Lynn x

Carta Bella By The Sea - Yesterday at Shingle Street

Hello, Karen C here again with another layout using the beautiful By The Sea collection from Carta Bella .

Last month my family managed to grab a long weekend away in Suffolk. On our final day after packing up the car to travel home, we drove to the small coastal hamlet of Shingle Street for one last beach walk. At home the next day, my husband and I decided to watch a film and by chance chose the 2019 film 'Yesterday'. It had been on our 'To Watch' list for ages and just happened to be available to stream online. We had no idea that the film was set in Suffolk and imagine our surprise when we spotted Shingle Street as the location for one of the important scenes in the film. I just had to scrapbook this serendipitous moment using the By The Sea collection and titled my layout 'Yesterday at Shingle Street'.

For the base of my layout I used a sheet of 12x12 Coastal Bazzill cardstock. It perfectly co-ordinates with this collection.

I matted my 4x6 photo on white cardstock and behind this layered a piece of the Sea & Sand paper and a piece of kraft cardstock.

Some extra images from the Sea & Sand paper were fussy cut and added to the layout as well as some words cut from some of the Ephemera and Frames pack.

I also added some Tim Holtz Idea-ology Quote Chips.

I found the perfect cut file for part of the title and cut this from kraft cardstock backed with a scrap of the B side of the Sailor Stripe paper.

The rest of the title was created using Foam Thickers from Pink Paislee.

I cut a tag from some kraft cardstock and threaded a piece of Bakers Twine through the hole. Journaling strips were glued to the tag and the tag was tucked into the top of the layout.

The layout was completed with a few sequins and using a black pen I doodled round the edges of the papers.

Although this layout is very busy I'm please with how it turned out and am still loving the By The Sea collection. The collection is available in the shop and new products are being added all the time. Don't forget when visiting the shop that you can search for products by theme. I just looked and there are currently 81 beach themed items so lots to help you scrapbook those beach memories!

Take Care,
Karen x x

Full of Sass ..... Kate and Ash # 4

Hello again,

Anita here with you today to end the week off. This is my 4th layout using Kate and Ash papers from Simple Stories and I thought I would veer away from the bright, funky colours and patterns in the collection this time and go for a monochrome page ( with a tiny little sprinkle of colour).

So I used just one sheet of Vanilla cardstock , one sheet of Girl Power patterned paper, a left over scrap strip from another sheet ( 3 x 4 elements )   and one single cut out panel from a sheet of  4 x 6 elements

......oh yes and half a sheet of black cardstock to mat the photo and also to cut a strip for making one of the rosettes.

I am not very good at keeping plain cardstock plain..... white space scares me if I am honest....so I have to splatter, distress or grubbify as much of it as I can normally.

After cutting the cardstock down to 11" x 11" I  used an old text stamp a couple of times, splattered some black acrylic paint all across the page and stamped all around the edge creating a stitched effect frame using 49andMarket Gabi's Line Stitches set

I matted the photo using black cardstock and cut a panel from 6 x 4 Elements  which I then matted using scraps of  3 x 4 Elements 

and inked the edges. 

Using some black Nuvo Drops and some Oyster Liquid Pearls I made spotted circles randomly about the page using cups and lids etc as templates. I accidently knocked the lid and smudged several dots on the left of the page hence adding a random rosette to cover the huge smudge!! most annoying, but savable thankfully!

I really love rosettes for embellishing a page, I know they are quite lumpy but I don't mind a bump or 2 here and there. I always just used to make them from scratch by hand, but these days there are a few different die strips you can get for making them....soooo much easier!!

So I made 4 die cut rosettes for the layout using strips of each of the papers and some black cardstock and my Tim Holtz rosette strip die. After adding a sprinking of sequins on the page I also added some coloured gems to the centres of the rosettes too.

Whilst I was rummaging through my old stash for stamps and dies, I also came across some REALLY old rub on books of alphabets by a company called Making Memories. To be honest I thought they might of dried out and broken apart, however they actually still applied really well and were great for the finishing touches to the page. Quite satisfying to use stash that was 17 years old!! Maybe they will become fashionable again....after all..... fashion does go round in a circle doesn't it apparently!

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my last layout from this versatile collection...I have enjoyed making it and its been really good fun breaking out very old stash to use with very new products.

If you pop over to the SHOP there are lots of new goodies coming in all the time and great selection of older products too with some real hidden gems scattered here and there in the stock. Its always nice to grab a cuppa and have a good look round to see whats about! Have a great weekend!

Warmest wishes

Anita xxx

'Sweet Moments' - Cocoa Vanilla Studio 'Daydream' Collection

Good morning!

I can't believe how fast September is going. I've definitely noticed a change in the weather this week so I think that's officially summer over for another year!

It's Rebecca with you today, sharing my first layout of September. This month I am working with the stunning 'Daydream' collection by Cocoa Vanilla Studio. I surprised myself by choosing this collection - it is far from my usual choice of bright and bold colours, but it is so elegant and beautiful that I simply had to have it! 

I was instantly drawn to the A side of the 'Sweet Serenity' patterned paper. It has really soft, pastel colours and detailed sections in two of the corners, on the diagonal. I really wanted to challenge myself to use this paper as the background for my layout but I just couldn't make it work for me - I love a white background too much! So I compromised and tore a large section for the top of the page. I matted my photos onto white cardstock and then added a second layer of  'Coral Cream' bazzill cardstock from the matchmaker pack - distressing the edges as always.

Whilst arranging my photos I realised that the B side of the Sweet Serenity paper matched my son's t-shirt really well with the black specks. I wanted to try and incorporate a small amount of the B side, so cut a slit in the centre of the paper and rolled the edges back to reveal the pattern. I had to cut some of the excess off otherwise my photos would have sat too far off the page. I then added a layer of the 'Happy Place' (B side) patterned paper underneath to try and soften the divide between the Sweet Serenity paper and the white background. I still wasn't happy with the harshness of the white and so added the remaining section of the Sweet Serenity paper to the bottom of my layout, leaving just a narrow white section in the middle and I was much happier.

I created some embellishment clusters around my photos using the Die Cut Ephemera and the Accessory Stickers. I raised a lot of them up with foam pads to add dimension to the layout.

I also fussy-cut a rainbow from the 'Up in the Clouds' patterned paper.

I also created small clusters above and below my photos, finishing the top cluster with a Flair Button and some coral coloured thread.

For my title, I used the word 'Sweet' from the Die- Cut Titles and then added the word 'Moments' using thickers from my stash in a rose-gold colour. 

I completed my layout by adding a scattering of the accessory stickers and ephemera around my title to ground the page and make it look less like my title was just 'floating' at the bottom.

And that's me finished for this blog post! If you find yourself with a few spare moments after reading this, I’ve created a Process Video for this layout to show how it all came together.

I hope you've enjoyed the layout. This collection really is beautiful and I'm already looking forward to creating the next layout which I'll be sharing nearer the end of the month.

Until then, take care, 

Rebecca 

x