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