Mintay Papers Wildwood Secrets - Embrace Nature

Hello! Karen here, ready to share a new layout. I'm so excited to be working with Mintay's new Wildwood Secrets collection – it's beautiful!

If you're like me and love countryside walks, this collection is made for you. It's spot-on for scrapbooking all your outdoor adventures, nature strolls, and woodland memories. The collection's theme is the forest/woods, with a gorgeous, warm, and organic colour palette. Think mossy greens, soft browns, natural tones, and a vibrant pop of red. Plus, it's filled with beautiful images of woodland creatures, wild strawberries, mushrooms, and other forest details.

To start this layout, I took a sheet of smooth white cardstock. Then, I used a mini brayer to spread some green acrylic paint right in the middle. 

Using a brayer with a good, thick paint creates wonderful texture, which I just love for adding dimension to my backgrounds.

When the green paint was dry, I also splatted some white paint on top. 

I wanted to frame my layout with a wide green border. Usually, I'd just trim my white cardstock down and mount it on a larger piece of green card. But this time, I gutted a 12x12 sheet of green cardstock to create a 1-inch frame. This let me position the frame directly on top of my white cardstock, giving me the flexibility to perfectly centre it around the painted area before I committed to sticking it down. 

Next, I took my 5x3.5 inch photo and matted it with a piece of patterned paper #5, leaving just a narrow border. As paper #5 is red this helps the photo really stand out. Then, I placed the matted photo onto my layout, overlapping a piece of green patterned paper from the 6x8 add-on paper pad.

Next, I turned to the paper die-cuts pack to add some embellishments. I arranged these in clusters, placing one on each of two corners of my photo. My choices weren't random – I specifically picked wild strawberry die-cuts to pick up on the red paper I used to mat the photo. 

Alongside these, I added images of a deer, a bird, and a ladybird on a log. These elements highlight the woodland theme of both my photograph and the overall design.

I added a delicate dragonfly die-cut near the top of the layout and to add more texture, I used my sewing machine and white thread to straight stitch around the edge of the white cardstock.

I created the title "Embrace Nature" by placing green mini alphabet stickers from my stash (for "Embrace") above the word "Nature" from the 6x12 sticker sheet.

I also added a couple of word strips from the sticker sheet near the bottom of the layout.

I printed the date and place onto white cardstock and placed it near the bottom of the layout.

Finally to give the layout a bit of sparkle I scattered some green and cream sequins here and there.

Thanks so much for checking out this post! If you're interested in grabbing any of the supplies I used, you can find them in the shop together with several other brand new collections from Mintay Papers.

Until next time, Take Care. Karen    x x

June's Fundraising Crop!

 It's our monthly crop this coming Saturday, the 21st - and this month we're doing things a little differently!  Recently, the Village Hall that we meet in has had some extra expense for a new roof, so on Saturday we are helping to raise some money towards this!

We are having an extended crop, starting at our usual time of 10am, but with the option to stay until 7pm!  We are adding £1 to the crop fee, to make it £6, and if you stay later than usual, then it's £7.50.  Jane, our fabulous baker, is planning some extra special goodies for the day - savouries in the morning and sweet treats for the afternoon - these will cost £1.  

Instead of one, we have two gorgeous crop kits, designed by Lorraine and Esther:

And there will be a limited third kit only available for anyone who stays late, and a raffle too, with crafting prizes of course.

The local Scout group are coincidentally having their Hog Roast & BBQ from 6pm on the playing field, for anyone who wants to grab a bite to eat!

If you'd like to come along on Saturday, then just drop me an email at enquiries@papermaze.co.uk.

June Papermaze Kit - Part 1

Lynn here today, sharing my first two creations using the delightful Papermaze kit for sunny June! Both of these layouts depict my granddaughter at her baby sensory group.

Here is what you will find in the kit:

Patterned Papers:
49 and Market - Vicki Boutin - The Flower Emporium - Starters Paper 3 & Starters Paper 9 
Echo Park - Firefly - Bright Floral & Shining Daisies
Simple Stories - Sunny Days - Happy Days & Soak It Up!

The photo below shows both sides of the papers:

Embellishments:
Pretty Little Studio - Love is Kind - Friends Forever Die Cut Titles
Pinkfresh - Chrysanthemum - Chipboard Flair
Rosie's Studio - Keeping Cool - Puffy Stickers & Frames
Cocoa Vanilla - Storyteller - Wood Button
Doodlebug Designs - puffy hearts - Bumblebee
Washi Tape

Bazzill Basics Cardstock - Coconut Swirl, Patch (included in Kit), Petunia, Powder Blue, Tangelo & Yukon Gold (in Extra pack).

Teddy Bear's Picnic - This sensory session involved teddy bear's picnic songs and activities. Lots of teddies and teacups! This layout was fun to create and I love the colour scheme. 

I started by gutting the Happy Days paper to create a border 12" x 12" and 1" deep. I gutted  a 10.5" x 10.5" piece of the Yukon Gold Bazzill to make a 1" frame and placed this over the paper. The Coconut Swirl Bazzill was trimmed to 10.25" x 10.25", I splattered Distress Ink over the cardstock using Wild Honey, Worn Lipstick and Faded Jeans. The Coconut Swirl was then mounted over the Yukon Gold and the paper. 

I selected two 4" x 6" photos, and cut a piece of Bright Floral paper to the same size and placed the three items across the layout.  

I used both the Rosie's Studio - Keeping Cool - Frames from the kit. I backed them both with some scrap white cardstock. I wrote my journalling into the single film frame, and placed this to the bottom right of the layout. The three-photo film strip was placed vertically to the right side.

I used all the Bazzill Basics Cardstock colours from the kit and some scraps in different shades from my stash to die cut the cups and animals. The animals were from a Katie Skilton Sizzix Thinlits set called 'Animal Portraits'. The Tea cups and saucers were cut from the Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits Papercut Cafe set. 

After cutting all the pieces and layering them up, I placed the cat above the first photo, the rabbit under the same photo, and the bear to the far right of the page. I added a cup to each section on the film frame, and I stacked two more beside the cat. I attached them all with 3D foam pads. 

With a selection of Doodlebug Designs Alphabet Soup Puffy stickers (Bumblebee, Swimming Pool and Cupcake), I spelt out the date. 

Using more of the Yukon Gold Bazzill, I cut the title using a Die-Namics alphabet die set. 

Finally, I used the Doodlebug Designs - puffy hearts - Bumblebee from the kit in both top corners of the layout.

St. Patrick's Day - Another baby sensory session, this time it was to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. I made Florence and her little friends knitted hats with large shamrocks. 

I started making this layout by gutting the Patch Bazzill to give me a 1" frame. I cut a sheet of Smooth White Bazzill to 10.5" x 10.5" and placed this over the green frame. I selected the area of the Soak It Up! paper I wanted to feature (the yellow sun section and some of the colourful rays), and trimmed this to 10.5" x 6" and used this to cover the top half of the white card. 

  

I cut a 12" x 1" strip of the Happy Days paper and trimmed it with a Martha Stewart border punch, and placed this directly under the patterned paper onto the white card. The washi tape from the kit was used over the join of thetwo papers. 

Three small photos arranged in a row to the left of the layout and overlapping the papers. I cut the title using the Cricut in Yukon Gold and Patch Bazzill and offset one over the other, to the bottom right of the layout. 

I made a shamrock with more of the Patch Bazzill and a heart punch. I cut 6 hearts, folded them all in half and arranged them to create the leaf. I popped a few 3D foam pads under the folds, to prevent them from laying too flat. I cut a stalk freehand from the Bazzill, then arranged the leaf and stalk to the right of the page. I threaded some green cord through a heart shaped button to add to the centre of the shamrock.

Selecting one of the Pretty Little Studio - Love is Kind - Friends Forever Die Cut Titles from the kit, I placed this with 3D foam pads to the top left of the layout, then added my journalling underneath. 

I happened to have some pretty little flower buttons on my desk from another project. The colours went well with the papers, so I strung them onto more of the cord. I arranged them, bunting style across the layout. I took three more buttons and some cord to place some flowers in the bottom right corner near the title. 

A few of the Rosie's Studio - Keeping Cool - Puffy Stickers were added to the photos.

That's all for today, I'll be back with more from this kit soon.
Thanks for looking
Lynn x

All Creatures Great and Small - Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Woodlands Collection

Hi everyone

It’s Rebecca here today, sharing my first layout using the beautiful new Simple Vintage Woodland collection from Simple Stories. This collection is absolutely stunning—ideal for a wide range of photos, but especially perfect for woodland or autumn-themed memories. You can find it in the shop here.

To start, I chose a few of my favourite patterned papers and cut them into strips of varying lengths and widths. I spent a little time playing around with different arrangements before settling on a design I loved. I decided on a darker, wider strip as the base layer, with lighter, softer colours layered on top for contrast.

With my landscape photo placed in the centre, I felt it needed something to anchor it visually. I added a horizontal strip of patterned paper beneath the photo, creating a "shelf" effect to ground the image.

I'm a big fan of the 'Tags' patterned papers from Simple Stories collections and love incorporating them into my layouts. I selected two tags, punched gold metal eyelets through them, and tucked them along the vertical edges of the darker base strip—adding a nice layered touch.

With the larger elements in place, I turned to the smaller details. For my title, I used a die-cut from the Bits & Pieces and popped it up with foam pads for added dimension.

I then selected a couple of woodland-themed die-cuts from the Bits & Pieces and tucked them on either side of the photo. These larger shapes are great for forming the base of embellishment clusters, giving a solid foundation to build on.

To add more interest and texture, I introduced some subtle stencilling in two areas. Using a stencil from my stash and a blend of 'Mowed Lawn' and 'Rustic Wilderness' Distress Oxide Ink Pads, I softly added colour to the background. On top of the stencilled areas, I adhered a few fussy-cut butterflies, creating delicate trails behind them using Nuvo Drops.

To tie everything together, I finished the layout with a few ink splatters using the same Distress Oxides—bringing cohesion and a touch of whimsy to the page.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you love this layout and feel inspired to get crafty!

Take care,
Rebecca xx

@preciouspagespapercraft

Simple Stories - Sunny Days - Smiles & Good Vibes

Hello,

It's Claire here today! I've been away from my scrappy desk for a while as I've been poorly, but I'm delighted to be back with all the gorgeous scrappy products Papermaze stocks and have my first layout to share with you!

This month I'm using the Sunny Days collection by Simple Stories, and it's a good one! So many gorgeous colours, patterns and icons, the possibilities are endless!

I started with a piece of Premium White Cardstock and used a Sunburst cutfile to create a backdrop for my layout. I resized it three times (approximately between 2" to 3") and cut each size twice in different patterned papers.

The papers I used are:

• Soak it Up!
• 3x4 Elements
• 2x2/4x4 Elements

Once they were adhered flat to the page I thought they almost looked a bit like fireworks as well as sun beams, but the photographs I'm scrapping are of my first trip out after my stay in hospital so it definitely felt like a celebration to me.

I mounted my photos on cardstock from the Matchmaker Pack and layered them with foam on top of the big film strip from the Big Bits & Pieces pack. I then created a long fishtail banner from the Happy Days paper to anchor my photos into the sun bursts.

Next, I chose a selection of ephemera pieces from the Bits & Pieces using a combination of  the VW Van, 'Smiles' bottle top, sunglasses, bag and hearts.  

I also scattered some colourful hearts around the layout to create small clusters, with extra pops of colour coming from the polka dots in the Foam Stickers.

I adore the Foam Stickers in Simple Stories collections, so I also used the bug Good Vibes sticker for my title which helped stretch the design across my page.

As a final touch, I added some gold splatter for that extra touch of magic and sparkle and that was my layout complete!

I hope you've enjoyed this blog - I have really missed being here and am so happy to be back in this creative community sharing this lovely hobby with you all.

Until next time, happy scrapping!

Claire xxx

@scrappysoulmate

Paige Evans ~ Happy Haven #1

Hi everyone, it’s Anna here. This month I’m working with Paige Evan’s latest and final collection with American Crafts - Happy Haven. You can find most of the collection in the shop here. 

For this layout I knew I wanted to use lots of folded paper windmills to document a trip to a windmill in Holland. I also knew I wanted to keep some of the florals on paper #1 while still using the b side as my base. So I gutted a section out of the middle and then trimmed some white cardstock to go in the centre. 

I made some folded paper windmills using a variety of 5cm and 6cm squares. I used paper #3 and paper #7 to make the windmills and I trimmed some coordinating bazzill cardstock for the ‘stem’. I added an enamel dot in the centre of each to secure and add extra detail. 

I chose a journalling box from paper #12 and adhered it under my photo. Once these were in place, I began to arrange the windmills on the layout. 

I cut out some of the florals from paper #1 and tucked them around the edge of the white cardstock. 

Finally, I selected a few stickers from the cardstock stickers and placed them around my layout. 

Thanks so much for looking! See you later in the month with another layout using this collection. 

Anna 

@acraftylifewithanna