Stories | Book Fair by Simple Stories

 Hello everyone! Rebecca Bee here today sharing my second layout using Simple Stories Book Fair. This collection is mainly school themed but the book worm in me couldn't help but notice the book imagery in the collection, so I decided to create a page to document the books I've read up to the halfway-point of the year so far.

On some white Bazzil Cardstock, I have added a panel of yellow patterned paper from the Way to Go paper to give a pop of bright colour and an area to ground the layout- a little like a table to stack all of my books on!

I've fussy cut lots of the books from the Hit The Books patterned paper, some as clusters of books and some as individual books so I could give the book stacks a messy uneven feel- a little like my own 'To Be Read' pile! Some have been popped up on adhesive foam and others flush to the cardstock and tucked behind to give the feel of dimension.

I fussycut a cute little worm and the "book worm" words from the Tag Elements paper, and I used some of the book related word stickers from the Element Stickers. 

I added a little touch of coordinating Distress Oxide ink blending peeking out in small areas from under the yellow panel of paper and added a perspex title from my stash that suited the bookish theme.

I use an app on my phone to track what I have read or want to read, as that makes it easier to find other books I'd enjoy so I just printed the monthly roundup photos that I had generated thus far in 2025. I've read some really amazing books since June so will definitely be adding those on a year end layout in December! 

Do you track your reading? If so I hope you find this page inspiring! 

Until next time, Rebecca Bee

aka Scrap Paper

XOXO

49 & Market - Moonlit Garden - Favourite Photo

Hello there, and welcome back to the Papermaze Blog!

Firstly, a very happy new year to you all! I hope you enjoyed the holiday season and are ready to start a brand new year full of endless possibilities!

For this month, I'm looking back to some of the collections I fell in love with but never got the time to use, and in this blog, I'm starting with the Moonlit Garden collection from 49 & Market.  There is still stock of this collection in the shop and boy it's a stunner! So many pretty elements that can be used to make the most beautiful wintery crafting projects.

I'm starting with the Zen paper - very appropriately titled for New Year , and pairing this with the Cluster Kit. The kit is packed with chipboard, ephemera, laser cut elements, buttons, paperclips and string - everything you need to create some really stunning projects, and it comes in a handy plastic wallet so you avoid losing those delicate pieces that often go astray.

I haven't stuck exactly to the designs shown on the cluster pack, but instead used these to help inspire my page. The Zen paper has an obvious space for photos to sit, so this also inspired the final layout.

Taking a blue layering piece from the pack, I inked the edges with Distress Oxide in shade Tea Dye and raised this on foam to create an anchor for my page. On top of this, I added some of the doily edges in opposite corners so that the pretty frilly edges will show as a layer.

Next, I took two of the adhesive chipboard frames from the Cluster Kit and used these to mount my photos, layering them on foam before adhering to the page.

To create a small cluster to the right, I chose a ticket, heart, bow, swirl, button and sentiment from the kit and layered these around my photo, adding some on foam and sticking some flat to create dimension.

To the top and bottom of the photos, I added laser cut leaves and a small paperclip, plus a few Nuvo Drops in black.

Finally, I added a small sentiment, button and die cut leaf from the Wildflower Laser Cuts pack to frame the left side of the photo, leaving the lacey edge of the doily to just pop through. As a last small touch, I also selected a small dragonfly from the Wildflower laser cut pack to sit amongst the foliage at the top of my photo.

This layout has been such a joy to create. It's such a stunning collection. Check out the elements still in the store here - and don't forget, you'll currently get 20% off in the January sale!

Happy Shopping!! :)

Claire xx

@scrappysoulmate 

Simple Stories - Trail Mix - Outdoors Adventure

Hi there,

I hope you've had a fabulous Summer Holiday, despite summer being somewhat lacking here!

Autumn has definitely arrived and I'm loving it! It's my favourite time of year, and this month i'll be documenting it using the Trail Mix collection from Simple Stories which you can find in the shop here.

I was surprised how versatile this collection is. It combines earthy tones like I've used here, with brighter more vibrant colours which I'll use in my next post. That gives it great range for scrapping brighter Spring/Summer adventures with those more woodland walks through Autumn to Winter. I do love a collection that has multiple uses!

As usual, I reached for a base of White Premium Cardstock, and some Distress Oxide Inks in shades that reflect this warmer tone palette. I used:

• Scattered Straw
• Ripe Persimmon
• Unchartered Mariner
• Peeled Paint

I applied them using a gel printing plate, creating circular prints going vertically down the page.

Once I had these in place, I knew I wanted to create a circular design, pulling all the different circular elements from the collection to build clusters around my photograph.

I first cut a range of circles in different sizes using dies, but you could use punches or an electronic cutting machine like Cricut or Silhouette to achieve the same result. I used the blue and green sheets from the Matchmaker Pack, along with the 3x4 Elements and 2x2/4x4 Elements papers.

I stuck some of these flat, but raised most on foam, gathering them in 3 main spots to create anchors for each cluster.

To each cluster I added some ephemera from the Bits & Pieces pack, alongside some stickers from the Sticker Book.

The Ephemera pack includes these cute little bugs which make a great addition to the page and really help to give it that outdoorsy feel.

Just above my photo, I wanted to create a larger cluster, so fussy cut this big compass from the 2x2/4x4 Elements Paper which really helps to balance the page as it's offset against a larger photo. This also acts a a subtitle for the layout.

Again, you'll see I couldn't help but add another one of those cute bugs to bring the page to life!

My title is made from a large statement piece from the Page Pieces pack. I love these packs. They contain 15 staple die cuts including ephemera and journaling pieces, that give you everything you need to create a beautiful layout, and they're great value for money!

I added the 'adventure' from the Bits & Pieces Ephemera Pack to help bring a bit of the darker brown to the bottom of the page.

I also added a small cluster of trees using the Bits & Pieces and Sticker Book to help incorporate the title a bit more, and bring the it into the design.

With a few extra splatters of Distress Oxide, the page was complete!

This was a very quick and easy page to put together, and I can't wait to come back later this month with another layout from this beautiful collection.

There's still plenty of this collection in stock, so check it out here.

Claire xx

@scrappysoulmate

Jen Hadfield - Flower Child - Bloomin Lovely

Hi everyone!

How are we passed the middle of June already?! Time is flying by so quickly but i'm definitely a fan of this warmer weather!

I've been spending lots of time outdoors, and of course, scrapping! Today, I'm sharing my second layout made with the new Jen Hadfield collection called Flower Child. You can find it in the shop here.

For this page, i'm focusing on the b side of the Groove Thing paper - I love it! A big statement multicoloured swoosh that makes creating an impactful page effortless!

I fussy cut the stripes picking out only the yellow and orange tones to echo the colours in my photographs.

Before adhering them to my page, I distressed each edge and added a row of machine stitching before raising on foam in a vertical design going from top to bottom.

I wanted my photographs to extend across the stripes, so I chose 3 small photographs and printed them in a single horizontal strip.

To bring in some pink, I double mounted them, using cardstock from the Bazzill Matchmaker Pack and the Fab Flowers paper which echos all the beautiful colours of this collection.

Next, I set about creating two large floral clusters for opposite corners of my photo strip.   To help them stand out, I first applied a small amount of mixed media, adding Distress Oxide in Saltwater Taffy with a dry brush, complemented with a few wet splatters.

Once the mixed media had dried, I started to gather the flowers, using the Ephemera pack and Mini Puffy Stickers to create each cluster.

I added Nuvo Drops to the centres of some of the flowers and punched some small stars from the pink sections of the Groove Thing paper for a little extra interest.

Once the clusters were in place, I felt like I needed something else around the photo. I created some tags using plain white cardstock, colouring them in coordinating Distress Oxide colours to complement the tones of the collection. Here, I used Peacock Feathers and Saltwater Taffy, spritzing with water to create the water marks and adding eyelets and thread from my stash.

As a final touch, I added a few black Nuvo Drops and a Bramble Fox Perspextive for my title.

I hope you've enjoyed the pages I've made with this fun collection - it's certainly been a joy to create with!

See you next month with some more papercraft projects.

Claire xx

@scrappysoulmate

April Papermaze Kit - Part 2

Lynn here today with the second post sharing my layouts using the April Papermaze kit. The
two new layouts depict Easter fun, 25 years apart! The kit is full of pretty pastel papers, card and embellishments.

Here is what you will find in the kit, for more details please see the kit in the shop.

 

Patterned papers:
Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Life in Bloom collection - Celebrate Life & Shine Bright
49 & Market - Art Options Rouge collection - Coloured Foundations #1
Pinkfresh Studio - Spring Vibes collection - Daydreams
Photo Play - Bunnies and Blooms collection - Blooms
American Crafts - Paige Evans - Blooming wild collection - #20
Bazzill Basics Cardstock - Rain & Bazzill White

Embellishments:
6 buttons, 5 wooden hearts, 1 sheet Pinkfresh Studio mini puffy alpha stickers, 3 49 & Market chipboard pieces, Carta Bella chipboard frame, 2 Pinkfresh layered stickers, strip of pearls,  3 Rosie's Studio tickets, 4 Pinkfresh ephemera pieces.

Extra Bazzill Basics pack:
Yukon Gold, Silver Sage, Pink Icing & Lilac Swirl

Easter Bonnets - The children in their Easter Bonnets made for a school event, when they were five in 1997.

I chose the Pink Icing Bazzill as the base for this layout. With White Bazzill, I cut a large heart shape. With some rainbow-coloured thread, I worked blanket stitch around the outside of the shape. The heart was then glued to the Pink Bazzill.

My photos were mounted onto the Silver Sage Bazzill to create a narrow mat. These were arranged and stuck to the layout.

Then I cut a selection of multicoloured hearts from the Blooming Wild paper #20 from Paige Taylor Evans. I arranged the hearts across the page, some were glued to the layout and others were raised a little with 3D foam pads. I used enough to spell out my title and the year. Then I scattered a few more hearts peeking out from under the large heart.

I cut the letters for my title using Tim Holtz, Sizzix Thinlits die set - Alphanumeric Bold. The paper I used was left over from my wreath page I made in the previous post using 'Celebrate Life' paper. I inked the edges of the small hearts and the letters.

I finished off the layout with embellishments from the kit - the buttons, wooden hearts and the die cut shapes.

What3words East Egg Hunt - Photos of my children and their partners when they visited here last Easter and I organised an egg hunt with what3words locations as clues to find the goodies. I made it a little trickier by making some words into anagrams.

For this layout I used a lot of the leftovers from the previous three layouts. Working on a colour block design, I started by placing colour onto a sheet of White Bazzill, dividing the page into four vertical bands. For each colour, I added two or three colours of Distress Oxide Ink to a craft mat, added a little water and dipped a piece of acetate to transfer the colour to the area of the page I wanted to colour. I protected the area I didn't want to get the colour with more acetate placed onto the cardstock. I dried each panel of colour before moving onto the next one. Once each area was dry, I flicked some more colour over the section with a paint brush, drying each one at a time as before.

I cut two tags for each of the four colour blocks, one from patterned paper and another from Bazzill. I used Tim Holtz, Sizzix Thinlits die set - Framed Tags. I also added reinforcement rings using the same die set. I threaded Divine Twine into the holes at the top of the tags, in four colours the march the tags.

I cut the title using Tim Holtz, Sizzix Thinlits die sets - Alphanumeric Bold (for main title) and Label (for the smaller title and date).

I cut more of the stitched hearts from the Blooming wild paper #20, inked them and added them to the arrangement.

I added Bazzill eggs and a chick cut using Tim Holtz, Sizzix Thinlits die set - Papercut Chicks.

Using scraps from the 'Shine Bright' paper I cut a selection of butterflies in colours to match the tags and added them to the layout.

I found some decorative pins in my stash and added two to each area, together with some of the chipboard and die cut embellishments from the kit.

Finally, I scattered the pearls from the kit around the layout on the inked areas.

That's all for this kit, back soon with layouts from the May kit.
Thanks for looking
Lynn x

Simple Stories - Wildflower - Love This

Hi everyone,

Claire back with you today, sharing an extra layout using the Wildflower collection from Simple Stories. It's such a gorgeous collection, I couldn't resist just one more page. 

I was drawn to the scalloped circle frame from the Chipboard Frames Pack . Using this as the centre of my design, I opted to create layered circles, using 3 patterned papers.

I used the b sides of the Radiate Sunshine, Breath Deep and Live Large papers. I roughly positioned the largest circle on the page to understand where it would sit, and added Distress Oxide in Tumbled Glass to the white cardstock, creating a blue haze around the outside of the design.

I distressed the edges of each circle, and added a few rows of machine stitching, before layering one on top of the other with foam sheets.

I mounted the photo into the chipboard frame and adhered this flat to the page. Then came the embellishing.

If you've seen any of my other blog posts with this collection, you'll know I am besotted with the florals, and this design was perfect to host a big statement floral cluster at the bottom of the design.

I selected lots of florals and leaves from the Floral Bits & Pieces pack, with the largest pink flower coming from the Bits & Pieces pack. I curled the leaves and petals to create extra movement, and again layered these on foam, following the curved edge of the main design.

For my title, I used two stickers from the Foam Stickers sheet.

Once the main cluster and title were done, I wanted to add just a few more embellishments to balance the page. I selected a bow from the Bits & Pieces pack, and adhered this to the top of the design.

I also cut some butterflies from the Love Greatly paper and positioned these along with a pink moth from the Combo Stickers along the top left edge of the design, directly opposite the large floral cluster.

As I was choosing the embellishments, I saw this cute bird in the Bits & Pieces Ephemera pack and I really wanted him to feature on the page. So I found a small gap in the floral cluster and nestled him in amongst the flowers.

I hope you've enjoyed this extra bonus page with the Simple Stories Wildflower collection. There are a few pieces of this left in the store and I'd highly recommend you grab these whilst you can - it really is a truly beautiful collection.

I'll be back next month, but until then, happy crafting! 

Claire xx

@scrappysoulmate