Winter Wishes - Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Fresh Snow Collection

Hi everyone,

It’s Rebecca here, and I’m excited to share my first layout of 2025 with you today! This month, I’m working with the beautiful Simple Vintage Fresh Snow collection from Simple Stories. From the rich colours to the delicate patterns, I’m absolutely in love with everything about it. You can find the full collection in the shop here.

I’m a huge fan of woodgrain papers, and this collection includes a stunning grey woodgrain design with soft foliage accents in the corners. Naturally, it was the first paper I reached for. I cut a 6-inch wide strip, making sure to include some of the foliage at both the top and bottom. I wanted the paper to be centred on the layout but didn’t want it to extend from top to bottom. Trimming either end would have meant losing the beautiful foliage, so I decided to cut out a section from the middle and then reassemble the two pieces with tape on the back. I knew I could hide the seam with careful embellishment placement. With this done, I distressed all the edges to introduce some texture.

To complement the dark navy in my photo, I chose a darker patterned paper and tore a section to add some contrast to the lighter woodgrain. The mix of darker and lighter tones really made the page pop.

Next, I placed my 3x4-inch photo in the centre of the layout, but something about the sharp edges didn’t feel quite right. I wondered if a circular photo would balance the design better. Noticing a lot of brown tones in the embellishments, I decided to create a frame for the photo using a brown patterned paper.

Using a set of metal nesting dies, I die-cut three circles from a strip of patterned paper, making sure they were perfectly aligned. Rather than using the circles themselves, I opted to keep the negative space, which would typically be discarded. This leftover piece became the perfect frame for my photo. I adhered the photo behind the middle circle and trimmed the edge circles to leave them open. Then, I angled this strip across the layout for added interest.

With my papers and photo in place, it was time to embellish. I selected a few of my favourite pieces, including florals from the Floral Bits and Pieces and a sweet birdhouse from the Cardstock Stickers. I raised everything on foam pads to add dimension and arranged them in two clusters around the photo.

To finish, I added some Rub-Ons peeking out from behind the floral clusters. The Simple Stories rub-ons are so easy to apply and give a lovely texture to the page. I completed the layout with a couple of small hearts from the cardstock stickers.

Thanks so much for reading! I hope this layout inspires you. The Simple Vintage Fresh Snow collection is truly gorgeous, and I can’t wait to see the beautiful creations you make with it.

Take care,
Rebecca x 
@preciouspagespapercraft

Simple Stories ~ For the Record 🗒️ #1

Hello everyone - it’s Anna back with you today. 

I am working with Simple Stories For the Record for my blog posts this month. You can find the whole collection in the shop here.

I love to create an end of year page for my albums each year to highlight some of the memorable moments of the year. So this is my version for the end of 2024…

I used an app on my phone to create a collage of photos, I did one collage for each month of the year. I then printed these out and adhered in month order on to ‘Keep Looking Up’. 

I used various patterned papers and some coordinating cardstock from the matchmaker pack to back a cutfile by Paige Evans. I then adhered this to the top left of my layout. 

In the top right corner I used Bella Blvd Luna Alpha stickers to add the year and then I clustered some cardstock stickers around it. 

I added the monthly tab stickers from the ‘Monthly Cardstock Stickers’ to each photo, just tucking them in. 

I added a cluster of cardstock stickers in the bottom right corner and that was my layout complete! 

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

Anna

@acraftylifewithanna

Our first crop of 2025!

We are back at Otley Village Hall tomorrow for our first crop of the year... it seems like only yesterday we were crafting along to Christmas songs!  

This month's kit involves fussy cutting and some lovely warm papers...

We start at 10am and finish at 4pm - if you'd like to join us, please drop me an email!  There will be the usual delicious homemade cakes, tea, coffee and a table with punches and dies to use.

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 

Mintay Papers - Christmas Blessings - Pop-up Gift Card Holder

Happy New Year! Karen here today with one last project using Mintay's Christmas Blessings collection. Today I am sharing a Pop-up Gift Card Holder. Whilst I have made this using a Christmassy collection, it could be made with any papers and cardstock to suit any occasion.

Full instructions for making this gift card holder can be found here at simplysimplestamping.com. The instructions are for a card holder with stamped images but as I am not really a stamper, I used patterned papers and some die cuts instead and I think it turned out great.

For my card holder I used papers from the 6x8 Paper Pad, die cuts from the Paper Elements pack and co-ordinating cardstock. 

I also added some cotton lace and a wood veneer star from my stash.

Whilst this project uses the beautiful Christmas Blessings collection from Mintay I would love to make another using one of their other collections. 

I'll be back again soon with another project to share, but in the meantime I hope 2025 brings you lots of crafting time and treats you well.

Take Care,

Karen x x

December Papermaze Kit - Part 2

Lynn here today, wishing you a happy new year! Christmas may be over, but if you want to scrap this year's photos, here are two more layouts using the December Papermaze kit. The pack is full of traditional Christmas colours - papers, embellishments and Bazzill cardstock.

Here is my second pair of layouts:



Before we look at how the layouts were made, here is what you will find in the kit.

Patterned Papers:
49 and Market - Evergreen Season collection - Ceremonious Poinsettias
Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Yuletide collection - Holiday Wishes and Filled with Wonder
Carta Bella - A Vintage Christmas collection - Holiday Floral and 3x4 Journalling Cards
Vicki Boutin - Wrapped in Ribbons collection - #5

The photo below shows both sides of the papers:

Embellishments:
Vicki Boutin - Wrapped in Ribbons Acetate 6cm strip, Prima - From The North Pole 2 lines of chipboard phrases, 2 Holly Berry stems, 6 ephemera pieces and 3 flowers, Rosie's Studio - All Wrapped Up - Puffy Word Stickers, Strip of gold pearls, 12 sequins.

Bazzill Basics Cardstock - Natural and Pomegranate Splash (in Main Kit). Aspen, Quartz, Parakeet and Grenadine (in extra Bazzill pack).


Nativity - Here are the children all dressed up for the annual Christingle service.

I gutted the sheet of Pomegranate Splash Bazzill to make a frame 1", then trimmed the Filled with Wonder, paper to measure 11.5" x 11.5", then made two tears into the paper one from the top and the other from the bottom. I used the holly side of the Holiday Wishes paper to fill the gaps.  All the edges were distressed and inked with Festive Berries Distress Ink. I placed the paper centrally over the Bazzill.

I matted the photo with cream and more Pomegranate Splash Bazzill. With 3 of the cards cut from the 3x4 Journalling Cards paper (I chose those which gave me room for journalling), placed to the right of the layout, overlapping one another. I added the photo to the centre of the page.

I used some old stickers from my stash - (Holiday Traditions, die cut alphabet stickers from K and Co.) and used them to add a title and a date. My journalling was one of the cards. I added image stickers from the same collection, to embellish the page.

With two lengths of seam binding ribbon in a deep red, I placed a short length near the top left and a longer length running from the bottom right. I added a bow in the same ribbon at the end of the longer piece.

Finally, using the Tim Holtz, Sizzix Thinlits Seasonal Sketch set, metallic gold card and Aspen and Pomegranate Splash Bazzill, I made three clusters of flowers to add to the layout.

Holiday Magic - This super photo shows a professional photo of my great nieces, Christmas 2023.

For this layout I chose the sheet of Holiday Floral paper for the background. Then from the Natural Bazzill, I cut the Winter Berries Peartree Cutfile.

I backed the cutfile using scraps of Bazzill, then highlighted the leaves and berries with marker pens in darker shades of the same colours.

The wreath was placed the centre of the layout using 3-D foam pads to give some dimension. I placed the photo onto the page in the middle of the wreath.

From the kit embellishments, I chose the All Wrapped Up - Puffy Word Stickers, as my title, together with the strip of gold pearls which I scattered over the page.

In keeping with the gold embellishments, I used some Doodlebug Designs Alphabet Soup stickers to add the date.

Finally I covered the photo, and splattered a little white acrylic paint over the whole page.

That's all from me for the December kit, I'll be back later with the January kit.
Thanks for looking.
Lynn x

Echo Park ~ Christmas Joy 🎄

Happy New Year! 

It’s Anna back with you today sharing a layout using Echo Park Christmas Joy. You can find the collection in the shop here.

 

I previously made an advent calendar using this collection, so I created this layout using lots of left over papers and stickers from the collection. 

For this layout I was documenting choosing our Christmas tree.

 I was inspired by Paige Evans to create her folded paper tree that she recently shared on a layout on her social media platforms. 

I began with a sheet of white bazzill 12x12 cardstock. I then mounted my photographs on to patterned papers from the collection. 

I then set about making the folded sheets paper tree. Paige has created a YouTube process video to show how to do this as well as a blog post. So you can find the details of how to make it on her socials. But it is simple to do, just some paper trimming and folding. 

I used patterned papers ‘Christmas Time Tartan’ and the b side of ‘Red Snowflakes’ to make my version. 

After cutting all of the paper strips, I placed my photos where I wanted them first before starting to arrange the tree.

I added a boarder sticker down the left side and then added my title. 

I took a photo of a sign at the Christmas tree field, so I fussy cut it and then mounted it on 3D foam pads and added it to my layout.  

I finished the layout by adding various Element Stickers, including a snowflake on top of the tree, again I used 3D foam pads to adhere it to aline with the folded paper tree.

Thanks so much for looking. 

Don’t forget to check out the Papermaze January sale - 20% off in the shop. 

See you soon with a brand new collection. 

Anna 

@acraftylifewithanna