Documemting Trips & Days Out

Hi It's Lisa here.

It's my favourite time of year for memory keeping.

Lots of fun adventures and little trips.

So I thought I'd share some of my favourites ways to tell my stories today with you.  

I finished my Germany Travel Journal recently.

I love tags. They are so easy to use.

I had so much fun with these tags from Simple Stories.

They are from a Disney collection but they are still so versatile.

 My journal has nothing to do with Disney, but I can still use them.

Look how pretty they are.

And they are all a plainer design on the back so I've added photos and a spot of journaling.

Have you ever had a piece of patterned paper that you want to use over and over again?  LOL

This is mine. I've ordered this a few times. 

The yellow hearts from Pretty Little Studios. 

I just LOVE it! 

I have 2 tips for you here.

I love buying a pack of cards on my trips to use in my journals.

This pack was of South Germany. There were some great photos on the backs.

And I really enjoy using thin washi to use as journal lines.

Let's face it, we all have a good collection of washi, so let's use it : )

Here's another tip for you.

Remember to pick up the free maps and leaflets on your travels.

I turned this one into an envelope.

Just simple by taking an older envelope apart and using as a template to draw around and cut out.

It's a great way to add receipts etc..  

I also enjoy adding tab tops.

I have a great punch and use it on my paper scraps.

It's a great way to add colour and extra texture .

I love this spotty paper which you can find here.

And finally, remember to buy postcards when you are having a day out.

They are a great addition to for your story telling and evening though you may be taking photos yourself, a postcard will often have a view from an angle you physical can't get. 

I've added mine here with some tape on the side to create a flip.

I hope these ideas have inspired you today.

Enjoy your Summery days out and keeping all those precious memories.

Have a lovely weekend.

Lisa xx

Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Sand & Sea - Dunwich

Something a little different from me for August, because Papermaze is taking a break from the usual monthly kit.  I have chosen to create my design team layouts with products from The Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Sand and Sea collection. 

On Wednesday 29^th July 2026, we spent a leisurely morning on the beach at Dunwich on the east coast. Little did we know that the surrounding heathland would catch fire later the same day.

A statement by the National Trust:
“On 29 July, a wildfire started, which later spread onto Dunwich Heath and the entire landscape was engulfed in flames. A place loved for its sweeping purple heather and rare wildlife has been left scarred almost beyond recognition.

The devastation is heart breaking.

Precious habitat is damaged and vulnerable; an area estimated to be the size of 210 football pitches has been affected. As one of the UK's most important coastal heathland landscapes, it is home to nightjars, Dartford warblers, adders, common lizards and rare heathland insects.”

I started by cutting the barcode strip from the Beach Life paper. Then I laid a 2" band of burlap across the middle of the layout.

From the Tag Elements paper, I selected four tags and cut them out. I chose tags in natural colours to complement the background paper. The tags were inked with Faded Jeans Distress Ink. I punched a hole in the top of each tag, applied an eyelet and arranged them across the layout, with the plain sides up. I attached the tags with 3D Foam pads. I threaded some thick Jute twine through the tags, catching it down with some wet glue in placed between the tags.

I trimmed three small photos and placed them evenly and ventrally across the tags, leaving a gap at each end. The gap on the right was filled with journalling. On the right I added an element from the Cardstock Sticker - Icons sheet.

I trimmed the phrase 'Salty Kisses + sandy Toes' from another tag on the Tag Elements sheet. These were inked and attached with more 3D pads to the bottom right of the layout. I attached a seahorse charm under the last word. 

I cut a title and a shadow using the Cricut, I used Seaside Smiles paper for the top layer, and Great Escape paper for the shadow layer.

The 'Enjoy the moment' sentiment across the top of the photos is from the Journal Bits pack.

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

Pinkfresh Studio - Fresh Start - You Brighten the World

Hello, Karen here again. Today I am sharing my first project using Pinkfresh Studio's Fresh Start collection. This collection is described by Pinkfresh as being 'filled with soft pastels, happy florals, whimsical butterflies, cosy coffee cups, books, cameras, globes, office supplies, and inspiring phrases and is perfect for documenting new chapters, everyday life, school memories, travel, creative hobbies, friendships, and all the small moments in between.' It really is a lovely collection and I'm thrilled to be working with the 12x12 Paper Pack, Ephemera Packs and Puffy Sticker Sheet.

For this layout I started with the Chasing Dreams paper and, as I often do, I trimmed it down slightly and layered onto a sheet of pale green cardstock to create a narrow border around the edge.

I added some texture to the background by machine stitching around the edge of the paper using white thread.

Next, I used my Silhouette to cut a large divided circle out of white cardstock, sizing it to perfectly match the printed colour wheel on the patterned paper. To create some shadow and add some more dimension, I layered the cardstock cut file directly over the patterned paper using 3D foam tape.

On top of the circle I placed three vertical photo booth style photos.

I used die cuts from the Floral Ephemera Pack to create three clusters around the edge of the circle.

I chose pieces in pink. blue and yellow and arranged them beside the corresponding sections of the circle. I placed 3D foam underneath some of the die cuts.

I dug into my stash and found some older Pinkfresh Chipboard Flair with the perfect sentiments and matching colours. That’s the great thing about Pinkfresh Studio - so many of their collections share a similar colour palette, making it so easy to mix and match your older stash with brand new releases. If you don't have these specific chipboard pieces, any round embellishments like buttons or metal flair would work with this layout.

One of the phrases from the Ephemera Pack was used as a title and was nestled in amongst the floral die cuts.

I used some small multi-coloured puffy alpha stickers at the bottom of the page to add my journaling.

Finally I dotted some of the tiny embelishments from the puffy sticker sheet around the layout.

Thank you for dropping by today.

Until next time, take care.

Karen x x

Bella Blvd ~ Adventure Awaits 🌼

 Hello everyone and welcome back to the Papermaze blog! 

For August, I am going to be working with Adventure Awaits by Bella Blvd. It is an outdoorsy collection, perfect for all of your summer adventures! You can find it in the shop here!

To create my first layout I began with using the b side of ‘Treescape’ as my base.

I printed out a selection of square photos from a recent walk I’d been on. I placed the pictures out on the patterned paper and then cut out identically sized squares using coordinating green bazzill cardstock to fill the gaps. After printing 9 pictures, I needed 7 more squares to fill in the spaces to make a 4x4 grid. 

I adhered all of the squares and pictures down to create my grid. I then began to add some extra interest to each of the green squares. I layered some patterned paper on each square, using the b side of ‘mini meadow’, ‘midnight fireflies’ and ‘Wander Clouds’.

I used the ‘Doohickey Cardstock Stickers’ to further embellish each square. I created a little sunshine for the top left square by punching out a circle from ‘Midnight Fireflies’ and cutting some very small strips to make the rays. For several of the stickers placements, I trimmed down an edge to fit it into the square, rather than placing it exactly in the centre. I added a title to one of the squares too and  journalling box to another and that was the layout complete! 

Thanks so much for looking! 

See you later in the month with a second layout using this collection! 

Anna

@acraftylifewithanna

July Papermaze Kit - Part 2

Lynn here today, with the pretty pastel July Papermaze Kit, and my second pair of Design Team layouts. Such a lovely kit with double-sided papers, Bazzill cardstock and a selection of embellishments. This second pair of layouts, are from two different children's farm visits, back in the 1990's.

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

49 and Market - From The Garden collection - Wildflower & Foxglove
49 and Market - Travel Diaries collection - Sheet 1
Graphic 45 - Always & Forever collection - Regency Blue Pattern & Solid Sheet
Uniquely Creative - Tea & Tranquillity collection - Quiet Daydreams & Garden Sanctuary

This photo shows both side of the papers:

Embellishments:
2 Petaloo Flowers
1 Craft Consortium Dragonflies
1 Dovecraft Frame
3 Rosie’s Studio Jubilee Wax Seals
3 Uniquely Creative Ticket Washi Tape Stickers
50cm Twine
1 Mintay Chipboard Clock

Bazzill Basics Cardstock
Lagoon, Twig (included in kit), Avalanche, Smoky, Petunia & Nixon (extra Bazzill pack)

Farmyard Fun - My daughter Emily enjoying an evening at the children's petting farm, in the Wheatsheaf Inn in the village of West Beckham, Norfolk.

The base for this layout is a sheet of white cardstock, I used a Tim Holtz Layering Stencil THS070 to create a soft background, with Distress oxide inks. Then I tore two strips from the Uniquely Creative - Tea & Tranquillity collection - Quiet Daydreams. The wider stripe border was approx. 12" x 2" and the pink script side 12" x 1.5". these were placed to the right side of the layout, with the polka dot, barcode strip from the same paper, positioned in-between the two papers. 

I tore six of the large squares from the Garden Sanctuary paper, then layered these over-lapping one another in two rows at the centre of the layout. I did not add glue to the very edges of these squares as I wanted to tuck embellishments around the edges later. 

From the other side of the Garden Sanctuary I selected and fussy cut tags and tickets. I punched holes into the top of the tags. These were arranged around the squares. I placed two photos onto the squares, leaving room for the title. 

The title was cut twice on the Cricut, once in Nixon Bazzill and the second time, in the striped side of Quiet Daydreams paper. These were layered up to create a shadow, and placed above the photos.

I added a little Baker's Twine to two of the tags. 

The date was added with some puffy number stickers. Finally, I decorated the layout with 49 and Market, Laser cut elements from the Whispering Way collection.

Down on the Farm - My girls at Godstone farm, a twins club outing, we were accompanied by their Aunty and her girls.

I gutted the 49 and Market - Travel Diaries collection - Sheet 1 paper, to make a 1" border, over this I machine stitched a 11" x 11" piece of Regency Blue Pattern & Solid Sheet paper. I rounded the corners of this paper before stitching it in place. The cut edges of all the papers were inked with Distress Ink.

With the piece gutted from the Travel Diaries collection - Sheet 1, (beige side up), trimmed down to 8" x 8", also with the corners rounded. I stitched this onto the centre of the layout. 

A scrap of the Regency Blue Pattern & Solid Sheet paper, trimmed to 1" x 10.5" was arranged across the middle of the page. on top of this and slightly lower I added a scrap of Foxglove paper after trimming one edge with a scalloped border punch. Both these pieces were inked with Distress ink.

I selected two photos, one was mounted onto a scrap of Quiet Daydreams paper, the other was mounted under the metallic copper Dovecraft Frame from the kit. These were arranged onto the page.

I fussy cut three more tags from the Garden Sanctuary paper, punched holes in the tops and tied them together with some natural twine. these were spread out and stuck to the bottom right of the photos, ready for my journalling. 

I used a selection of alphabet stickers to create my title, which I placed under the photos. To embellish, I used two Rosie’s Studio Jubilee Wax Seals from the kit and more of the 49 and Market, Laser cut elements from the Whispering Way collection.

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

The Happiest Place & DIY Cute Paper Clips

 

Hiya,

Lisa here playing with my new travel journal and the cute collection from Simple Stories - Say Cheese - Happiest Place, which you can see here. 

I do also have a YouTube video making this spread which you can see here.

This is the paper that inspired this journal spread.

I had a lot of photos from our Disneyland California trip but I didn't want to overload the page with photos, so I created lots of flips. Lots of places to hide them.

This is when the DIY clips also came in as I needed them to hold things down in place LOL
I had a lot going on.
The clips are so fun. I have 2 on this page.
And I added one to this tag too.
Just using paperclips and a hot glue gun to attach fun things to make the clip.

Here I have a flair button, I also used a button and a fabric embellishment. 

These tags are so handy. I've used them a lot for hidden journaling and photos.

The top piece then flips up and there's lots of photos underneath.

And more underneath.

I love all the bits and pieces.

 

I used these pieces a lot which were so handy.
I created this flip with the Mickey piece. 

And then on the other side.

Another flip at the bottom.

You can see more of the clips that I made too here.

4 more : )

And I've used lots of these matching stickers too.

They really make the page.

I love adding extra colours and details.

I hot glued a piece of ribbon to create a bellyband and this held in more photos and journaling.

  There is a lot going on here, but I love a busy full journal with lots of colour, so I love it : )

I hope this has inspired you today.

Have fun

Lisa x