Friday 10 September 2021

You are my Sunshine - Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Lemon Twist

Hello, Rebecca with you today and I'm really excited to be working with Simple Stories' beautiful Simple Vintage Lemon Twist collection this month. I've had my eye on this collection since Simple Stories revealed it so I'm so glad it's finally hit the shelves in the UK and I am in possession of pretty much the whole collection! You can find it in the shop here.


I always really love the Banner Stickers in the Simple Stories collections, but I've always shied away from them as I've never been sure how I'd use them - I decided it was time for this to change! The banner stickers are so beautiful in the Simple Vintage Lemon Twist collection so I decided to make a feature of them - and this gave birth to the idea of focusing this layout on all things ‘sticky’ in this collection!


I decided to use two of the banner stickers, and the frame in the longer one provided the perfect place for my photo. The banners are made up of so many different elements that I actually really loved the look of them on their own across my page! I really wanted this page to have a 'minimalistic' feel to it so didn't want to overcrowd the page by adding too much. 

I had a couple of strips of the 'Happy Thoughts' patterned paper left over from another layout (you'll get to see that one soon!) and decided to add these top and bottom of my layout to add some dark contrast against the white background.

Like I said, I was really going for a minimalistic look, but I really wanted to add some mixed media - so I came to the decision that subtle was key!


I used the 6x6 stencil that comes with this collection, along with a Distress Ink Pad in 'Mustard Seed' to add some yellow lemon slices to my background. I was careful to add the stenciling so that it would peek out from behind the banner stickers in several places. Next, I added some stamping to my background using a script stamp from my stash and Stazon Ink in 'Jet Black'. 


Once I was happy with my background, I got my banner stickers stuck in place with some foam behind them to bring some dimension to the layout. I was really loving the layout at this point and knew I didn't want to add much more, but I felt like the bottom half needing something!

I selected a lovely banner from the Chipboard Stickers  that fit perfectly along the bottom of my layout. I extended my mixed media to the area behind it for consistency and then stuck it in place. I love the look of chipboard elements on a layout because they are so dimensional, I feel that they bring a layout to life. With this in mind, I added a few more chipboard stickers! I chose the ‘You are my Sunshine’ piece to act as my title, and then added a scattering of bees and hearts around the layout. I finished off the bottom cluster with a ticket sticker from the Combo Stickers sheet. 


I found some black and white gingham ribbon in my stash and it worked perfectly with this collection so I made myself a bow with it and stick it in place on the longer banner sticker for added interest. I also made a couple of thread tangles with some black sewing thread and tucked them in underneath the banner stickers.


A layout of mine isn’t complete without some paint splatters so I used the Mustard Seed distress ink and a black acrylic paint - both watered down slightly, to add some splatters to finish the layout. 


I really hope you’ve enjoyed this layout. If you’d like to watch the process of it coming together, there’s a video up on my YouTube channel here.

The Simple Vintage Lemon Twist collection looks gorgeous online, and it’s even nicer in real life! There’s still plenty left in the store so grab it whilst you can! 

I’ll be back later in the month with another ‘Lemon Layout’, but until then, 

Take care,

Rebecca x

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