Echo Park ~ You Are My Sunshine #2 🌼

Hi Papermaze followers! 

It’s Anna back with you to share one final layout using Echo Park - You are my Sunshine. 

You can find the collection in the shop here. 

For my second layout using this collection, I wanted to create a large circle on my page. 

I used the b side of Sunshine Skies as my base. 

I then cut a circle out of Powder Blue bazzill cardstock and adhered it to centre of the patterned paper. I mounted my two photos together on to some coordinating bazzill cardstock and positioned them in the middle of the bazzill circle. 

I then grabbed all of my leftover scraps from this collection as well as some coordinating bazzill cardstock and I got punching! I used all of the flower punches that I have a punched lots and lots of flowers. You can view Papermaze’s range of punches here. 

I layered lots of the flowers together and added enamel dots to the centres. Once I had quite a few flowers ready, I started adhering them around the left edge of the circle. 

I then added some element stickers - a rainbow, cloud and sunshine to the top right of my layout. I also added a couple of bunting pieces and some phrase stickers at the bottom of the photographs. 

The title ‘So Epic’ and a couple of the word phrases come from Say Cheese Epic Cardstock Stickers as I was documenting a visit to Epcot. 

Thanks so much for looking!

See you in April with a brand New collection! 

Anna 

@acraftylifewithanna

Carta Bella - Wine - Vineyard Openday

Hello, Karen here. I’m back today with a new layout featuring the stunning Wine collection from Carta Bella. I recently found some photos from a local vineyard open day from a few years back, and I knew immediately that this collection was the perfect pairing for those photos.

I started this layout with a sheet of the Gift of the Vine paper. I trimmed this down slightly and then matted it onto a sheet of white cardstock leaving a narrow border around the edges.

Using my Silhouette, I cut two large black film strips to stretch across the page. These served as the perfect frames for my photos. I also backed some of the open sections with the B side of the Vineyard Blooms paper from the collection. The film strips were glued to the layout at a slight angle.

Across the top of the layout I create some bunting with scraps of paper from the collection and some white twine. At each end of the bunting I added some florals fussy cut from the Vineyard Blooms paper and raised them slightly with 3D foam to add some dimension.

For the bottom of the layout, I went big! I used my Silhouette again and cut an oversized cut file of a wine bottle and glass from black cardstock and backed it with green cardstock. I was able to carefully print, using the computer, a few details about the photos onto the wine bottle

I dipped into the Ephemera Pack and found a cute word plaque which I layered on top of the wine bottle to complete the layout.

I hope you like this layout and I will be back again soon with another project.

Until then, Take Care.

Karen x x

March Crop

 Our March crop is this coming Saturday and Lynn has designed this 'cute' kit for us, using stencils and foam stamps. 

As always we will be at Otley Village Hall from 10am until 4pm, with lots of laughter, home made cakes and plenty of crafting.  Plus there's a discount on anything you buy in the shop!  Message me if you'd like to come along.

March Papermaze Kit - Part 1

Hello, Lynn here today with two layouts created using the March Papermaze Kit. Full of pretty floral and rustic papers, colour matched cardstock and embellishments. For my first two layouts I have picked the farmyard style papers from 49 and Market's Whispering Way collection.

Before looking at how the layouts were made, here is what you will find in the kit:

Patterned Papers:
49 and Market - Whispering Way collection - Farm Fresh & Sunshine Days
Carta Bella - Pressed Floral collection - 3 x 4 Journalling Cards
Carta Bella - Feels Like Home collection - Floral Frame & Cottage Floral
Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Junk Drawer collection - Willow

The photo below shows both sides of the papers

Embellishments: Mintay Chippies Titles - 1 line, 3 Prima Cherry Sweet flowers, 6 Uniquely Creative Bohemian Escape Vellum, 2 Kaisercraft Frames, Kaisercraft Rhinestone Flower, Bo Bunny - Beautiful Things - Candy Dots, Hero Arts Clay Hearts, 12" Lace.

Bazzill Basics Cardstock - Twig, Rosewood (included in kit), Classic Smooth White, Quartz, Guacamole and  Yukon Gold.

Cobtree Museum - When the children were on their school summer holiday, we spent a Day at The Cobtree Museum of Kent Life, Maidstone. They enjoyed playing in 'The Darling Buds of May' set. Here is my daughter on Pop Larkin's Truck.

I chose the Farm Fresh paper for this layout, I has some rustic farm yard images centred around a big circular egg farm symbol. You will see from the photo below how I gutted this paper, so that I could use the brick work print from the 'B' side as a mount for my photo. I was careful to trim around the 'Fresh Farm Eggs' sign and milk churn. I cut the cut-out piece into smaller pieces and 'built' a brick wall around my photo. Then tucked the photo under the sign and churn. As with all cut edges on this layout, I inked the edges with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.

Using a BIGZ XL alphabet die (Wonderland) and some greyboard from my stash, I cut the letters for the title. The letters were painted with two different coloured coats of Distress Paint (Ground Espresso and Brushed Corduroy). Once dry I added a layer of Cracking Medium, allowing this to dry naturally and cause the top layer of paint to crack, giving a weathered wood effect. I protected the letters with a thin layer of Glossy Accents.

The letters were arranged following the line of the circular design printed on the paper. 

I made a subtitle using Sizzix Thinlits Alphanumeric Label die set to cut letters from the Yukon Gold Bazzill in the kit. I arranged the letters inside the larger title. 

I cut more letters and numbers for the date, these were arranged of two small tags cut using the Sizzix Framelits Tag Collection Die set. Using another small tag, I added some journalling. Fine jute twine was looped through the holes in the tags. 

I purchased a pack of 49 and Market Laser Cut Elements from the Whispering Way collection, I selected a few images, and along with the tags, applied them to the layout using 3D foam pads. Small pieces of raffia were tucked under some of the pieces. 

Badsell Farm Park - A day out for the Children with Twin's Club friends, after winning tickets for the Badsell Farm Park, Paddock Wood. Andrew loved all the farm machinery he was able to climb onto and pretend to drive.  

This time I chose the Sunshine Days paper, from the Whispering Way collection. I added more chicken wire to this page using Aged Mahogany Distress Paint mixed with Texture Paste, and worked through a stencil (TCW259S). This was set aside to dry. 

The title letters were cut using another Sizzix BIGZ XL die (Block Tall Capital) and more Greyboard. I treated these with a coat of Aged Mahogany Distress paint. Brushed Corduroy Distress paint was blended with Texture Paste and this was plastered over the painted letters, leaving a rough finish, and allowing the Aged Mahogany to show through. 

Once dried, the letters were arranged around the top of the circular image on the paper. 

I selected images from two packs of 49 and Market Laser Cut elements (Krafty Garden and Whispering Way). 

I tucked in a few 49 and Market Vintage Bits Essential Tickets - Sunbeam.  

Finally, I used some old rub-ons for the date. 

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

Simple Stories - Color Me Happy - Shine!

Hi!

It's Claire on the blog today and I am having a blast this month, creating with the Color Me Happy collection from Simple Stories!

Packed with gorgeous, colours, patterns, ephemera and scallops (my favourite!), it really gives your imagination the opportunity to run wild!

I really wanted the colours to pop so opted for two strips of the 4x6 Elements Paper to act as a base. I love how the black background and coloured polka dots really stand out against a crisp white cardstock background.

Laying them horizontally, to anchor the design, I then began to build layers. I fussy cut a row of the circles from the All About It paper, and cut them in half, giving me a strip of semi-cicrles. I lay these across the middle of the paper strips, along with a small piece of the pale pink paper from the Matchmaker Pack. To build depth, I used foam tape to adhere these to the page.

Next, I fussy cut the 'Add a little Color' pieces from the Journal Elements paper, giving the design some vertical height. On top of this, I used two small chipboard frames from the Chipboard Pieces pack to house my photos.  These look so cool in real life. I'd happily have an entire pack of just these! 

I also pulled out several scalloped pieces, mixing colours and patterns to create scalloped edges throughout the design. By doing this, it also ties in the scalloped edge from the semi-circle patterned paper used earlier. 

I created some extra layers and clusters using the smaller pieces from the Chipboard Pieces and the Cardstock Stickers Basics. 

For my title, I reached for the Foam Stickers - a firm favourite in any Simple Stories collection! 

And one last touch to really help the page pop - some small stars punched from plain black cardstock. 

I hope you've enjoyed this blog. It was certainly a fun one to make! I'd highly recommend this collection - it's such a happy collection to use, and the possibilities are endless! Check it out in the shop here whilst stocks last! 

See you soon! 

Claire xx

@scrappysoulmate 

Wild At Heart - Uniquely Creative - Bohemian Escape Collection

Hi everyone,

It’s Rebecca here, and I’m really excited to be on the blog today sharing my first layout created with the Bohemian Escape collection from Uniquely Creative. Uniquely Creative is a new brand to Papermaze, all the way from Australia! Their collections are absolutely beautiful and elegant, featuring the most gorgeous floral elements—perfect for any occasion.

The Bohemian Escape collection has even inspired a new hobby for me—I’ve started making cards! (Although I’m still a long way from calling myself a card-maker!) Papermaze currently have two Uniquely Creative collections in stock, and you can find them both here.

To begin, I selected five of my favourite patterned papers. With so many gorgeous designs to choose from, that was no easy task! From four of the papers, I cut small tag shapes using a metal die and my Sizzix Big Shot machine. From the fifth patterned paper, I cut a polaroid-style frame.

I arranged the tags vertically down the centre of a sheet of Premium White Cardstock, alternating their directions to add visual interest.

To the right-hand side, I positioned the polaroid frame, which houses my photo. I raised it on foam pads to introduce some dimension. Behind the photo, I layered several florals from the Creative Cuts Ephemera cuts along with a couple of the Vellum Sticker Creative Cuts.

At this point, I paused and returned to the layout the following day. With fresh eyes, I decided I wanted to reposition the vellum stickers to make them more visible. I held my breath as I carefully peeled them off—but to my surprise, they lifted perfectly and I was able to reposition them with ease! What a fantastic product.

However, I still felt that the layout looked a little heavy on the right-hand side, so I created a smaller cluster on the left to help balance the page and make the design feel more cohesive. I used the same floral die cuts and vellum stickers, and added my title using one of the banners from the collection.

To extend the clusters slightly, I cut some small leafy sprigs from the Foiled Acetate Sheet and tucked them in behind the elements. I love how these add a subtle touch of sparkle.

Through the holes in the tags, I tied various Uniquely Creative threads to bring in a little more gold.

To finish, I added a couple of die-cut butterflies and a few dots of gold Crystal Nuvo Drops.

Thanks so much for reading. I hope you’re just as excited as I am to see this beautiful new brand in the store!

Be sure to pop back at the end of the month to see the second layout I’ve created with this stunning collection.

Take care,
Rebecca xx 

@preciouspagespapercraft 

Echo Park ~ You Are My Sunshine #1 ☀️

Hello everyone, it's Anna back with you today. This month I'm working with Echo Park You Are My Sunshine - a fabulous collection to brighten your day, with bright colours, florals and plenty of sunshine! 

You can find the collection in the shop here. 

To create this layout I used a sheet of white cardstock as my base. I wanted to use the b side of sunshine floral, as the green pattern matched well with my photographs. 

So I trimmed it down by around an inch on each side and adhered to the white cardstock. 

I then chose a coordinating colour thread and hand stitched around the sunshine floral patterned paper. 

I then grabbed the 3x4 journal cards and chose four of them that would work well with my photos. I had 5 pictures that I wanted to get on this page and arranging them with the journal cards is one of my go to ways to fit multiple pictures on a page. 

I arranged the photos and journal cards together and adhered them to my layout. 

I then added my embellishments, I selected a few element stickers. I tucked the large florals under the right edge of the photo and added a sunshine sticker at the top, alongside my title.  

I fussy cut a couple of florals from Sunshine Floral and tucked them under my journal cards next to some small florals from the element stickers. 

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

Anna 

@acraftylifewithanna