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

December Papermaze Kit - Part 2

Happy New Year! 
Lynn here today, back with the second post sharing Christmas layouts for this year. The December kit is available in the shop, it has a traditional red, green and white colour pallet. The papers are beautiful and include Mintay, Simple Stories and Graphic 45.  

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

Patterned Papers:
Mintay Papers - Holly Jolly collection - #02 & #04
Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Believe collection - Holiday Traditions & Tag Elements
Simple Stories - All Wrapped Up collection - Magical Season
Graphic 45 - Deck the Halls collection - A Little Sparkle

The photo below shows both sides of the papers:

 

Embellishments:
Simple Stories - Vintage Believe - Foam Stickers & Floral Bits and Pieces

Mintay Chippies - Xmas Wreath
Rosie's Studio - Oh Joyful Day - Button
Pretty Little Studio - Comfort and Joy - Holly Jolly Word Titles 
Divine Twine - Green Apple
Doodlebug Designs - Doilies Ladybug
Gold enamel dots

Bazzill Basics - Aspen, Grenadine (included in kit), Cinnamon Stick, Coconut Swirl, Cinder and Parakeet.

Merry & Bright - My nephew and his family took a trip to Lapland UK last December, this layout shows a group photo from this exciting day out. 

My first task for this layout was to gut the A Little Sparkle paper, giving me a frame of 12" x 12" and 1" deep. I trimmed a sheet of Bazzill White cardstock to 11" x 11". 

With two colours of Distress Ink (Barn Door and Rustic Wilderness, slightly watered down, I lightly splattered over the cardstock, to take away from the starkness of the white.

I divided the Tag Elements sheet to separate the 15 tags. The I selected 8 of them to use on my layout. I printed out the large photo with a white border, and arranged this with the tags and one of the Doilies Ladybug on the cardstock, without sticking anything down. 

Once I was happy with the arrangement, I inked the edges of the tags, punched a hole in the tops and applied a large red eyelet each one. Then everything was glued into place. The Divine Twine - Green Apple from the kit was threaded through the eyelets, and caught into place with a few spots of glue. 

I embellished the layout using the Button and Gold enamel dots from the kit. The title is a foam Sticker Holly Jolly Word Titles, also supplied in the kit. 

From my own Christmas embellishments, I added Simple Stories Vintage Christmas Lodge Farm Foam Stickers, and a little clay gingerbread man. I used some old Basic Grey Alphabet Stickers for the date. As I had already used the gold enamel dots from the kit, I found some more from my own stash to add to this page.

Our Dear Reindeer - Our granddaughter last Christmas sporting a set of reindeer antlers, and enjoying a spear of asparagus.

I selected a sheet of Kraft Bazzill from my own stash for the background, and stencilled some stars over it. I used Picket Fence Distress Ink and a Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Sparkle.

I painted the Mintay Chippies - Xmas Wreath, with Distress Paints - Lumberjack Plaid for the berries and Peeled Paint with Shabby Shutters over the leaves. Then I coated the whole wreath with Glossy Accents for some shine. I set this aside to dry.

Meanwhile, I built up the layers on the layout. I used my Cricut to create the shapes, and cut them from the remains of A Little Sparkle paper. I cut the same shapes a little larger from Cinnamon Stick Bazzill to frame the paper. I cut a 6.5" x 7" piece from Holiday Traditions, and a 3" x 9" piece of Magical Season. Both these pieces were mounted on more of the Cinnamon Bazzill, I gutted some bazzill from the largest piece, to use as a mount for the photo.  

All these mounted papers and the photo were arranged on the Kraft Bazzill witout sticking down. I arranged two pieces of burlap in place on the layout. I backed the dry wreath with another piece of Holiday Traditions paper. These were all glued down. 

I had some old alpha stickers that were the wrong colour for this layout, but I stuck the numbers '2024' into the centre of the wreath and drew around them with marker pen. I removed the stickers, and painted some watered down Barn Door Distress Ink between the pen lines. I added a December sticker from my stash.

From the remains of the Tag Elements sheet, I selected a tag and mounted it onto the layout with 3D foam pads. I tucked two decorative pins through the hole. I cut the top of another tag, and tucked this under the photo, I added two more pins as before. 

My title was cut using the Cricut, using Cinnamon Stick and Grenadine Bazzill, I layered these up to create a shadow. 

Finally, I embellished the layout with Simple Stories Vintage Christmas Lodge Farm Foam Stickers. 

That's all from the December kit. I'll be back with a new wintery kit for January in a few weeks' time.
Thanks for looking,
Lynn x

October Papermaze Kit - Part 1

Lynn here today, sharing two layouts I have created using the pretty October Papermaze Kit. Each of these layouts feature different events, but both are made using papers and elements from 49 and Market. 

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

Patterned papers:
49 and Market - Botanical Buzz collection - Cheerful & Fresh
49 and Market - Nature's Haven collection - Sunshine
Memory Place - Pet Life collection - Pure Love 03 & Today 05
Echo Park - Winnie The Pooh Baby collection - Oh Baby Daises 

The photo below, shows both sides of the papers:

Embellishments:
Simple Stories - Meadow Flowers foam stickers, Little Birdie flower, American Crafts butterfly clip, Krafty Kids - wooden buttons, Leane Creatief - brads, 49 and Market - willow frames, Pinkfresh Studio - glitter drops leaf and Echo Park - washi tape. 

Bazzill Basics Cardstock:
Lagoon, Peach Creme (included in kit), and Marmalade Blast, Sunbeam, Walnut and Patch (in extra pack).

DIY - This layout shows my daughter helping us decorate the cart lodge at our new home. 

I used a set of Memory Box Hexagon Layer dies, to cut my photos and cardstock. The cardstock from the kit, I chose for journalling spots and photo mats is Lagoon and Peach Creme. I inked all the cardstock edges with Wild Honey or Evergreen Bough Distress Ink. Once I had mounted the journalling spots and photos onto their mats, I used a sewing machine and a zig-zag stitch to attach the two together, stitching around all six sides.  

I wrote the journalling onto one of the spots, and a title to another. I made my title by die cutting from cardstock and left-over scraps of a wood effect print paper. The dies are used are Spellbinders - Simple Stories - Say Cheese - Classic Mouse Alphabet.

The finished hexagons were arranged onto the background which is the 49 and Market - Botanical Buzz collection - Cheerful paper. 

I embellished the page with a selection of 49 and Market Laser Cut Elements from several collections, choosing images which worked well with the colours and flowers on the Cheerful paper. Several of these were raised using 3D foam pads. 

On The Boardwalk - The photos in this layout are from our recent trip to Snape. We took scenic route from Iken to Snape. 

My background for this layout is the sheet of 49 and Market - Botanical Buzz collection - Fresh paper. This paper already has some layering printed onto it. To complement this, I added a strip of Burlap across the middle of the page, and a couple of small doilies. 

I trimmed my photos and mounted them onto Sunbeam Bazzill from the kit. I inked the edges with Wild Honey Distress Ink. I arranged the photos onto the layout, sticking one down and raising the other with some foam. 

I made part of my title with Doodlebug Designs Alphabet Soup letter stickers - Bon-bon. Then, I gutted the 49 and Market - Nature's Haven collection - Sunshine paper, to make a 1" border, which I set aside for the next layout. Using the dotty side, cut from the middle of the frame, I cut the letters for the word 'Boardwalk'. I cut the letters again using more of the woodgrain paper. The dies are my current favourite - Spellbinders - Simple Stories - Say Cheese - Classic Mouse Alphabet.

I made a mini tag with a scrap of white card, and the Tim Holtz - Sizzix Thinlits dies - Tag Collection. I inked the edges, wrote on some journalling and ties some twine through the hole. 

I used two of the Simple Stories Meadow Flowers foam stickers from the kit as subtitles. 

As before I used a selection of 49 and Market Laser Cut Elements from several collections, choosing wooden elements, flowers and woodland creatures. I used laser cuts from Natures Haven, Nature's Garden Wildflowers and Krafty Garden Several of these were raised using 3D foam pads. 

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

July Papermaze Kit - Part 1

Lynn here today, sharing my first two creations using the pretty, delicate Papermaze kit for July! 
Full of soft, natural colours, six double-sided patterned papers, two sheets Bazzill Basics cardstock and a whole bunch of co-ordinating embellishments. There is also a pack of four matching Bazzill Basics sheets, available to compliment the kit. 

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

The photo below shows both sides of the papers.

Patterned Papers:
49 and Market - Joanne Bain - Little Celebrations - Whimsy & Luminous
P13 - Beautiful Moments - #02 & #06
Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Woodlands - Let's Explore
Stamperia - Timeless Collection - Roses Tapestry

Embellishments:
Tim Holtz - Idea-ology clippings - Stickers
P13 - Chipboard Circles
G45 - Pearls
Prima - Return to Wonderland - 2 Vintage Wonderland Frames
Prima - A Mermaid's Tail - Flower
49 and Market - Moonlit Garden - washi tape - stamps
12" Lace

Bazzill Basics Cardstock - Lagoon, Pigment (included in Kit), Tutu Pink, Powder Blue, Star Dust & Cinnamon Stick (in Extra pack).

Stitching Friends - Photos of my Mum and me, at my home, when we ran a stitching club. On the first birthday, the local paper came along to take photos and write a report.

I started making this layout by using the Whimsy paper as the background. Then using my Cricut I cut an embroidery hoop from the Cinnamon Stick Bazzill and some silver miri board. I placed this in the centre of the layout.

I mounted both photos onto some embroidery fabric scraps and frayed the edges. I added the mounted photos over the hoop.

Using more of the Cinnamon Stick Bazzill, I cut the title using some Tonic Studios 'Windsor' upper and lower case die sets. I arranged these around the top of the hoop.

My journalling was added with a marker pen directly onto the paper, inside the hoop and under the photos. 

With a pack of 49 and Market - One Perfect Day, Laser Cut Out Wildflower, I selected several flower clusters and added these to the layout with 3D foam pads. 

Happy 13th Birthday - We were on holiday in Suffolk when the triplets became teenagers. We spent the day at Aldeburgh.

I started this layout with the Star Dust Bazzill to create a frame 12" x 12" and 1" deep.  Over this I mounted a gutted piece of Let's Explore (plaid side up), this was trimmed to 11.5" x 11.5" and 1" deep. I distressed all the edges of this frame.

I trimmed the Luminous paper to 10.5" x 10.5" and distressed the edges. This was mounted into the centre of the plaid frame, without sticking down right to the edges. I trimmed off the top left corner, and glued this back in place on the Bazzill, then I folded back the cut edge of the larger piece. 

I tucked some narrow strips of burlap under the edges of the Luminous paper. With several pieces of Dusty Attic chipboard - Cosmic Wire and Wildgrass #3 Small as embellishments, I treated them with a coat of Gesso, then painted them all with acrylic paints in browns and gold, these were set aside to dry. 

I mounted my photo to the right side of the layout, and framed it with the Cosmic Wire chipboard piece. I cut a small piece of paper from the scraps of Luminous paper and made a small banner to add to the left side of the page. Then I mounted the wildgrass chipboard pieces, one over the banner, another peeking from the top of the folded corner, and two at the right of the photo. 

I added the Prima Flower from the kit to the bottom right of the photo. I cut the title using some Tonic Studios 'Windsor' upper and lower case die sets with scraps from the Luminous paper, I mounted these onto more scraps of the same paper, using the other side. After inking the edges with Distress Ink, I applied the words to the left of the photo. I added several of the Tim Holtz - Idea-ology clippings - Stickers from the kit. 

My subtitle and the date were spelt out with some old Basic Grey stickers from my stash. Finally I attached two 'brass' nautical charms, a lifebelt and an anchor. 

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