Echo Park - Summer Vibes - Beach Vacation

Hi everyone!

It's Claire here and today I have a bit of a different blog post for you, designed to help you use those last few leftovers from a collection. In this post I'm using the fun Summer Vibes collection from Echo Park. You can find it in the shop here.

It often happens to me that I have oddly sized scraps of patterned paper and a whole host of ephemera pieces leftover that sit on my shelf waiting to be used. So, before I move on to a new collection, I'm challenging myself to use those scraps - and I love the final result!

I started with a crisp clean sheet of Premium White Cardstock and then went to rifle through my scraps. The piece of paper I came to first was this Cool Shades paper which has a cute wave pattern on the B side. It's roughly 8"x4".

I distressed the edges and wrapped a piece of twine round the top to mimic rope you'd find at the beach. 

The next scrap of paper I came to was an L shaped piece of the 4x4 Journaling Cards - Again on the B side, this paper has a bold stripe which I love! You probably know by now that I can never resist a stripe!

I knew I wanted to try and use three photos but because of the shape and size of the scrap, they wouldn't all fit. To make it work, I mounted 2 photos with the stripe horizontally and one with the stripe going vertically. It was a happy accident born from necessity, but I love how this breaks up the pattern behind the photos.

I raised the paper and photos on foam, adhering them in the middle if the page to create a central column.

Next came the embellishing! I had some leftover Chipboard Phrases, some stickers from the the Element stickers sheet and the Sticker Book from this collection as I loved the icons so much, so there was ample to choose from. In reality I only need a few pieces - I would have had more than enough with any of these options.

I wanted my title to sit at the top of the page, so using 2 stickers from the sticker book. I raised both of foam, with the beach arrow slightly offset across the edge of the pattern paper. A snorkel from the chipboard help finish the title. 

Around the photos I made three small clusters. To the left, I opted for surfboards - one from the sticker sheet and the other from the chipboard.

In the centre panel, I again mixed the embellishments using that cute van from the Elements Sticker Sheet with a small circular subtitle from the chipboard. 

And to the right, both the lilo and flip flops are from the chipboard pack. The lilo is stuck flat whilst the flipflops are raised on foam for extra dimension. 

To bring the page to life, I wanted to create some sand and help anchor the design by brushing on some dry Distress Oxide ink in Fossilized Amber. I love it! It's the perfect shade to match this collection!

I didn't need to gesso the paper first as the ink is relatively dry, applied in small circular motions with a dry mini stencil brush.  

To create a mottled effect, I splashed a few drops of water over the ink with a small paintbrush, left for 30 seconds and then dabbed it up with a paper towel. The water reacts with the Distress Oxide ink, removing it from the page, giving the page more depth and interest.

As a finishing touch, I grabbed a few of the Pinkfresh Studio Matte Gold Pearl Essentials, scattering around the design.

I hope you've enjoyed this bonus layout, and it has inspired you to get the most from your collections.

You can check out the Summer Vibes collection here.

Until next time, happy scrapping!

Claire xx

@scrappysoulmate

Hello Today by Adam

Hello! Adam back again with another layout using Hello Today from Simple Stories. 

This time, I have decided to use another cutfile and another one from Paige Evans - this time, the cascading numbers cutfile. It might seem a little odd to use on this layout but it kind of represented a list of things, a top ten and that kind of thing and, the photos are from our short trip to Wales in between lockdowns in 2020 so it worked for me as we did so much and the list was so long! 

I started by cutting the cutfile with one of the patterned papers from the collection and then again with white precision cardstock. I used two sheets from the Bazzill matchmaker pack - red and yellow and then adhered the cutfile, in white, to the left and popped the numbers, in patterned paper, up on foam pads. 

I matted four 3x4"photos on some scraps of the papers from the collection and placed these on the right side of the page - I never get too accurate with rulers and such, it's all guess work and I just roll with it! I had a lot of small scraps and didn't want to waste them so I took random scraps and layered these behind the photos to the bottom/top and sides. 

Then it was my favourite part! Embellishing time! I have used bits from each of the embellishment packs in the collection. You'll notice with my layouts that I don't always have a title as such - I tend to have multiple words which could be seen as a title. Because I scrap so many photos from one trip or occasion, I don't find it necessary to have titles on all pages. 

I've used mostly stickers on this layout from the element stickers, sticker book, foam stickers, adhesive brads, chipboard and puffy stickers. I also used some of the small alpha tile stickers from the sticker book for 'Wales' and '2020'. Of course, the enamel dots worked their way onto the page too! I opted for a trio of trios - again! I like to sometimes put my stickers, titles or words on the photos too, I think it can sometimes bring the photo into the page... plus it helps with my more is more style!! 

I'll be back with a final couple of projects - another layout and something a bit different to really stash bust this awesome collection! In the meantime, check out some more photos below, have a good browse of the shop - especially check out the new arrivals section because there is so much new goodies arriving over the next few weeks!

Take care, stay safe and happy scrapping!

Adam x