Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Yuletide - HoHoHo!

Hello,

It's Claire here again today, sharing a second layout with the Simple Vintage Yuletide collection. I have to say this has been an absolute joy to create with - such a stunning collection. You can find it all in the shop here, and I'd strongly recommend you check it out - it's so pretty!

Using a piece of Premium White Cardstock as my base, I applied a light coat of watered down black Distress Oxide ink with a brayer, helping to create a distressed look to anchor my design.

I drew half a tree on to scrap cardstock to use as a template, and used this as a guide to cut out a tree shape from the Comfort & Joy paper.

Layering this on foam to add separation from the mixed media background, I cut some smaller pieces of the Holiday Wishes and 4x6 Elements papers, as well as a very small strip of the 3x4 Elements paper. I distressed all the edges and layered these on top of the tree, curling some of the edges for extra texture and depth.

Next, I chose this beautiful red frame from the Chipboard Frames to house my photo. Before adhering this to the page, I layered two fussy cut tags from the Tag Elements paper underneath. 

Then came the clusters and oh my - you are spoilt for choice with this collection! So many different option and all are equally gorgeous. I used a combination of the Bits & Pieces and Floral Bits & Pieces, layering them around the design.

I opted for pieces with pops of red to help lift the colour and adhered some flat with others on foam helping to create extra dimension.

Of course, I couldn't have an empty tree, so I added a big red bow to the top and embellished each branch with gold and red Nuvo Drops for that extra bit of sparkle.

For my title, I used the fun HoHoHo phrase from Bits & Pieces and that brought the layout to completion.

I hope you've enjoyed this blog post. It was really a great layout to make with these gorgeous products. See the collection here in full. 

Happy scrapping! 

Claire x

@scrappysoulmate 

Stay Wild - Mintay Papers - The Great Outdoors Collection

Hi everyone, and happy new year! Rebecca with you today sharing my first layout of 2024! This year I am determined to try new things and I'm kicking this off with a collection from Mintay Papers! It's a new brand to me having never created with it before and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised. The quality of the papers is really impressive - nice and thick with good quality die cut ephemera to match. I chose to work with 'The Great Outdoors' as I was drawn to the outdoorsy feel and the neutral colours. You can find the collection in the shop here.

I begun with Paper 05, tearing a strip to sit horizontally across my layout. I then tore 2 thin strips of the reverse of this paper to sit above and below to provide some contrast. The photo I'm scrapping here is of my son in a wildllife hideout in the woods. We were trying to stay quiet so that he could see an elusive red squirrel! I wanted to translate this onto the layout, so selected Paper 01 and fussy-cut the trees from it, which I positioned either side of my photo.

Using the Paper Die Cuts, I built clusters either side of my photo. Sadly, there are no red squirrels in this collection, but I felt that the bear and stag worked well as we saw plenty of wildlife in the woods. 

With my Cameo 4, I cut a viewfinder from Paper 04, cut it in half and used it above and below my torn paper strips.

For my title, I added an acrylic perspextive from my stash. At this point, I was going to call the layout finished, but I felt like it needed something more. I decided on some mixed media. It's been a long time since I indulged in some messiness so I made the decision to go 'all out'.

I began with my brayer and Distress Oxides in the shades Rustic Wilderness, Iced Spruce and Forest Moss. After applying the inks to some packaging, I spritzed with water and then ran my brayer over the ink. I then rolled this over a sheet of Premium White Cardstock. On top of this, I added some stencilling using a star stencil. I wasn't too keen on how this looked, so ended up covering most of it up with more ink! To finish off, I added some stamping using various different stamps and my Staz On black ink pad.

Once the inks and stamping was all dry, I was able to move everything back onto the page. Luckily, I'd stuck everything together initially, but not to the page. This meant I could easily move everything off and back on again in one single piece. 

To finish off the layout, I added two raw chipboard leaf clusters from Dusty Attic. To elevate them, I covered them in Nuvo Crystal Drops in the shade Bottle Green. I love how this looks - it cracked slightly as it dried which gives it the same effect as crackle paste! 

And yes... eventually we did see a red squirrel!

I hope you've enjoyed this layout. I really enjoyed working with something different and trying a new brand. I'll be back later in the month with a second layout.

Take care,

Rebecca x

@preciouspagespapercraft

Simple Stories - Flea Market - Welcome Home

Hi there,

Claire here today sharing my second layout with you using the Flea Market collection from Simple Stories. 

I am loving this collection - the colours are just perfect for Spring. So vibrant and happy. 

For my base, I used a piece of Premium White Cardstock. I applied a thin coat of clear gesso as I planned to add watercolour to the background. 

Whilst the gesso was drying, I cut three 3.5" squares of patterned paper and added a row of machine stitching around each one, distressing the edges for extra texture.

I used:

• All the Things
• You're My Fave and
• Oh, Yes Please

For the square holding my photo, I applied a double mount, also using a piece of pink Bazzill cardstock from the Matchmaker Pack.

I placed the squares roughly on my page and drew a light pencil outline to mark where the papers would sit before applying two different shades of watercolour paint with a brayer.

Once the paint had dried, I adhered each square with foam pads, laid them diagonally down the page and began to embellish.

I pulled out lots of florals from the Floral Bits & Pieces pack - there are so many in here! 48 pieces in total and they're all a decent size so are quite impactful, making the pack go a long way.

I created three clusters - at the top, middle and bottom of the design, using a mix of florals and leaves.

Some are adhered flat to the page, whilst others are raised on foam the give the clusters height. I added the leaves with Glossy Accents, sliding these in amongst the flowers and curling the leaves for dimension.

I used the bottom square as the anchor to hold my title.

To create it, I used the word Home from the Chipboard Stickers, and teamed this with the key from the same pack. For Welcome, I used some Puffy Alpha stickers from the Pinkfresh Studio Life Right Now range, which complement the colours in the Flea Market collection beautifully.

As a final touch, I added a few extra embellishments around my photo. I selected a colourful tag and small sentiment saying  'So Cute' from the Journal Bits & Pieces Pack. I sat it along the top edge of my picture, helping tie in all the colours together.

I hope you've enjoyed this quick and simple layout. It really was a pleasure to create as the patterned paper and floral ephemera make such an impact, it really didn't need lots more.

If you haven't seen it already, i'd recommend you check this collection out in the store. You can find it here. The photos really don't do it justice - it's absolutely stunning in real life.

Until next month, happy scrapping!

Claire xx

@scrappysoulmate