Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Lavendar Fields

Hello!

Claire here and this month I'm very lucky to be creating with the Simple Vintage Lavendar Fields collection. You can find it in the shop here.

I adore the colours in this collection. Pretty Lavendar a, fresh spring green and a touch of soft yellow. What's not to love! 

To create this layout I chose to layer the Lavender and  Sunshine and Honey papers to create an elongated anchor for my layout. I distressed and curled the edges and raised on foam for depth.

I positioned my photos centrally, backing them with the B side of the 3x4 Elements paper to draw out that coordinating pop of green. 

Next, I selected a range of accents using the Cardstock Stickers, Journal Bits & Pieces and Floral Bits & Pieces to draw the eye across the page. Under each cluster I added some Distress oxide in coordinating pale pink and lavender shades to add a bit of a glow to the page. 

I cut two tags from the Tag paper and placed these under my photo to help draw the eye across the large cluster above it. 

The for my title, I chose Enjoy the Moment from the Bits & Pieces pack which features the core colours in the collection and helps pull the page together. I embellished with some florals and flowers from the Chipboard Pieces. 

A few sequins from my stash were sprinkled across the clusters for a finishing touch to add that extra bit of sparkle! 

I can't wait to create more with this gorgeous collection. Until then, happy scrapping! 

Claire x

@scrappysoulmate 

Carta Bella - Pressed Floral - Our Happy Place

Hello everyone

Today I'm sharing a layout documenting a day out to Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey). The gardens there are beautiful and this photo was the perfect inspiration to create a page filled with pretty florals.

I chose the Pressed Floral collection from Carta Bella. I immediately fell in love with the Full of Magic Floral Frame paper, but wanted a central design. I used a scalpel and scissors to cut out the frame, inverting the corners to place the floral clusters in the middle, brushing dry Distress Oxide into the centre of the page through a stencil to anchor the design. 

Using a frame from the Ephemera Frames and Tags pack, I mounted my photo, poitioning it right in the centre of the floral cluster.

Next, I wanted to add extra florals and foliage for depth. I fussy cut a selecion of flowers from the 3x4 Journalling Cards paper, complementing this further with some die cut leaves using the Fern Valley Craft die and Branch Mix Die set from Arden Creative Studio. 

I slotted some in under the floral cluster, raising some on foam for dimension. 

To create my title, I chose two phrases from the Ephemera Frames and Tags pack, aligning these along the edge of the inverted frame. 

Thank you for joining me on the blog today. I hope you've enjoyed it. You can check out the collection here. I'll be back in a few weeks with another layout for extra inspiration. 

Happy scrapping! 

Claire x

@scrappysoulmate 

Carta Bella - Christmas in the City - Smile

Hello!

Claire here today and I've been using up the last bits of my Christmas in the City collection from Carta Bella. 

I quite enjoy this time of year from a create perspective, seeing how versatile a Christmas collection can be and this one did not disappoint.

I've opted to scrap a picture from one of our walks over the festive period. It's was very cold and frosty and although we definitely weren't in a city, the papers still worked fantastically well for my photo and I love how they could be adapted for my layout theme.

So to start, I cut varying widths of papers using the mustard cardstock from the Matchmaker Pack, Merry Snowflake Sky (red) and Christmas Tree Cab (green b side). 

I began layering them vertically and horizontally but wanted to add extra framing. To create this, I cut two triangles from a square of the blue b side of the Merry Snowflake Sky paper, and layered this underneath my red paper to frame the corners. I love this bold edge - I think it helps the red paper to pop off the page. 

I also opted for a small splash of mixed media, adding dry Distress Oxide with a brush to extend the grass colours of the photo. 

I really love the Peace on Earth Pines paper - it reminds me of beautiful festive foliage so felt very  fitting as the border for my photo. I added this to my other papers with foam for extra dimension. 

Next, I raided my stash of dies and chose some snowflakes which I cut from plain white cardstock. There's an amazing choice of dies in the shop, and they're such fun to incorporate into your project. I'd highly recommend you take a peek! You can find loads of snowflake dies here. 

To the centres of each snowflake, I added a small sticker from the Element Stickers which echoes the colours of the paper into the snowflakes, making it feel more cohesive. 

I also chose to use the little pennant stickers to create a small banner cluster to the left of my photo along with the December sticker to note the month of the photo. 

I pulled some Thickers from my stash to create my Smile title, and lightly added some green watercolour pain to each letter to pull in the green colour. 

To finish, I added a small sprinkling of Pinkfresh Studio Crystals which give the slightest sparkle and help bring this frosty page to life! There are some Pinkfresh Jewels in the shop here.

I hope you've enjoyed this layout and are inspired to stretch your own Christmas collections. 

Until next month, happy scrapping! 

Claire

@scrappysoulmate

Arden Creative Studio - Vintage Makers - Let's Go!

Hi guys,

Claire here sharing a new 12x12 scrapbook page made with the Vintage Makers collection from Arden Creative Studio. 

I really love this collection. It's generic in theme so can be easily used to accommodate any story you want to tell! For this layout, I'm making an autumnal page, inspired by a quilting design I saw on Pinterest.

I selected 4 patterned papers, using both the Essentials and Foundations Paper Packs and cut 2"x2" squares, positioning them in my page to create the basic shape of the leaf. I cut some of the squares in half to make triangles that create the points of the leaf. 

Once the pieces were loosely in place, I drew around the outside lightly before removing all the squares to add mixed media. 

I added ink with a brayer in three different Distress Oxide colours and black splatters with a wet paintbrush. 

Next, I adhered the patterned paper squares on foam and drew around the leaf with black Sharpie, also drawing in a stalk. 

I resized my photos to 2" squares and adhered them into the shape. 

I used laser cut leaves and tickets to embellish, building small clusters to bring the photos to life.

For my title, I raided my thicker stash to find one that matched the colours in the collection. If you're looking for more, the Papermaze Big Autumn Sale has just launched, so now's a great time to stock up on alphas and grab yourself a bargain! 

I hope you've enjoyed this layout and you'll also find some inspiration in quilting designs. 

Check out the full Vintage Makers collection here. 

I'll be back in a few weeks with another layout with this collection. 

Happy scrapping! 

Claire x

@scrappysoulmate 

Carta Bella - Paris - J'taime Paris

Hello

Claire here today with my second layout using the beautiful Paris collection from Carta Bella. You can check it out in the shop here. 

For this layout, I've decided to make a feature of the element stickers. This collection has so many fabulous Paris icons, particularly the major landmarks, and I wanted them to shine. 

So, I started with a piece of Premium White Cardstock and applied Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide with a brayer. To do this, I smushed the ink pad down on some plastic, spritzed with water, rolled my brayer through the ink and then applied to the page. I love the extra control the brayer gives and it also helps keeps any mess to a minimum.

I repeated this very lightly with Black Soot Distress Oxide, but less really is more here. 

There was no need to gesso the page as the brayer helps minimise pools of water so the paper doesn't warp. 

Next, I cut a circle from the Eiffel Tower paper to act as an anchor for my photos. I chose two of the same photo, one printed half an inch larger than the other and layered them up creating dimension and interest. 

Once these were adhered to the page it was time for the fun bit. The Element Stickers! 

These were so much fun to play with. I offset each one, layering some on top of the other with foam to create depth. 

I also pulled out the moped and tag sticker to go on the left of my photo to elongate the design. 

To build extra depth behind the landmark stickers, I fussy cut some buildings from the Paris Map paper and layered these behind the stickers. 

Finally, I die cut 6 stars from the Explore Paris and Paris Map paper using these to add an extra pop of colour. 

This was so fun to make! Hope it inspires you to get creative with stickers! 

See you next month. Until then, happy scrapping! 

Claire x

@scrappysoulmate 

Simple Stories - Pack Your Bags - Explore

Hello,

Happy iNSD and Bank Holiday weekend! I hope you've all been having a blast and finding a bit of time to squeeze in some scrappy fun!

I've had the pleasure of creating with the new travel collection from Simple Stories called Pack Your Bags. I love to take hundreds of photos whilst travelling, so I was excited to get my hands on this collection and it did not disappoint.

The collection is full of bold bright colours, perfect for travel photos. To break up the colour I opted for a white cardstock background, using a sheet of Bazzill Classic Smooth White from the Matchmaker Pack. 

To add some interest to the background, I grabbed a stencil from an older Simple Stories collection called Going Places. I used distress oxides (Blueprint Sketch, Wild Honey, and Candied Apple) and a blending brush in colours to match my patterned papers.

Next, I cut 3 pieces of patterned paper (Enjoying the View, Seeing the Sights and Lets Go Everywhere) roughly 4"x5", machine stitched around each piece and distressed the edges before raising on foam on my page. 

To bring in all the colours, I backed my photograph in the 4x6 Elements paper and then began to embellish! 

I created three small clusters using elements from the cardstock sticker sheet, ephemera bits and pieces, Foam Stickers and Journaling bits and pieces packs.  By mixing the colours and materials, laying some flat and raising some on foam, each cluster draws the eye into and across the layout, adding depth and interest. 

For my title, I used the Foam Stickers. These are just perfect! They're always my favourite element of a Simple Stories collection because they pull all the colours together. 

I hope you've enjoyed this colourful page. It was so much fun to make and I can't wait to share more with you later this month. 

You can shop the collection in full here.

Happy scrapping! 

Claire xx

@scrappysoulmate

Echo Park - Christmas Time - Tis The Season

Hi everyone,

Claire here today sharing my first festive layout using the Christmas Time collection from Echo Park.

I really love this collection - its packed full of traditional colours, patterns and florals that I love to use for festive scrapping. You can find it in the shop here.

For this layout, I'm documenting a photograph from a friend's husband, @orangeymart_46, who kindly let me scrap this incredible photograph of some deer he captured on camera!

I started by prepping a piece of Premium White Cardstock with gesso before adding watercolour with a brayer. Once the ink was dry, I added some Distress Oxide with a brush through some Vicki Boutin stencils, creating additional depth to the background.

To create some extra interest, I wanted to double mat the photo, leaving the bottom edges long to showcase this beautiful patterned paper. To do this, I chose a the more delicate Santa Swirl paper, and the vibrant Magical Christmas paper.

For an extra layer, I added a small fishtail banner, cut from the Snowflakes Falling paper, and raised the ends on foam to help give separation.

I also cut a strip of Kraft cardstock and punched along the edge to create a lacey pattern. I like this rustic colour as it helps to draw out the woodland feel of the page.

Once all the photo layers and papers were in place, I started to embellish.

I cut some of the florals from the Festive Floral paper and layered these around the photo, raising some on foam for extra height and curling the leaves to give movement. I also added a fir cone from the Element Stickers to again echo the brown woodland feel. 

To this, I also added a sleigh from the sticker sheet and my title, both of which run along the bottom edge of my photo. 

For an extra pop of red, I found this lovely trim in the Sticker Book. Really love the extra colour this gives - it really lifted the page.

On the opposite side of the photo, I wanted to create a small tree cluster using trees from the Sticker Book and of course, that awesome deer - How could I resist?!

To the top edge, I added another small cluster using the stickers to tie in the design.

As a finishing touch, I added a torn strip of the red paid Magical Christmas paper to the bottom of the page to balance and anchor the design.

This page has been a really fun one to put together, and I look forward to sharing another layout with you soon.

Until then, enjoy the festivities!

Claire xx

@scrappysoulmate.

October Papermaze Kit

Lynn back today, with my second pair of design team layouts using the Papermaze October kit.  This kit contains some lovely, bright, colourful papers, embellishments and cardstock. 

Here are the details of what you will find in the kit:

 

Patterned Papers:
Pinkfresh Studio - Sunshine On My Mind collection - Poolside
Crate Paper - Moonlight Magic collection - Pixie Dust
Photoplay - Sweet Sunshine collection - Sun Rays
49 and Market - Vintage Artistry Sunburst collection - Ray of Sunshine 
Shimelle - Main Character Energy collection - Blue Skies & Zoom In
Bazzill Basics - White & Evening Surf

Reverse side of papers

Embellishments:
2 exclusive acrylic clouds, 2 mini doilies, 3 - 49 and Market Chipboard word pieces, 3 Paige Evans Chipboard Milk Caps, 6 Paige Evans Floral Ephemera pieces, 3 wooden banners, selection of Rosie's Studio Puffy Phrase Stickers and a strip of enamel flower gems.

Extra Bazzill Basics Pack - Berry Sensations, Lily Pond, Blue Calypso and Amber.

Summer Sunshine - A photo my father took of me on the beach at Woolacombe Bay back in the 1960's.

The White Bazzill, was stencilled with sun rays using a Vicki Boutin Print Shop Off Set stencil and a mix of Mustard Seed and Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide Ink. Then I added waves using a Simple Stories 'Waves' stencil and a mix of Faded Jeans and Broken China Distress Oxide Inks. I flicked some watered-down Candid Apple and Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide Inks over the cardstock.

I tore two 1" strips of papers from the 'Poolside' paper. The torn edges were inked with Faded Jeans Distress Oxide and attached to the top and bottom of the White Bazzill.

From the 'Sunray' paper, I cut four strips approx 6" deep and different widths, I inked them with Faded Denim Distress Oxide Ink and placed them across the layout, as a base for my photo.

From the remains of the 'Poolside' paper I trimmed the words 'Summer' and 'Sunshine'. I distressed the edges and applied them overlapping the photo onto the Bazzill.

With Candied Apple Distress paint, I painted two of the wooden banners from the kit. I applied some yellow twine to the hole in one banner and added Doodlebug Designs - Alphabet Soup - Swimming Pool numbers for the date. This I glued to the bottom left of the photo.

Then I used the other banner and added two pieces of twine and a Paige Evans Ephemera flower from the kit. This banner was placed over the join between paper and Bazzill at the bottom right of the layout.

With Doodlebug Designs - Alphabet Soup - Bumblebee letter stickers I spelt out the name of the beach.

Finally, I added the enamel flower gems from the kit.

Good Fun - A photo taken when we all got together after the second lockdown.

For this layout I choose to use a sheet of Smooth White Bazzill from my own stash. I worked out where the patterned papers would sit and stencilled with a Tim Holtz Layering stencil - Burlap THS007. I used several colours of Distress Oxide Ink - Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron and Spiced Marmalade.

With the 'Zoom In' paper, I tore off a strip from the lop leaving a piece 12" x 8.5". I attached this to the Bazzill, then trimmed a strip from the remains of 'Pixie Dust' paper, with the stripes showing, I tucked this along the top of the first paper.

My photo was placed overlapping the Bazzill and the papers to the right side of the layout. I cut a tag from scrap white card, using the Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits Tags die set. I inked the edges, and attached this at the base of the layout, I threaded some purple organza ribbon through the hole in the tag, and tied this in a bow. I used this tag as a journalling black.

With three mini tags cut from the same card and die set, I added the date, and tied them together with a short length of purple twine. These were placed at the top of the photo.

I used the  Paige Evans Ephemera flowers from the kit and arranged them around the layout.

I fussy cut some cameras from the other side of the Zoom In paper, and arranged them on the layout. Two chipboard word pieces from the kit were used for the title and the third was added to the tag to complete the layout.

I have one more layout from this kit to share with you.
Thanks for looking.
Lynn x