Arden Creative Studio - Field Notes - Lovely, So Lovely

Hi there

Claire here today with a very pretty spring layout using the Field Notes collection from Arden Creative Studio. 

There are so many gorgeous papers, I wanted to create a layered design to show them off. Using a circle of the pretty pink paper cut from the 12x12 paper pack as my base, I layered smaller papers from the 6x8 paper pad in complementing colours and patterns, also adding a coloured Sunburst from the rub on transfer set .

I layered these with foam on the right hand side of the circle creating an elevated base to house my strip of photos. 

I pulled some pretty pink flowers and blue butterfly from the laser cuts to add a pop of colour to the left of the photo, along with a bold title from the Ephemera Pack.

I also added some smaller labels and tickets across the design to draw the eye across the page.

I hope you've enjoyed this blog post and it's inspired you to check out this gorgeous collection. 

You can find it in the shop here.

Happy scrapping! 

Claire x

@scrpapysoulmate 

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 

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 

Photoplay - Lucky Cat - Time to Get Away

Hi Guys,

Claire here, and this month I'll be creating with the fabulous Lucky Cat collection from Photoplay.

Surprisingly, this is not a pet themed collection, but is Japanese and Asian inspired - perfect for scrapping those takeaway nights, meals out and far flung trips to the Far East! The possibilities are endless!

I've been lucky enough to travel to a few destinations across South East Asia and have so many photos, but I find them notoriously difficult to scrap as no typical collections really suit the photos or convey the feeling I'm looking for so I'm super excited to get some of these stories documented.

My first layout is bold and dramatic - capturing pictures from a photography night tour in Tokyo.

Because this took place late at night, I chose a piece of Premium Black cardstock for my base. I cut a strip of the Cherry Blossom paper about 2" wide, and layered smaller strips of the yellow and red card from the Matchmaker Pack underneath along with a small strip of black for extra depth.

Using the Red cardstock from the Matchmaker Pack, I cut a dragon from a design I found in my Cricut library.  I added extra light and shade to the dragon by brushing Black Soot Distress Oxide around some of the edges, and spritzed with gold ink for an extra bit of sparkle.

I cut the dragon in half and tucked it underneath the paper strips, and then added a row of Gold Nuvo Drops along the top of the paper strip to enhance the richness of the page.

I mounted my photos with the b side of the Lucky Cat paper and then embellished on either side using stickers from the Element Stickers.

Thank you for joining me on the blog today. I hope it's shown you can make an impactful, bold layout with just a few key pieces. 

Join me again on the 24th when I'll share my second layout with this collection, which is going to go from bold and dramatic to peaceful and serene.  I'll see you then!

Happy scrapping!

Claire xx

@scrappysoulmate