Tides & Treasures - Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Sand & Sea Collection

Hi everyone,

It's Rebecca here today, sharing my first layout and blog post of the month. This month, I'm lucky enough to be working with the beautiful Simple Vintage Sand & Sea collection from Simple Stories. I'm always drawn to coastal and nautical-themed collections—probably because my parents live surrounded by coastline, so whenever we visit, we spend lots of time at the beach! The full collection will be in the shop for you to purchase very soon!

To begin, I selected the two striped patterned papers from the collection—one red and one blue—which work beautifully together and provide a lovely contrast. I cut small sections from each paper to create two fishtail banners, making one slightly smaller than the other. After distressing the edges for added texture, I layered them at an angle on a sheet of Premium White Cardstock. I then positioned my photo on top, printing it twice and mounting it on white cardstock to add extra dimension and interest.

Next, I created clusters on either side of my photo using pieces from the Bits & Pieces pack, including a sandcastle, a large crab, and a starfish. I didn't want to over-embellish around the photo, as the striped papers already add plenty of visual interest. Keeping the embellishments simple helps ensure the focus remains on the photo rather than the surrounding details.

Above and below the patterned paper banners, I added several tags from the Tag Elements paper along with florals from the Floral Bits & Pieces pack. I chose tags in coordinating colours and arranged them into two clusters to help balance the design. Adding metal eyelets to the tags provided an extra touch of texture and detail.

For my title, I used one of the Foam Stickers. I love the dimension these stickers add to a layout, and they make creating titles so quick and easy. I placed the title to the left of my photo, filling a space I had intentionally left open during the design process.

To finish the layout, I scattered a few tiny heart die-cuts from the Bits & Pieces pack around the page for a subtle final touch.

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoy my layout and that it inspires you to get creative yourself. With the summer holidays fast approaching, I know I'll have plenty more beach-themed photos to scrapbook, so this certainly won't be the last time you'll see me working with this gorgeous collection! 

Take care,

Rebecca xx

@preciouspagespapercraft

Heidi Swapp - Set Sail - Beach Fun

Hi everyone,

Claire here with you today, sharing a new layout made with the Set Sail collection from Heidi Swapp. You can find the collection in the shop here.

I love our trips to the beach, and we are lucky enough to have a few close by. This collection is perfect for local trips and those more further afield with a tropical climate.

As usual, I started with a piece of Premium White Cardstock and trimmed the edges by 1/4", backing it onto plain kraft cardstock and adding machine stitching (which I actually did at the end of the page once everything was in place).

I knew I wanted to add mixed media so applied a cost of gesso and left to dry.

In the meantime, I cut some planks from the Wood paper in different lengths and distressed the edges. Once the gesso was dry, I stuck them to the background and began to add watercolour pains in a few different shades of blue to create depth.

Once that was dry I added some modelling paste through a stencil on top of the mixed media (check out the stencil link because some of the cute beachy ones are in the sale right now!).

To add more texture, I found some white deco web in my stash and sprayed it with Distress Oxide Spray in neutral colours, and then hairspray to help set the colour, slotting it underneath each of the planks.

Once the moulding paste was dry I reapplied the stencil and brushed Distress Oxide over the top in Frayed Burlap, splattered white paint over the top and added a few clusters of white Nuvo Drops.

Next, I layered my photos using the softer neutral tones of the Small Ledgers paper and some plain white tissue paper.

Using a neutral tag fussy cut from the Tags paper and a blue tag with gold foiling tag from the Journaling Ephemera set, I layered them under the photos on either side. The gold foiling is spectacular, and makes the page feel quite luxurious.

I complemented this with a small cluster using a foiled shell, an anchor from the Ephemera Pack, and some small wooden chipboard pieces from the P13 Sea La Vie collection - the two go perfectly together.

On the other side of my photos, I created a second cluster, again using the small P13 chipboard and a label I fussy cut from the Tags paper.

For a bit of an extra beachy feel, I added some Distress Crackle Paste to the edges of the planks, adding Antique Linen Distress Oxide with a brush once dry. I love this paste - it gives such a lovely texture to your projects, perfect for the beach/outdoor layouts. The ink over the tops just adds a bit of extra depth. If you're going to use this, i'd recommend you apply a generous coat (the thicker the cost, the bigger the cracks). You'll need to leave it for a while to dry, with the cracks appearing throughout the drying process.

I also added some moss amongst my clusters, along with some small art stones from my stash, which I adhered to the page using Distress Collage Medium.

For my title, I just had to use those gorgeous Alphas! I Love the ombre look they have, and the darker blue helps add some definition to the page.

I staggered the title on either side of the photo to create 'Beach Fun', and added a few seagulls from the Cardstock Stickers to 'fly' along the top of the layout.

One is stuck flat to the photograph, the others are raised on foam for extra interest.

To help balance the page, I created a small cluster to anchor the bottom of the design. I replicated what I had in the main design, using fussy cut planks from the Wood paper, a bit of deco web, moss and stones and then created extra height and depth with the Cardstock Sticker Ship and a small striped banner, along with a foiled phrase from the Ephemera Pack.

I hope you've enjoyed this layout - I'm really loving expanding my mixed media products in particular, so hope this is something you have liked to see - If you have any questions I haven't covered off in my post, please don't hesitate to comment below and I'll answer as best I can. 

Until next time, happy scrapping!

Claire xx

@scrappysoulmate