Simple Stories - Trail Mix - Let's Go

Hi everyone,

Claire back with you today sharing my second layout with the Trail Mix collection from Simple Stories. You can find it in the shop here.

I'm thoroughly enjoying this collection. As I mentioned in my last post, there's a great combination of earthy colours, alongside some richer warmer tones like I've used here.

The inspiration for my design came from a Post It note wreath I saw on Pinterest, so I decided to replicate it, using 3" squares of patterned paper.

I trimmed the Campfire Stories paper by 1/4" on all sides, distressing the edges and laying it flat on a piece of Premium White Cardstock. I've always loved a woodgrain paper and this one is no exception.

To create my paper square wreath, I cut four 3" squares from each of the Bugs & Kisses and So Outdoorsy papers.

I marked 1" down from two sides of the square and used this as a guide to score diagonally across the corner, creating a folded back edge, showcasing both sides of the patterned paper.

I repeated this for each square and then began to build the wreath, laying each square with the corner to the top left, and arranging these in a circular motion.

I cut my photo to fit in the centre of the wreath, measuring approximately 2.5" in size. I raised this on foam to help it stand proud against the wreath.

I cut the Let's Go title from the Tag Elements paper to create my title.

Once these elements were in place, the layout needed just a few small embellishments. I took a selection of ephemera pieces from the Bits & Pieces pack, 

I love how just a few small embellishment clusters has brought the wreath to life, and really given it that 'exploring outdoors' feeling.

On the top and bottom square, I added some phrases from the Sticker Book, laying these in the edge of the flap to create a bit of extra movement. 

To help make sure they stayed visible, I added a small foam pad under the folded paper edge to stop it raising too high. This worked perfectly and makes sure you can see the stickers in full.

As a final touch, I added a few die cut leaves from plain white cardstock and added a few splashes of white paint across the wreath.

I hope you've enjoyed this layout. It was certainly a fun one to create!

See you next time.

Claire xx

@scrappysoulmate

Simple Stories - Trail Mix - Outdoors Adventure

Hi there,

I hope you've had a fabulous Summer Holiday, despite summer being somewhat lacking here!

Autumn has definitely arrived and I'm loving it! It's my favourite time of year, and this month i'll be documenting it using the Trail Mix collection from Simple Stories which you can find in the shop here.

I was surprised how versatile this collection is. It combines earthy tones like I've used here, with brighter more vibrant colours which I'll use in my next post. That gives it great range for scrapping brighter Spring/Summer adventures with those more woodland walks through Autumn to Winter. I do love a collection that has multiple uses!

As usual, I reached for a base of White Premium Cardstock, and some Distress Oxide Inks in shades that reflect this warmer tone palette. I used:

• Scattered Straw
• Ripe Persimmon
• Unchartered Mariner
• Peeled Paint

I applied them using a gel printing plate, creating circular prints going vertically down the page.

Once I had these in place, I knew I wanted to create a circular design, pulling all the different circular elements from the collection to build clusters around my photograph.

I first cut a range of circles in different sizes using dies, but you could use punches or an electronic cutting machine like Cricut or Silhouette to achieve the same result. I used the blue and green sheets from the Matchmaker Pack, along with the 3x4 Elements and 2x2/4x4 Elements papers.

I stuck some of these flat, but raised most on foam, gathering them in 3 main spots to create anchors for each cluster.

To each cluster I added some ephemera from the Bits & Pieces pack, alongside some stickers from the Sticker Book.

The Ephemera pack includes these cute little bugs which make a great addition to the page and really help to give it that outdoorsy feel.

Just above my photo, I wanted to create a larger cluster, so fussy cut this big compass from the 2x2/4x4 Elements Paper which really helps to balance the page as it's offset against a larger photo. This also acts a a subtitle for the layout.

Again, you'll see I couldn't help but add another one of those cute bugs to bring the page to life!

My title is made from a large statement piece from the Page Pieces pack. I love these packs. They contain 15 staple die cuts including ephemera and journaling pieces, that give you everything you need to create a beautiful layout, and they're great value for money!

I added the 'adventure' from the Bits & Pieces Ephemera Pack to help bring a bit of the darker brown to the bottom of the page.

I also added a small cluster of trees using the Bits & Pieces and Sticker Book to help incorporate the title a bit more, and bring the it into the design.

With a few extra splatters of Distress Oxide, the page was complete!

This was a very quick and easy page to put together, and I can't wait to come back later this month with another layout from this beautiful collection.

There's still plenty of this collection in stock, so check it out here.

Claire xx

@scrappysoulmate