Echo Park Coffee & Friends - Dream Big

I'm back today on the Papermaze blog with another layout using Echo Park's Coffee & Friends collection and today I've scrapbooked some photos of Lara with a giant cup of tea.

I started by cutting a huge tea cup cut file from some smooth white cardstock and backed this with papers from the collection (B side of the Coffee Shop Wall and B side of the 3x4 Journaling Cards papers) and also some olive green cardstock scraps. I also used a piece of kraft cardstock for the 'tea' in the cup.

A piece of white cotton lace was glued to the cut file too for some extra texture.

I then worked out where I was going to place the cut file and my photos on my layout and lightly drew round the outside of these using a pencil on a sheet of 12x12 white Bazzill cardstock.

Using a brickwork stencil and some Tattered Rose Distress Oxide Ink, I stencilled around the area where the cut file and photos would be placed. The Tattered Rose ink was the perfect colour to match the Coffee & Friends collection and created a subtle background.

The pencil marks were then rubbed out and the cut file and photos were stuck to the layout with some 3D foam underneath.

A 'tea bag on a tag' was created using one of the Journalling Cards from the cut apart sheet on one end of a piece of bakers twine and a die cut from the Ephemera pack  on the other end. The tea bag was glued on top of the tea cup and the tag in the top left corner. I used a wet glue to secure the bakers twine in place.

The words printed on the die cut weren't suitable for this layout so I glued a flower fussy cut from the Coffee Shop Wall paper on top to hide this. Two heart pins were added behind the flower.

Tiny pink foam alphabet stickers were used to add a quote at the bottom of the layout.

In my stash I found a label sticker in coordinating colours and tucked this behind one of the photos.

The layout was completed with a scattering of sequins and a doodled border.

Echo Park Coffee & Friends - Coffee and Sunshine

This month I'm using the new Coffee and Friends collection from Echo Park on the Papermaze blog. I don't know about you, but I've had enough of the cold, wet, dark, winter weather and I can't wait for the warmer days of spring to arrive. But with snow forecast this weekend in my part of the country, I may have to wait a while yet. The Coffee & Friends collection from Echo Park is a coffee themed collection but the colours are very fresh with subtle shades of pink and green so as well as being perfect for scrapbooking about your coffee moments, this collection will also be perfect for springtime layouts.

For my first layout I decided to scrapbook a photo taken a couple of years ago in a quirky little cafe/pancake/ice cream parlour in Wales. This collection could have been created just for that photo as the colours matched perfectly!

I started by layering strips of  the Mocha Mugs, 3x4 Journalling cards (B Side) and Letterboard (B Side) paper onto a sheet of green cardstock which I then matted with a piece of black cardstock. Using white thread I machine stitched along all the edged.

My 4x6 photo and one of the jounalling cards were both matted with green and black cardstock and then placed at an angle in the centre of my layout, overlapping the edges slightly. 3D foam was added underneath for dimension. 

Some tucked white paper doilies were tucked behind the photo and journalling card. Whilst the doilies aren't that obvious in the finished layout, they do add some subtle texture.

I fussy cut flowers from the Coffee Shop Wall paper and used these as embellishments.

I found a black word strip in my stash to add on top of the fussy cut flowers and a few green sequins for sparkle.

One of the Ephemera die cuts was used as my title on top of the photo.

More die cuts and some natural twine were used to create bunting at the top of the layout.

The bunting included a  die cut which I had made into a shaker pocket. I cut out the centre of the die cut and filled the hole with a  pocket made from some plastic packaging and sequins from my stash.

The date was added to the layout using tiny foam Thickers.

Journalling on word strips fixed to the bottom left corner of the layout finished the layout.

Pinkfresh Studio Oh What Fun - Winter Magic

One final layout today using the Oh What Fun collection from Pinkfresh Studio.

My layout today is a wintery layout using the papers, etc in the collection which are mainly blue in tone.

On a sheet of 12x12 white cardstock I smooshed some blue watercolour paint and when this was dry I splattered some white acrylic paint on top to create a snowy background. Using my sewing machine I then stitched round the outside edge of the layout using gold metalic thread.

I layered pieces of the Merry Everything and  Home for the Holidays papers as well as a piece of the packaging from the pack of chipboard stickers in the centre of the layout and then added my 6x4 photo on top. My photo was double matted with white cardstock and gold glitter card. More machine stitching was added to the papers and the edges were roughed up with my fingernails.

From the Good Tidings cut apart sheet I fussy cut a house and used this as an embelishment. 

I printed my journalling onto a label from the cut apart sheet and added this to the layout. A matching frame from the Merry Everything paper was tucked under the left side of the photo.

Using the word 'magic' from the sheet of Puffy Phrase Stickers and some navy blue Pink Paislee Foam Thickers I created the title below the photo.

A chipboard sticker was added to the top right corner of the photo.

I felt the layout needed an extra pop of gold so I added torn strips of gold glitter card on the edges of the layout and some cut strips to the central cluster.

The layout was completed with the addition of the date using die cut gold glitter numbers and some snowflakes also punched from the glitter card.

Pinkfresh Studio Oh What Fun - Wake Me Up When It's All Over

Happy New Year! My layout today uses the Pinkfresh Studio Oh What Fun collection. This is the fourth layout I created with this collection (although I still have to show the third!) and I only had a few bits and pieces left so decided to create a clean, simple, grid layout which can often be created with minimal supplies.

I used a silly Snapchat photo on my layout that was taken on the eve of 2020 and created a reflective layout about the past year. Little did Lara and I know when we took this photo what the coming year would bring.

I started with a 12x12 sheet of black cardstock and into this I matted a slightly smaller sheet of white cardstock. Using my sewing machine I machine stitched using black thread round the edge of the white cardstock.

In the centre of the layout I created a grid with my 6x4 photo, a couple of images from the Good Tiding cut apart sheet and a scrap of the Home for the Holidays paper. Each element was matted on black or red cardstock to make is pop from the background.

On one of the cut apart images I layered a frame from the Merry Everything paper , a black and white stripy tag from my stash, a postage stamp image from the Merriest Wishes paper and added a star punched from black cardstock and a black sequin. Some 3D foam was put underneath some of the embelishments to add some dimension.

My title, which uses lyrics from one of my favourite songs by Avicii, was created using a 'Wake me Up' cut file and some mini puffy alphabet stickers. The title block was embellished with another postage stamp image from the Merriest Wishes paper, a punched star and more black sequins.

The remaining cut apart image was embellished with a chipboard sticker from the collection, a punched star and sequin.

My journalling was printed onto a plain white tag, embellished with a punch star and was then tucked behind my photo.

Pinkfresh Studio Oh What Fun - Christmas Traditions

I have another scrapbook layout using the very festive 'Oh What Fun' collection from Pinkfresh Studio. I'm really enjoying using this collection and scrapbooking memories of Christmas past is really getting me in the Christmas mood. 

I started with a 12 x 12 sheet of red Lava Bazzill Cardstock and on this I layered a sheet of of the Good Tidings patterned paper (B Side) which I had trimmed about ¼" off of each edge and using my sewing machine I stitched round the edges with white thread.

In the centre of the layout I placed my three 4x6 photos which I had double matted as a block with the red cardstock and some gold mirror card. The photos were placed at an angle with foam underneath to add some dimension. 

Using my Silhouette I die cut my title from some more of the gold mirror card and backed this with smooth white cardstock.

I used some images from the Snow Globes patterned paper to back the letters D & O of the title and  glued it to the layout, slightly overlapping the bottom edges of the photos, with foam underneath so it was the same height as the photos.

I made tags from the Good Tidings patterned paper and mirror card, threaded these with bakers twine and tucked these behind the photos. I always add a little wet glue behind the loose ends of the bakers twine to keep them in place.

I embellished with some of the puffy stickers and chipboard stickers from the collection and various wood veneer stars from my stash.

I finished the layout by typing my journalling and date onto white cardstock, outlined the words in black gel pen and added them to the bottom of the layout.

Pinkfresh Studio Oh What Fun - Merry Memories

Today on the Papermaze blog I'm sharing my first layout using the Pinkfresh Studio Oh What Fun collection. This collection is a holiday collection full of bright happy colours perfect for scrapbooking Christmas memories or for making cards and mini books.

For this layout I used a 5x7 photo of Lara taken when she was a lot younger.

I took a sheet of mustard coloured cardstock for my base and onto this I added a piece of the Merriest Wishes paper and a torn piece of the Home for the Holiday paper (B side). Using metallic gold thread I machine stitched round the outside edges of the patterned papers. My photo was double matted onto some of the mustard cardstock and some gold glitter card and was attached to the right side of the layout with 3D foam underneath.

I also machine stitched over the top of the printed 'strings' from which the printed baubles were hanging.  I punched some tiny stars from some gold glitter card and used these to embellish the printed baubles and added 3D foam pads underneath the stars to raise them up.

I made some bunting using images cut from the Merriest Wishes paper and some red Bakers Twine. This was added above my photo and some punched stars were glued to the ends of the twine.

I used some of the Puffy Phrase Stickers from the collection for my title. 

I printed my journalling onto some white cardstock using my computer, outlined it with a black gel pen and added it to the bottom left corner of the layout.

Finally I dotted some tiny clear crystal stickers around the layout to add a bit of sparkle.

Paige Evans Go The Scenic Route - Mini Album

This week I've made a mini album using the the Go The Scenic Route collection from Paige Evans. This collection is a travel themed collection so after creating three layouts with my design team kit I decided to create a travel themed mini album with what was left over. Last year Christopher and a friend took part in a European car rally. It was quite an adventure as they visited 9 countries in 8 days. Christopher kindly shared his photos with me so I could create this album.

I found a cut file for a suitcase shaped mini accordion album in the Silhouette Studio and cut this from white cardstock. I then covered the front and back of the album with paper #21.

I strung a couple of the die cut tickets from the Journal Ephemera Pack and a camera charm from my stash onto some Bakers Twine which I used at the end to tie the album closed. I used some clear alphabet stickers to add the date and name of the car rally to the tickets.

A small wood veneer car from my stash was also stuck to the cover of the album. 

I used papers #2 on the inside pages of the album and stuck a 2x3 photo on each page. 

The pages of the album were kept simple and were embellished with stickers from the collection, travel themed images stamped onto white cardstock using some stamps from my stash......

and enamel dots.

I printed the names of the countries my son visited onto some white cardstock. The names of the counties were attached in the order of the trip and don't necessarily match the photos they are next to. I didn't have photos from every country as some countries were only visited for 30 minutes or were just a whistlestop visit to get some lunch en-route!

Finally, I doodled on the pages using a black gel pen.

I think the mini album is a nice keepsake of a memorable trip and the Go The Scenic Route collection was perfect for documenting this.

Paige Evans Go The Scenic Route - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Hand Stitching)

Another layout today using Paige Evans latest collection called Go The Scenic Route. 

My layout today is inspired by, and based entirely on paper #9. This pretty pale lilac sheet of paper reminded me of an old fashion embroidered sampler and I immediately knew I wanted to do some hand stitching on my layout.

I started by machine stitching with white thread round the edge of the layout. Then, using 6 strands of embroidery thread in pink, orange and navy blue I stitched detached chain stitches (also called lazy daisy stitch) on top of some of the printed leaves. This added texture to the layout and emphasised the design. The stitching didn't take too long and was quite relaxing to do.

I then matted my four photos onto white Bazzill cardstock and attached these to the layout with 3D foam underneath to add depth. Before gluing down the photos I carefully fussy cut some of the flowers from the base paper, which would have been hidden by the photos, and added these to the corners of the layout, again with foam beneath them.

I tucked a few die cuts from the Journal Ephemera Pack behind the top two photos ....

...and added a few pieces on top of the bottom two photos. Bakers Twine was added to the Magical tag .

I dug into my stash and found some pink puffy alpha stickers from Pinkfresh Studio for the title and date. The title was added in an arc to follow the design on the paper.

To finish off the layout I added some sequins to the centres of some of the flowers and on a sheet of Doodlebug Shape Sprinkles I found some teeny tiny navy blue dots (like enamel dots) which I dotted about the layout.