Well hello Friday! Today I wanted to share some tips on getting mileage out of those paper collection kits. I love a good coordinated set of papers, but I always need them to work with both girl and boy layouts. Even if the papers tend towards masculine (lots of plaid or wood patterns) or feminine (lots of florals and pastels) I love to find ways to incorporate them into any type of design!
The pages I'm featuring today use an older Simple Stories paper collection (Vintage Blessings) but there are several newer releases from Simple Stories that have very similar vibes. Any mix of prints in autumnal colors and patterns work here, so be sure to check your stash before buying anything new. I've also linked currently available supplies under each layout.
S U P P L I E S :
Bazzill White Cardstock | Bazzill Almond Cream | Alphabet Stickers | Wood Buttons | Enamel Dots
Date Stamp | Sewing Machine
The first layout features Riely, so naturally I wanted it to have a more girly feel. But instead of working with only the floral patterns or softer colors in the paper collection, I chose to add feminine flair by creating flowers from several of the patterned papers. I hand-cut petals from a variety of papers (the charm of these is that that they aren't all exactly the same!) and then adhered each bloom atop a piece of scrap white cardstock. To add fun texture, I stitched several times around each petal and adorned the centers with plain wood buttons. Once finished, I trimmed out each flower and adhered them on the page to frame my photo.
The resulting design has a definitively feminine feel even with plaids, ginghams and stripes included. And the flowy script title reinforces the page theme as well. Now, let's see how I used the same paper collection for a more masculine layout!
S U P P L I E S :
Kraft Cardstock | Bazzill Java Cardstock | BSD Chevron Cut File | Title Cut File | Similar Chipboard
Enamel Dots | Sewing Machine | Silhouette Cameo
In this design, I wanted to focus on more masculine approach since the page is about Hayden. I began with a base of darker kraft cardstock which immediately feels more rugged than the lighter background of Riely's page. And though I used many floral papers, I incorporated them into a bold chevron pattern so they wouldn't seem overly girly. (You can download the chevron cut file from my etsy shop - it's much easier than figuring out all the angles of those cuts!)
Using small snippets of patterns tempers the feminine feel, plus I mixed in some darker plaid/gingham patterns to balance the florals. For the title, I chose a blocky die-cut file and cut it out of dark brown cardstock to further reinforce the masculine theme. A few simple chipboard embellishments finish off this page!
So don't shy away from papers just because you think they'll only work for one gender. Try these tricks for using them on any type of page you might want to create!
