Gettin' By

Bubble Border Technique

Looking for a simple way to use up some paper scraps and create a super cute layout? How about a bubble border! This easy technique is a great way to draw attention to a photo and I love the fun energy all the little circles add to a page. Here's the scoop on how to do it!

S U P P L I E S :
Bazzill White | Bazzill Vellum | Hey Hello Papers | Multi Stripe Paper | Journal Card | Alphabet | File Tab
Enamel Dots | Circle Punch | Date Stamp | Buttons | Foam Adhesive

 

The first step is to cut a large heart from white cardstock - mine is 10.5" at its widest point. I adhered the heart to my page base with foam adhesive, which allows you to tuck some of the circles underneath the edge. Once the heart is in place, you just need lots of colorful circles to layer around the outer edge!

 

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut circles ranging from 1/4 to 3/4 inch out of scraps of patterned paper, but you could also use punches or die cuts. I cut a lot more circles than I actually needed, but it's nice to have a large assortment of sizes and colors when you're building the border!

 

Be sure to overlap your circles and completely cover the edge of the white cardstock. Don't worry about keeping things in a straight line - the fun of a bubble border is it's a little bit wonky!  

You can also add small buttons, brads, or enamel dots to give your border some extra texture. Sequins or eyelets would also work well too!  And you aren't limited to the heart shape, either. Your base shape could be a circle, square or hexagon. The bubbles will make just about any shape a little more whimsical!

Happy Scrapping!

 

Snapshots | Inspired by SCT

It’s always a fantastic mail day when SCT magazine arrives in my mailbox and I was so excited to curl up with a big cup of coffee to peruse through the gorgeous pages of the winter issue. There's just something about flipping through an actual paper magazine that no digital content will ever replace. And naturally, the inspiration I found in the issue led me to my scrap table to create!

 

I was especially inspired by Erica Thomson’s Inspiration Challenge layout on page 49 with the layered circles in a simple grid formation. I am a sucker for a good grid, and I immediately wanted to create a page using that same foundation!

 

S U P P L I E S :

Bazzill Kraft  |  Bazzill White  |  Crate Paper Magical Forest  |  Chipboard  |  Alphabet  |  Puffy Stickers
Coffee Ring Stamp  |  Scallop Punch  |  Circle Cutter  |  Ink  |  Gems  |  Date Stamp  |  Foam Adhesive

 

 

I wanted to highlight some everyday photos together on the page, and this grid framework gave me nine different spots to incorporate pictures. I chose five photos, leaving the other spots open for featuring fun embellishments and a title.

 

 

After cutting patterned paper circles from the Crate Paper Magical Forest collection (but before adhering them!) I decided to add an additional layer of texture to my grid with stamps. I used a few circle-shaped images as well as an ink splatter stamp to to frame some of the circles in the grid. This is a subtle way to add another layer of detail so don't forget about your stamps!

 

 

A bit of stitching adds additional texture to my circles, and layering up embellishments is also a great way to add tactile dimension to a page. And don’t be afraid to let elements hang off the edge of the circles! It visually connects the circles by breaking up the white space in between them.

 

 

I saved the lower right corner for my title, which combines chipboard letters with a die-cut word (cut on the Silhouette from the font Love Mama). 

 

 

So are you inspired to create a circle-based grid? Other shapes like stars, hexagons and the traditional squares would work too! I’d love to see what you create!

Keepin' On The Grid

If you're at all familiar with my scrap style, you know I create LOTS of grid-based layouts. And yes, nine-square grids seem to be especially popular with the voices inside my head. But despite the fact that about every other layout I create is a grid, they don't all end up looking the same. (And if you flip through my albums and tell me they do, indeed, all look like repeats, then we just can't be friends.)

What I love about the grid format is the smaller canvases it contains - so many little places to put a photo, journaling, title or just a cute embellishment! I love filling each square with part of the story, tying them all together with colors and patterns. This recent layout is a great example of just that!

S U P P L I E S :
Bazzill White  |  Bazzill Rain  |  Bazzill Java  |  Magical Forest and Marigold Papers  |  Chipboard  |  Rainbow
 Bow  |  Stickers  |  Metallic Pen  |  Enamel Dots |  Scallop Border  |  Silhouette Cameo  |  Foam Adhesive

 

I began with nine patterned paper cut to 3 x 3 to create the base of my page.  I opted to top four the squares with photos from our annual family photo shoot, which I printed at 2.5" square with a white border that helps them pop off the background.  This left five squares for the rest of my page elements (and the fun part of selecting small pieces to adorn them!

Rather than a wordy title, I chose to use a simple monogram -  D for Dickinson -  as the page ultimately didn't need a super descriptive phrase. The monogram is cut from brown cardstock using the font Battle Road (a free download!)

After using a tag to hold brief journaling on one square, I filled the remaining squares with matching textural embellishments. I love to layer different pieces from the same collection - chipboard, stickers, die cuts - to create little interesting vignettes. The rainbow is a favorite - I'd love to have a huge one to hang on my wall! 

 

As a final touch, I trimmed down my white cardstock background to 11 x 11, allowing me to add a 1/2" scalloped cardstock border around the entire page and still fit it in a page protector. I used a scallop die cut to create mine, and it didn't quite create a perfectly square border (the corners are a bit wonky).  I think I need to design a set of cut file borders to perfectly frame a 12 x 12 page. Adding to my to-do list now . . .

 

I think I love grid layouts because they are relatively fool-proof, and sometimes you need a creative technique that doesn't require too much thought. Gotta save the brain for more important duties like which pair of slippers to don today or which wine to open for happy hour, amiright?!

Double Page Tricks | On the Court

Double-page layouts are some of my favorites to complete as the extra canvas room always sparks my mojo! Plus, I can usually incorporate standard 4x6 photos and don't have to reduce the size of my pictures to get them all to fit. One of my favorite tricks for creating an eye-catching two pager is to use different 12x12 sheets on each half. Here's proof that your page background doesn't have to be the same on both sides!

S U P P L I E S :

Bazzill Cream Puff Cardstock  |  Bazzill Admiral Cardstock  |  Plaid Paper  |  Striped Paper  |  Navy Diamond Paper 
 Ephemera  |  Woodgrain Thickers  |  Twine  |  Silhouette Cameo  |  Wood Buttons

 

I chose the bold plaid pattern on the left because the colors in it worked well with the orange basketball in my photos. I quite often use my photos to prompt product choices as it often results in combos I never would have picked otherwise! To balance the busy plaid, the right side is a plain ivory cardstock with an mixed-element title that replicates the color scheme on the left.

 

 

The four vertical photos are lined up across the layout and I purposely positioned them on the right half to help balance the weight of the plaid. The patterned side is mostly white space without many page elements to clutter it up - a great example of how white space isn't always WHITE! 

 

 

A small cluster of embellishments on the upper left edge help to create a diagonal line from corner to corner and leads the eye through the design. I love adding lots of texture and dimension in these little groupings - it makes things interesting!

 

Another fun way to add a bit of texture is stamped images. I love using small words or icons stamped repeatedly for an added detail wherever your page might need a little oomph. It adds an accent layer to the page without any bulk and is great way to reinforce your page theme!

 

So the next time you start a two-page project, try a few of these tricks to spice up your design! And definitely share them with me as I'd love to see what you create!

Making Papers Work for Masculine or Feminine

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!

Beach Beautiful | BSD Cut Files

It's scorching hot here in Colorado and definitely beach weather. . . if only we had one of those. Luckily, I do have some great beach drink recipes, so I'm making do with those and my backyard sprinklers. If I squint and ignore the barking dogs, I can almost transport myself to a tropical paradise!

 

And speaking of which, here's a fun vacation layout featuring a beach - and my beautiful beach baby (who's really not a baby anymore at all). It features some of my favorite layered floral cut files that are now available in my Etsy shop!

 

S U P P L I E S :

Floral Paper  |  Cloud Paper  |  Lined Paper  | Graph Paper |  Chipboard Frame  |  Puffy Word Sticker 
 Alphabet Stickers  |  Floral Cut Files  |  Silhouette Cameo  |  Twine  |  Sewing Machine

 

The supplies on this layout are about four years old, but I've linked similar items to re-create the look. Most of the papers are from Bella Blvd, and I love that their designs and color palettes are always consistent year after year, making it easy to mix the old with the new!

 

 

The layered flowers are an easy way to make a colorful statement in your design. I cut each piece on my Silhouette and lightly inked the edges of each before layering with foam adhesive. A matching button center is the perfect accent! All of the flower shapes (and vines!) are available in this set of floral cut files.

 

 

With such detailed florals and a colorful background, the page doesn't need much else! I just added a few tab stickers and some jute twine to finish off the layout.

 

 

And with that, I'm off to find creative ways to beat the heat! Which is definitely gonna require some piña coladas, right?!

CLASS OF 2019 | Scrapbook & Cards Summer 2020

Documenting Hayden's graduation from high school was a daunting task for me. First off, just looking at the photos got me all weepy and teary-eyed and everyone knows you shouldn't wield scissors when your eyes are all misty. Secondly, I had so many photos from the day that I couldn't imagine how I'd choose just a few to feature in a layout. So naturally, I procrastinated completing the project for a good 12 months, at which point I decided it was time to put on my big girl pants and get 'er done! (In the interest of transparency, I didn't suddenly gain confidence & discipline or anything....it was just my assignment for the summer issue of Scrapbook & Cards Today.  Nothing like a deadline to motivate me to get my butt in gear!)

 

S U P P L I E S:
Bazzill White Cardstock  |  Amy Tangerine Picnic in the Park Papers  |  Stickers  |  Puffy Stickers  |  Scallop Punch 
Buttons  |  Enamel Dots  |  Silhouette Cameo  

 

I was able to fit a whopping 16 photos in this design and even though that was a mere fraction of what I snapped that morning, I feel the photos featured really capture the emotions of the day. The photos range in size and to get them all to fit together, I set up a 24x12 canvas in Photoshop and pulled the photos into that to determine size and shape. As a graphic designer, I quite often "sketch" my page designs in a layout program first - it helps me visualize the final concept and build a framework to design within.

 

Anywhere there was trapped white space between the photos, I filled it with stickers or embellishments, mixing in circles, hearts and rounded edges to help balance all the straight lines of the photo grid. While there is a general stair-step arrangement of the elements, it's not symmetrical and that's part of the fun!

 

 

Because it was hard for me to find my own words to journal this event, I instead used the famous "Wear Sunscreen" column by Mary Schmidt, which pretty perfectly summed up that day. It was a lot of text to include, but the white space in the corners of this layout were just enough room to squeeze it all in!

 

And just to prove that a good design can be used time and time again, here's a page I did quite awhile ago using the same layout concept. It chronicles highlights from a whole year and would be perfect as an opening page for a Project Life album!

 

If you told me back when I started scrapping that I'd eventually love creating multi-photo, two page layouts, I'd have called you a big fat liar. But here I am, 22 years later, creating those very pages that used to totally intimidate me. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks (especially if you give her a deadline!)

Inspiration Challenge | Scrapbook & Cards Summer 2020

The new issue of SCT is hot off the presses and ready to inspire you! If you haven't gotten a copy yet, you can download the digital version or add a beautiful hard copy to your order at Scrapbook.com. It's a bright and happy, chocked-full-of-eye candy issue you won't want to miss!

 

One of the layouts I have featured in this issue is an Inspiration Challenge and it's designed to help jump-start your next page. Whether it's a small detail - like the mix of fonts in the title - or a large one - like the multi-layered floral cut files - I hope this design will inspire you to get busy creating!

S U P P L I E S :

Photo Play Paper Collection  |  Ephemera  |  Script Alpha  |  Serif Alpha  |  Floral Cut Files  |  Buttons 
Baker's Twine  |  Sewing Machine  |  Silhouette Cameo  |  Foam Adhesive

 

The fun layered flowers are a great way to add in plenty of pattern to your design, and they are a free download as part of the summer issue bonus content. I used foam adhesive between each layer for added dimension!

 

 

The title is a mix of alphabet stickers (a script and a classic serif) and typography that I printed directly on my cardstock using the font American Typewriter. I'm such a font nerd, and seeing a great mix of stylish fonts makes me super happy!

 

If you create something inspired by my page, I'd love to see it! Drop a link here or post on social media with the hashtag #SCTInspirationChallenge so I can see what you've made!

 

Happy Scrapping!

Simple Saturday | Patchwork Quilt

I have a huge stack of layouts that have never seen the light of day (on this blog, anyway). Truthfully, they get plenty of light on my dining room table where they've been happily living for many years, moving only for the occasional Thanksgiving dinner or Mother's Day brunch when we have to clear them out to use the table for its intended purpose. If there's one thing i can do well, it's make piles of items I plan to deal with...later.

But since COVID rolled into town and my hubby's been working from home, he needed the dining room table as a desk and these stacks of layouts have moved to my office floor, where they wait for me to get motivated enough to put them all away in their various albums. It's a project that I easily (and happily) procrastinate doing, because there's just so many other things that require my time. Instagram ain't gonna scroll itself, you know.

But just because I can't manage to get them into albums doesn't mean I can't share them here - and buy myself some more time from the dreaded album-inserting. So here's the first in what's sure to be a long line of layouts to come. (Seriously, the stacks are taller than my shortest Great Dane.) 

S U P P L I E S:
Dear Heart by Basic Grey  |  Bazzill White Cardstock  |  Buttons  |  Enamel Dots  |  Square Punch  |  Sewing Machine   

 

This page is an oldie-but-goodie from my beloved time on the BasicGrey design team. While the exact supplies are obviously no longer available, I did find the digital collection, Dear Heart, available at SnapClickSupply. I'd seriously buy the digital files and print it at home just to use this pretty collection again! But if you're looking for papers currently available, Springtime Pals collection by The Paper Tree and Gingham Garden by My Mind's Eye are similar color and pattern palettes.

 

 

On the bottom half of my page, I punched 1.5" squares from all the lovely patterned papers. When there's too many pretties to choose just one, creating a patchwork quilt from ALL of them is your best option! I adhered them in a grid to the background and then added diagonal stitching to give the whole thing a handmade feel.

 

 

Because the quilt technique incorporates a lot of straight lines and right angles, I wanted to balance that with circular photos and accents across the top of the page. They add a sense of motion and movement to the page, while the blocks of squares give the design stability. 

 

 

So now I have one layout to add to a new pile: those that have been posted on the blog and still need to be placed in an album. Didn't I say I'm talented at creating piles?!

 

Happy weekend, my friends!

BSD Cut Files | Ready Set Go!

If you're familiar with my scrapbooking style, you know I love pattern and color in my designs. And I'm always trying to find clever ways to incorporate LOTS of patterns on a page while still maintaining a clean, organized and fairly simple aesthetic. One technique that works wonderfully for this die cuts that can be filled with colors and give your page instant style!

 

S U P P L I E S :

Bazzill Turquoise Mist Cardstock  | Bazzill White Cardstock | Hustle & Heart paper pad  |  White Thickers
  Blue Thickers |  Star Frame Cut File  |  Silhouette Cameo  | date stamp | foam adhesive | misc buttons 

 

This star circle frame is available in my Etsy shop and makes a perfect place to incorporate lots of your favorite papers. I filled each star and circle with papers from the Amy Tangerine Hustle & Heart 6x6 paper pad.  These smaller-scale designs are ideal for filling in the blank spaces of cut files!

 

 

In the center of each star, I stitched various buttons for added texture and dimension. This is a great way to use up any “singles” you may have of brads, buttons or enamel dots.

 

 

The photos, journaling and title are all incorporated into the center of the design. I get asked a lot about how to print directly on a layout background, and I do it with a large format printer. Mine is the Epson Artisan 1430 which is no longer available, but there are other printers that have this capacity.  The Epson Expression and the Canon Pixma Pro are good options! 

 

 

 

 

And now I'm off to enjoy the weekend - ready, set, GO!