Sending Mini Books As Christmas Gifts

 Hello!!

Lisa here. I hope you are well and looking forward to Christmas.

I have a little Christmas gift idea for you today.

You may have seen this mini book as I started making it last month.

If you missed it, here's part 1 of the video. 

I wanted to finish the book and add pockets, trimming, journaling and photos ready to gift to my Mum.

Here's the second part of this video, there's a full flip through at the end so you can see the completed gift.

I used the Say Cheese Classic Mouse Collection fro, Simple Stories, which you can see here.

I added pom pom trims to the edge of some of the pages with a hot glue gun.

 

The papers are so fun and make creating a mini book so easy.

I cute the bottom piece which has the word 'photo' and used a corner punch to round the corners and popped it so it peeps out. 

I love how fun this gift is.

And it's full of photos and memories.

I really recommend making a mini book as a gift.

They make such a special and personalised treat for someone. 

I hope you like this idea.

Lisa x

Nature - P13 Paper Products - Into the Woods Collection

Hi everyone,

It's Rebecca with you on the blog today sharing my second layout of the month, created with the gorgeous 'Into the Woods' collection by P13 Paper Products. You can find the collection in the shop here.

This layout was entirely inspired by one of the images on Paper #05. I really loved the circle image with the toadstool and decided to cut it out and create a layout made of circles.

Using a set of metal nesting dies, I cut circles of varying sizes form several of the patterned papers. I adore the green tones with the contrasting bright orange. I arranged the circles onto a sheet of Premium White Cardstock and adhered them together - but not to the background as I knew I wanted to come back later and add some mixed media. 

With the circles in place, I added a circular photo. I made sure to cut my photo larger than the other circles on the page to help it stand out. I fussy cut some toadstools from Paper #03 and arranged them among the circles, raised up on foam pads for dimension. To embellish further, I fussy cut a hare and some florals from Paper #07 and some butterflies from Paper #01. To build up the embellishment clusters further, I selected some leafy elements from the Flower and Leaves Ephemera Pack.

For my title, I rummaged through my stash and selected a perspextive title by Bramble Fox. The green colour was a perfect match for the green circles on this layout. Simple things like that make me really happy! 

I finished off embellishing with some phrases from Sticker Sheet #1.

With everything in place and adhered together, I was able to move everything off my background as one piece. This makes adding the mixed media much easier as I don't have to keep rebuilding my layout to see if I've added enough ink.

Using a brayer, I added some colour to my background using a Distress Ink Pad in the shade 'Peeled Paint' and a Distress Oxide Ink Pad in 'Iced Spruce'. Once this was dry, I returned everything to the centre of the page and adhered it with a layer of adhesive foam behind it.

Thanks so much for reading. I hope you like my layout and it offers you some inspiration. This collection is selling fast so grab it whilst you can!

Take care,

Rebecca x

@preciouspagespapercraft 

Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Yuletide - HoHoHo!

Hello,

It's Claire here again today, sharing a second layout with the Simple Vintage Yuletide collection. I have to say this has been an absolute joy to create with - such a stunning collection. You can find it all in the shop here, and I'd strongly recommend you check it out - it's so pretty!

Using a piece of Premium White Cardstock as my base, I applied a light coat of watered down black Distress Oxide ink with a brayer, helping to create a distressed look to anchor my design.

I drew half a tree on to scrap cardstock to use as a template, and used this as a guide to cut out a tree shape from the Comfort & Joy paper.

Layering this on foam to add separation from the mixed media background, I cut some smaller pieces of the Holiday Wishes and 4x6 Elements papers, as well as a very small strip of the 3x4 Elements paper. I distressed all the edges and layered these on top of the tree, curling some of the edges for extra texture and depth.

Next, I chose this beautiful red frame from the Chipboard Frames to house my photo. Before adhering this to the page, I layered two fussy cut tags from the Tag Elements paper underneath. 

Then came the clusters and oh my - you are spoilt for choice with this collection! So many different option and all are equally gorgeous. I used a combination of the Bits & Pieces and Floral Bits & Pieces, layering them around the design.

I opted for pieces with pops of red to help lift the colour and adhered some flat with others on foam helping to create extra dimension.

Of course, I couldn't have an empty tree, so I added a big red bow to the top and embellished each branch with gold and red Nuvo Drops for that extra bit of sparkle.

For my title, I used the fun HoHoHo phrase from Bits & Pieces and that brought the layout to completion.

I hope you've enjoyed this blog post. It was really a great layout to make with these gorgeous products. See the collection here in full. 

Happy scrapping! 

Claire x

@scrappysoulmate 

Mintay Papers - Christmas Blessings - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Hello, Karen here. Today I'm starting to get in the Christmas mood with a layout to share with you using the new Christmas Blessings collection from Mintay Papers. I was really drawn to the unusual colour palette used for this Christmas collection - beige, brown and muted blues. It has a warm and cosy feel to it which is perfect for scrapbooking a warm, homely Christmas vibe. For this layout I chose to use some photos taken of the shop windows in a nearby market town in the lead up to Christmas a couple of years ago.

I started with a sheet of beige cardstock from the Bazzill Matchmaker Pack and onto this I layered a slightly trimmed down sheet of smooth white cardstock to leave a narrow border. In the centre of the layout I added a 10" square piece of paper #5, which I had inked the edges of with a Vintage Photo Distress Oxide inkpad, and using my sewing machine and white thread I stitched a straight stitch round the edges.

I cut three strips of paper #4 roughly 1" x 9", inked the edges and placed these horizontally on the layout to create a series of shelves.

I then set about creating a cluster of embellishments and photo on each shelf.

Each cluster contained a 3 x 4 photo and images fussy cut from paper #9. 

Some of the images were mounted on 3D foam to add some dimension.

I also added a pale green doilie into each cluster to give the layout a more homely feel.

In my stash I found some wood veneer stars in various sizes and added these to the clusters as well as some blue and beige sequins.

Finally I die cut on the Silhouette Cameo the word Christmas from a scrap of brown card and added this to the bottom of the layout and completed the long title with some very old teeny tiny letter stickers.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope I've given you some ideas for Christmas scrapbooking. I'll be back soon with another layout to share.

Take Care

Karen x x

November Papermaze Kit - Part 1

 

Hello! - Lynn here today, with my first post using the pretty November Papermaze Kit. This month includes florals, pastels and woodland themed papers.

Here are my first two pages, both featuring my new baby granddaughter.

Here are the details of what you will find in the kit:

 
Patterned Papers:
49 and Market - Birdsong collection - Sweet Notes & Songs of Hope
49 and Market - Vintage Orchard collection - Woodgrained
Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Meadow Flowers collection - Seeds of Kindness & Wild & Beautiful
Mintay - In My Craftroom collection - #05
The photo below shows both sides of the papers:

Embellishments:
Simple Stories Simply Vintage Meadow Flowers Foam Stickers and Bits & Pieces, Cocoa Vanilla Storyteller Wood Epoxy Button, Little Birdie Flower, Marianne rosebuds, Rosie's Studio Belleview Butterfly, chipboard frame and jute twine.

Bazzill Basics Cardstock:
Touch of Pink and Lily Pond (in kit) and Bark, Evening Surf, Crepe and Wild Pansy (in extra pack)

Pick of the Patch - Florence at her Baby Sensory Group for Halloween.

I started this layout with the sheet of Bark Bazzill, gutted to make a 1" frame. I cut a piece of Seeds of Kindness paper to measure 11" x 6", distressed the edges and placed it to the right of the page.

Then I cut 4 - 11" strips of Woodgrained paper, distressed all the edges and overlapped these to fill the left side of the page. The result leaves a border of about 0.5" of Bark Bazzill showing all around the edges.

I used a Martha Stewart punch to cut a decorative strip from another piece of Woodgrained paper, and placed this down the centre of the layout.

I mounted my photo onto a piece of Bark Bazzill and added this to the centre of the layout. Then  I rummaged in my flower stash, selected flowers and leaves, then arranged them in three clusters around the photo. The flower centres were created with a selection of brads.

The decorative strip was decorated with some metallic nail head stickers.

My title was cut from scraps of the Woodgrained paper and a set of Sizzix Thinlit dies called Delicate Alpha. The date was made with Doodlebug Designs Alphabet Soup Letter Stickers in Gold.

I finished off with a little journalling and some Simple Stories Simply Vintage Meadow Flowers Foam Stickers from the kit.

Hello Lovely - My daughter and granddaughter in Greenwich Park looking over London.

 
I based this layout on the sheet of Sweet Notes paper from 49 and Market, I love all the images already layered on this paper, so simply added to it with items from the kit and my stash.

I used the chipboard frame and the jute twine from the kit to mount my photo. I painted the chipboard with Brushed Corduroy Distress Paint, then dry brushed over with some Walnut Stain Distress Paint.

I attached large eyelets to the two holes on the chipboard frame and another one to each side of the page. With the twine I joined up the eyelets. I tied off with a bow on the left side.

I added the date to the frame using Sizzix Thinlits Tim Holtz Alphanumeric die set and scraps from the Woodgrained paper.

On my recent visit to Papermaze I purchased some 49 and Market Krafty Garden Acetate Assortment, and the Laser Cut Wildflowers, and I used some of each of these packs to embellish the layout. The title was also from the acetate assortment.

Journalling was written onto scraps of Seeds of Kindness paper, cut into strips, inked and added to the right of the page under the title.

That's all for today, I'll be back with more from this kit soon.
Thanks for looking.
Lynn x

Wild Life - P13 Paper Products - Into the Woods Collection

Hi everyone, 

It's Rebecca with you today sharing my first layout created with the stunning 'Into the Woods' collection by P13. It's been a long time since I've created with a P13 collection and I'd forgotten how much I love them! You can find the full collection in the shop here, but be quick - I have a feeling this one will sell fast!

Paper #02 immediately caught my eye with it's triple frame design. I knew instantly that I wanted to use the frames to house my photos, but I didn't want the frames to sit flat on the page. For this reason, I decided to fussy-cut the frames, including the toadstools and snails and centre them on a sheet of Premium White Cardstock with adhesive foam behind them. This helps to create some dimension on the page and makes layering elements a little easier and more aesthetically pleasing.

I gutted the centre of the top and bottom frames and then backed them with my photos. We took a recent walk through Parkhurst Forest on the Isle of Wight, which is well known for red squirrel sightings and so I was able to get some cute photos of my (not-so-little anymore!) little one who has an obsessive fondness for red squirrels! This collection was perfect to document this memory as not only is it wood themed and perfect in colour, it also has some really sweet little squirrel images - albeit grey not red!

I left the centre frame as is as it has a light coloured script paper so it offered a nice contrast with the darker colours of the frames and the photos. On this frame I placed my title - an acrylic piece from Bramble Fox which matches the colour of some of the toadstools in the collection perfectly.

As with all P13 collections, Paper #07 is full of individual elements which can be fussy-cut. I cut out several leaf clusters, toadstools and a squirrel to use as embellishments. I created several clusters, and then added to these using some florals from the Ephemera - Flowers and Leaves and some stickers from both Sheet #1 and Sheet #3

I knew before I started this layout that I wanted some mixed media on my background so I made sure to stick all the embellishments to the frames, and not to the actual background cardstock. This meant that I could move everything on and off the page in one piece, until I was happy with the mixed media.

I reached for two Distress Oxide Ink Pads in the shades 'Iced Spruce' and 'Forest Moss'. I watered down some of the ink on some plastic packaging and then applied them to my background using a small brayer. 

Once this was dry, I adhered the embellished frames to the centre of the page. In some areas, I slotted in some chipboard elements by Dusty Attic. I opted for leafy elements to match my woodland theme. These chipboard elements come raw, which make them fab for colouring and putting your own stamp on. Two of my favourite ways to use chipboard is to either heat emboss them, or as I've done here, cover them with Crystal Nuvo Drops.

I finished off the layout by cutting away small sections of the background paper on either side, and then backing this area with Paper #04 to add a bit of darker colour to the outer edges.

Thank you for reading. I hope you've enjoyed reading about my layout and it offers you some inspiration.

I'll be back later in the month with my second 'Into the Woods' layout.

Take care,

Rebecca x 

@preciouspagespapercraft 

Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Yuletide - Seasons Greetings Tag Book

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Papermaze blog.

It's Claire here with you today, and for this blog post, I have something slightly different.

In every Simple Stories collection, there's usually a sheet of tags, and the Simple Vintage Yuletide collection is no exception.  They are exquisite!! 

I was so taken with them, that this month I wanted to make a feature of them and so decided to make a tag book.

I typically have lots of photos over the festive season, but not all of them warrant a full 12x12 scrapbook page. So, I decided to make this tag book to capture some of the smaller, more intimate moments that all help to build that wonderful Christmas spirit during the holiday season.

Selecting several tags from the Tag Elements paper, I made sure to include some blank space for journaling, and some more graphical tags, as well as some that I could add extra embellishments to. As it's a festive project, I've added gold and red eyelets from my stash to each tag.

For my front cover, I kept it fairly simple. opting for one of the sentiments from the Bits & Pieces pack, offset against some small gold Nuvo Drops to add that extra touch of festive magic and sparkle. 

On the reverse, I added a small photo and a sentiment from the Foam Stickers and a small star from the Sentiment Bits & Pieces.

Next, I added pockets to two tags, using a small piece of the 2x2/4x4 Elements Paper.

This was really easy to do, adhering each piece in place with strong red line tape along each outer edge. These pockets are great for holding little journaling notes, photos or gift messages from the big day. Again I embellished with some Foam Stickers and Bits & Pieces, adding red Nuvo Drops around the edge of each pocket to bring in an extra pop of colour.

The Joy and Ticket inserts are from the Bits & Pieces and Sentiments Bits & Pieces packs.

I was enjoying the interactive elements of these tags, so after making the pockets, I added a small flap to the next, enabling it to open like a book by adhering in place with red line tape. I created the flap with a strip of paper from the 4x6 Elements paper, embellishing with a fussy cut Santa from the 2x2/4x4 Elements paper and Yuletide Bits & Pieces.

Inside, you can slot extra photographs, held in place by the edge of the striped paper that folds around the tag.

To make sure I had space for journaling, I chose two plain tags, adding just a few Nuvo Drops to create a framed border and banners from the Bits & Pieces and Sentiment Bits & Pieces packs.

On the back of the 25 tag, I created a feature photo from the big day itself - tracing around the tag and adhering my photo to it - trimming the edge to make sure it fit exactly to the tag.

A few Foam Stickers was all that was needed to finish this tag as I wanted the photo to shine.

I hope you've enjoyed this blog post and it's given you some extra inspiration for how you may document those precious little moments and smaller stories that make up the joy of the season.

I'll be back later this month with some more projects with this stunning collection. In the meantime you can check it out in full here.

Until then, happy scrapping!

Claire x

@scrappysoulmate