Papermaze January Kit - Part 2

Lynn here today, and I'm back with my second post using the January kit. This is available in the shop or on the website. Plenty of wintery papers, embellishments and cardstock to create new year and winter themed layouts.

Before looking at how the layouts were made, here is what you will find in the kit:

Patterned Papers:
49 and Market - Cottagecore - Moments
Carta Bella - Winter Wonderland - Snowy Swirls
Echo Park - Cool Wood Grains - Pale Wood Grain
Mintay - By The Lake - #05
Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Fresh Snow - Cabin Fever & Chasing Snowflakes

The photo below shows both sides of the papers:

Embellishments: 6 x 6" Mintay Snowflake Vellum, 2 Craft Consortium - It's Gnome Time 2 x snowflake charms, 7 x 49 & Market Color Swatch Inkwell - Ticket Essentials, Simple Stories Simple Vintage Fresh Snow - 7 x Floral Bits & Piece, 25cm navy organza ribbon, Prima - the Home Baker 1 x rose, Crate Paper silver glittery acrylic heart, Carta Bella 12" Winter Wonderland  Washi Tape and 49 and Market Moonlight Garden strip of Wishing Bubbles and Baubles.

Bazzill Basics Cardstock: Rain Forest and Pigment (in kit). Moody Blue, Bark, CS White and Pear (in extra matched Bazzill Pack).

Kew at Christmas - A lovely evening at Kew Gardens for the Christmas lights.

To create the wooden background for this layout, I cut the By The Lake - #05 paper, into 1" x 11 1/2" strips, and distressed all the edges. I arranged these onto the sheet of Bark Bazzill.

I cut a 8.25" circle of  Snowy Swirls paper, and an 8.75" circle of Moody Blue Bazzill. I distressed the edges and mounted the paper onto the card, then placed the double circle into the centre of the layout.

My photo was mounted onto more of the Moody Blue Bazzill, then I wrapped the navy organza ribbon around the base of the photo, and attached one of the snowflake charms to the knot in the bow, with sewing thread.

For my title I used some old stash - Chipboard Glitter Thickers (Bonjour) and Foam Thickers (Root beer Float). I also used some Doodlebug Designs Alphabet Soup letters in Silver and White. I added the Crate Paper silver glittery acrylic heart from the kit.

Finally, I scattered iridescent white sequins over the circle, and nail head stickers where the wood slats overlap.

The Great Avunculi - These photos were taken at the garden centre cafe, when Florence was taken to meet up with her uncle and two aunties.

I chose the 49 and Market Moments paper as the background for this layout. I picked a Dusty Attic chipboard Vine, and painted it with a coat of gesso. Then I painted it with brown and green acrylic paints. This was glued across the top of the paper.

With jute twine tied in four places along the vine, I trailed them down the length of the layout, and tied each one to a rusty metal star or heart from my stash. I tied further tiny scraps of twine to the longer lengths.

I printed four small photos and placed one on to each of the lengths of twine. I stuck them to the page with 3D foam pads.

The title was created with a selection of alphabet stickers from my stash. I added my journalling under the title.

Using embellishments from the kit I added the Prima rose, the Wishing Bubbles and Baubles, and the Simple Stories Fresh Snow -  Floral Bits & Piece. I also chose some cardstock stickers from the same collection.

That's all from the January kit, I'll be back soon with the February kit.
Thanks for looking.
Lynn x

Simple Stories ~ For the Record #2 💛

Hi everyone, it’s Anna back with you today. 

I’m here to share my second layout I’ve created using Simple Stories For the Record. 

You can find the collection in the shop - here. 

For my second layout I am creating a title page for my 2025 album. I like to use a photo from around the start of the year and create a page to have at the front of my album. There are lots of yearly themed cutfiles which will help you document this, alternatively you could create your own large title with alpha stickers. 

I used the b side of ‘Don’t forget this’ as my base. I then tore two pieces of ‘It’s all good’ and adhered a piece to each side of my layout. 

I used a cutfile ‘Happy New Year 2025’ by Paige Evans. I backed all of the letters using ‘the best part’ and ‘Just the Details’ as well as some coordinating cardstock. 

I adhered it to the centre of the page and mounted my photo in coordinating cardstock. 

I added cardstock stickers in three clusters to balance the layout. 

Thanks so much for looking. See you again next month!

Anna 

@acraftylifewithanna 

Winter - Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Fresh Snow Collection

Hi everyone,

Rebecca here, back on the blog today to share my second layout of the year! This month, I’ve been working with the gorgeous Simple Vintage Fresh Snow collection from Simple Stories, and it’s absolutely perfect for winter. I’ve been hoping for snow every week just to gather some beautiful photos to scrapbook with it! (I'm still hoping!!) You can find the full collection in the shop here.

To start, I cut strips from both the Snug & Warm and Winter Wishes patterned papers. After rolling one edge of each strip for added texture, I arranged them horizontally across a sheet of premium white cardstock, overlapping them slightly.

Next, I added my photo, which I matted with a lighter patterned paper to help it pop. To the left of the photo, I placed an element from the Ephemera Pack, and above it, I added a tag which I'd fussy-cut from the Tag Elements patterned paper.

At this point, I felt the white background was washing out the lighter grey woodgrain patterned paper, so I tested out a few patterned papers as my background before settling on the Cabin Fever paper. I really love the leafy pinecone detail in the corners, and wanted to incorporate more of that to help my design flow with the background. I chose some beautiful elements from the Floral Bits & Pieces and added them diagonally, following the natural design of the background. To add some dimension, I raised the edges of these pieces with foam.

To bring a touch of sparkle to the layout, I added a few clusters of metallic silver thread. I love using silver with snow layouts, as it reflects the silvery glisten that snow often has, creating a nice cohesive feel.

For the title, I chose the word "Winter" from the Bits & Pieces pack. The darker letters really stand out against the soft tones of the layout, making the title pop.

To finish the layout, I created two small clusters of stars and snowflakes using die cuts from the Floral Bits & Pieces and Foam Stickers, and added a couple of Rub Ons for that final touch.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope this layout has inspired you to create something beautiful. The Simple Vintage Fresh Snow collection is selling fast, so be sure to grab it before it’s gone!

Take care,
Rebecca x 
@preciouspagespapercraft

January Papermaze Kit - Part 1

Lynn here today, with a new kit for the new year. The January kit is now available in the shop or on the website. Plenty of wintery papers, embellishments and cardstock to create Christmas, new year and winter themed layouts. I have used several die sets to make embellishments for these two layouts.

Before looking at how the layouts were made, here is what you will find in the kit:

Patterned Papers:
49 and Market - Cottagecore - Moments
Carta Bella - Winter Wonderland - Snowy Swirls
Echo Park - Cool Wood Grains - Pale Wood Grain
Mintay - By The Lake - #05
Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Fresh Snow - Cabin Fever & Chasing Snowflakes

The photo below shows both sides of the papers:

Embellishments: 6 x 6" Mintay Snowflake Vellum, 2 Craft Consortium - It's Gnome Time 2 x snowflake charms, 7 x 49 & Market Color Swatch Inkwell - Ticket Essentials, Simple Stories Simple Vintage Fresh Snow - 7 x Floral Bits & Piece, 25cm navy organza ribbon, Prima - the Home Baker 1 x rose, Crate Paper silver glittery acrylic heart, Carta Bella 12" Winter Wonderland  Washi Tape and 49 and Market Moonlight Garden strip of Wishing Bubbles and Baubles.

Bazzill Basics Cardstock: Rain Forest and Pigment (in kit). Moody Blue, Bark, CS White and Pear (in extra matched Bazzill Pack).

Winter Wishes - My first layout for this month features my daughter and her baby girl in Greenwich Park, on a wintery day in December. Lots of work with Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits dies on this layout.

I selected the SS, Cabin Fever paper for this layout and used the whole sheet as the backdrop.

Using the Vault Winter Wishes die set, I cut a lot of snowflakes from a pearlised cream cardstock, and placed them randomly over the page. From the same die set, I cut the parts to make up a pair of ice-skates, using some of the Bazzill from the kit and other colours and some metallic silver, from my own stash. I inked the cardstock with some Distress Inks. I threaded some DMC cotton thread through the holes to make boot laces. I tied two tiny bells to the boots, and hung them from a brad placed near the top of the page. The boots were stuck in place with some foam pads.

The Photo was mounted onto more of the pearlised card, and then again onto Moody Blue Bazzill. I tied some raffia around the base of the photo and attached one of the snowflake charms from the kit.

For the bottom right corner of the page, I created a sledge using the Vintage Sled die set. Again, I used more of the same cardstock, bells and metallic card. I made extra foliage using this die set to add to the ice-skates, sled and a small cluster under the photo.

My title was created with more dies - the Bold Text - Christmas set, together with more of the Moody Blue Bazzill and cream pearlised card. I mounted one set of letters over the other to create a shadow. I added embellishment with some SS Simple Vintage Fresh Snow Cardstock Stickers from my stash and Floral Bits & Piece from the kit.

Capital Yacht Club - The photos on this layout were taken in Washington DC at the yacht club on the bank of the Potomac River. A very cold, crisp but sunny winter day.

I cut two strips from the EP Pale Wood Grain, 12" wide and 3" deep. These were stuck to the top and bottom of a 12" x 12" sheet of scrap paper. The centre was filled with a 12" x 6" piece of SS Chasing Snowflakes paper, with the snowflake side up.

The join between the papers was decorated, by cutting several pieces of scalloped edging (Funky Nordic Sizzix Thinlits die set), with Pigment and Moody Blue Bazzill. My photos were also mounted onto both these sheets of cardstock and arranged onto the layout, I raised one photo up with foam.

I made a small tag with the Tag Collection Sizzix Thinlits die set and the Pigment Bazzill. I added a little Baker's twine to the tag and tied this into a bow. My journalling was written onto this tag.

In an effort to use some of my older stickers, I found a few sheets of alphabet stickers from Basic Grey to match my papers and photos. I embellished the layout with the tickets from the kit, a few more stickers from my stash.

Finally, I scattered water droplets and pinkfresh Studio Jewels over the page.

That's all for today, I will be back with another pair of layouts from the January kit soon.
Thanks for looking,
Lynn x

Winter Wishes - Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Fresh Snow Collection

Hi everyone,

It’s Rebecca here, and I’m excited to share my first layout of 2025 with you today! This month, I’m working with the beautiful Simple Vintage Fresh Snow collection from Simple Stories. From the rich colours to the delicate patterns, I’m absolutely in love with everything about it. You can find the full collection in the shop here.

I’m a huge fan of woodgrain papers, and this collection includes a stunning grey woodgrain design with soft foliage accents in the corners. Naturally, it was the first paper I reached for. I cut a 6-inch wide strip, making sure to include some of the foliage at both the top and bottom. I wanted the paper to be centred on the layout but didn’t want it to extend from top to bottom. Trimming either end would have meant losing the beautiful foliage, so I decided to cut out a section from the middle and then reassemble the two pieces with tape on the back. I knew I could hide the seam with careful embellishment placement. With this done, I distressed all the edges to introduce some texture.

To complement the dark navy in my photo, I chose a darker patterned paper and tore a section to add some contrast to the lighter woodgrain. The mix of darker and lighter tones really made the page pop.

Next, I placed my 3x4-inch photo in the centre of the layout, but something about the sharp edges didn’t feel quite right. I wondered if a circular photo would balance the design better. Noticing a lot of brown tones in the embellishments, I decided to create a frame for the photo using a brown patterned paper.

Using a set of metal nesting dies, I die-cut three circles from a strip of patterned paper, making sure they were perfectly aligned. Rather than using the circles themselves, I opted to keep the negative space, which would typically be discarded. This leftover piece became the perfect frame for my photo. I adhered the photo behind the middle circle and trimmed the edge circles to leave them open. Then, I angled this strip across the layout for added interest.

With my papers and photo in place, it was time to embellish. I selected a few of my favourite pieces, including florals from the Floral Bits and Pieces and a sweet birdhouse from the Cardstock Stickers. I raised everything on foam pads to add dimension and arranged them in two clusters around the photo.

To finish, I added some Rub-Ons peeking out from behind the floral clusters. The Simple Stories rub-ons are so easy to apply and give a lovely texture to the page. I completed the layout with a couple of small hearts from the cardstock stickers.

Thanks so much for reading! I hope this layout inspires you. The Simple Vintage Fresh Snow collection is truly gorgeous, and I can’t wait to see the beautiful creations you make with it.

Take care,
Rebecca x 
@preciouspagespapercraft