Adventures fill your soul | Sam Ball | Recycled Elements

I love nothing better than ‘random’ things on my layouts, so when I saw this months’ theme to use recycled elements, I knew it was right up my street!

Having looked through my stash to find some recycled elements that inspired me, the most random items I could find were a 7” vinyl record and an old Mac keyboard.

 

I desperately wanted to use the record, but I wasn’t feeling it, so I moved on to the keyboard pieces and was fully intending to scrap a photo of a young child with an ABC theme.

I then got distracted by the fabulous Simple Stories Vintage Great Escapes collection, and decided to change the theme and elements completely as I was feeling so inspired!

 

I knew that I had lots of stash that would work with the ‘natural’ feel, so gathered together lots of elements including wooden buttons, hessian fabric, vintage French book paper and an old postcard, a 3D printed frame and even an actual twig, complete with moss!

Using the ‘Wild and Free’ paper from the collection as the base for the layout, it quickly came together. The left hand printed detailing was so pretty that although I toyed with cutting it out and layering it, I ended up clustering and layering on the right hand side, using the recycled elements to balance the busy left hand side.

Fresh off the tree, when I added the twig, my layout suddenly had a tiny spider crawling over it!

 

Even if you haven’t played along this month, why not share what the most random or recycled element you’ve ever used on a layout is? And if you have played along, don’t forget to share your layouts over on our Facebook page, or tag us on Instagram!

Naughty or Nice | Kirei Baldwin | Embossing Folders

 Hi UK Scrap Addicts!

It's Kirei here wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, I hope Santa has been good to you this year!

I am sharing a layout for this month's fun challenge which was to use embossing folders on your layout, now I definitely hadn't used them for quite some time so was good to pull them out and have a play. I had this idea in my head to make some baubles and add different embossing details to each one before embellishing and I am really happy with the end result!

I firstly drew the baubles and then cut them out before putting each shape through my Big Shot to emboss them with different patterns. I took some ephemera and small pieces of patterned papers to decorate each bauble and then added gold stitching. 

I took a 11 1/2" piece of white cardstock, distressed the edges and then stuck it to a frame of patterned paper before stitching a border with gold thread. I worked out where I wanted each bauble to go on the layout and then added gold stitching to represent the hanger for each bauble.

Then each bauble was stuck down, some of them on foam pads to create dimension. 

The two cute photos of my nephews from last Christmas were mounted on patterned papers and stuck down with foam pads on the top edges. Keeping the bottom of the photos flat to the layout makes it easier to add embellishments around them. 

I then added a title and some journaling to finish my layout off....

Thanks for popping by the blog, wishing you all the best for the rest of the festive season! 

Happy Scrapping!

 

Be You | Karen Moss | Lisa Fonseca Style Page Element

 I was quite excited about this month's theme as I was fortunate to have been to a retreat where Lisa Fonseca was teaching.

I used a 7 x 5 photo of Darcey when she was only about 16 weeks old as I love the quizzical look on her face.

I knew I wanted to make a page with a paper piecing representing my puppy but couldn't find one that looked like a Cockapoo.  I did find a digital stamp that I thought I could adapt and started from there. I drew some fluffy ears, muzzle and added fluff to the paws. 

The next step was to cut out all the template pieces I needed and label them with the colour I wanted to use. 

After cutting the pieces out, I layered them up to make my shape and stitched around the edge, adding details with a black pen.

I used a really old Teressa Colins paper pack to make my page and fortunately this included word stickers, 4 x 3 cards and embellishment stickers which I utalised for this page. 

I really enjoyed making this little 'Darcey' to go on my page and I especially liked how easy it was once I had figured out exactly how to go about it. 

We would love to see your take on a Lisa Fonseca Style Page Element and if you do make one please show us on our Facebook Page or tag us on Instagram.

Check back soon to see what the other UKSA DT have been making.

Karen x

Good Times | Sam Ball | Lisa Fonseca Style Page Element

I can’t deny – I was definitely apprehensive about the theme this month and how I was going to create a layout in the style of Lisa Fonseca.

Whilst she may be best known for oversized characters all cut from paper, a few of her layouts include objects rather than animals, so I decided that this might be the best inspiration for me.

 

My eldest step-daughter Olivia did a years’ travelling in New Zealand with her boyfriend. They toured the country in a red camper van they lovingly called ‘Wilson’, so I decided to scrap one of the many photos she had taken on her travels and make a ‘Wilson’ for the layout.

 

I found a fabric print that included different stylized VW camper vans, then increased in size to suit the layout. This was to be my template. I cut around each template shape, then chose a selection of patterned and plain papers and traced round each, then hand cut them again and ‘put them back together!’ to create a unique Lisa Fonseca inspired camper van.

 

The collection I chose to use was ‘Open Road’ a Crate Paper collection from 2014! The stash I had was actually from a mini-book class that I never finished!

 

After deconstructing the book, I was able to use a folded section, hence the fold down the scenic paper. This was mounted to a strong cardstock, to which I extended the horizon of the paper.

All the embellishments were un-opened, as was the chipboard, so I found plenty of ephemera to co-ordinate, including the vintage ephemera number plates and bottle tops.

 

I had way more fun than I ever imagined I would creating this layout, which took me right out my comfort zone!

 

So, if like me you’re thinking that this months’ challenge isn’t for you, why not give it a go? You might just surprise yourself like I did!

 

And if you do take part, don’t forget to share your layouts over on our Facebook page, or tag us on Instagram if you’ve played along this month? It’s a great way to use up old stash whilst enjoying new collections too!

Perfect | Kirei Baldwin | Moodboard

 Hi UK Scrap Addicts!

Kirei here with my layout for this month's fab 'Moodboard' theme... now I love a moodboard as there are plenty of options to inspire you to create a layout. 

For my layout I was inspired by the colours from the moodboard which reminded me of the new Paige Evans 'Go the Scenic Route' collection so that was where I started... I also added butterflies and chipboard dots that reflected the smarties on the icecream sundae! 

I fussy cut the large mandala pattern and attached that to white cardstock using foam pads to create some dimension.

Then I added a strip of bright pink patterned paper across the middle of the layout as a base for my photos. 

My three photos are mounted onto some coordinating patterned paper with the edges distressed. Then I stuck them down with double sided tape on the bottom edge and foam pads on the top edge, this adds dimension as I don't like everything stuck flat. Next to the photos I added a journalling card with distressed edges.

Above and below the photos I added lots of the matching ephemera, chipboard stickers and enamel stickers along with some gold thread.

I added a title using the colourful matching Thickers and that was me done!

I hope you've been inspired to use the 'Moodboard' for a layout this month, don't forget to share over on the UK Scrap Addicts Facebook group or tag us on Instagram with #UKScrapAddicts if you've played along this month! 

Happy Scrapping!

 

 

When Will I See You Again? | Jackie Ashton | Stamping

Hi crafters, Jackie here with my take on the using stamps on your layouts. 

Stamps are my weakness, not my only one, but one that I can't see going away anytime soon.

While the World is upside down at the moment, who is  missing something, something that is trivial in the grand scale of things, but something that you would love to have right now, that thing that we have taken for granted and now don’t know when we will ever see it again.

Mine is an oat milk latte from Starbucks, I’m not a 100% coffee drinker as a do like a nice cup of tea, but the thought of not knowing when will I be able to just nip and grab my favourite coffee, inspired me to ask ‘When Will I See You Again?’

 I’m sure I will be doing more layouts over the coming weeks to show the change to my life and the world as it becomes the norm.

So onto my layout, 

When Will I See You Again ?

I recently purchased a label stamp set, and wanted to use them in a different way, other than just stamping them and using them as a basic label on my layout.

After choosing a few of the labels images, I stamped them down one side of the cardstock, using oxide inks as I didn’t want the ink impression to be so vivid, and the oxide inks gave a more distressed look.

When stamping, I over lapped the labels using 5 colours, taking the colours from the paper collection I choose.

Then I added my main design to the right hand side of the layout.  The paper collection I used, are from Pebbles/Jen Hadfield - Hey, Hello collection - Using a 4 inch strip, and  2 x 1 inch strips down each of the edges, along with some ruffled crepe paper down one edge to add some texture.

In the vellum envelope I added a tag ...

I also wanted to bring the patterned paper over to the left hand side of my layout, so I punched some labels and added over the tops of stamped images and also stamped onto the labels, with some coffee stamps I have.

For my title I used several alphabets from my stash, and the puffy sticker rainbow is from Pink Fresh Studio.

I choose some embellishments from Pink Fresh Studio ranges, Bramble Fox coffee cup perspextives and Elle's Studio cork tabs.

This layout was fun to create, even thought its a serious topic regarding the lockdown in the UK, I wanted the layout to be a fun one, one that documented my life right now and one of the things I'm missing.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you can take some inspiration from my layout to use your stamps in a different way, other than what they are originally intended for.

Don’t forget to share your layouts over in our Facebook group, we would love to see them.

Till next time

Happy Scrapping

Little Stories | Kirei Baldwin | Use More Than One Collection

Hi UK Scrap Addicts!

It's Kirei here with a layout for this month's challenge which was to use more than one collection. I like many of you probably do tend to just stick to the same collection as it is easy to match up papers and embellishments so I liked this challenge!

I pulled out Pink Paislee's 'Again and Again' collection which went well with the photo of me with an owl... and then looked through my stash to see what else worked with this collection. I still had some bits left from the Crate Paper Maggie Holmes 'Heritage' collection and it was perfect as it had similar muted colours.

First I stuck three strips of papers from the two collections down the left side of the layout, distressing the edges as I went. I also used a mix of patterned papers to back my photo and then attached that to the layout using foam pads on the top edge.

Then I built up embellishment clusters to each side of my photo and above it using lots of ephemera and stickers from both collections.

To finish off I included some journaling on a couple of labels, and then added a title from the coordinating sticker set. As you can see I had the perfect ephemera to go with my photo!

Why don't you check out what the rest of the Creative team have come up with this month, there's lots of fab inspiration for using more than one collection and it's a great way to use up that stash! Also join us over on the UK Scrap Addicts Facebook page where you can share your layouts. Thanks for looking and I'll see you next month!

Happy Scrapping!

Its a Boy Thing | Essie Jane | Masculine

Hi Essie Jane here with my layout for this month.

For my layouts I used the lovely collection from Cocoa Vanilla - Boys Rule, adding in a few die cuts pieces from Shimelle's new collection - Field Trip to bring some red accents to the page and compliment the photos.

I added some Elle's Studio puffy stars around the page.

I was unable to do a process video for this layout, due to my laptop being away getting fixed.  But fingers cross I will be back next month with my layout and process video.

Don't forget to join us on our Facebook group with your layouts using our theme for the month.

Happy crafting

April Flowers | Kirei Baldwin | Sewing

Hi UK Scrap Addicts!

Kirei here with my layout for this month's theme which was sewing (hand or machine). Now I do like stitching on a layout as I love the texture it adds so this was right up my street!

I know for some people it's a love or hate technique... but even just a little bit can add some great detail and focus to a layout. I often do my hand-stitching in front of the TV so it doesn't feel too time consuming and having your sewing machine on hand and ready to go can also help encourage use!

I wanted to do something a little different so when I was looking for a paper collection to use from my stash I found the lovely all over floral paper from the Crate Paper 'All Heart' collection that had some great hand drawn type details that were calling out to be hand-stitched. I firstly fussy cut the large floral design around the edges as I wanted to mount it onto coloured cardstock for dimension.

Then all I needed to do was prick some holes along some of the stems and other small details and I was ready to go. As I knew I was going to use a photo in the centre of my layout I focused all of my stitching to the outer sections of the paper. Once I was finished the stitching I added foam pads to the back of the patterned paper and stuck it to a sheet of coral cardstock. I then used some of the lovely matching transparent floral stickers and stuck them down just under each of the edges of the floral paper. 

I matted my photo onto five of the coordinating patterned papers and distressed the edges before sticking down. I added a few more of the floral stickers to the top left and bottom right of my photo. I actually stuck the stickers to some white card first and cut out so that you could see the detail more. I tucked in a couple of the metal star charms to the floral clusters.

I added some journaling to one of the transparent stickers that I mounted onto white card and then finished off with a title using the lovely glitter and rose gold matching Thickers.

Hopefully all of the Creative Team's layouts this month have inspired you to try some stitching if you haven't done so before.... or even try it in a different way if you do already like to stitch on a layout! Don't forget to share your layouts over on the UK Scrap Addicts Facebook page as we love to see what you create!

Thanks for looking and happy scrapping!