Simple Stories: Memorial Day

I am grateful for parents who have instilled in me a reverence for Memorial Day. It’s a time to pause and reflect and to think of those who have sacrificed so much for our freedom and well-being. I am so grateful to live in a peaceful place and thankful to those who have protected the rights I enjoy every single day. I think of our service men and women, as well as my ancestors who have paved the way for my family.

I  created this page with the Let Freedom Ring Simple Set. I used the Maple/Cream Notebook as the base and also brought in some Dark Red/Cream solid paper from the Say Cheese 4 collection.

I added several patterned paper layers behind my main photo and then sprinkled star stickers from the Let Freedom Ring cardstock stickers in the top left corner.

I used letter sticker from my stash for the title, and then filled in the spaces with the Let Freedom Ring pinwheel  and phrase stickers.

I used one of the 3×4 cut apart cards for my journaling and then accented it with a floral sticker. I placed the banner sticker at the bottom of the page, tucking it underneath my photo strip.

As my children have grown, busy schedules have crowded in and I miss these drives to the cemeteries. I miss it and definitely want to make the time to do this with my family again.

Wishing you a peaceful and gratitude-filled day as you ponder the people who have sacrificed to bless your life!

SUPPLIES:

Simple Stories: Patriotic Picnic

Happy Fourth of July! I’m up on the Simple Stories Blog today sharing a patriotic page and a design inspired by a patterned paper from the Simple Stories Hometown USA collection.

I was inspired by the quilt-like pattern of the All American paper and thought it would be fun to create a large pieced star on my page with a similar look and feel.

Take a look at my page below!

I cut the geometric star (“Geometric Star” by Sarah Hurley #191599) with my Silhouette Cameo machine and then backed each section with the various patterned papers of the Hometown USA collection. I even utilized the red/white striped and plaid patterns of the  cut apart cards of the Elements paper.

Next, I created my own star from two shades of blue cardstock to layer on top. I used the two shades of cardstock to give it a dimensional look, sort of like a dimensional barn star. I then added two more die cut stars cut from navy cardstock and red glitter cardstock to the center to finish it off.

I used the Echo Park Milo Uppercase Alphabet die and Carta Bella Picnic die to create the title from navy and red glitter cardstock. I love the picnic elements included on the 6×12 Sticker sheet because they were perfect to emphasize the topic of my page … our family’s patriotic picnic!

The new “It’s a Date” stamps are perfect for adding the date to your scrapbook pages, like I did here.

I placed my photos on top of one another to the right of the star and then accented them with more of the adorable stickers from the 6×12 Sticker Sheet. I especially love the bike and those festive balloons!

The page was feeling visually heavy on the right side, so to balance it out I mimicked the three photos by lining up three of the square stickers from the sticker sheet in the top left corner of the page. I matted a couple of them with navy cardstock to tie them in with the navy cardstock of the large star.

Celebrating the Fourth of July is one of my favorite things about summer! I love getting together with family, laughing, watching parades, oohing and ahhing over the fireworks, and eating good food.

How do you celebrate the holiday? Have you scrapbooked it? If not, be sure to take photos of your favorite things about your celebration and make a page to document your traditions. You will be so glad that you did!

SUPPLIES:

“Geometric Star” by Sarah Hurley (Design #191599 in the Silhouette Design Store)
Various Star Punches and Dies
Carta Bella Picnic Die
Adhesive/Foam Squares/Scissors/Trimmer

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Echo Park: July Two-Pager

Can you believe that next week it will be July already?! I have a double-page July 4th layout using the Echo Park Celebrate America collection to share with you today using one of my favorite time-savers … collage photo prints!

JULY

When I have a gazillion pictures, my go-to technique is to combine them all together on one larger sheet using a photo collage.

There are several ways to do this, you can use an app, photoshop, or do it by hand. I used a Quick Collage by Scrapbooks Etc. that is available as a free download here.

I used the same collage for both sides of the page, and anywhere I didn’t have a photo, I used that space to house a title or an embellishment.

To add a bit more decoration to the collage photos, I fussy-cut patriotic banner strips from the Patriotic Banners paper and added them in between each row.

If you haven’t tried Carta Bella’s Felt finish cardstocks … you NEED to! They are my favorite!!! Here I am using the Navy Blue Felt Designer Cardstock as the base for this spread.

I used the red star pattern from the back of the 4×6 Journaling Cards paper to add a pop of red in a few around the page. In the upper left corner, I created a large pennant with a smaller pennant on top created with the Splash Gingham paper. The little cluster of elements at the top of the pennants are all from the Celebrate America Sticker Sheet.

I used the Splash Gingham paper for my title block and then fussy-cut the large flag from the 4×6 Journaling Cards paper to add a bit of decoration and draw focus to the title. The “July” word was cut out using my Silhouette Cameo machine and Navy Blue Felt Designer Cardstock. The “July” word is from the “July 4th Phrase” cut file by Lori Whitlock (Design #19100 in the Silhouette Design Store).

Here’s a closer look at some of the cute stickers I used to decorate different areas of the page.

I used a tag to house a bit of journaling in the bottom right corner of the layout. The Liberty Bell was cut from the 4×4 Journaling Cards paper.

What do you have planned with your family in July? Do you hit the local town parade each year like we do?

SUPPLIES:

OTHER SUPPLIES:
White Tag
Twine
Scrapbooks Etc. Quick Collage Template/PhotoShop
“July 4th Phrase” by Lori Whitlock (Design #19100 in the Silhouete Design Store)
Trimmer/Scissors
Adhesive/Foam Squares

Have a great day!

American Crafts: USA Shadowbox

Hello, Papercrafting Fanatics! Today I am up on the American Crafts blog with a patriotic home decor project!

I love to die cut and paper piece with beautiful patterned papers, and so when I was brainstorming what I wanted to create for this upcoming 4th of July, I decided it would be fun to create a patriotic shadowbox out of paper.

I used my Silhouette Cameo 3 electronic die cutting machine to create the frame using American Crafts 12×12 White Textured Cardstock. Next, I went through several American Crafts collections and pulled out anything I could find in red, white, and blue to decorate the squares.

I used lots of stamping for the top squares. The square in the top left corner uses the “Wild & Free” phrase and stars from the Star Gazer acrylic stamps. I used the Vicki Boutin All the Good Things Set 3 stamps to create the fireworks in the top right square. I then added the red glitter foam letter stickers from the Stickers & Bling collection as a title.

The white paper flowers and red gems are from the Stickers & Bling collection as well!

At the bottom of the shadowbox I created my own flag using my paper trimmer. I cut off the ribbon tails from one of the Star Gazer Shooting Star Embellishments to decorate the flag … and then added a large red gem to the center (Stickers & Bling collection).

I added a bright blue ribbon around the outside, tying it like a present with a fluffy bow on the top! I then finished the frame off by creating a few layered flower embellishments with my Knock Out Flower punches. The leaves are punched and hand cut from Leaf Textured Cardstock, and the flower centers are the Adhesive Flair stickers from the Star Gazer collection.

Do you decorate for the 4th of July? What will you create for your collection this year?

SUPPLIES:

OTHER SUPPLIES:
American Crafts Dear Lizzy Star Gazer Marigold Merriment Paper
American Crafts Dear Lizzy Star Gazer Shooting Stars Embellishments
American Crafts Knock Out Flower Punches (2″ Flower and 1.5″ Flower)
Fiskars 2xl Lever Punch – Branch Out
Ink: red, blue, yellow
White Crochet Twine
Blue Ribbon: Dollar Tree
Cut Files:
“3D Shadow Box (1 of 3)” by Lori Whitlock (Design #26223)
“3D Shadow Box (2 of 3)” by Lori Whitlock (Design #26224)
“3D Shadow Box (3 of 3)” by Lori Whitlock (Design #26225)