Echo Park Paper

Photo Freedom: Happy Go Lucky with Kandis

Daily scrapbooking is such a fun concept, but sometimes really tricky to pull off. Each layout takes a lot of time and planning. That's why I LOVE the Echo Park Photo Freedom collections! Everything is ready for you. You just need to add your photos and journaling. This "Happy Go Lucky" collection is full of bright cheerful colors, and I love all the fun sayings on the cards. I added in some vellum to do some of my journaling on. I like how it adds a touch of softness as well to the layout. I like my pages to be somewhat flat, not a lot of 3D elements; but don't forget to layer (stickers on stickers, gems, vellum, staples, tabs, stamping, etc.).

Tips and Tricks:

* I have a notebook that I have sketched out each week's spread. When I'm done with the week, I go through my photos, pick out the ones that best represent the week and I get them printed. I have it written on the sketch where each photo goes, but that's about it.
* Remember: there are days where you might not get a photo, or you don't have much to say about what happened that day. I like to print the weather forecast from my iphone or add in a saying card. There are some easy things to do even when you forget.
* Try to write down some things that happened that week. I don't get to some of my spreads until weeks afterwards and then I have to struggle to remember what happened.
* Have fun! This is the coolest way I've done journaling so far, and I've done a lot of journaling. I try to keep in mind how cool this album will be at the end of the year and how much my family will appreciate it.

Supplies:
- PFHL6008 Happy Go Lucky Collection Kit
-SWG43019 Teal Green
- SWG43018 Red Yellow
- SWG43020 Decorative Brads
- Vellum
- staples
- gems
- date stamp
- tab punch
- machine sewing

Have you checked out the Photo Freedom system yet? Be sure to see what we offer for this type of daily scrapbooking HERE.

Designing a Shadowbox with Linda

The weather has been warming up here in New England, and it’s got all of us dreaming of that first day trip to the beach. "A Perfect Summer" is the ultimate summer fun collection with motifs and designs that will work with a wide variety of summer events, especially a summer trip to the seashore. My project was created using the 6 x 6 paper pad and coordinating chipboard stickers. I dressed some of the elements up with glitter glue and pulled a fun family “selfie” out of the archives to put my shadowbox together.

 
When I’m creating a shadowbox, I am very aware of scale and pattern. I am careful to choose elements that fit within the confines of each of the “boxes” with enough space around them to frame them and set them apart from each other. I try to ground them on patterns that won’t overwhelm them, and pop them up with several layers of foam tape so they seem to “float” in the box sections. The 6x6 paper pad’s scaled down patterns are perfect for smaller projects like this one, especially the scaled down version of “Sunshine” paper. The scaled down striped paper makes the perfect frame, and I used twine-tied buttons at each corner.

 

Materials used:

A Perfect Summer 6x6 paper pad

A Perfect Summer Chipboard Stickers

Glitter glue

Baker’s twine

Buttons

6x6 shadowbox

Do you have a fun "A Perfect Summer" creation in mind? We'd love to see it! Simply upload it to our Facebook page HERE to share it with our online community of crafters.

Photo Freedom: Birthday Wishes with Wendy Sue

As my kids get older, I find it’s more and more difficult to get them to cooperate with me when I want to take their picture. Birthdays are no exception. When my daughter turned 13, I had to work hard to get a few photos to remember the day. As you can see from the photos, she was more interested in being silly than letting me get a good photo. Oh well. That will just help us remember how silly her little personality was at that time of her life, right? I didn’t let her goofiness deter me from taking photos. Even though most of them are silly, I love them (because I love her); and I’m happy to have them. I also took a few pictures of the details like that stash of cash she scored because “stuff” can’t pull faces at me. The Photo Freedom system is perfect for documenting all types of events and this “Birthday Wishes” Collection worked perfectly for these photos.

A few additional tips:

* Make your own flags by placing banner stickers onto wooden toothpicks (I love this style with one pointed end and one flat end opposed to the ones with two pointy ends).

* Don’t forget to tell the story. You can print out the text and add it to one of the predesigned cards. It's super easy!

* Use a circle punch to transform a 3x4" card into a ticket.

Supplies:

Photo Freedom 6”x12” Photo Sleeves

Photo Freedom 3”x4” Photo Sleeves

Photo Freedom Birthday Wishes By Glitz Collection Kit

Photo Freedom Birthday Wishes by Glitz “Cake Stand” Paper

Photo Freedom Birthday Wishes by Glitz “Celebrate” Paper

Photo Freedom Birthday Wishes by Glitz “All Year Long” Paper

Photo Freedom Birthday Wishes by Glitz “Happy Birthday” Paper

Photo Freedom Birthday Wishes by Glitz “Element Stickers”

Yellow and White Baker’s Twine

Foam Adhesive Dots

Liquid Glue

Wooden Toothpicks

¾” Circle Punch

Corner Rounder Punch

White Cardstock

Sewing Machine

White Thread

Mini Stapler and staples

You can download this and other FREE product PDFs HERE in the "Inspiration" section of our website.

Creating Cards for Baby

It seems many of my friends are expecting. As I prepare to attend their baby showers or to welcome their new little one into the world, I want to make something special for them. The new "Bundle of Joy" boy and girl collections are perfect for creating cards for baby showers and new Mom cards.

Here are a few cards you can create for the Mom-to-be:

Do you have baby projects you'd like to share? We'd love to see them! Simply upload them to our Facebook gallery HERE to share them with our online community of crafters. Or leave a link in the comments section below to share your work.

Hand Cutting with Designer Susan Stringfellow

It IS a Bright Sunshiny day here in Texas, how about where you are? This is Susan, here to talk about simple hand cut embellishments or accents. So many people tell me they don't like to free hand cut because they might make a mistake. You don't have to have hand cutting skills like Edward Scissorhands or a Silhouette, just basic straight cutting and you can add interest and dimension to your projects whether they are cards or layouts.

I have 4 types of hand cutting on this page. First, one of the most fun bits of texture that you can add with a straight cut is fringe. This can just be for texture, but for my layout today, it's a hint at grass on a summery page. I always bend my fringe up unevenly so that the texture shows more.

For more movement and dimension, I have added a couple of little toothpick flags. A simple hand cut shape and a toothpick makes for a fast and fun embellishment. Next if you look in the upper right corner there are simple hand cut rectangles that are not perfect at all but placed around the edge of the page. They add a little something extra that helps draw your eyes across the layout.

Finally, the sun burst on this page is not too complex, but could you hand cut that without drawing or template? Yes, you can! Take the sunburst page out of the 6x6" paper pad and cut out the white part and when you mount it just add adhesive under the center. The rays will slightly lift. 

Supplies:

* A Perfect Summer " Chevron Lines" Patterned Paper

* A Perfect Summer "Fish" Patterned Paper

* A Perfect Summer "3x4 Journaling cards" Patterned Paper

* A Perfect Summer "Ice Cream" Patterned Paper

* A Perfect Summer 6x6 Paper Pad

* A Perfect Summer Alpha Stickers

* A Perfect Summer Element Stickers

* A Perfect Summer Decorative Brads

* A Perfect Summer 6x12 Chipboard

* A Perfect Summer Layered Stickers

* White Cardstock

* Teal Ribbon

* Pinking edge or other decorative edge scissors

* Sewing Machine and black thread

* Adhesive foam squares

* Green Buttons

* Small corner rounder - Fiskars 3 in 1 Corner Squeeze Punch

* Toothpicks

* Black journaling pen

You can "fussy cut" any element from patterned paper to create a unique embellishment. This is a great way to stretch your supplies and use up your stash!

Color Mini Themes: "Pretty in Pink"

Today we're sharing a few projects that focus on the "Pretty in Pink" Mini Theme. This Mini Theme is bright and bold and perfect for projects you want to stand out. You can incorporate these stickers and papers on any project, or they can stand alone like the projects you'll see below.

Here are a few samples of how you can use this amazing Mini Theme collection:

 

Designed by Laurel Seabrook

Designed by Jen Gallacher

Do you have some "Pretty in Pink" projects you'd like to share? Be sure to upload them our Facebook page HERE to share them with our online community.

Colors Mini Themes: "Totally Teal"

Today we're talking all about the "Totally Teal" Mini Theme. This fun color is all the rage right now and works almost like a neutral on many projects.

  Here are some projects which use this fun collection:

Designed by Susan Stringfellow

 

Designed by Olga Vasilieva

Are you using this teal collection to create your own projects? We'd love to see them! Simply upload them HERE to our Echo Park Paper Facebook page to share your work.

Colors Mini Themes: "Red"

Today during our week-long "Colors Mini Theme" blog feature, we're highlighting the "Red" collection. This bold collection is perfect for Valentine's Day, day-to-day projects, and so much more.

Here are the projects that feature the "Red" collection:

Designed by Olga Vasilieva

Designed by Jennifer Gallacher

Do you have "Red" projects to share with us? Be sure to upload them to our Facebook page HERE so we can see what you've been creating.

Color Mini Themes: "Yellow Submarine"

This week we're focusing on our Colors Mini Themes. Today we're sharing some "Yellow Submarine" projects. This mini theme collection includes both tones of yellow and hints of gray, a popular color combination in fashion and home decor right now.

Here are some projects which use these beautiful collections:

Designed by Laurel Seabrook

Designed by Linda Auclair

Have you created projects using this delightful mini theme? We'd love to see it! Simply upload it to our Facebook page HERE to share it.

Baby Shower Ensemble with Linda

Good morning!  Linda here with a quick and easy baby shower favor and place card that feature the darling “Bundle of Joy: Girl” collection and the coordinating 6x6 “Dots and Stripes” paper pad. My example uses the “Girl” Element Stickers with the soft pink polka dotted paper, but it would be easy enough to swap out for the blue polka dotted “Boy” paper for baby boy version. Or, you could create a gender-neutral version using the yellow or green polka dotted papers from the Dots & Stripes paper pads.

 

I started with a standard size baby bottle that I picked up at the dollar store. I filled it with pastel colored candies. (Designer’s note: a baby bottle holds a surprising amount of candy! Shop accordingly.) The hang tag is a 2.5" x 6" rectangle that I decorated with sticker embellishments from the collection, a chipboard button from the Layered Chipboard set tied with baker’s twine, a scrap of lace and a teensy self-adhesive pearl.  I popped the teddy bear and onesie stickers with a bit of foam tape to make them stand out. I punched a hole large enough to fit over the top of the bottle at one end, and added a sharp crease near the top to allow the tag to hang straight down.

 

The matching personalized place card also uses the polka dotted paper from the Dots & Stripes paper pad cut 3.5" x 4.75" folded in half and embellished with ribbon and lace. Alphabet and Element stickers from the collection complete the design.

With a few girlfriends to help, you could easily make an entire party’s worth of favors and place cards with the Bundle of Joy collection for that special Mom-to-Be. Happy crafting!

 

Materials used:

Bundle of Joy “Girl” collection Element Stickers

Bundle of Joy “Girl” collection Alphabet Sticker sheet

Bundle of Joy “Girl” Dots & Stripes 6x6 patterned paper pad

Bundle of Joy “Girl” Layered Chipboard

Lace scraps

Self-adhesive pearls

Baker’s twine

Foam tape

Create your own Baby Shower ensemble and then share it with us! We'd love to see how you've used this collection to celebrate Mom's to be or new additions. Simply upload HERE on our Facebook page to share it!