Echo Park Paper

Create a Valentine Shadowbox with Linda

Are you a crafty hoarder? I am guilty. I admit it! I am always tucking away cute packaging and boxes in the hope that I will be able to pull them out and make something creative with them at some time in the future.  Last February, when all the Valentine’s Day candy was on clearance, I purchased a heart-shaped box of chocolates.  The box was so pretty that I tucked it away for future use. When the “Love Story” collection arrived on my doorstep, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it; and so I created this cute shadowbox using the pretty “Love Story” papers, stickers and chipboard elements. 

To recreate my project, you first need a heart shaped box to decorate. I had saved the insert to my chocolate box which made it really easy to put together the shadowbox shelves. And if you don’t have a box on hand, no worries. The stores are full of Valentine’s Day goodies right now, it is the perfect reason to treat yourself!

Collect your materials. The "Love Story" collection kit includes the Element Sticker sheet with the pretty banner sticker, and you will need the coordinating 6 x 13 chipboard set as well. I used the “Cupcake Roses” paper to decorate the outside of the box, and the “So Sweet” paper for the shelves inside. I cut strips the height of the box plus a couple inches and adhered around the perimeter of the heart. I used clothespins to hold the paper in place while the adhesive dried. (Clothespins are a crafters best friend!)  I trimmed the paper down to about an inch above the rim all the way around. To get a smooth finish, I cut slits about half an inch apart and folded and glued in segments all the way around. I trimmed strips of the pink reverse of the “Cupcake Roses” paper to the exact interior height of the box and adhered around the inner perimeter.

Next, I traced the insert and used it as a guide to fold the insert to make my shelves, and adhered it inside the heart. I chose a variety of stickers and the chipboard pieces to decorate the inside of my shadowbox, and used foam tape to raise the pieces to different heights for a real 3D effect. I embellished the cupcake chipboard piece with glitter glue to make it really stand out.

The little “truffles” sitting on the shelf were created by crumpling paper scraps and wrapping them with cellophane and tying with bakers twine. If you spritz the paper lightly with water or an ink spray, they crumple up more easily. I used Glue Dots to adhere them along the top shelf of my shadowbox. Once my bon-bons were in place, I attached the banner sticker. 

Once the glue was dry and all the interior finishing touches complete, I glued eyelet lace around the whole piece. I just love how it turned out and look forward to February 1^st when I can include it in my holiday décor!

Are you creating Valentine projects with our Echo Park Paper collections? We'd love to see them. Simply upload them to our Facebook page HERE to share your ideas with our community of crafters.

One Buck Wednesday: Be Mine Kits on Sale!

This week during Echo Park Paper's "One Buck Wednesday" sale download the digital "Be Mine Paper Pack" kit for just $1. This sweet Valentine kit is both sophisticated and charming and includes all 28 papers in this collection.

Then download the "Be Mine Element Pack 1" kit for 50% off. This kit includes 28 of the iconic images from this collection:

Both of these Valentine kits are available at these discounted prices until midnight EST tonight so be sure to download them before the sale ends! You will find our additional "Be Mine" kits HERE in our Jessica Sprague store, as well as, our complete digital selection.

Create a Valentine Lunchbox with Laurel

 

Hi everyone, Laurel here today to share a "Love Story" Valentine Tin and notecard set. I thought that this would make a fun little gift for that special someone. The notecards are perfect for writing a note about what you love about that person. Of course including some treats is always appreciated.

I had this little lunch box tin in my stash just waiting for the right project and this one was it. I just covered the front of it with some of the "Love Story" papers, chipboard, stickers and brads. If you are going to add stitching to your project like I have, be sure to create the front panel before adhering to the tin.

I then used some of the "Love Story" stickers to decorate a clear tube filled with hot tamales. The finishing touch is the addition of the twine wrapped around the top.

The little notecards are 3" X 3" which fit nicely into the tin. I then punched a circle of pattern paper and adhered to the bottom of the chocolates, a nice addition that carries the theme throughout the whole gift.

You can use this same tutorial to create a birthday, new baby, or wedding lunchbox using many of our Echo Park Paper collections.

New Echo Park Paper Silhoutte Shapes Now Available!

We've released several new Silhouette shapes over the past few weeks including shapes from "Love Story" and "Scoot." Be sure to check out all of are darling shapes HERE in our Silhouette store, including this darling heart camera shape:

Here's a sneak peek of what you will find there:

New Full Digital Collections Now Available and On Sale!

Today we're releasing two new Full Collection digital kits to help you document your favorite memories. The "Times & Seasons Full Collection" kit includes all of the papers and elements from this collection. The vintage colors and traditional patterns are perfect for projects that focus on the family:

Here is a layout by Rachael to show you how beautiful this collection looks:

In addition to the "Times & Seasons" collection, we're releasing the "A Boy's Life Full Collection" kit, which also includes all the papers and elements in this collection. This line art collection is perfect for projects for boys:

Both of these collections are available for 25% off this weekend only so be sure to download them before the savings ends. You can find all of our digital collection kits HERE in our Jessica Sprague store.

Invitation Gift Bags with Lowri McNabb

Please welcome Design Team Expert Lowri McNabb to our blog today. Lowri has a knack for creating special little trinkets and treasures, and today she shares a fun twist on the traditional invitation. Read through her instructions below.

Hi everyone! Lowri here today to show you how to create some invitation gift bags with the fabulous "Love Story" Collection. This Collection is so versatile that after Valentine’s Day, you  can use it for pretty much any girls project as well. This is a hybrid project as I have used elements from both the digital and paper versions.

These bags were created using a die and manual cutting machine, but there are several templates online you could use to create your own. After cutting them out, I started embellishing the bags by threading some matching twine through a few of the heart shaped  chipboard buttons and then mounted the “Forever” and “You & Me” stickers  with dimensional foam to the front of the bags, as well as the “Together” piece from the chipboard pack.

To create the cards inside, I took a few of the digital elements from the "Love Story Elements Pack 1" and the "Love Story Elements Pack 2" and came up with a super simple print-out. I should tell you I am in no way a graphic designer, and I put these together in Powerpoint! You can use any program that allows you to insert pictures, or you could use a program like Photoshop to edit the pictures themselves.

On the second page of the invitation (held together by one of the brads from the Collection) is a map showing how to get to the party. Also in the bag is an assortment of pink heart shaped lollipops, just what my little four year old loves.

I really wanted to use this “Best Friends” sticker, but I needed three; and I wanted them a slightly different size so once again I just printed three from the digital element kits and cut them out by hand. I find that printing onto glossy photo paper gives a result very close to that found on the actual sticker sheet.

Please post a comment with any questions you might have about this project.

I love how Lowri shows you how to stretch a Valentine themed collection for everday use. Look through your themed collections with a new eye for how you might use them. Watch for additional ideas from our Design Team experts in upcoming blog posts!

Instagram Contest!

Join us for an exciting contest involving Instagram. This popular photo sharing website is a great way to show you our latest collections, snap pictures of our warehouse, and share some insider peeks into the Echo Park Paper offices.

Contest: To qualify for the giveaway, follow us here @echoparkpaper on Instagram. Tag a friend with @yourfriendsnamehere [insert your friend's name] in the comments area of the above photo on our Instagram page. All comments MUST be received by 5 p.m. MST tomorrow January 24th in order to qualify. You and your friend could each win a collection kit of your choosing from our currently shipping kits. Winners will be announced on Instagram following the contest. Up to five winners and their friends may be selected. ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON!

One Buck Wednesday: Winter Wishes Kits On Sale!

This week during Echo Park Paper's "One Buck Wednesday" sale download the digital "Winter Wishes Paper Pack 1" kit for just $1.This cool collection of winter patterned papers is perfect for layouts, cards, and altered projects that feature this cold weather season:

Then download the "Winter Wishes Element Pack 2" kit for 50% off.This kit includes the journaling cards alphas, and borders for this collection:

Both of these winter kits are available at these discounted prices until midnight EST tonight so be sure to download them before the sale ends! Look for additional "Winter Wishes" collections HERE in our Jessica Sprague store.

Layout Sketch with Olga

Today Olga shares a beautiful layout that features the "Love Story" collection. In this layout Olga combined, the chipboard accents, stickers and beautiful patterned papers from this collection:

Here is a sketch of this layout that you can use to recreate this same layout or use as inspiration for another layout.

You can search our blog for additional sketches, which might also inspire you.

January Design Team Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Echo Park Paper Design Team Blog Hop! Today the Echo Park Paper Design Team is showcasing projects from our latest collections. Be sure to follow the blog hop list below as you hop from one blog to the next. Return to the Echo Park Paper blog at any time for the next blogger on the list in case you get lost or confused!

Blog Hop List:

Linda Auclair

Tamara Tripodi

Lowri McNabb

Wendy Sue Anderson

Susan Stringfellow

Nancy Damiano

Kandis Smith

Laurel Seabrook

GIVEAWAY: ONE winner will be selected from each blog to receive an Echo Park Paper collection kit of their choosing. To qualify for the kit, comments will be due by midnight EST, Sunday, January 27th to qualify for the drawing. The winner will be announced on each blog Monday, January 28th  so be sure to check back to see if you've won.