Echo Park Paper: February 2015

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February 2015

02/27/2015

New Silhouette Shapes: Dinosaur Adventure!

It's been a busy week, with lots of fun projects, ideas, and products! We're going to end the week with another fun product announcement: Dinosaur Adventure Shapes are available in the Silhouette Design Store!Click right HERE to see many more shapes from our collections!

Posted on 02/27/2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)

02/26/2015

Create these Fun Wooden Spool Baby Shower Decorations with our Designer Dies!

Hello, Echo Park fans! Holly here today sharing Baby Boy Decorations made from the adorable Bundle of Joy: New Addition Boy collection and Designer Dies.

It's been a while since I've attended a Baby Shower and the choices of cute Baby themed craft products have greatly improved over the years. Almost makes me want to have another baby. Well, not that much but I can get my baby craft on by hosting a Baby Shower for someone else. Better idea.

To make these Baby Boy decorations, I covered wood spools with Bundle of Joy patterned papers and embellished them with twine, Chip Board Accents and a Decorative Brad. These wood spools would be great to use as a place card setting too.

I like to provide dimension to my die cuts and Chipboard Accents by using a white gel pen and foam squares.

I used the coordinating Bundle of Joy Designer Dies to cut out a Turtle, Monkey and Snail. The dies are easy to use and simple to assemble. After I assembled the dies, I attached them on to a piece of wire and hot glued it inside the spools.

Keep an eye on the Echo Park Paper blog for more inspiring ideas from the Bundle of Joy collections and Designer Dies.

Supplies Used:
A Bundle of Joy: A New Addition Boy- 6x6 Paper Pad

A Bundle o Joy: A New Addition- 6x6 Dots & Stripes Paper pad

A Bundle of Joy: A New Addition Boy- Turtle Designer Die Set

A Bundle of Joy: A New Addition Boy-Snail Designer Die Set

A Bundle of Joy: A New Addition Girl- Monkey Designer Die Set

A Bundle of Joy: A New Addition Boy- Chipboard Accents

A Bundle of Joy: A New Addition Boy- Decorative Brads

Wood Spools

White Gel Pen

Foam Dimensional Squares

20 gauge bronze wire

Googly Eyes

Twine

Posted on 02/26/2015 | Permalink | Comments (1)

02/25/2015

One Buck Wednesday: Winter Park

Today during our digital "One Buck Wednesday" sale, download the digital Echo Park Paper "Winter Park Paper Pack #1" kit for just $1.

Then download the Echo Park Paper "Winter Park Element Pack #1" kit for 50% off.

All of these kits are available at these discounted prices until midnight EST tonight so be sure to download them before the sale ends!

Posted on 02/25/2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)

02/24/2015

Use our Designer Dies to create this Dimensional Turtle Embellishment!

Hello! Courtney here today and I am sharing a card I created with the Bundle of Joy: A New Addition Collections. Using Designer Dies I created a dimensional embellishment that adds fun depth and interest to the card. At the end of the tutorial I have an additional card that I created using the same technique, but little boy themed.

The first step is to die cut all the pieces that will be layered on top of each other to create the dimensional turtle. Using several different patterned papers from the Bundle of Joy: A New Addition Girl Collection die cut two each of the turtle body and her shell with the Turtle Die Set. Then die cut two flowers with the small flower die from the Flower Die Set #3.

Now to begin layering the pieces - adhere the pair of turtle bodies together, then the pair shells, and lastly the pair of flowers. When stacking each pair of die cuts shift the bottom die cut a bit so that it can be seen peeking out from behind the die cut on top. For this step I used glue dots that are about 1/64 of an inch thick. I wanted the stacked die cuts to have just a bit of space between them, but not too much.

The dimensional turtle begins to come to life in this step. Adhere the stacked shells to the stacked turtle bodies, then adhere the stacked flowers atop the shells. For this step I used clear foam tabs that are about 1/32 of an inch thick. I wanted there to be more space between these three layers of the turtle than in the previous step. Die cut the tiny eyes from brown patterned paper, and with a bit of liquid adhesive, put them in place.

Now to create the card front. With light blue ink stamp the Floral 4x6 Stamp onto a 4 inch by 3 inch piece of white cardstock. Mat this with a piece of Bundle of Joy: A New Addition Light Pink patterned paper and adhere to the card front. The turtle is going to stand behind the sentiment sticker, so adhere the sticker to the bottom of the card with foam dots.

The last step is to adhere the turtle to the card front and add a few extra details. Add the button sticker from the Bundle of Joy: A New Addition Girl Alpha Stickers to the flower center, and place a few A Bundle of Joy: A New Addition Girl Enamel Dots just above the sentiment sticker.

This technique can be used with any of the Designer Dies, so I created a boy themed card with the Bundle of Joy: A New Addition Boy Collection and the Snail Die Set. After stacking up all of the die cuts I added a small enamel dot to the center of the star and used A Bundle of Joy: A New Addition Boy Plaid Washi Tape to create the ground for the snail to sit on.

With which Designer Dies do you want to try this technique? Be sure to share your creations with us on on the Echo Park Paper Facebook Page!

Posted on 02/24/2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)

02/23/2015

Layout Tips and Tricks with Aly Dosdall!

While browsing through my photos the other day I found some from my daughter’s third birthday party in 2012. It was so fun to see her little smiling face, and I just had to scrapbook my favorite photo of her. The colors and celebratory theme of the photo fit perfectly with the fun new Anything Goes collection, so I pulled out some papers and embellishments from my stash and came up with this fun page.

This collection is full of awesome embellishments and journaling cards so I decided to create a collage design element on my page, and then sprinkle some of the lovely goodies around for fun. I love the result!

I’ve got a few tips to share with you for using some of the fun items in this adorable collection. I’ll start with a tip for using the brads. Previously I shared a tip for using brads on cards HERE, and today I’ll show you a tip for using brads on layouts. I like to use a paper piercer when attaching brads to my layouts. That’s an easy way to make a little hole where your prongs fit perfectly without creasing your paper.

Once I insert the prongs and set them, I cover them with a piece of washi tape. That way they don’t get caught as I’m inserting the layout into the photo sleeve. Plus, I know my washi tape is safe to use and won’t destroy my photos.

The next tip will help with adhering intricate die cuts to your pages. When I’m cutting a thin font, or an intricate design I like to add an adhesive transfer sheet to the back of the paper before die cutting. Then I simply peel the sheet off the back and adhere the die cut to my page. Easy peasy!

Finally, I love to layer bits and pieces of journaling cards and stickers when creating a collage element on my pages. I’ll often have just a bit of an item peeking out from behind something else. To make my supplies stretch further I trim those items before adhering them to my page, and save the other bits to use on another project.

Check out the darling new Anything Goes collection. It’s perfect for celebrations of any kind. I hope these tips were helpful. Be sure to try one on your next layout. Let us know how it goes!

Supplies:

Anything Goes Journaling Cards Paper
Anything Goes Live The Life Paper
Anything Goes Fresh Flowers Paper
Anything Goes Arrow Stripes Paper
Anything Goes Red Light Pink Paper
Anything Goes 6x6 Paper Pad
Anything Goes Brad Set
Anything Goes 6x12 Chipboard
Anything Goes Let’s Party Die Set
Designer Dies Tag Set 1

Posted on 02/23/2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)

02/20/2015

New Digital Kits Available Today - Bundle of Joy, A New Addition!

We are pleased to announce a new addition in our Bundle of Joy Echo Park Digital collection. This mega collection is FULL of new patterns and elements to document the sweet babies in your life.

This paper pack includes 28 papers in jpg format and 260 elements in png format.

Of course, you can also purchase the Boy and Girl Kits Individually.

These decorative elements coordinate with the original Bundle of Joy kits, but offer new patterned papers and trendy elements for the sweet baby boys in your life.

This paper pack includes 14 papers in jpg format and 130 elements in png format.

You can also purchase the packs separately.

And, of course, the girl version...these decorative papers coordinate with the original Bundle of Joy kits, but offer new patterns for the sweet baby girls in your life.

We LOVE how our digital design team member, Rachael Sheedy, used the boy kits to make this sweet layout:

You can find ALL of our digital collection kits HERE!

Posted on 02/20/2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)

02/19/2015

Create this Festive Banner with Silhouette Shapes and "Anything Goes!"

Hello out there in Echo Park Paper crafty world!!! I am SO excited to be sharing what I made with Anything Goes today! This is Courtney Lee here to share with you a banner that I made for my daughter Charlotte Rose’s 1st birthday!

I grabbed this fantastic Spring Banner Silhouette file! Did you know that Echo Park made Silhouette shapes?!

I separated the shapes in Silhouette Designer Edition and made them larger. Then I duplicated a few of them so that I had enough for my daughter’s name along with an extra one so I could put “let’s party” at the end.

I just thought I would show you what my craft table looks like when I start working on a project - yummy chaos!

Echo Park makes wafer thin dies - fantastic. Here is what the sandwich looks like when using the Cuttlebug - A Plate, B Plate, Paper, Die, Shim (I have a metal one), C Plate - and just run it through - gorgeous cut.

Don’t forget to think outside the box. This is an ice cream cone die. I used it as a party hat. I just moved the die back off the edge to get the depth I wanted.

I then started to cut foam adhesive and put it onto the back of the letters I was going to use. I needed them to pop against their individual backgrounds. Did you notice that the letters that come with this collection are all different patterns? Love it.

Then I started embellishing with chipboard, stickers, and brads from the collection.

I wanted to decorate my birthday hat so I added a sequin to the top and then grabbed some of this tinsel ribbon. I wanted that perfect pom pom ribbon but I didn’t have any in my stash and I wanted it to be gold.

So I cut little pieces of ribbon and tied them in knots knowing that when I cut the ends that they would fray. I put a strip of adhesive on the bottom of the hat. As it turns out, the adhesive couldn’t hold the tinsel ribbon so I had to go back with a hot glue gun. But this would have worked with any other kind of ribbon. So use whichever method works better for you!

Then I pasted all of the knots onto the strip of adhesive and cut the ends of the ribbon.

After that I cut the ends of the ribbon so they would fray for a festive bottom.

Now it is time to piece them all together. Embellish behind and in front and have fun!

I used the Designer Labels #1 behind a LOT of these letters. If you see a fancy shape - it’s them. Check them out. Very very versatile!

So… did you check out that flamingo. At first I was like, “Wait, what!?! A flamingo!?!” And then I cut it… and loved it and had to get it on my banner.

I also utilized some matching Dots 6x6 papers! Yummy. Tone on tone on one side and white on color on the other. Brilliant.

The last photo above features the die cut phrase. It also comes with a balloon (so fun!) I used some of the solid papers to make it stand out. I added the ice cream cone party hat and voila! Party banner!

Banners are always hard to photograph when they are big but here it is!

I thought I would give you a side angle view of the banner to see some of the dimension. Enjoy!

We would LOVE to see your creation if this post inspired you! PLEASE share on the Facebook page (we LOVE it!) and I will definitely be stopping by the comments here to see if you have any questions, etc. Just please leave a way for me to answer you! I hope you enjoyed my banner today and grab it from the Silhouette store. It’s really super versatile and the many different shapes basically makes it cheating. You can make banners from any of them by themselves or like I did - eclectic!

Supplies:
AG74016 Anything Goes Collection Kit
AG74013 Anything Goes Happy Hexagons
AG74004 Anything Goes Double Scoop
AG74003 Anything Goes Fresh Flowers
AG74011 Anything Goes Bicycles
AG 74017 Anything Goes Pink/Teal
AG74018 Anything Goes Navy/Mint
AG74014 Anything Goes Element Stickers
AG74015 Anything Goes Alpha Stickers
AG74022 Anything Goes Adhesive Chipboard
AG74023 Anything Goes 6x6 Paper Pad
AG74020 Anything Goes Decorative Brads
AG74032 Anything Goes Flamingo Die Set
AG74030 Anything Goes Let’s Party Die Set
AG74031 Anything Goes Ice Cream Cone Die Set
EPPDIE27 Designer Label Set #1
Silhouette Spring Banner by Echo Park Paper
DTSP10023 Dots 6x6 Paper Pad
Manual Die Cutting Machine
Metal Shim
Foam Dimensional Tape
Scissors
Ribbon
Eyelets
Adhesive Runner

Posted on 02/19/2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)

02/18/2015

One Buck Wednesday: Winter Wishes!

Today during our digital "One Buck Wednesday" sale, download the digital Echo Park Paper "Winter Wishes Paper Pack #2" kit for just $1.

Then download the Echo Park Paper "Winter Wishes Element Pack #2" kit for 50% off.

All of these kits are available at these discounted prices until midnight EST tonight so be sure to download them before the sale ends!

Be sure to take a look at all of our digital kits while you're over there!

Posted on 02/18/2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)

02/17/2015

Dream Big and Create this Project with our "Anything Goes" Collection!

Hello! Courtney here today and I am sharing a small home decor project I created with the Anything Goes Collection and a Silhouette Shape from the Echo Park Portfolio. This fun project is about 4 inches square and is super quick to put together.

When creating these small home decor projects my favorite ‘canvas’ to work with is an unprimed wooden cradle board. You can find these in most local craft stores or a local art supply store. I like the finished look of the wood sides and an added bonus is no easel is needed - the cradle board will stand on its own.

To create the globe I used the Echo Park Globe die cut file available in the Silhouette Design Store. Before cutting the globe I resized the cut file to about 3.75 inches tall so that the “Dream Big” sticker from the Anything Goes Alpha Stickers would fit well inside of the globe. Then I layered the sentiment sticker atop a label from the Anything Goes Brad Set.

What quick and easy home decor projects do you enjoy creating? Have you created a home decor project with any Echo Park Silhouette Shapes? If so, please share your project with us over on the Echo Park Paper Facebook page!

Supplies:
AG74009 Multi Arrow
AG74015 Anything Goes Alpha Sticker
AG74020 Anything Goes Brad Set
AG74023 Anything Goes 6x6 Paper Pad
DSHF6023 Primary Dots 6x6 Paper Pad
SL68030 Dots & Stripes Simple Life 6x6 Paper Pad
#59531 Globe by Echo Park
Adhesive
Foam Tape
Glue Dots
White Thread
Sewing Machine
Silhouette Electronic Die Cut Machine
4 in x 4 in Unprimed Wooden Cradle Board

Posted on 02/17/2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)

02/16/2015

How To Create Your Own Framed Artwork with the Anything Goes Collection

Turn an inexpensive picture frame into a unique work of art! I started with a gold 4X6 frame that I spray painted with a black matte paint. Next, I printed the poem onto a plain piece of 8X11 copy paper. (Here's a LINK to the poem so you can print it out for yourself!)

A 4X6 piece of paper was cut from the Navy/Mint paper and then placed on top of the printed poem (Mint side up). The layered papers were held up to a lamp (or other light source) so that the 4X6 paper could properly be aligned. I used a repositionable glue stick to tack the mint paper in place temporarily.

The paper was placed back into the printer and the poem was reprinted. The 4X6 paper was gently removed from the copy paper. I held on to the copy paper so that it can be used for practicing and placement of the feathers.

Using Staz-On ink, I practiced stamping out a pattern around the poem:

When the desired design was achieved, the pattern was repeated onto the 4X6 paper. I used watercolor pencils to color in the feathers, but markers or colored pencils could be used as well.

Next I wanted to fill in some of the blank space between the feathers, as well as add some dimension to the piece. Chipboard and sticker hearts were attached; the chipboard hearts were also accented with brad centers. I used a stylus to pierce a hole in the center of the chipboard hearts and then inserted the brads through.

The glass was removed from the frame.