Echo Park Paper: April 2015

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April 2015

04/30/2015

Another Great Way to Add Texture to Your Projects with Designer Stencils!

Hi there friends! Aly Dosdall here again. Do you like to add a little texture to your paper craft projects? I do. I think it makes a project more fun and interesting! Today I’m going to show you an easy way to add texture to any project using the new Designer 6x6 Stencils. I used this technique on a scrapbook page, but you could do the same thing on a card, mini album, canvas, or other home décor project.

I started by placing the balloon stencil on a plain white piece of 12x12 Designer Cardstock. You can tape the stencil down with washi tape if you’d like, or hold it in place with one hand. I used a palette knife to apply some craft medium over the stencil. I didn’t need much—maybe half a teaspoon. I spread a thin layer around the stencil with my knife, leaving a few of the balloons empty around the edges of the stencil. You can apply complete or spotty coverage, smooth out the medium or leave some bumps in it—it’s up to you. Either way, don’t stress about getting anything “perfect”. Just have fun!

I let the medium dry for a few hours, and then created my layout allowing some of the stenciled balloons to peek out from behind the patterned paper. In keeping with the theme, I used the Birthday Wishes: Boy collection. I love how versatile the collection is! It has some fun themed papers, but also plenty of generic ones for more mature birthday boys. ;)

The medium adds just the right amount of subtle texture to the page background, and the stencil was super easy to work with. Just wash it off with warm soapy water when you’re done.

Supplies:
Birthday Wishes: Boy 6x6 Balloon Designer Stencil
Birthday Wishes: Boy Cupcakes Paper
Birthday Wishes: Boy Stripes Paper
Birthday Wishes: Boy Dots Paper
Birthday Wishes: Boy Birthday Party Paper
Birthday Wishes: Boy Alpha Stickers
Birthday Wishes: Boy Element Stickers
Birthday Wishes: Boy Happy Birthday Banner Designer Die
Jack & Jill: Jack Enamel Dots
craft medium
palette knife
cork stickers
wood veneer shape
foam squares

Posted on 04/30/2015 | Permalink | Comments (1)

04/29/2015

New Silhouette Shapes - My Little Girl

Have you seen our latest silhouette shape release? Here's a little peek at the "My Little Girl" shapes available in our Silhouette shop right now!

Click HERE to see all of our Silhouette shapes!

Posted on 04/29/2015 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Add Texture to a Layout with our Designer Dies!

Hello, my lovely friends! It’s Tania with you again today sharing a really fun way to use the Party Balloons Designer Die to create some texture and visual dimension on a layout featuring the Birthday Wishes – Girl Collection. I’ve also used the 6x6 Patterned Paper Pad with the Birthday Cupcake Designer Die, and one of the really fun NEW Embossing Folders on the strip of cardstock along the bottom to create a really fabulous textural element on this layout. Here’s how:

First, I cut a 10” wide x 9 ½” tall piece of white cardstock to use as a background to add my texture. Then, took a second piece of white cardstock and using the Party Balloons Designer Die, I made several passes through the machine to get a slew of party balloons. After each pass through the machine I randomly adhered the 5 balloons with the alphabet letter inset. If you choose not to use the inset, it wouldn’t be as important to only do 5 at a time since you wouldn’t have to match letters to balloons like a puzzle, but if you are going to use the inset letter as I did, trust me, it is so much easier if you only cut 5, then adhere 5 and so on and so forth. As you adhere the balloons to the white background, allow some of them to hang off the page and trim the overhang to give a more balanced appearance. Once you have this white cardstock covered, adhere it to the pink side of the “Girl Stripes” patterned paper.

Cut “Pink” solid cardstock to 1 ½” x 10”. Place in the embossing folder and crank through the machine. Slide it down the strip and line up the pattern before making a second, and third, pass through the machine. Adhere to the bottom of the white cardstock background. Cut “Girl Cupcakes” patterned paper to 1 ½” x 10” and adhere balloon printed side up, just above “Pink” solid cardstock. Cut one strip of candles from the backside of “Girl Journaling Cards” patterned paper and adhere above party balloons patterned paper.

Next, add a 4” x 6” portrait-oriented photo to the left-hand side of your white textured background. Layer the upper left corner with the viewfinder card sticker from the Element Stickers Sheet that says “Time to CELEBRATE and party!” using foam dimensional adhesive.

Then, add the “Happy Birthday” banner stickers, the “party hat” sticker, and the “It’s Your Day” banner stickers, all from the Element Stickers Sheet, to the layout as shown. Add the “Clown” sticker from the Alpha Stickers Sheet using foam dimensional adhesive. Keep in mind when placing these stickers that you want them to form a visual triangle along with the viewfinder sticker you placed in the previous step.

Lastly, using papers from the 6x6 Paper Pad along with the Birthday Cupcake Designer Die, die-cut 2 cupcakes and multiple candles for whatever birthday you’re celebrating. Build these cupcakes in the space to either side of the “clown” sticker. Add “confetti” stickers as embellishments from the Element Stickers Sheet. Embellish the balloons with Enamel Dots in coordinating colors. Trim the “light blue scalloped border” sticker to 10” and add to the seam between the candle paper and the party balloons paper using foam dimensional adhesive. Add a ½” x 10” strip of “Light Pink” solid cardstock just above the scalloped border sticker. Embellish strip with three Enamel Dots.

And that’s it, friends! Another easy, peasy, layout for your albums. If you don’t have girls, this layout can certainly be adapted using the same or similar patterns using the Birthday Wishes – Boy Collection! In fact, I encourage you to try this textural die-cut technique on a layout using any of the Echo Park collections and Designer Dies!

Now, go forth and create…happily!

Posted on 04/29/2015 | Permalink | Comments (2)

One Buck Wednesday: Creative Agenda

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

All of these kits are available for just $1 until midnight EDT tonight so be sure to download them before the sale ends!

Posted on 04/29/2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)

04/28/2015

Decorate Your Own Birthday Gift Boxes

Hello! Courtney here today and I’m sharing a pillow box wrapped up with the Birthday Wishes Boy Collection and coordinating Designer Dies. You can find plain white pillow boxes to decorate at most local craft stores, or you can cut one from cardstock with an electronic die cut machine.

The first step is to trim the patterned paper strips that will be wrapped around the middle of the pillow box. When assembled my box measures 5” x 3 3/4” across the middle, so I trimmed the patterned paper strips to 3 1/2” x 8”, 3 3/4” x 8” and 4” x 8”.

Starting with the 4” x 8” patterned paper strip, adhere the strip to the center of the front of the pillow box. Flip over the box and use a bone folder to score the patterned paper along the edge of the box. Fold the ends of the paper strip around the box and adhere to the back of the box.

Repeat the pervious steps with the remaining two patterned paper strips. Now the box is ready to be decorated with die cuts.

Using the Birthday Boy Die, die cut the “Birthday Boy” sentiment from red and blue solid papers. Die cut words can be tricky to adhere with liquid adhesive or a tape runner, so before die cutting the sentiment apply a piece of adhesive sheet to the back of the paper.

Peel the liner from the back of the die cut words and apply them to the front of the pillow box. I placed mine towards the bottom of the box to leave room for other die cuts.

Using the Birthday Die Set die cut the party hat from patterned paper - I used a design from the Birthday Wishes Boy 6”x6” Paper Pad. The designs in the 6”x6” paper pad are scaled down and work well with smaller dies. Adhere the party hat die cut to the box above the sentiment and apply a few enamel dots for added interest.

Supplies:
BDB84004 Birthday Wishes “Boy Stripes”
BDB84007 Birthday Wishes “Boy Birthday Party”
BDG85005 Birthday Wishes “Girl Birthday Hats”
BDB84017 Birthday Wishes Boy “Blue/Red”
BDB84023 Birthday Wishes Boy 6”x6” Paper Pad
JJB80028 Jack & Jill: Jack Enamel Dots
BJBT78028 Bundle of Joy: A New Addition Boy Enamel Dots
BDB84032 Birthday Boy Die
BDG85030 Birthday Die Set
pillow box
bone folder
manual die cut machine
adhesive sheet

Posted on 04/28/2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)

04/27/2015

Create Your Own Unique Embossed Gift Bags!

Hello Echo Park Fans! Holly here from Ribbons & Glue sharing with you how to make an Embossed Gift Bag using the Echo Park Paper Spring Dots & Stripes Essentials collection, Designer Stamps & Dies and an Embossing folder.

The Dots & Stripes collections from Echo Park has always been one of my favorites and coordinates beautifully with Kraft Paper. Echo Park even has a Dots & Stripes Neutral Pack that contains Kraft.

To make this Embossed Gift Bag, I took a Plain Jane lunch bag and embossed it with the new Echo Park Designer Embossing Folder, Random Dots.

I then added a strip of Robin's Egg blue polka dotted paper along the front found in the Spring collection kit.

The name of the paper, Robin's Egg, inspired me embellish the bag with a Scallop and Bird Designer Die.

I also stamped a sentiment from one of the many Echo Park Paper Designer Stamps Sets to choose from and adhered a yellow decorative brad along the front of the bag.

Echo Park Paper Supplies Used:

Dots & Stripes, 8 x 8 Spring Paper Pad - Robin's Egg

Dots & Stripes, 8 x 8 Spring Paper Pad- Canary

Designer Embossing Folder, Random Dots

Designer Die Bird Set #1

Designer Die Scallop Circle Nesting Set

Designer Stamps-Happy Little Moments

Summer Bliss Decorative Brads

Posted on 04/27/2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)

04/24/2015

Dots & Stripes + ALL of our Collections = Perfection!

Hello, friends! It’s Tania, back with you today, sharing a layout with an eclectic mix and match of patterns that somehow just works. After choosing my photos, I reached for a variety of patterns that helped to compliment the tones in the photos. To accomplish that, I used a few different packs of the Dots & Stripes papers on this layout, namely the Neutrals, Spring, and Brights and mixed it with a strip or two of nearly every washi tape Echo Park Paper has made from a variety of different collections (i.e. Bundle of Joy Boy, Jack & Jill: Jill, Jack and Jill: Jack, Creative Agenda and Bundle of Joy Girl). While some of the individual washi patterns (i.e. baby boy) don’t necessarily scream ‘use me!’ for pictures of my girls, the combination of subtle patterns and colors still work together to compliment the layout as a whole. Creating a backdrop for your photos like this is a great way to use up those leftover strips of patterned paper, washi tape or sticker borders from your Element Sticker Sheets.

Clearly, I chose the stripes pattern from the Neutrals pack to build upon as the background of my layout. But then, I wanted to add in some of the Spring and Brights Dots & Stripes patterns along with it. The Brights are very bright and fun, so I wanted to use them sparingly as not to overwhelm my photos. Even when using them sparingly, I still wanted them to pack a powerful visual punch, so I paired them with my favorite flower-shaped Designer Dies to create some custom flower embellishments.

I cut flowers from the following Designer Die Sets: Flower Set 1, Flower Set 3 and the Spring Flowers Set. I made my flowers dimensional but to do so they first required a little doctoring up. You can see from this image that I chose to cut deep into the spaces between the scallops to create loose petals. When you do this it gives you way more flexibility in being able to manipulate and shape the petals for a wonderfully dimensional flower embellishment. So if you follow the guidelines I’ve drawn in black as your cut lines (flowers on the left), you’ll end up with loose petals like you see in the flowers on the right.

I pre-pierced a hole through the center of three flowers before stacking them together making it easier to insert my brad through the thicker layers. Once the brad is through, you can then shift the layers of the flowers to be off-center from one another so the petals fill out around the flower giving you a lovely dimension. Of course you can manipulate the individual petals as much or as little as you wish to get your desired dimension.

There are many different options for layering and you’ll just have to play with the color combinations and flower sizes that you prefer. I personally prefer to mix a bit of the Bright patterned with the Spring patterns to get that two-tone visual effect. It gives it much more dimension when all the petals aren’t the same color and blending together.

Placing the flower embellishments in a visual triangle and adjusting the sizing of your clusters so they aren’t all three big, bold, powerful statements will be much more visually pleasing to the eye!

Hope these simple tips help you when you sit down to play with your own Dots & Stripes papers and Designer Dies!

Happy Crafting!

Supplies:

DS15017 Caramel Patterned Paper (Neutrals Dots & Stripes)
DS15026 Hot Pink Patterned Paper (Brights Dots & Stripes)
DS15027 Aqua Patterned Paper (Brights Dots & Stripes)
DS15029 Lime Patterned Paper (Brights Dots & Stripes)
DS15005 Bubblegum Patterned Paper (Spring Dots & Stripes)
BJGT79030 Flower Set 3 Designer Dies
EPMDIE18 Flower Set 1 Designer Dies
SDA82030 Spring Flowers Designer Dies
JJG81026 Washi Tape – Silhouettes (Jack and Jill: Jill)
JJG81027 Washi Tape – Damask (Jack and Jill: Jill)
JJB80026 Washi Tape – Ruler (Jack and Jill: Jack)
BJGT79026 Washi Tape – Plaid (Bundle of Joy: Girl)
BJBT78026 Washi Tape – Plaid (Bundle of Joy: Boy)
BJBT78027 Washi Tape – Moon & Stars (Bundle of Joy: Boy)
CA70029 Arrow Decorative Tape (Creative Agenda)
HE83014 Sticker Sheet (Happy Easter)
BJGT79020 Bundle of Joy Girl Brads (Bundle of Joy: Girl)
AG74020 Anything Goes Brad Set (Anything Goes)
JJG81028 Enamel Dots (Jack and Jill: Jill)
White Cardstock (CartaBella)
Cuttlebug Manual Die-cut Machine
Paper Trimmer
Adhesive Runner
Adhesive Dots
Foam Dimensional Adhesive
Paper Piercer
(2) 4” x 6” horizontally-oriented photo
Silver Photo Corners

Posted on 04/24/2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)

New Silhouette Shapes - Birthday Boy!

Have you seen our newest digital die-cut shapes in the Silhouette Design Store? Here's a little peek at the "Birthday Boy" shapes available right now!

Posted on 04/24/2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)

04/23/2015

DIY Birdhouse decor with "Dots & Stripes!"

Hey Echo Park fans!!! Courtney Lee from Court’s Crafts here with a little Dots and Stripes Home Decor project.

I loved these little bird houses from the first moment I saw them and just knew that my 2.5 year old would as well! She is THRILLED. I accidentally cut one of the birds the wrong facing direction so I just added her into the inside of the top birdhouse. Sometimes your mistakes end up making your project what it is!

Tip: I used my hot glue gun to adhere all of the pieces of the bird houses together to give it extra stability. It really helps if little people are going to be playing with your project.

So most of the time I emphasize dies as the front and center of my project. This time I made them the “added bonuses”. One of the dies that I used was the Easter eggs. I glued them all together and then glued them to the inside of the bird house hole. Love it.

I also added some of the Sweet Flower Die Set flowers to the tree branches and finished them with enamel dots.

Lastly, I thought my bird house needed a little heart so I grabbed one from the Through The Year Die Set. So cute, right? Tip: Don’t forget to add little dies to make your projects really pop!

Supplies:

DS15022 Dots and Stripes Grey
DS15014 Dots and Stripes Lemon
DS15029 Dots and Stripes Lime
DS15018 Dots and Stripes Wood Grain
DS15030 Dots and Stripes Ladybug
SDA82007 Sunny Days Ahead Spring Floral
SDA82019 Sunny Days Ahead Red/Yellow
JJG81019 Jack and Jill: Jill Red/Pink
JJG81017 Jack and Jill: Jill Teal/Yellow
JJB80011 Jack and Jill: Jack Adventure
JJB80005 Jack and Jill: Jack Stamps
TTY76034 Through The Year Die Set
HE83030 Easter Eggs Die
JJG81032 Sweet Flower Die Set
BJBT78028 Bundle of Joy: A New Addition Boy Enamel Dots
JJG81028 Jack and Jill: Jill Enamel Dots
Silhouette Cut Files
Silhouette Cameo
Hot Glue Gun

Posted on 04/23/2015 | Permalink | Comments (1)

04/22/2015

Party with Dots & Stripes on a Teen Layout!

The beautiful thing about the new Dots & Stripes Collection is that it can be used for any occasion, as well as an enhancement for other Echo Park Collections! Today I have a birthday layout of my daughter turning thirteen. I didn’t want too cute of a theme, so I went with a trio of her favorite colors, black and white photos and a few dies and embellishments.

I wanted to use the three colors and show both the dots and stripes patterns, so I created a band of color in a chevron pattern. To do so, I started with a 2”X8” strip cut from the 8X8 Paper Pad papers. Next, I cut the strip in half to measure 2”X4”. To cut the strips at an angle:

Place the top left corner of the paper strip at the 2.5” mark of the paper trimmer. Line up the bottom right corner over the valley where the blade will pass through.

For the second cut: Placing the paper strip back onto the trimmer, line up the cut edge with the 2.5” mark and the bottom right corner over the valley where the blade will pass through.