Magical Birthday Boy Layout

Hi there, crafty friends! It’s Lydia Cost today, and I’m to be walking through the creation of this fun 12x12 layout, featuring the Magical Birthday Boy collection. This one was such a fun collection to create with, and it matched the primary colors of my kiddos 2^nd birthday perfectly.

For this layout I really wanting to keep it super simple so that my photos would do all the talking. I started with the great black patterned paper with colorful stars. It can be intimidating to create with dark colored papers, but there is a simple trick to using them expertly. That trick is tissue paper!

I cut some tissue paper to about 9”x9”, by ripping it from a larger piece. I arranged the straight edges near the top right portion of my layout. I then went about stitching down the straight edges, so it would be a perfect place to overlay the rest of my layout without getting drowned by the black patterned paper background.

Next, I picked out two pieces of patterned paper to accentuate the area above my background. I chose two fun prints. I cut one piece to 4”x7” and the other to 3”x8”. These rectangular sizes fit perfectly stacked on top one another, to create a perfect place to layer on my photos and embellishments.

After stitching both of my pieces of patterned paper onto my tissue paper background, I could now arrange my two larger photos on top. I added a little dimension and character to each one by layering them up with some paper scraps. I added a little stitching and each photo really pops off the page with some pop dots.

Next came the fun part of adding in element stickers, tags, and enamel dots. The last part is always my favorite, because I think it always highlights any layout. Those element sticker sheets really are your best friend when adding character to any layout made with the collection kits!

I added my title using one of the tags and a silver foil number “2.” This nestled in perfectly near the top right corner where everything else meets as well. I finished off with a few paint splatters. This layout is a breeze to create, and I certainly hope that you guys have fun putting the design to use too!