Summer Days

I'm not going to complain that we had totally skipped Spring around here and just went straight to summer. Having the sun shining and being able to wear flip flops again doesn't give me much reason to complain. So with that, today I decided to share some fun "summer" themed projects.

I have started a bit of a collection of paper pads. I love how I can get all the papers in one collection in a tiny version. Fun stuff!

Today's projects all came from this pad......


I wanted to challenge myself to see how much projects I can make with this 6x6 paper pad from Echo park. I have to say, it was quite a fun challenge figuring out how I can extend the papers to fit bigger projects like layouts but at the same time, the smaller versions of the images worked perfectly with cards and altered items. So without any more further babble from me, here's what I did....

Summer card set

I picked this collection because of the bright and fun designs. If you've been following my work, you know that I am at my comfort zone with bright fun designs/papers. They just bring so much smile in my face.

With this card, I used the bold colors but minimized the patterns. I really wanted the colors to pop. I also handcut some cute ice cream cones from the paper. Aren't they just adorable?

In here, I used one of the solid colored paper in the pack and added texture with it using my embossing folder. I also wanted to show off the fun theme park paper so I added solid colors in small doses to the card so it doesn't take away from this fun paper.

Now with this card, I went BOLD! Love that scallop multi colored paper. Nothing says summer to me that orange so I used that to make my own tag and added my sticker sentiment on it. I used the blue buttons to form my visual triangle in this card.

Beach Day

Again, these projects are all about challenging myself to make the most of the 6x6 paper pad, so I went with a double page layout. I'm glad I was able to work with these photos. I don't feel at ease when I have photos from two years ago still waiting to be scrapped. It was worth the wait though because the Echo Park papers were just want these photos needed to evoke the whole summer vibe of the layout.

I had cut out the letters from one of the solid papers in the pack using my die cut machine. I even got some inspiration from the title of the collection by adding stitch pen lines inside the letters of my title just like the way they did the paper collection title.

To add as much of the patterns of the pack in this page, I punched them out with a 1 3/4" circle punch and layed them in the middle of the spread. I love the stripe paper and decided to ground the page with them. Since they're only 6" in length, I added some embroidery stitching to connect them to each other. It turned out great because the stitching created an extra dimension to the page. For the journaling block, I used my die cut machien again to cut out a fun shape from the orange paper, and because it was already lined, adding my words to the page was a breeze to do.

I have some tools from Epiphany crafts that I am able to personalize my buttons. I used the light blue solid paper from the pack to make my buttons match perfectly with the rest of the products in this page.

Summer canvas banner

and finally, what better way to welcome the season with a banner?! In this one, I used a Maya road canvas banner set as my foundation. I colored it with some Tattered Angels Glam paint to add the yellow to the canvas. I especially chose this type of paint because it has shimmer in there. Adding that bit of glitter to the project reminds me so much of how the ground shines when sun hits it.

After painting the canvas, I used the papers to add design and pattern. Nothing says summer better than bold, bright colors and these papers delivered that for me.

I used my die cut machine to cut out letters for the title using solid paper from the pack.

I connected all the pieces with white ribbon and tied some bows in each connection then finishing it off with a bling.

And after seeing how great the effect of the glam paint was with the canvas, I decided to add some to the paper rosettes too.

Speaking of the paper rosettes, I decided to share with you how I did them. They are super easy and I've learned that the length of the papers won't deter you from making these fun embellishments.

First, you need to gather your supplies. I have paper, glue gun, a circle punch and a strip of strong adhesive (I used ribbon adhesive).

Next, you cut out your papers. I cut mine into 1" strips. With the size of rosette that I wanted, I have to cut four strip from one 6" paper.

Then you fold them accordion style. I've seen people use scoring pads/boards for this but I'm the "my hands are good enough" type of gal so I that's exactly what I did here. :)

After that, I used a tiny strip of ribbon adhesive to connect the papers into one long strip. I overlaped the fold to make the seams tidy looking.

Next, I added one more strip of adhesive to the the pape folded strip to connect them into one big circle. I then punched out two circles from coordinating pattern paper.

then I glued the rosette onto the circles. At this time I formed it into the size the I wanted it to be, if you want a smaller one, make the gap inside the circle close together, if you want your rosette bigger, make the gap larger.

Top the rosette with another circle and viola! your done.

Now you just need to do it 5 more times and you'll have enough to spell out summer.

They are pretty easy, won't you agree? You can make this handmade embellishment for cards, layouts, homemade medals and award pins and of course for a banner just like mine. :)

So that's it. Thank you for going though a long post. I hope you enjoyed your visit today and these project inspired you to celebrate the season with your own homemade projects .

Have a fun summer.

Till next time,

Grace