Summer Scrapping: Circles & Squares

We're celebrating all things summer this month at JBS, and I couldn't be happier! I love the bright colors and fun themes that accompany warm weather scrapping. Today I'm mixing some pieces from the June Mercantile Kits (Papercrafting and Historian - both of which are still available!) with Modern Mercantile papers and wood veneer. In addition, I'm combining rectangles and circles for a fun, energetic look.

I snapped this shot of Riely and her best friend Cassidy a few weeks ago on the last day of school. They were excitedly discussing all their big plans for summer, which included lots of playdates, sleepovers, and attending theater camp together.

S U P P L I E S :

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For the base layer, I used the Plus One stencil and some acrylic paint to add a bit of color and texture to my cardstock.  Then I layered some paper scraps and journaling cards to form a loose grid around the photo.

The heart on one of the journaling cards was a perfect place to type in a bit of journaling. Then, to add a sense of motion and energy to the page, I cut some thin circles from coordinating cardstock as well as cutting out a circular title for my page. I arranged these three circular elements in a triangle around my photo. Both the circles and the rounded corners on the papers and photo help to soften all the straight lines and add a "flow" to the page.

A few simple embellishments - a sticker, a vintage ticket, and wooden buttons (that also relate to the circles!) are all I needed to finish this page.

The combination of circles and squares can work with so many summer page themes, from baseball to beach balls, bike riding to frisbee games, pizza parties to road trips! Together they can help you create a dynamic, lively page to tell all your summer stories.

Happy Scrapping!

Quick Pages with 4x6 Photos

I often have more ideas for layouts than I have time to make them. I am willing to bet that many of you are in the same boat. My JBS Mercantile kits always save me time. Since all of the kits coordinate well together, it's just a matter of choosing the photos and getting creative. If I am short on time, I print a few 4x6 photos. Their standard size makes them easy to work with whether you choose to make a pocket page or a 12x12  layout.

For a quick 12x12 layout, choose 1-2 photos. Cut a large block of pattern paper and adhere it to your cardstock. Layer a few embellishments on diagonal corners of the photos and just like that you are done. I had a lot of white space in the bottom section of my photos. I chose larger pieces of ephemera to hide it. While I could have cropped the photos down, layering items on the photo saved me quite a lot of time.

Pocket pages can also be a huge time saver. Take a look at the photos you wish to use and then choose a page protector that suits the orientation of most of the pictures. Cut 4x6 cards from a sheet of patterned paper. You can then easily use both sides to create the layout.Just slip the photos in place and spend a little bit of time embellishing the title card and journal cards.

I had originally intended to create a two page layout. However, using the pocket pages took a lot of the photo placement guesswork out of the equation. I also feel like I was able to add more journaling to accompany the photos. 

I did add some bulky items to my pockets which made the cards want to slide out. Use a staple, brads or a bit of clear glue to keep cards in place.

Most of the items used in these layouts came from the September kits. I like to keep some neutral supplies on hand that I can mix in as needed. There are a variety of letters, chipboard elements, brads and stickers in the JBS Mercantile store which coordinate well with each month's kit. Today I used:

Alterable Alphas- Microdots

Mini Chalkboard Alpha Stickers- multi

Chipboard Buttons- Milk Caps

Decorative Brads-Rhinestone

Creating with 4x6 photos and JBS Mercantile kits sure makes scrapbooking easy! What's your favorite size photo to work with? Join in on the discussion on the JBS Mercantile message board.

Christy