Guest Designer - Claire Hawkins

Hi everyone,

It’s Claire here aka @scrappysoulmate, and I’m delighted to be sharing some layouts today as a Guest Designer for Pinkfresh Studio.

I’m a long-time paper crafter and live in the UK with my boyfriend and fur baby, both of whom feature heavily in my layouts. Those of you who know me will already be aware of how much I love Pinkfresh products, so it’s a real pleasure to be sharing some projects with you using the stunning Holiday Magic collection.

Layout 1: Silent Night

As soon as I saw that beautiful wreath design on the ‘Deck the Halls’ paper, I knew I wanted it to be the focal point of my layout – and by pure coincidence, it fits perfectly with the November monthly challenge!

I cut a circular aperture on a piece of plain white cardstock and fussy cut each section of the wreath. I rearranged the leaves around the aperture and glued just the center of each section to the page. This left the leaves free curl and fold to create some extra dimension.

To the back of the aperture, I added foam tape and used a piece of the ‘Merry & Bright’ paper to give a bit of contrast and emphasise the black and white tones of my photograph.

I backed the photo with the striped ‘Feeling Festive’ paper and layered it on top of a tag. I cut some plain white leaves from the Leafy branch die and positioned these on either side of my photo.

I added some sentiments, jewels, crystals and puffy stickers to the wreath in corresponding colours and positioned my title opposite to my photo to balance the page.

As a final touch, I made some charm embellishments from the puffy stickers, backing them with card and dangling them from my photo to imitate Christmas decorations.

Supplies list: Holiday Magic 12x12 Paper Pack, Puffy Stickers, Chipboard Alpha, Ephemera Pack, Die Cut Tags, Essentials Jewels, Essentials Crystals, Leafy Branch die.

Layout 2: Tis the Season to Sparkle!

There are so many things I love about this collection; I couldn’t resist a second fun layout to capture the magic of the Holidays.

I layered the ‘Warm Wishes’ and ‘Wonder & Peace’ papers together, distressing the edges and offsetting one on top of the other. I fussy cut some extra snowflakes from ‘Wonder & Peace’, placing them on foam pads for extra dimension and adding some jewels to each centre.

I mounted my photographs on patterned paper, using one of the tags and chipboard frames for additional layering pieces.

I fussy cut three of those beautiful baubles from the ‘Holiday Vibes’ paper, added a coordinating Jewel and tucked the baubles around my photographs to create a visual triangle.

Next, I mirrored the circular shape of the baubles with some circular ephemera pieces and cardstock stickers, also adding some smaller sentiments to my photograph.

‘Tis The Season to Sparkle’ from the Title Die Cuts Pack provided the perfect title piece. Given the title, I just had to add a bit more sparkle, with a scattering of bling with Jewels and ephemera dots.

 

Supplies List: Holiday Magic 12x12 Paper Pack, Chipboard Frames, Cardstock Stickers, Die Cut Tags, Title Ephemera, Ephemera Pack, Enamel Dots, Essentials Jewels.

Layout 3: There’s No Present Like the Moment

This sentiment from the Title Ephemera Pack immediately caught my eye. It captures everything I love about the Holidays – those precious moments that you’ll treasure forever.

 

To complement the title, I opted for the Gift Trio cut file which you can find in the Pinkfresh Studio store. I backed it with 12x12 patterned papers from Holiday Magic, focusing on the softer pink, blue and green tones.

Of course, as it’s holiday season, I just had to add sparkle to those bows and the Essentials Crystals were just the job!  As an extra special touch, I also added a bow, made using the Artistic Bows Die Set.

I used the ‘Merry & Bright’ paper as my background, trimming this slightly, distressing the edges and adding gold stitching. I positioned my photo with some small phrase Cardstock Stickers and tucked two tags behind. I added some Snowflakes and holly from the Ephemera Pack and some fussy cut gifts from the ‘Greatest Gift’ paper around the design for extra interest.

I added a few small stars made with the Essentials Shaker Stars Die Set, folded down the centre for extra dimension and the Holiday Vibes sentiment, cut from the ‘Holly Jolly’ paper.

To finish, I added a few of those beautiful Metallic Enamel Dots in Silver.

 

Supplies List: Holiday Magic 12x12 Paper Pack, Gift Trio cut file, Cardstock Stickers, Die Cut Tags, Title Ephemera, Ephemera Pack, Enamel Dots, Essentials Jewels, Essentials Shaker Stars Die Set, Artistic Bows Die Set.

It has been a real pleasure to create with Holiday Magic and share my layouts with you.  I hope it may inspire you to document your holiday moments and look forward to seeing what you create with this wonderful collection.

Claire xx