When you purchase or create a scrapbooking workshop kit, do you follow the instructions exactly—or do you look at those beautifully prepared pieces and immediately start thinking: “I wonder what I could do with this instead?”
Don’t get me wrong. I love having a beautifully designed project to follow and Currently Loving Scrapbooking Workshop Kit is gorgeous, plus it gives you a starting point, takes away the “where do I begin?” problem and can teach me new ways to put colours, patterns and embellishments together.
But I don’t think a kit has to be the end result.
Breaking the rules with a scrapbook layout
For this layout, I started with the pieces from the Currently Loving Scrapbooking Workshop Kit, but rather than simply recreating the sample, I wanted to make the layout feel more like my own creative story.
The first thing I redesign the layout into something that wasn’t in the instructions. I used some of the precut flower cluster & leaves images to frame my photo placements. I used the dark side of Secret Sea Two-Tone Cardstock as my base and cut into the some cloud cover & the pattern paper to form the structure of my layout. The papers & the cardstock were all in the Currently Loving Scrapbooking Workshop Kit , making it super easy to pull together the co-ordinated look.
But I also added some extra colour and shape to the leaves with a help of a blending brush & some ink splattering. This gave the precut pieces a little more depth for my layout. I even added a little bit of shimmer with the Barely Blush Shimmer Brush, these brushes add just a hint of shimmer & colour but as the Barely Blush colour is so light you don’t see it on the green leaves, but you do notice the shimmer when you tilt it in the light. Will anyone notice this once it’s in a page protector – maybe not, but I know it’s there. But what you will noticed is how the leaves & flowers are at different heights thanks to the help of Stampin’ Dimensionals®. The height is not too much to be bulky, but enough to give depth & interest.
Now ever since I got my hand on the hot foiling system I have been hot foilin g a lot of things including lots of silver foiled butterflies from Butterfly Flight adhering them with Stampin’ Dimensionals® for some height. I left them uncoloured in, as it worked well with the white flowers from the precut images. By allowing a couple of butterflies to travel across the page and become part of the overall visual flow, really adds movement to the scrapbook layout & well flowers & butterflies work so well together that I even added in some tiny white 2026–2028 In Colour Butterflies for some extra detail.
To tie in with the silver foiled butterfliesI created FUN using the Luxe Alphabet which fitted in perfectly with the Family sticker title & added in three Secret Sea Natural Matte Dotts that I had in my ever growing stash of embellishments.
The photographs are where the story begins
Of course, all the pretty details on a scrapbook page are lovely, but ultimately the photographs are what make the page meaningful. I’ve deliberately left space for two 3″ x 4″ photographs on this layout.
And that’s something I really enjoy about scrapbooking: the embellishments don’t tell the whole story. They create the setting for the photographs. Sometimes you can create the page first and let the photographs and story find their place afterwards and the family fun title will work for any number of photos- a day out with family, a holiday adventure, a silly moment with your family & friends—or simply photographs of something that made me smile.
So… are you a rule follower?
When it comes to scrapbooking, I think there is room for both. Sometimes I want to follow the instructions and enjoy the satisfaction of recreating a beautiful project exactly as designed. Don’t be afraid to move things around. One of the easiest ways to make a kit feel like your own is simply to change the placement of the pieces, layer them, bring in extra colour & depth or introduce extra embellishments that work well with the layout. The original project gives you a starting point—but once you start making decisions based on your own photographs and your own story, it becomes your page.
Remember: Spend $125+ this month = Product of the Month for $9!
What We’re Loving
If you love experimenting with your supplies and trying new ideas, make sure you’re on my email list — I share inspiration, sketches and colour combos.
Unlock Scrapbooking, Cardmaking Tips & Inspiration! Subscribe Today
Til next time, see you soon & keep creating!
Maz
aMAZing Creations 
What do you think?