Showcase Sunshine & Smiles with a Sun-Kissed Layout

No matter how large the world may seem, we’re all still living under the same sun. The sun acts as the ultimate backlight for so many memories that turn into photographs, and after you compile all of these photos and memories, your next step is to figure out what to do with them. No collection can do a better job of showing off your sunny smiles or a tropical trip than Sun-Kissed! Today, blog contributor Vanessa outlines how to create a tropical travel scrapbook layout that does a phenomenal job of showcasing your photos alongside some sunny accent pieces that will make you feel like your vacation never ended. Let’s take a look!

Blog Contributor Vanessa’s Inspiration:

When I first saw the Tropical Leaf Punch, I knew at once what photos would be perfect to use it with! We live in Far North Queensland, Australia, and one of our favorite places to visit is Paronella Park near Innisfail. The Park was built by a Spanish immigrant back in the 1930’s and the buildings are inspired by Spanish castles. After his death, the park was neglected and with the help of a cyclone or two, became run down.

The layout I created is intended to show how the tropical plant life is aggressive and taking over the structures. Hence, I focus on the leaf punch in trailing vines and leaves poking through torn paper and peeking through the folded corners. Everything about the page speaks to me of the color green but I included yellow leaves to show the cycle of nature and I had to include the brilliant blue Ulysses butterfly, which we find here in tropical north Queensland.

I used the Crown Border Maker Cartridge with the Border Maker System to replicate the turrets on the castle buildings and I chose photos over different years of visits to the park to tie in with my theme “where the experience never grows old.”  The photos I chose for this layout have two of my children in them and then two of my grandchildren. It doesn’t matter how many times we visit the park, we never tire of wandering around it.

What You’ll Need to Create This Layout:

• Sun-Kissed Paper Pack
• Sun-Kissed Stickers
• Sun-Kissed Variety Mat Pack
• Cardstock: Evergreen, Gray, Leaf Green, Royal Blue
• Vellum Paper Pack – (Shown: Sugarplum Vellum Pastel Paper Pack)
• Black Sans Serif ABC/123 Stickers
• Tropical Leaf Punch
• Double Heart Punch
• Original Border Maker System with the Crown Border Maker Cartridge
• 12-inch Straight Trimmer
• 12-inch Decorative Trimmer
• All-Purpose Scissors
• Double Wave Tearing Tool
• Tape Runner with Repositionable Refill and Vellum Refill
• Foam Squares
• Black Dual-Tip Pen

Step 1: Lay down two pieces of Evergreen Cardstock for the base of the two-page layout.

Step 2: Using the Double Wave Tearing Tool on the small wave side, tear 1/2″ from three edges of two pieces of green Sun-Kissed patterned papers. Adhere to the Evergreen Cardstock with the two untorn edges in the middle of the layout. Fold over the two bottom corners of the green paper to reveal the blue side and adhere.

Step 3: Punch two crown borders using the Border Maker System and Gray Cardstock, tuck these behind the top torn edge of the green patterned paper using Repositionable Adhesive. You will need to trim a bit off the edge.

Step 4: Cut four 1/4″ wide strips of Evergreen Cardstock using the wave of the 12-inch Decorative Trimmer. Cut the ends at a diagonal and put the two strips together to make two “vines.” Adhere to the sides of the layout using Repositionable Adhesive.

Step 5: Punch several leaves using the Tropical Leaf Punch from Evergreen Cardstock, Leaf Green Cardstock and yellow vellum and adhere to the vines using Repositionable Adhesive. Tuck some more leaves under the folded back edges of the green paper at the bottom corners of the layout.

Step 6: Tear a small chunk with your fingers out of the middle section of the green paper (where the left page and right page meet) revealing the Evergreen Cardstock underneath. Tuck some more leaves under the green paper and adhere.

Step 7: To make the castle, punch a border using Gray Cardstock, the Border Maker System and the Crown Border Maker Cartridge. Trim the border to measure 9″ x 5″. Punch another border using the Crown Border Maker Cartridge and Evergreen Cardstock, trim to measure 9″ x 1″ and adhere behind the gray border to make a “shadow.” Cut the castle in half and adhere to the center of the layout just above the torn green edge straddling both pages.

Step 8: Cut two pieces of Evergreen Cardstock to measure 3-1/4″ x 4-1/4″. Cut the green leafy mat from the Sun-Kissed Variety Mat Pack in two pieces, each measuring 3″ x 4″. For the top layer, cut two pieces of green vellum to measure 2-3/4″ x 3-3/4″. Adhere the vellum using Vellum Adhesive to the green leafy piece. Use your regular Tape Runner Refill to adhere the previous piece to the Evergreen Cardstock.

Step 9: To make the butterflies, use the Double Heart Punch and punch out four hearts using Royal Blue Cardstock and four hearts using the blue mat from the Sun-Kissed Variety Mat Pack. Only use the small inner hearts. Then, cut a butterfly body freehand from Royal Blue Cardstock, then using Repositionable Adhesive, join the pieces to make two butterflies. Adhere to the vine using Foam Squares. Draw an antenna using the Black Dual-Tip Pen.

Step 10: Cut two photo mats using the yellow pineapple paper (4″ x 6″) and two photo mats using the peach colored patterned paper (6″ x 4″). Adhere photos that measure (2) 3-5/8″ x 5-5/8″ and (2) 5-5/8″ x 3-5/8″. Add two photos that measure 4″ x 4″ and adhere inside the castle. Lastly, adhere all the mats and journaling boxes to the layout as shown.

Step 10: Adhere borders stickers from the Sun-Kissed Sticker Pack underneath the castle.

Step 11: Finish by adding Black ABC/123 Stickers to make a title and the Black Dual-Tip Pen for journaling.

So, there you have it! I hope you enjoy recreating this tropical vacation scrapbook layout to suit your own photos as much as I enjoyed creating it. The Sun-Kissed collection and complementing punches are so versatile that I am sure you will love them and find an abundance of ways to use them. What’s your favorite part of the Sun-Kissed collection? Comment below!