From stories of pirates searching for precious valuables from long ago to miners sifting and panning for gold or silver to those buried backyard quests we played as kids, there’s something exciting and revealing about a good old-fashioned treasure hunt. A few years ago, blog contributor Sachiyo Omitsu and her family went on a trip and visited a mine, which unearthed a new fascination of the hidden treasures of geology and gemstones. As for Sachiyo? Well, it inspired this gemstone scrapbook layout! Rock on, scrappers!
Sachiyo’s Inspiration
When we visited the Broken Boot Gold Mine in South Dakota two years ago, my older son took a lesson in gold panning and was absolutely enthralled with it. He also became more and more interested in gemstones after we bought a bag of gems and stones at a souvenir shop. My younger son, who was three at that time, wanted to surprise his big brother, so we made a DIY gemstone excavation kit. It was fun mixing plaster of paris with water, pouring into molds and hiding gemstones in it. The end result was amazing, and we ended up making more kits! Did you like treasure hunting when you were a child?
To create this layout you will need:
- Emerald Gemstone Paper Pack or (Shop Canada | Shop Australia)
- Emerald Gemstone Tone-on-Tone Paper or (Shop Canada | Shop Australia)
- Emerald Gemstone Stickers or (Shop Canada | Shop Australia)
- Emerald Gemstone Border Embellishments or (Shop Canada | Shop Australia)
- Navy & White Solid Cardstocks or (Shop Canada | Shop Australia)
- 12-inch Trimmer or (Shop Canada | Shop Australia)
- All-Purpose Scissors or (Shop Canada | Shop Australia)
- Repositionable Tape Runner or (Shop Canada | Shop Australia)
- Foam Squares or (Shop Canada | Shop Australia)
Step 1: Use a piece of Navy Solid Cardstock as the base.
Step 2: Cut a piece of White Solid Cardstock to measure 11-3/4″ x 11-3/4″ and cut out a 2″ wide frame.
Step 3: Cut six 2″ x 12″ strips of various designer and tonals papers. Using the All-Purpose Scissors, cut the strips into random shapes.
Step 4: Adhere the random shapes all over the white frame, making sure there are no opening spaces. Trim the excess.
Step 5: Cut 10 1/8″ strips from Navy Solid Cardstock. Adhere the strips to frame each random shape as shown. Add the frame to the middle of the base cardstock.
Step 6: Cut a 7-1/2″ x 7-1/2″ from the teal wash tonal paper and adhere to the page.
Step 7: Adhere stickers and embellishments, using Foam Squares on some for added dimension.
Are you a fan of the eye-catching shapes and striking beauty of this gemstone scrapbook layout? What’s your go-to item from the Emerald Gemstone collection? Tell us — we want to know your thoughts!
I like the random piece frame. Great way to use scraps! And you could use a CM pen to create the dividing lines instead of cutting 1/8″ pieces.
Another stunning winner Sachiyo! Absolutely beautiful.
Fun layout!
You gave me a better idea – cut up all kinds of leftover photos such as wedding pictures and boom! I think i do that on the last page of the wedding album!
Gorgeous! & like others said- great way to use scraps of paper. Love it & thanks for another fabulous idea!
Nice work with lovely results. Thank you!
You did a beautiful job and it has inspired others to run with your idea. Well done! It looks great!
So beautiful! I will have to try it.
Hello Sachiyo Omitsu…I’m a newbie from Alaska…Love Scrapbooking…I’m a fan of your techniques and Y-Tube…Thank You so Much for your Inspiration…..I love this for Earth Day….Creative Memories……Shelly Dawn James……PEACE
What a great layout. I was so excited to see you mention South Dakota. I live near that mine. Glad you found inspiration in the beautiful Black Hills.