Hello creative friends!   

Shanel (@Shanel_craftwithme) here and I am excited to share my first Pretty Little Studio Design Team post!  I created with two beautiful Pretty Little Studio collections- You are My Sunshine and SunKissed. I will link some of the products that I used at the end of my post. This layout captures a sweet summer time memory of my son enjoying a refreshing snow cone on a hot summer day—one of those simple moments that instantly brings back the feeling of the season.

I started with the 12 x12 City Life patterned paper as my background page. The designs and colors are so playful and perfect for documenting this photo! To build the design, I began by framing my 5×7 photo with strips of patterned papers in a variety of colors and patterns. I used the SunKissed Collection Accent 6x9 paper to cut the strips.  Layering the strips around the photo introduces many patterns and colors without overwhelming the design - letting the bright, playful colors reflect the fun of this summer day! It's a simple technique that works especially well with a larger photo. The strips vary in size from 1/2” to 1” and are layered on the photo and then cut to eliminate the over hanging edges. 

To continue the playful summer theme and play along with the July Challenge, I scattered stars in different colors, patterns and sizes from the Sunkissed Die cuts- Shooting Star package around the photo. Repeating the star shape helps guide your eye around the layout. I love

hand-stitching on my layouts so I added dimension to the beautiful stars by adding in stitching around a few of them.

Using foam adhesive to pop up some of the stars also adds a playful touch! 

To add balance in the design, I included decorative strips and flowers from the You Are My Sunshine Collection - Snowcone Borders in the top left and bottom right with an adorable sticker also from the You Are My Sunshine Collection - Simply Enjoy clear word stickers -  to help tell my story. 

I also included a few subtitles near my photo. 

I finished the page with the title "A Slice of Summer," layered on a whimsical summer day cloud and sunshine die cut - all from Sunkissed Collection. This layout reminds me that the best summer memories are often the simplest ones! 

We would love to see what you create! Don't forget to share your Pretty Little Studio creations with us on the Facebook Fan Page.

The pink button at the top of my post will take you there.

Thanks so much for stopping by the Pretty Little Studio Blog!