Maximalism Scrapbooking: Playing with Pattern, Texture and Embellishments

Hello, crafty friends! I’m Adrienne Boese, better known as Alice Scraps Wonderland online. Today I want to share with you a couple of layout ideas using the Hello It’s Me! collection by Rosie’s Studio. The papers in this collection are so fun and bold, and I thought it would be the perfect collection to use a maximalist style with.

What is maximalism? It’s a design philosophy that embraces the “more is more” approach. It features bold colors, mixed patterns, rich textures, and is the total opposite of minimalism. While I’m always up for a white background and letting the photo and a few embellishments do the talking, I really wanted to challenge myself—and I hope you try it out too! I decided to use patterned paper for the background for bold patterns, use stitching to add texture, and of course, add on die cuts and embellishments for that “more is more” feel.

And if you love this style or this maximalism challenge, I hope you head over to my blog, where you can find one more maximalism scrapbook layout idea in blue hues.

I Am Enjoying the Moment Layout

The Stitched Petal Bloom die from the Storytelling collection is the perfect way to add stitching texture to a layout, so I brought it back for both of today’s layouts. For this first page, I used the full die, cutting the petals from more patterned paper in the Hello It’s Me! Collection. Then I added plenty of ephemera and stickers.

• Die cut the Stitched Petal Bloom petals die from the yellow floral patterned paper from the Hello It’s Me!12×12 paper set and the Raven Color Wheel Cardstock.
• Die-cut the center of the Stitched Petal Bloom flower from Raven and Tuscan cardstocks.
• Using floss #4073 from the Variations Warm Floss Bundle, stitch the petals. Stitch the black center of the flower with DMC’s Diamant Grande gold (G3821) and the small yellow center with floss #728 from the Warm Floss Bundle.
• Adhere the layers together with your favorite adhesives (I used a combination of 1mm thick foam and roller adhesive), and then adhere the full flower to your background paper.
• Matte your 3×4 photo with Raven cardstock and place it on the bottom right of the Stitched Petal Bloom die.
• Add the black “every day is a new chapter in my life story” sticker from the Sticker Book to the open book ephemera piece by cutting it into sections to get it to fit.
• Pop this and other pieces of ephemera onto your layout then add some Puffy Stickers and Chipboard Stickers.
• Add the small yellow Butterfly Embellishment to the top left of the Stitched Petal Bloom and add an Oyster Fashion Pearl to the center. Place a few other pearls onto your layout if you want!

Tip: To keep your patterned paper from ripping during the stitching process, you may find it helpful to cut the same die from the Tuscan cardstock and glue the patterned paper to the cardstock. This will make each piece nice and sturdy and won’t be as prone to tearing on accident.  

I Am One of a Kind Layout

While the first layout was bold in the amount of ephemera, I went bolder in the color palette for this second layout. I also used only the center two pieces of the Stitched Petal Bloom die and paired them with flowers from the Be Bold Blooms die set.

• Die cut the small center of the Stitched Petal Bloom die from Raven cardstock 3 times and two sets of the leaves from Rainforest cardstock.
• Die-cut the larger center piece of the Stitched Petal Bloom die from Carrot, Seaside, and Teal Topaz cardstocks.
• Stitch your flowers and leaves using these floss colors: #722 from the Warm Floss Bundle; #907, #958 and #964 from the Cool Floss Bundle, and #310 from the Black and White Floss Set. Adhere the layers together with your favorite adhesive (I used 1mm thick foam adhesive).
• Die-cut flowers from the Be Bold Blooms set from the same colors of cardstock.
• Matte your 3×4 photo with Raven cardstock. Add mattes of patterned paper using the green and white geometric pattern and the black and white geometric pattern from the Hello It’s Me! 6×6 pad, plus the flue floral from the 12×12 pad.
• Place your matted photo on the background paper so it’s on a slight diagonal and arrange your flowers into two clusters on the upper right and lower left corner of your matted photo.
• Create the large title by adhering the “I AM” from the ephemera pack to the excess piece of green and white geometric paper. Trim this into a banner and adhere above the photo. Add the “One Of A Kind” ephemera below it.
• Tuck in additional pieces of ephemera, chipboard stickers and puffy stickers around your photo.
• Add the small blue Butterfly Embellishment near your title and add a few of the Teal Gems to the center. Add more gems around the layout for an extra sparkly touch!

Tip: Distress the edges of your banner and patterned paper photo mattes for additional texture. You can use a distressing tool, the blade of your scissors, or even the edge of a metal ruler.

I hope that you enjoyed these fun and bold maximalist scrapbook layout ideas. Don’t forget to head over to my blog to check out an additional maximalist layout idea, and until next time, happy crafting!

Adrienne

Spellbinders Supplies:

Other Supplies

DMC Diamant Grand G3821, Artis Glue, Dotted Adhesive Runner, Foam Adhesive, Titanium Scissors