Petaloo & Simple Stories Blog Hop: Porch Rules

Hello, Friends!  Remember Summer?  I’m talking about a lazy hazy days and afternoons spent floating in the pool then napping in your favorite hammock and sipping iced tea on the screen porch kind of summer.  Now you’re with me, right?  Simple Stories has perfectly captured the spirit of those carefree summer days we all dream about in their new “Bloom and Grow” paper collection.  And I had the best time pairing the papers up with gorgeous summer hued Petaloo flowers in this Porch Rules Altered Clipboard.

Our new house has the perfect screen porch complete with ceiling fan and a pretty view of our new yard, so I just had to grab this fun paper and dress up an old clipboard with paint, burlap, and posies.  It’s a standard sized clipboard, and to start things off, I painted all the edges and the metal hinge with Faded Jeans Distress Paint.  Then I covered the clipboard with this bright summery plaid paper, which was also spattered with paint.

I don’t know about you, but I want to spend my summer on a porch where the rules include things like “read a book, take naps, put your feet up and sip iced tea!  To capture that relaxed summer vibe, I stitched the sentiment panel onto some natural burlap, then fringed the edges to add some wonderful texture and dimension.  And what is summer without gorgeous, bright flowers blooming everywhere?  These Darjeeling blooms and butterflies are the perfect color match for these fun papers.

Do you see those bountiful blueberries growing in my garden?  Those are Petaloo Botanica Blueberry Picks, and I am in love with them!  I clustered Darjeeling Minis in Yellow, Spice, and shades of blue around my berries, then added a flirty Red Butterfly to the garden.  The shabby bow is custom dyed with Candied Apple, Faded Jeans, and Tea Dye Distress Inks.

This adorable chipboard bird is peeking out from another cluster of flowers.

I wanted to show you how I cut one of the yellow Darjeeling Minis in half with my scissors so that I could tuck it behind this sentiment cluster.  It’s easy to do, and the flower holds together well in spite of having been cut.  I tucked the other half behind into that flowery border in the bottom corner of the clipboard.

 

I also used a white Sharpie Paint Pen to add some doodling to the letters.  It gives the paper a real homespun, homemade look that fits right in with this breezy project.

I was having such a good time playing with Simple Stories papers and Petaloo that I accidentally ended up creating a second project.  (I blame the Gnome…he is too cute for words, and he lured me into an extended play time!)

Bloom and Grow Accordion Style Mini Album

See?  How could I resist?  I made a really quick accordion style photo album where you can save all those fabby photos of summertime fun.

The little flap has a magnetic closure, but I added a burlap string closure for extra strength.  The album is made by joining together 2 strips of 11.5″ 6.25″ kraft cardstock.  Score every 4.25″ and accordion fold.  Make the flap from the overhang.  Easy peasy!

On the inside, I created lots of pockets to hold the cute 4″ x 6″ life cards which are perfect for journaling and photos.  I also made photo mounts with extra kraft cardstock.

Don’t you love the sentiments in this collection?  I know I do!  And the Darjeeling flowers are such a great color match!

You could easily open this album for display on a mantle or buffet table and tuck summer photos and memories inside as the season progresses.  Then by summer’s end, you have captured all the fun moments into one cute package.

Simple Stories makes it easy to scrapbook, and Petaloo makes it beautiful.  It’s a match made in scrapbooking heaven!

Here’s to summer!  May you find time in the midst of all the hustle and bustle to watch a few sunsets, visit with friends, and take a few naps on the screen porch!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

 

Petaloo Products used in Porch Rules Altered Clipboard

Darjeeling Red Mini Butterflies 1486-101

Darjeeling Mini Mix Teastained Blue 1462-103

Darjeeling Petites Teastained Blue 1465-103

Darjeeling Teastained Yellow Mini Mix 1462-109

Darjeeling Teastained Spice Mini Mix 1462-108

Darjeeling Teastained Spice Petites 1465-108

Botanica Blueberry Pick 1171-122

Other Products

Simple Stories 12×12 Collection Bloom and Grow

Simple Stories Bloom and Grow Stickers

Simple Stories Bloom and Grow Chipboard