How To: Add Hand Stitching to a Layout!

Hello Echo Park friends! Aly Dosdall here again to share a fun summer scrapbook layout. When I heard that the Sweet Summertime collection would be re-released to celebrate Echo Park’s 5^th anniversary I was so excited! It’s honestly one of my all-time favorite collections and started my long time love of all things Echo Park.

I was inspired by all the fun circles and polka dots in the collection so I based my page design on those. It was easy to use circle punches in various sizes to cut out my photos and the circles from the patterned paper.

To add some visual interest to my page I also die cut some circular shapes using the coordinating Designer Dies for this collection. I used the Sweet Summertime 6×6 Paper Pad so I didn’t have to cut into my full 12×12 papers. Love those smaller paper pads!

I also used some dies to cut my title. I mixed some different fonts to make the title more interesting and fun, and adhered the title strip with foam square for some dimension.

To add emphasis to my photos and the die cut shapes, I hand stitched a border around them. I started by placing my page on a piercing mat (you could also use an old mouse pad) and piercing holes around each element with my paper piercer. Then I hand stitched through the holes with two strands of yellow embroidery floss. I like to use an embroidery needle with a smaller eye so I don’t tear the holes when stitching.

I finished by adding some decorative brads, enamel dots, and computer generated journaling. I tried to match the font of the “summertime” part of my page title to add some unity to the page.

I love how the hand stitching adds texture and emphasis to my die cut shapes—give it a try on your next project!

Supplies:

Sweet Summertime Sunny Days Border Paper
Sweet Summertime Whimsy Stripe Paper
Sweet Summertime Citrus Circle Paper
Sweet Summertime Happy Spots Paper
Sweet Summertime Journaling Card Paper
Sweet Summertime Blue Sky Paper
Sweet Summertime Pink/Green Paper
Sweet Summertime 6×6 Paper Pad
Layered Pinwheel Designer Die Set
Flower Love Designer Die Set
Summertime Scene Designer Die Set
Forever Die Set
Summer Bliss Decorative Brads
Jack & Jill: Jack Enamel Dots
Jack & Jill: Jill Enamel Dots
manual die cutting tool
brads
embroidery floss and needle
piercing mat
paper piercing tool
foam squares