Hey there, friends!  I am so excited to share my two newest layouts here today featuring the beautiful Love & Adore collection!  I think this is my favorite collection this year.  I think the colors are amazing, and every patterned paper just jumped out at me.  I love creating layouts about love, so this was an easy task.  For my first page, I scrapped these two goofy photos of me and my husband just lounging around on the couch.  We act silly 90% of the time, so these pictures show our true selves.  I went with this beautiful Head Over Heels paper as my background.  I love the diagonal design, the pops of black and those gorgeous flowers.  It just makes it so simple to add your photos on a titled angle.  I went with it and embellished around the photos.

I layered a few of the 6x6 Paper Pad papers behind my photos along with some tissue paper and adhesive foam.  I cut the largest floral die cut from the Bits & Pieces and added half of it below the photos along with some tangled thread.  I combined some of the 4x6 Stickers with the alphas from the Combo Cardstock Stickers to create my title.  I added in a few flowers and heart stickers and created a small floral cluster below the title.

Above the photos, I created sort of a vertical cluster using stickers and heart die cuts.  I wanted all the fun colors represented, so I pulled elements that made everything colorful.  I love the XOXO sticker the most!  I machine stitched through it for added detail and texture.  Here you can see the background pretty well.  I smudged some white gesso on the background and then used some Shimmerz, Heidi Swapp Color Shine and a gelato to create a splotchy watercolor and splatter look. 

Here you can see the dimension from the photos and all the stitching I did under them.  I love the 4x6 Stickers in the Simple Stories collections.  They can be used in so many ways, and they add the perfect little sentiments.  I always love the words and phrases, and they’re excellent for adding pops of color.

Here’s the top right of the layout.  I added in tangled black thread and also more floral stickers and die cuts.  I really love how striking the black looks in this line, especially up against the pretty blues, pinks and yellows.

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For my second layout, I knew I had to fussy cut out several of the XOXOs from the Sealed With a Kiss patterned paper.  I seriously love the colors and patterns in them…especially the yellow floral and all the black and white.  I took some time and cut out all the XOXOs and decided to arrange them on the beautiful Crazy For You paper.  That deep reddish-pink color is so pretty, and it makes all those other colors pop.  I smudged a lot of white gesso down first using my fingers.  This allows me to really blend it in so the edges are hazy and faded looking instead of like brush strokes.  I used some spray inks and watercolors to create an artsy-type background.  I wanted it to be subtle yet visible behind all the XOXOs.  Once I had them arranged into rows, I placed my three photos down.  My youngest daughter is known for making silly yet adorable faces all the time.  I must have hundreds of photos like this, and they all make me smile.

The papers and XOXOs really did all the work on this page.  All I did was dress up the background paper and provide some interest for the letters to be placed on top of it.  I did machine stitch through each row, which I think really sets it off.  I decided to name this page “Love Your Face” after seeing this phrase on one of the Bits & Pieces die cuts.  It’s perfect for these photos!  I combined the die cut with a 4x6 Sticker.  I also layered a few small floral die cuts & stickers around the photos.

I didn’t do a lot of embellishing around the photos.  I wanted them to stand out and not feel drowned in embellishments, so I used a few flowers, tangled thread and hearts around them.  I think the black and white photos really stand out, and they look great without making things too busy.

Here’s another example of just keeping the embellishing to a minimum.  Just a few die cuts, a sticker and tangled thread.  Sometimes we feel like we just have to use tons of embellishments when we really don’t.  Sometimes the photos speak for themselves and you might not even need a bunch of things surrounding it.

I used one of the Chipboard pieces here.  The dimension is great, and it pops off the page.  I love how the gesso looks so faded and ghost-like.  It softens up the background without taking away from it, I think.

I hope these layouts give you some inspiration or ideas to try with the Love & Adore collection.  It’s really gorgeous, and I want to just keep on creating with it right now!  Thanks so much for stopping by!