If you’re looking for creative inspiration to capture the beauty of the season, these summer journal pages by Els Van de Burgt featuring Elizabeth Craft Designs,  are the perfect project. Featured in the Summer issue of Creative Scrapbooker Magazine, Els shares her step-by-step process for layering stamps, die cuts, and Distress Ink techniques to create vibrant and dimensional pages for your notebook.

🌞 You have your summer photos—now scrap them! Use your favorite snapshots and transform them into keepsake journal pages filled with citrus colors, textures, and playful embellishments.

Using Elizabeth Craft Designs dies, stamps, and colorful cardstock, Els shows how easy it is to combine fruit motifs, nature stamps, and tags to add personality to your layouts. Each page is filled with summery details, from citrus fruit accents to watercolored leaves that bring your notebook spreads to life.

Supplies Used

Elizabeth Craft Designs
2056 Tab 5 with Sliders
2233 Fresh Fruit
2236 Picture Frames and Mats
2237 Tag Variety Pack
CS403 Playful Sentiments
CS404 Large Nature Stamp
C030 Colorful Collective
PSF144 White Soft Finish Cardstock
Double-sided Adhesive

Other Supplies
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Frayed Burlap, Mustard Seed, Peeled Paint, Tattered Rose, Fossilized Amber, Crackling Campfire)
Foam Blending Tool
Versa Fine Clair – Shady Lane
Coffee Filter
Heat Gun
Paint Brush
Piece of Twine
Die Cutting Machine

Steps to Create Summer Journal Pages

1. Die Cutting Basics
   Cut your fruit, tag pieces, and overlays using White Soft Finish Cardstock backed with double-sided adhesive for easy layering. Use the Colorful Collective cardstock for your base pages and accents.

2. Create Multiple Pages
   Repeat the die cutting process to build a second coordinating notebook page.

3. Stamping and Heat Embossing
   Stamp nature images onto the base page using VersaFine Clair in Shady Lane. Cover with Distress embossing powder in Peeled Paint, catch the excess with a coffee filter, and set with a heat gun.

4. Add Watercolor Effects
   Press Distress Ink onto a craft sheet, dilute with water, and brush onto your pages for a watercolor look. Fill in leaf details with layered ink washes.

5. Color Realistic Oranges
   Use a foam blending tool to layer Mustard Seed, Carved Pumpkin, and Crackling Campfire Distress Ink for lifelike fruit. Add Rusty Hinge around the edges for depth. Stamp sentiments onto your tags.

6. Finish with Lemons and Flowers
   Shade lemons with Mustard Seed and Fossilized Amber, add soft Tattered Rose to flower edges, and complete the leaves with layers of Mustard Seed, Peeled Paint, and Frayed Burlap. Assemble all elements to finish your summer journal pages.

   These summer journal pages are a fun way to preserve your seasonal memories while exploring techniques like die cutting, heat embossing, and ink blending. Els Van de Burgt’s creative style shines through, proving that notebooks can be both practical and beautifully artistic.

   🌞 You have your summer photos—now scrap them! Whether it’s family fun, vacations, or backyard play, turn your snapshots into colorful keepsakes.

   

   📖 Want more seasonal inspiration? The Fall issue of Creative Scrapbooker Magazine is packed with tutorials, ideas, and projects that will spark your creativity. Get your copy today and keep crafting all year long!