Hello Simple Stories friends!
Gloria Parra here with a fun, festive layout using the super sweet Say Cheese Classic Pooh Birthday Collection. I’ve been wanting to create a sort of “passage of time” style birthday layout that highlights a few of my daughter’s birthdays leading up to her 6th, and this collection was absolutely perfect for bringing that idea to life. The playful icons, bright colors, and cheerful patterns made it so easy to capture the joy and magic of each celebration.
To start this layout, I chose the multicolored polka dot patterned paper as the base for my design. Then, I built up my layers with two additional papers: the multicolored diagonal stripe paper (cut to 11” x 9.5”) and the red polka dot paper (cut to 10.5” x 9”). After having my paper layers ready, I selected six of my favorite photos—one from each birthday celebration—and printed them at 3 ¼” x 3 ¼”. I adhered three photos flush to the top of the red polka dot paper and the other three flush to the bottom, leaving a fun open space in the middle for embellishing.
To highlight that center area, I cut a 2” x 12” strip from the top border of the yellow patterned paper. To give it an extra festive touch, I used fringe scissors to create a playful fringe effect, then adhered the strip right across the middle of my layout. On top of this band, I layered a strip of machine-stitched crepe paper for added texture and dimension. You can easily substitute this with ribbon or patterned paper; the key is to add that extra festive detail that reinforces the birthday party vibe of the page.
The next step was to represent each of my daughter’s birthdays with numbers. For this, I turned to the 6x8 paper pad and fussy cut the numbers from 1 through 6. I adhered each number on top of the corresponding photo using foam adhesive to add dimension and make them pop. To keep the design dynamic, I varied the placement of the numbers across the photos, creating movement that guides the eye naturally throughout the page.
With the photos and numbers in place, it was time to start embellishing! I focused on the middle band to really make it the festive centerpiece of my page. For this, I chose two of the Big Bits die cuts—including the adorable Winnie the Pooh with Piglet and the large balloons—which perfectly captured the feeling of heading off to a birthday party. To balance the design, I used a 2.5” circle punch to create a pink circle from the 6x8 paper pad and layered the “happy birthday” foam sticker on top for my title. I placed this element on the left side of the band, giving the layout a strong focal point and tying in the cheerful, celebratory vibe.
For my second embellishment cluster, I used different sizes of circle punches to create layered accents at the bottom of the page. One of these circles became the spot for my journaling, and I added the “hooray!” foam sticker as a playful subtitle. To finish off this cluster, I tucked in a couple of word strip stickers, which added both color and meaning to the design.
Moving on, I created a third embellishment cluster at the top right corner of my layout. Once again, I used circular punched pieces to echo the design from the bottom cluster, then layered in a fun label sticker with the quote: “Any day spent celebrating you is my favorite day.”
To tie everything together, I sprinkled deco brads and small foam stickers throughout my clusters. These little details added dimension and shine while guiding the eye across the layout, making sure every corner felt connected and cohesive.
Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial, and if you’d like to see the full process behind this layout, be sure to head over to my YouTube channel, Gloria Scraps, for a complete video. Until next time—happy scrapping!
~Gloria
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