Hey friends! I am so excited to share this gorgeous layout from our amazing design team member Gloria Parra. Gloria took the February Life Right Now Kit and turned it into something truly spectacular by adding hand stitching around the bold, beautiful florals on the patterned paper. If you have never tried stitching on your scrapbook pages before, Gloria is going to walk you through every single step and I promise it is way easier than you think. She created the sweetest everyday layout featuring her daughter and their pool adventures, and the textures she achieved with simple embroidery floss are just stunning.
Want to create layouts like this? Our monthly kits include coordinated papers, embellishments, and supplies to bring your scrapbook pages to life.
Gloria used the February 2026 Main Kit (with Patterned Paper) along with all three ephemera packs – the icon ephemera, the floral ephemera, and the journaling ephemera. She also pulled in pieces from the Pocket Life Kit, using those 6×8 scaled papers as photo mats, plus the puffy stickers and cardstock shapes for her finishing touches. The way she combined the stitched florals with layered ephemera and a fun “Everyday Snapshots” title is the perfect example of how a little extra texture can take a layout from flat to absolutely fabulous. Let me walk you through how she did it so you can try it yourself!
Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step 1: Gather Your Stitching Supplies
Before you start stitching, you will need a few basic tools. Grab a piercing mat or even an old mouse pad – anything thick and foamy that you can punch through. You will also need a poking tool or a large needle for creating your holes, embroidery floss in colors that coordinate with your kit papers, and a regular embroidery needle for the actual stitching.
Step 2: Punch Holes Around Your Floral Shapes
Place your patterned paper on top of your piercing mat and use your poking tool to punch holes all around the floral shapes you want to stitch. Leave a very thin border, about 1/8 of an inch, around the outside of each shape. Space your holes approximately 1/8 of an inch apart from each other. You do not need to stitch every single flower – Gloria chose the bigger, more prominent pieces for the most impact.
Step 3: Prepare Your Embroidery Floss and Thread Your Needle
Cut a length of embroidery floss from your hand to your shoulder – that is the perfect working length. Standard embroidery floss has six strands, and you can choose how many to use. Gloria used all six strands for a chunky, bold look, but three strands will give you something more subtle and delicate. Thread all your strands through the needle and tie a small knot at the end.
Step 4: Stitch Using the Back Stitch Technique
Start from the back of your paper and come up through the second hole along your shape, not the first. The back stitch is simple – you go backward to the previous free hole, then come up through the next open hole ahead. Keep repeating this pattern all the way around your floral shape. Gloria suggests using a bit of washi tape on the back to secure your thread ends as you go. This is a great portable activity you can do while watching a movie or waiting in the car.
Step 5: Mat Your Photos with Pocket Life Kit Papers
While your stitching is complete, prepare your photos by backing them with papers from the Pocket Life Kit. Gloria chose the light blue and the blue floral 6×8 papers as mats for her 3×4 photos. She loves this photo size because it leaves plenty of room on the page for embellishing and layering. The smaller scale patterns from the Pocket Life Kit work perfectly as photo frames without overwhelming your images.
Step 6: Build Your Layers with Ephemera
Start arranging your ephemera pieces on the layout, creating what Gloria calls “little stairs” – staggered layers at different heights rather than lining everything up straight. She pulled notebook paper pieces from the journaling ephemera pack that connected to her story, plus a days-of-the-week strip tucked along the right side. Add a real paper clip where one is printed on the ephemera for a fun dimensional detail. Place your “Everyday Snapshots” title at the top with the rainbow ephemera piece nearby.
Step 7: Position Your Stitched Pieces and Key Elements
Now bring in your beautifully stitched floral pieces and layer them onto the layout. Gloria also added the house die cut element from the kit, which tied perfectly into her story about home. Use foam adhesive to pop up certain elements and create even more dimension. Take a step back and make sure your layout has a nice visual flow before you adhere everything permanently.
Step 8: Add Final Touches with Puffy Stickers and Confetti Dots
For the finishing details, bring in the puffy shapes from the kit. Gloria placed a heart speech bubble and a sun-and-cloud puffy near the top of her layout to create a visual triangle that draws the eye around the page. Then scatter the small dot puffies around the layout like confetti to fill in any empty spots and add playful pops of color. These tiny finishing touches tie the whole design together and give it that polished, complete feel.
About the Designer
Gloria Parra
I hope you are having a wonderful week!
Xo – Kimberly
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Many of these supplies and techniques work for junk journaling too. If you have been curious about starting a junk journal, our junk journal supplies guide breaks down exactly what you need.
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