I am so excited to share this incredibly creative layout from our talented design team member Heidi Lewis! Heidi came up with the most genius idea – she paper pieced a railroad track right on her scrapbook page using the branding strips from the March 2026 Hip Kits. Yes, those little strips you peel off your card stock packs! She used the March Main Kit, the March 6×8 Paper Pack, and the March Color Kit featuring those gorgeous Magical Shakers in Unstoppable Aqua, Own It Orchid, and Get It Girl Green. The result is this stunning, colorful layout that honestly made my jaw drop when I first saw it.
Want to create layouts like this? Our monthly kits include coordinated papers, embellishments, and supplies to bring your scrapbook pages to life.
What I love most about this project is how Heidi matched everything tone on tone – the branding strip colors coordinated with the mixed media background, the die cut gears, even the photos she chose. It all flows together in this beautiful rainbow diagonal across the page. She also gives us a sneak peek at some April dies (gears and wheels!) and shares some really practical tips about working with the Magical Shakers and keeping your paper from warping. Whether you want to create a travel layout, something for the guys in your life, or just try something totally different with your kits, this tutorial will inspire you to think outside the box. Let’s get into it!
Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step 1: Prepare Your Branding Strips
Before you do anything else, peel all the branding strips off both your patterned card stock and plain card stock packs. These strips have exclusive patterns you will not find anywhere else in the kit, so do not toss them! Heidi fell in love with the blue strip with the red strawberries, and she used strips from both the patterned and plain card stock packs to get a full range of colors, including a purple from the plain pack to match the orchid tones in her background.
Step 2: Create a Mixed Media Background With Magical Shakers
Start with a smooth white 110 lb card stock base – the heavier weight handles mixed media without buckling. Take each of the three Magical Shaker colors (Unstoppable Aqua, Own It Orchid, and Get It Girl Green) and gently tap the bottles to apply the powder in horizontal bands, each color covering about a third of the page. Then spritz with a water spray bottle to activate the pigment. These powders are essentially highly pigmented watercolors that create a gorgeous, vibrant wash when the water hits them.
Step 3: Blot the Background to Prevent Warping
Here is a great tip from Heidi – grab a paper towel roll and blot up all the extra water from your background. This keeps the card stock from warping as it dries and actually gives you a more intense, concentrated color. You could skip the blotting and let it dry naturally for a softer look, but Heidi prefers the bolder result you get from removing the excess moisture. Let the background dry completely before moving on.
Step 4: Paper Piece the Railroad Rails
Cut two quarter-inch strips from the ombre paper in your Patterned Card Stock Kit. Place the two strips at an angle on your dried background so the track looks like it is disappearing into the horizon. Heidi points out that the ombre color of the paper naturally blends with the mixed media background, which is a beautiful effect. Use Barely Arts liquid glue to adhere the rails in place.
Step 5: Arrange the Branding Strip Planks Tone on Tone
Now the fun part – lay your branding strips across the rails like railroad planks. Heidi arranged them tone on tone, meaning she matched each strip’s color to the section of the mixed media background it sat on. Blue strips on the blue section, pink and purple strips on the purple, yellow and green on the green. Once you are happy with the placement, cut each strip at an angle to match the rails and glue them down with Barely Arts liquid glue. Do not stress about perfection here – Heidi reminds us that real railroad tracks are never perfect either!
Step 6: Die Cut Gears and Wheels From the 6×8 Paper Pack
Using your die cutting machine, cut gears and wheels from the March 6×8 Paper Pack. Heidi loves using the 6×8 pack for die cutting because the sheets are already the right size for machines like the Big Shot, and the patterns are scaled smaller so you can see more detail in tiny cuts. She arranged the gears tone on tone just like the planks, keeping that rainbow color flow going across the page. After cutting, Heidi also machine stitched through the branding strip planks off camera for extra texture.
Step 7: Add Photos and Embellishments
Choose photos that complement the colors in your background – Heidi picked a selfie and a floral photo whose pinks, greens, and yellows matched her layout perfectly. Layer in puffy stickers for dimension, arranging them tone on tone to create a rainbow effect across the page. Heidi even pulled a couple of puffy stickers from her January kits because they fit her Hades Town theme. The key is keeping that consistent color-matching approach throughout.
Step 8: Create a Custom Title and Final Touches
Use the mini alphabet glitter stickers to spell out your title. Heidi chose “Ride That Train Down” to fit her Broadway-inspired theme. Once your title is placed, tuck in a few more tone on tone embellishments around the letters to create a visual diagonal line running from the top left corner to the bottom right. Heidi also added one more gear to the bottom right corner to smooth the transition between the pink and green sections. Step back and admire your finished layout!
About the Designer
Heidi Lewis
These techniques translate to any themed album. Check out our graduation scrapbook ideas, baby scrapbook ideas, and wedding scrapbook ideas for layout inspiration you can customize.
Short on time for full layouts? Our pocket scrapbooking guide is a faster way to get photos into albums.
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