Quilt-Inspired with Crate Paper Kiss Kiss

I could have went a whole other direction when scrapping this photo of my teenage son. He's shirtless, wearing an orange and blue tropical-print swimsuit, and sports the tan he had already acquired from two weeks of summer swim practices and a few days at the beach. Yes, I could have gone with bright, summery papers. But then it hit me how well his sun-bronzed look went with some of the papers and gold embellishments of the Kiss Kiss collection from Crate Paper. The subtle prints, subdued pinks, and patterns infused with tan/brown were perfect. Even better, the number 14, intended as a reference to Valentine's Day, could also stand for his age. 

Here's the quilt-inspired layout:

I chose gold Thickers to give my page a title:

Journaling cards, labels and stickers are layered around my photo:

But it all started with the quilt-inspired background of diagonal stitching and pieced squares:

Sixteen squares (like the one shown below, minus stitching) were assembled and adhered to the page.

A banner punch made it so easy! Here's how I did it:

Four punched pieces were inked and arranged on each of 16 3x3-inch squares. Creating the squares separately, I was then able to move them around until I came up with a pleasing design. Next, I lightly adhered the squares to the cardstock background and machine stitched through the centers of each, attaching them permanently and adding to the quilt effect.

See, it really wasn't that complicated!

The entire Kiss Kiss Collection from Crate Paper can be found in the Scraptastic Store. Check it out.