- Joined
- Jan 12, 2025
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- 823
Can you believe we are already in week 6 of our Summer Camp?
It is time to slow down a bit, take a moment to breath and taking a closer look at the world around us.
Hi, this is Maaike from Pixel Giraffe Design. I'm excited to host my very first challenge here at TLP!
I love watching my kids when they explore. It doesn't seem to matter whether it is somewhere spectacular on a vacation or just in our backyard. They can be just as excited seeing a ladybug as they are watching a giant canyon.
This challenge is about slowing down and look at your surroundings like children do. Little discoveries -and the pure joy and excitement they can bring. Whether you’re wandering through the woods, strolling along the beach, or just stepping into your backyard, there’s magic in the small things we find when we pause and truly see. A smooth pebble shaped like a heart. A shiny feather caught in the grass. A seashell with beautiful colors. A wildflower growing in an unexpected place. Something you might have missed if you hadn’t been paying attention.
Your page can be about literal foraged finds from nature -photos of leaves, twigs, shells, wild berries, feathers, or tiny treasures picked up along the trail -or it can be a more symbolic take on enjoying the little things in life, but with a nature inspired twist - and find the tiny gifts of nature to accompany your page or layout in your digi stash.
So you can do one, two or all of the following 3 things for this challenge:
- Use photographed nature finds: leaves, feathers, shells, pebbles. Use the photo or extract the item, tuck them into clusters or use just a single one as focal point.
- Use photos of your (grand)children or yourself while exploring or hunting for treasure. Like hunting for shells or watching a flower, bug, or bird.
- Use nature finds from your digi stash like leaves, branches, shells, and use these as a theme or focal point. I don't mind flowers, but please also use other small nature items. This can also be small animals (birds, bugs).
- Try a neutral or earthy color palette, echoing sand, bark, moss, and stone.
- Layer lightly: white space, minimal design, or airy clusters to reflect breathing room and simplicity.
- Incorporate texture: think burlap, linen, kraft paper, or watercolor washes to bring in a natural feel.
- Add a quote or journaling about exploring, mindfulness, or the beauty of the everyday.
- Reflect. Your page might be about a quiet moment you cherished, something beautiful you spotted on a walk, or a metaphorical “foraged find” from your life—like a lesson learned or a hidden blessing. This could be hidden for the viewer, but be meaningful for you. You can go full on artsy if you'd like, but to qualify for the challenge, make sure you use little nature gifts that are clearly visible as well.
To recap: Scrap a story inspired by nature’s little treasures or life’s quiet joys with nature inspired finds. Let the small things take center stage!
My Pages
My first page features a lot of photos of beach finds my son and daughter found in the southern part of Iceland. Although there are pictures of the surroundings, the main focus is on the little treasures. To emphasize this, I've framed a lot of the finds.
The second page features the excitement we felt when we witnessed a salmon swimming upstream and taking a leap to cross a waterfall. I've made a cluster with some nature finds, leaves, grasses...
And this last page by Hanna focuses more on exploring and reflecting:
Layout 1, products used:
Lynn Grieveson - Hear My Voice Aspiring - template
Pixel Giraffe Design - Tides like These -papers (3), vintage tag, artsy transfer, 'coastline' word art (please note this link will work from 8/8, it is a brand new mega collection that is perfect for this challenge btw
!)EHStudios - Walking by the Water - torn paper
Ninigoesdigi - Tiny Wonders - tab01
Photos: personal.
Layout 2, products used:
Pixel Giraffe Design - Trail Mix - paper & word snippet 'explore'
EHStudios - Walking by the Water - dotted 'walking by the water', leaf, paper bit
Little Butterfly Wings - Still Waters, fish (2), leaf, grass, written 'my soul sits here, still', paint (2), paper bit
Rachel Jefferies - On Foot - stamp (foliage (2) and ephemera), map piece, foliage, flower
Ninigoesdigi - Tiny Wonders - path
Photos personal
Layout 3, products used:
Pixel Giraffe Design - Gokotta
Photo: personal
Notes:
Please post your completed layout in The Lilypad gallery, making sure it meets the following requirements:
- Your layout must include at least 75% Lilypad product (templates count as 15%; fonts are exempt)
- Credits must include the full name of the product and the full name of the designer
- Layouts must be new and created specifically for this challenge
- Uploads must be under 250k
- No off-site linking is allowed in credits
Deadline:
To be eligible for the overall Summer Camp prize drawings, submit your page by September 3 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.
If you want your layout to count toward monthly rewards, it must be posted by the end of the corresponding month (July 31 or August 31) in your individual tracking thread within Summer Camp 2025 - Layouts & Game Links.
Be sure to log your progress in your individual tracking thread within Summer Camp 2025 - Layouts & Game Links if you are wanting to participate in the additional prizes.
Prize:
One random winner will be selected from the eligible entries to receive a
$10 Lilypad gift certificate.
Last edited:
Here's my page. I used a combo of a photos and elements. I don't live in an area with palm trees, so I'd never actually taken the time to inspect what the underside looks like.
