Polly Picks: Scrap like Gaelle Challenge

It’s time for another Polly Picks! Each month we will chat with one of our Pollys about their scrapbooking style and fave things and give you the chance to win a $5 code for the store just by scrapping like them!

Before we jump in to another challenge, let me announce the random winner from last month! Drum roll… Big congrats to VinGirl! (You’re prize will be sent shortly through conversations in the forum so watch out for that this week!)

This month we are chatting and scrapping with Polly Gaelle. Gaelle’s been part of the Community team for a while, chatting it up in the Forum and leaving love in the Gallery, but you might not instantly recognise her layouts because they are so diverse, which I love. She is what I would call a versatile scrapper. She can do several different styles extremely well, from fill-the-page, clean pocket pages through to artsy photoless minimalism! (I’m also always in awe of anyone that can scrap in rectangle format because my brain just can’t manage that). I’ve featured several of her creative tags in a blog post before and her Art Journal Muse items are always creative and amazing. She even has hybrid items like a phone case, calendars and mini-albums – her gallery is very cool! Here’s her full gallery link but I’ll link to some specific pages below so you can see her full range.

Let’s find out more about Gaelle’s scrapping from her with an interview. Here’s my Scrap Like A Polly Q&A with Gaelle!

Your digiscrapping history and style:
1. How long have you been digiscrapping and has your style changed since then?
I started scrapbooking almost 14 years ago when I was pregnant with my second child and was looking for an easy and creative way to make my birth announcements. I naturally stumbled upon digital scrapbooking.
My style has changed a lot since I first started. Since I didn’t know much about it at first, I would just grab whatever I could find and slap it onto a page. I had no idea about shading, for example. It wasn’t until I started visiting forums and doing scraplifts that I began to improve my technique.
I’m not sure if I really have a style, as I like to try out different styles: clean layouts with a bit of texture, pocket pages to document my life in my Project Life, and more art journaling-style pages to let my thoughts flow. To feel good, I need all three of these scrapbooking styles. However, I find it really difficult to use flowers on my pages. It’s (very) rare for me to use them.
On almost all my pages, I start with a template.

Your page focus and process:
2.What do your layouts usually focus on and how do you usually start a page?
It all depends on the kind of page I want to make.
If I want to make a ‘traditional’ page, I’ll find my photos first, then my kit (or the other way round), and then I need a template. I’m a bit of a template addict. Then I place my photo first and follow the template’s layout.
When I make a pocket page, I start by placing my photos, followed by my journaling cards. These are essential to my pocket pages as they tell my story. Then I fill in any empty spaces with cards (if there are any left). After that, I like to add a little note or a small sticker to decorate the page. But I always keep these pages simple.
And when I’m creating an art journaling page, I choose my format (rectangular or tag) and then look for a quote (that matches the mood I want to convey). I then look for kits and arrange my elements—paint, paper—and have fun experimenting with blending modes.

Your must-have products:
3. Is there a specific type or category of element you must have on a layout?
I love little elements like word strips because they help to dress up the photos. But I also like using splatter-style paint on my background papers and threads. I find that the threads add texture to the page.

4. Are you most drawn to patterned papers or solids for backgrounds?
I like using plain paper for my backgrounds so I can add lots of paint and splashes of colour. It’s quite rare for me to use patterned paper for the background. I actually find patterned paper a bit tricky; I’m always worried I won’t combine them properly.
Examples of your gallery faves:

Examples of your gallery faves:
5. Can you share 3 fave pages with us and tell us a bit about why you love them?

Why do I like this first page? First of all, I was having a great time with my son at a gymnastics competition. We were focused on the girls from our club. The photo on this page is taken from a video, as I don’t know how to take good action shots, so I film and take screenshots from the video. And that morning, the young lady on the beam had managed to do her cartwheel (which she’d still been struggling with in training the day before). As for this page, there isn’t much to it as I’ve just followed the template.

On this example of an art journaling page, I enjoyed playing with the silhouettes and the contrast between the black of the silhouettes and the colours of the background. The background, incidentally, is a layering of several types of paper and paint to create a unique effect. The little piece of string found its place quite naturally with the little flower (yes, I do use them, but only in the girls’ hair). This page is a bit more technical; I played around with the blending modes for the background.

Lastly, these two pocket pages are part of my 2025 scrapbook, created following the passing of my cat Pataron. They hold great sentimental value, of course. They’re put together just as I described earlier: I chose my photos, then added my journaling cards and title card. And that’s it – no more space left, lol. A few embellishments and I’m done.

Thanks Gaelle for sharing your process using different styles! I love the idea of taking photos from a video especially for action shots and your fave gallery examples definitely show your versatility and breadth from cleaner memory-keeping to creative fun in freestyle scrapping and art journalling!

Now it’s your turn to Scrap Like A Polly! On to the challenge:

Just scrap a new page using the ingredients listed below that channel the featured Polly’s style and upload your page to the TLP gallery, (remember to use the PollyPicks tag in the tag field) and come back here and post the link to your page in the comments please.

These pages helped me come up with the ingredient list below and my own Gaelle page.

Following on from that, these are the ingredients you need to use on your challenge page to scrap like Gaelle:

• Create a new traditional layout OR Pocket Page OR Art Journal piece using muted tones or with a few pops of colour. The format for this month’s challenge is very flexible given Gaelle’s ability across all styles!
  • (Photos are optional. Templates are okay, just make sure everything else is followed.)
• Include at least 1 hanging-style tag.
  • (You could make the tag the base of your whole layout or add one in a pocket or cluster depending on the style of page you make.)
• Include some messy thread or stitching
• Keep your elements on the small side – DO NOT use flowers, foliage is fine.
• Use at least 2 pieces of wordart
  • (at least 1 of those should be in wordstrip format)
• Add something artsy – anything from paint splatter, text stamps, brush work or a painted background.

Let me show you some currently available goodies that suit scrapping in Gaelle’s style which is really as diverse as these products, from clean pocket to more artsy and minimal.

And here’s my page using the ingredients to Scrap like Gaelle. I combined her artsy look with pockets and started with a pocket template that had messy thread on it from Hear My Voice 6: Remembering that I flipped and rotated a few times. The wordart strips and papers all comes from Little Butterfly Wings | Lucky Me bundle that includes some coordinating M3 goodies so it is full of arty goodness, and there are extras like the hanging tag and some of the smaller scatters from the cleaner and more tradtional Project Mouse (Princess): Mulan. The template includes some extra paint layers that can soften darker tones as well as adding texture, so I’ve used them on the main photo and lucky cat card. For the title on the rainbow pocket card, I used a font on a path then added a Thicker Style from Mommyish’s May 2020 BYOC Styles pack that you can see in the close up to give the alpha instant depth and texture.

Now it’s your turn! You have from now until the next Polly Picks post in the 2nd week of July to scrap like Gaelle using the ingredient list above. Feel free to use products from any designer currently selling in the TLP store and add anything extra to the ingredients to make your layout. Don’t forget to link me to your page in the comments or in the June Scrap Like a Polly forum thread for your chance to go in the random draw to win. You can also ‘tag’ your page in the gallery with #pollypickschallenge

The deadline is July 5 . Can’t wait to see what you create. Blog comments should work now or add your page to the Scrap Like a Polly – June thread in the Challenge Pad in the Forum please and thanks.