“Merry, Merry Merry and Bright” for Scrap The Girls

Hey Creatives!

I’m back on the blog today with my very last share for Scrap the Girls for 2019.  This month we are using another fabulous mood board, this one is Christmas inspired, but if Christmas isn’t your thing, you could absolutely do something different, so I do hope you play along!  For me, Christmas is everything, so I’ve run with the white and Olive green in the mood board to create this Christmas page.

and here is the mood board:

I just love this one, I’m feeling a very ‘Aussie Christmas’ vibe with it!  I’ve started the page with the ‘Merry Merry Merry and Bright’ cut file from CUT to YOU and taken the time to back all of the letters.  Yes, this did take a while, it was the perfect job for a retreat!  I alternated between Olive and Pink to help the words in the file stand out.

I’ve used the ‘Splendor‘ collection kit from My Minds Eye for this layout, it was the perfect shade of soft olive green in the mood board, teamed with the sweetest shade of pink.  Perfect for my black and white photo and something different for a Christmas theme.

Once my cut file was all backed and positioned on my page, I mounted my photo and added it to my layout.  With such a large and detailed cut file, there wasn’t a lot of other embellishing required.  I didn’t want to distract from all that work I’d done backing those letters.

Sticking to elements within the collection I’ve added a large floral embellishment above my photo and a co-ordinating smaller one to the left of my photo.  I did also pull this sweet little birdhouse from my stash, I love the softwood colour and it’s a house for my little chipboard bird.  I’ve also added in some wood veneer hearts to finish off the page.

Be sure to upload to the Facebook group by the end of the month for your chance to win a prize pack from this months sponsor.

This month’s sponsor: Corbett Creations

Until next time,

 

CUT to YOU 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway – Christmas Gift Stack Day 1

Hey Creatives,

I’m super excited to be sharing today for CUT to YOU and to introduce their 12 days of Christmas GIVEAWAY!  Over the next 12 days, CUT to YOU will be sharing 12 of their Christmas cutfile designs for free as well as Design Team inspiration to get you in the Christmas creating spirit!

Check out all of the details below to see how you can get yours!

First up, we have our ‘Christmas Gift Stack’ cut file.

For this page, I started by cutting out the file super large.  I really wanted it to fill up the background of my layout.  I’ve backed with a sweet Christmas collection by Pink Fresh Studio, making sure to include a stack of the fun bright colours in the collection.

I’ve then mounted my photo and positioned within the stack of presents in the design.  From there it was a matter of adding in a title with some puffy stickers and simple embellishments.  For their placement, I’ve kept in mind that the eye will travel down the page resting where the pops of red are in the holly.  I’ve tried to group elements around these so as not to make the page too busy.

To finish the page off, I’ve added a sweet and sparkly fabric bow.  I love how the cutfile really helped to get this page done quickly.  With such a large bold design, once the file was backed the hard work was done.

Inspired and ready to create! Simply enter the code: GIFTSTFREE at checkout to get this design for free.No additional purchase necessary.

This code is only valid until midnight AEST on December 1st, 2019.  **No exceptions – Please check your time zone against ours here in Australia as we are a day ahead. Coupon code must be entered to receive this item for free.

No refunds will be given. The design will still be available in the CUT to YOU Cut file store for purchase after the discount code expires if you miss out. Be sure to visit the CUT to YOU BLOG tomorrow for another FREE cut file!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS | CUT TO YOU

Hi Creative Friends,

I hope you are all well!  I’m up on the CUT to YOU blog today with a new share, and yes, it’s a Christmas layout! I am feeling so festive already and am loving all of the Christmas ideas I’m seeing at the moment.  AND, yes… I am still considering doing December Daily this year! Every year I really want to and then I don’t think I’ll take enough photos so I skip it. I just love the idea of it though for sure! For now, I’m all about Christmas layouts…. and this one features a sweet little pic of Miss C from Christmas 2019 when we were on vacation.

The design of the page started with my photo. I always aim to get last years Christmas photos scrapbooked before the next Christmas as I’ve found come January, I’m not really in the Christmas creating mood. It’s so nice in the lead up to the festive season to be making Christmas themed pages so now’s the time I get them all done! I also wanted to use a couple of the new Christmas designs. First up the stocking ‘Christmas Stocking‘ and secondly, the title ‘Happy Christmas‘.

I’m working with the latest Christmas collection by Pink Fresh Studio and began by backing both of the cut files. I had in mind that the stocking would be on the left of the page and the title on the right with my photo in between. I just mixed and matched the pattern papers until I was happy. Then, backed my photo in coordinating colours.

With lots of patterns in the cut files, I wanted to make my background white but found even with foam, the files weren’t popping off the page. So.. I got brave and added some watercolour to my background. I’m so so happy with how it looks, it’s still in my subtle style but really gave the page the dimension and pop it needed. Watercolour done and positions of the files and photos sorted, it was time for some embellishments.

This one was a little tricky to embellish actually, as there was a lot going on with the two cut files so I just wanted to add a little more detail. I started by adding in two of the sweet little deer icons and really just built the clusters around them. I’ve gone with the main cluster above my title and then some smaller ones to lead the eye around the page. I’ve then finished it off with some enamel dots.

I really love the cool and fresh vibe of this page and all the details of the pattern papers and of course the cut files! I hope you are getting your Christmas craft on and as always I love seeing your pages – be sure to tag #cuttoyou on your creations so I can find them AND they may even be featured on the CUT to YOU Instagram!

Thanks for popping by today,

Until next time,

HERE AND NOW | UNFORGETTABLE | GWEN WRUCK

Hi Creative Friends,

I’m up on the Cocoa Vanilla Studios blog today with a new share using the beautiful ‘Unforgettable’ collection.  For this page, I’ve jumped out of my comfort zone again to scrap another picture of me, this one was taken on my birthday recently.  I’m also sharing some extra tips and tricks for working with cut files!

Many of you will already know that I just love working with cut files on my pages.  I love that they are super inexpensive and the designs really are limitless.  It will be no surprise that once I had chosen a photo to work with for this page, I went to my extensive library.  This file is from my cut file store CUT to YOU and I love that it helps me document this snapshot in time, my 43rd birthday.  I’ve done a stack of journaling on the back talking about where I’m at right now in my life.

To begin the page, I started by backing the letters in the file.  Tip #1 – If you have a limited supply of coordinating pattern papers, this is a fab way to use them up or make them stretch.  You’d be surprised just how little you need to make a bold title like this one, AND you can mix and match all of your scraps amongst the letters for a really pretty look.  Tip #2 – Pattern paper pads such as the one from this collection are perfect for backing cut files.  The smaller print designs work so well with the small spaces within the files.

While we are talking about backing the letters… Tip #3 – I find it much easier when working with a small area in a cut file to glue the pattern paper to my cut file and then use fussy cutting scissors to cut it out.  I find this way of backing the files the fastest for me, much faster than tracing each section and then cutting it out and then trying to position it back into the open space of the file.

Once my file was all backed and I was happy with it I went about backing my photo and thinking about the composition of my page.  Tip #4 – It’s a good idea to use the software from your electronic die cutting machine to help you with the size and placement of the design on your page.  I consider the layout of my page design when resizing the file so that once cut and you get to create it’s not too big or too small for your design idea.

I was now looking at the file and photo on my layout and it wasn’t quite popping off the page in a way I’d like so Tip #5 – I’ve added some foam tape to lift it off the page AND some soft watercolour behind the file to really help the white edges pop off the white background.  I use both of these techniques a lot to help give the cut file definition on a white background.

It was now time to embellish the page, this bit is super easy and fun with the larger elements in place.  For this, I’ve fussy cut out the large green butterfly element from the ‘Pretty Bits’ pattern paper and teamed it with two more smaller butterflies fussy cut from the ‘Lacewing’ pattern paper.  I’ve also added in a pink butterfly from the ‘Ephemera pack’.

To create a small cluster in the top right-hand corner of my page, I’ve combined elements from the ‘Accessory Sticker sheet’, enamel dots and a flair button.  The larger floral die cut at the bottom of my photo is from the ‘Die Cut Ephemera’ pack.  To finish the page off, I’ve added some typed sentiments from the ‘Accessory Sticker Sheet’ using more foam tape for dimension.

Thanks for popping by today to see my latest project, I hope you enjoyed the tips and tricks I’ve shared for working with cut files and that they inspire you to give working with them a go, they really are the best fun!  If you haven’t checked out the latest collection ‘Unforgettable’ yet, you really must, it is DIVINE!

Until next time,

LOVE YOU | HAPPINESS | GWEN WRUCK

Hi Creative Friends,

I hope you are all well!  I’m back on the Cocoa Vanilla blog today with a new share using the beautiful ‘Happiness‘ collection.  This one is a little different for me because it features 5 photos!  I usually create with only one or two photos per page so when my sister and I took this fun series of photos, I knew I had to come up with a plan to get them all on the one layout.

My initial thought for getting this many photos on my page was to print them small which I did first up.  Then, I got to thinking about a grid design and pulled out this cut file by CUT to YOU called ‘Heart Grid‘.  I had thought about placing the photos within the squares of the cut file, however I had printed them too small for that and didn’t want to waste the prints I had done… so, Plan C it was!

Unsure what to do about the photos, I put those aside and started working on the cut file. I’ve gone about backing some of the squares in the stunning blue of the ‘Good Vibes‘ paper.  Then, in the heart shapes, I backed with the pink of the ‘Meadow‘ paper.  To help the title stand out, I’ve backed that in the ‘Botanical Bliss‘ pattern paper.  I love the deep navy with the fresh white of the cut file.

With the elements of the cutfile backed, I’ve then placed the entire design onto some white card from my stash.  I have used foam tape in between the layers here for added dimension.  I’ve then created a border by mounting this large piece onto the ‘Expressive‘ paper.  I’ve made sure to take the centre of the pattern paper to save it for another project, this one is my favourite from this collection!

I’ve then mounted all of this onto a backing piece of the ‘Botanical Bliss‘ pattern paper.  I will often use a contrasting border on my page and find it really does finish off the edges nicely.

Next, I’ve mounted my photos with a very fine border of the ‘Expressive‘ paper and then mounted onto foam tape.  It was now a matter of playing with the design and layout to get it how I want.  After a little trial and error, I decided to go along the same line as the cut file.  You will notice the letters run from the top left the bottom right.  I’ve positioned my photos in much the same way so that your eye runs across the layout top left to bottom right.  Everything just flows across the page.

At this point, the page is nearly done but of course, I need some smaller elements to bring it all together!  I’ve fussy cut some pretty butterflies from the ‘Bright and Beautiful‘ paper (just the pink and blue ones to match my pattern papers) as well as two of the flair from the ‘flair pack‘.  I’ve also selected some stickers from the ‘Accessory Sticker Sheet‘ and a die-cut element from the ‘Die Cut Ephemera‘ pack.

I’ve added all of these elements running along the same line of my page, top left to bottom right, keeping with the flow of the photos and title of the page.  It was at this stage that I changed the title to be ‘Love You’ by adding in the die cut word ‘you’ from the ‘Die Cut Titles‘ pack and it finishes the page up perfectly.

Thanks for popping by today to see my latest project, I hope it inspires you to get creating and using some of your ‘Happiness’ stash.  If it does, I’d love to see what you make over on the Cocoa Vanilla Studio Facebook group.  There is so much inspiration over there and worth checking out!

Until next time,