Month: November 2021

Together We Have It All

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

This.

Like all mothers out there, I am proud of my family and all their accomplishments. What I admire most is their ability to be positive and focused, regardless of what life presents. Core to our relationship is an understanding that one of the most important aspects is our strong connection. We are here for each other through thick and thin, for better for worse. Our strong relationship makes us rich in so many ways. This foundation is what matters most to us. When life throws us a monkey wrench, we carry on together.

This summer, I felt like one of the luckiest women in the world. After many months of separation due to COVID, my family reunited in August! Sean and Tanis travelled from Edmonton to join us at the cottage. It has been six long years since Sean had the opportunity to spend time there, and the first time Tanis was able to travel east during the summer. Honestly, having everyone together at our happy place was a dream come true!

As I began designing a layout concept to document this event, I came up with the title but was unable to source it out. I turned to Marie Hurst, owner of Peartree Cutfiles, and asked for her help. Not only did she agree to design the cut file Together we Have it All, but she also exceeded all my expectations! I’m simply in love with the result! Thank you, Marie, I’m so deeply grateful!

I utilized two Cocoa Vanilla Studio collections in this layout, Daydream and These Days. I love how the collections work well together and allow for the mixing and matching of embellishments. All papers in this layout came from the Daydream collection. The background paper is Sweet Serenity, and those used in the title are Garden Variety (backside), All Aflutter and Daisy Days, respectfully. To create the completed title, I offset the letters slightly and then adhered them on top of the base title using Taylored Expressions Foam Sticky Strips. I filled the two cut out hearts with puffy hearts from both the Daydream and These Days collections. They were a perfect fit and complement to finish off the title.

A selection of embellishments from the These Days Die Cut Ephemera package completed the layout. To create the dimension on the butterflies, I placed score lines on either side of the butterfly’s bodies and then gently folded the wings up. Scor-Tape was then applied in the thin centre channel to adhere the butterflies to the page.

The best thing we have in life is to hold on to one another. No matter where we go, what life throws our way, together, we truly have it all. Thank you, Marie, for helping me document a very special time this summer!

Until next time, stay safe, stay well and Happy Scrapping!

Remember

~ dddesignz ~ 2 Comments

Every year, at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, we stand together to honour those who fought and fell to protect our freedom. Their sacrifices were far-reaching and continue to impact many families today. A simple thank you one day a year is inadequate to the men and women who’ve made such a sacrifice. I will be forever grateful every day of my life.

Today I also recognize all our military members, past and current, who continue to put our safety before themselves. While we go about our day to day lives, they continue to focus on serving others. They make sacrifices most of us would never consider – including deployments and continual training in the field that keeps them away from their family and friends for months at a time, every single year. My son Sean has just passed his tenth anniversary in the military. I stand in awe of his commitment and passion for his career. One of Sean’s arms bears the tattoo DUTY BEFORE SELF. He embodies this motto every single day. A mother couldn’t ask for more than seeing her children follow their passion. Thank you, Sean, for following yours. Thank you for your service.

Anett Gelencsér of AnettsDesigns created this stunning Poppies cut file. It is the focal point of this layout in honouring past and current military members. After cutting the file from black cardstock, I backed it with red and green papers from the Rainbow Inks paper pad purchased at Michaels. I also used one of these papers for the background. These watercolour papers provided the soft, warm feel I was looking for in this layout.

    I returned to the Peartree Cutfiles Always Remember This cut file for the title of the layout. As you can see, it has the versatility to be used in so many ways. I used the red watercolour papers from the Rainbow Inks collection pad to back the title as well.

      I dug into my scrapbook stash to find the clear stickers that complete the layout. They come from Karen Foster Design and belong to the Heritage Quotes sticker sheet. While this sticker sheet is at least fifteen years old, the quote is timeless and perfect for this layout.

      Thanks for joining me today. Let’s join together in remembering those who gave so much. “To the loved ones we have lost. You are forever in our hearts and minds. Your service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.”

      Lest we forget……

      Giving Thanks

      ~ dddesignz ~ 2 Comments

      Fall is such a gorgeous season! It’s so refreshing to feel the temperature cool down and inspiring to see the leaves changing colour. There’s nothing better than spending time at the cottage during this season. It is a quiet time to relax and take in the beauty of our surroundings. We celebrate Thanksgiving at the cottage each year. It is the weekend we close for the season and say goodbye until the spring. We reflect on a great year of new memories and give thanks for such a wonderful summer getaway.

      The Fall Words cut file from Marcy Milly SVG was the perfect compliment to the photo of my grandchildren on a beautiful fall day. This cut file is very versatile, providing multiple words for multiple layout options. I chose Cocoa Vanilla’s Legendary collection for the base page of this layout. The specific paper is called One Way. The large fir tree caught my attention immediately. I knew the tree would be one of the focal points on the layout. To provide some depth and texture, I layered the tree. First, I flipped the cut file horizontally to provide the proper placement on the left-hand side of the layout. Next, I enlarged the cut file to approximately 11″ in height and cut it from Bazzill Cardstock called Capers. I then resized the tree slightly smaller (3/4″) and cut it again. I made a 1/4″ score line along the straight edge of the smaller tree and used a 1/8″ Scor-Tape to adhere the two trees together. Before adding fun foam and pop dots between the trees for dimension, I adhered the tree to the layout first. I’m very happy with the overall effect this created, giving the feel of a real fir tree.

      To help fill the blank space at the top of the layout, I used Paige Evan’s Leaf Banner. It can be purchased from the Silhouette Studio Store and is Design ID #383307. Brown cardstock was used to cut the file and I backed it with several coordinating fall colours of cardstock. The stunning brass folded leaf charm was a recent find at a Local Scrapbooking Store, The Scrapbook Shop in Listowel, ON. This was my first trip to this store, and my first visit to a Local Scrapbooking Store since COVID began. I will be back, it is a gem!

      The layout was completed by adding the title using the Giving Thanks words from the Marcy Milly SVG cut file. It was so appropriate, as this picture was taken on Thanksgiving Weekend, 2017!

      Thanks for popping in, and until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

      EEK

      ~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

      I hope you all had a wonderful, safe and fun Halloween yesterday. I love dressing up as a witch and handing out candy to all the excited children. Today’s post focuses on another picture from last year’s celebrations. With Covid restrictions and a ban on trick-or-treating, we celebrated in our driveway. Thank goodness for good weather!

      I utilized Echo Park’s Halloween Party collection kit once again. The background for this layout is the backside of patterned paper HP250004 entitled Something Wicked. It is such a fun collection of papers and stickers. I’m sure I’ll be using it for many layouts.

      The title for the layout, EEK, is a Silhouette Design Store cut file by Jillibean Soup (Design ID #386850). I resized the file to make it a bit bigger and cut it out of black cardstock. I love creating layers, textures, and stitching on my layouts. The spider webs in the cut file provided the perfect backdrop for adding in some soft stitching. The first step was to pierce holes in the spider webs found in the letters E and K. The spider webs were stitched using three strands of light silver DMC floss (#762). To enhance the spooky feel of the layout, the title was backfilled using Lawn Fawn’s Metallic Cardstock in Holographic 2.0. Ranger’s Glossy Accents was used to adhere the stitched cut file to the holographic background.

      The large cut file at the top of the layout is entitled Halloween Corner by StudioIlustrado. It is also in the Silhouette Design Store (Design ID #65854). It was cut from black cardstock and the pumpkin eyes, noses, and mouths were kept to create a shadow effect. I choose to highlight the pumpkins and the ghost, leaving the bats flat on the page. This created continuity in the layout as the bats in both cut files appear to merge into one big cut file, encircling the photo. I used the knife tool in the Silhouette Studio software to isolate the ghost and pumpkins. This allowed me to cut the specific part of the cut file I desired, rather than having to waste paper by cutting out the entire cut file in another medium. The ghost was cut from vellum and adhered slightly offset with vellum tape. The pumpkins were cut from heavy orange textured cardstock and adhered with 3D foam squares by Scrapbook Adhesives.

      A few simple elements were added to complete the layout. Two spooky spiders from Doodlebug Designs shape sprinkles were placed in the upper left and lower right spider webs. The small black and white sticker entitled Halloween Fun was placed above the picture on the right-hand side. The sticker was included in the Halloween Party collection pack.

      Thanks for stopping in and until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!