Month: February 2022

Go Play Outside

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

I can’t wait to see grass again! We’re at a stage where winter truly begins to drag for me. So working on this layout was an easy way to feel surrounded with warmer vibes. I’m in love with this fun photo of Ben snapped last Fall. It just makes me smile every time I look at it!

I used two collections by Shimelle to create this layout. The base paper belongs to the Never Grow Up collection, and the green, blue and yellow grass paper, Forward Thinking, belongs to her Field Trip collection.

The first step in creating this layout was to create the layers of grass. I used spare pieces of paper to make templates for these two layers first. Creating a template will ensure you are happy with the end result before you cut your patterned paper. Once the hills were created, I used fringing scissors to cut the top edges of the paper to mimic blades of grass. When the fringed edges were complete, I used a paper piercer to create the stitching lines for the green chainlink border. This border was stitched using six strands of DMC 907 embroidery floss. Once the stitching was complete, the two sections were added to the layout. TIP: I like to use my 12″ x 12″ MISTI to help align page elements such as these. Simply remove the foam insert and place your page in the very bottom corner of the Misti to get a perfect alignment of your edges. When these layers were complete, the photo was tucked into them to provide an extension of the grass border.

I wanted to add further stitching to this layout and to enhance an overall whimsical feel. To achieve this, I stitched the border and sun rays of the sun found on the base patterned paper with DMC 726 embroidery floss. To help balance the layout, I cut five separate cloud patterns from embossed white cardstock using Design ID #11654 found in the Silhouette Design Store. Using white DMC floss, I stitched around the borders of each cloud before adhering them to the layout using fun foam.

The layout was completed by adding the two butterflies and the frog from the Never Grow Up ephemera package, and the Go Play Outside title from the coordinating Let’s Play Foam and Cardstock Phrase Stickers by Thickers. The butterfly on the far right has a few small pop dots underneath to give the illusion of flight. The frog was secured with fun foam for dimension, and two googly eyes were attached to add to the whimsical element.

I hope I’ve inspired you to create a whimsical layout of your own! Thanks for stopping by today. Until next time, stay safe, stay well and Happy Scrapping!

All of Me Loves All of You

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Happy Valentine’s Day, friends! Today’s post comes to you in celebration of all things love and my three beautiful grandchildren who fill my heart to the top every single day! These three are so happy and full of joy it’s a pleasure to spend every moment with them. How lucky I am that all I have to do is walk across the street to see them!

The starting point for this layout was selecting two cut files from Peartree Cutfiles. The Snowflake Heart was an obvious choice for fitting with Valentines Day and the picture I chose. The title All of Me Loves All of You was the perfect fit for how I feel about my grandkids. It simply says it all! The foundation of the page is white textured Precision Cardstock from American Crafts. I opened both cut files in Silhouette software and sized them on the page to ensure I would have enough space to fit both. I slid the title off the cutting area to focus on the snowflake heart. Next, I traced the design and used the Release Compound Path function to allow direct access to all the design components. Finally, I removed the outside cutting line of the large heart before sending the file to cut. I did not want the cut file as a separate element but wanted it cut directly into the white cardstock.

I pulled beautiful Ali Edwards stamps from my stash to stamp around the base of the heart. I pulled from two of her collections for Technique Tuesday, Sweet Baby and Loving Words. My 12″ x 12″ Misti came in handy for this task. This wonderful tool allowed me to bend and wrap my stamps around the cut out design. Once the stamping was complete, I set about inking the blue hearts on the remaining background of the white cardstock. For this task, I used the Lots of Heart stencil from My Favorite Things (MFT). I liked the random whimsical look of this stencil, as it helped mimic falling snowflakes. I chose Tim Holtz’s Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink for the stenciled hearts. I liked the way this shade coordinated with the papers from Carta Bella’s Welcome Winter collection, which were chosen to complement my grandchildren’s snowsuits.

I then moved on to cutting and backing my title for the layout. I chose the Light Blue coordinating solid paper from the Welcome Winter line for the outline. I backfilled the word Loves with a finely dotted vellum from an old collection by Papertrey Ink called Sheer Basics. The completed cut file was then secured to the page before moving to the final stages.

I placed my photo on the upper right-hand side of the Snowflake Heart, behind the white cardstock. I then back-filled the entire background of the cut file with the Winter Wonderland patterned paper from the Welcome Winter collection pack. The remaining elements for this layout were a few chipboard accents from the same collection and a slew of die-cut snowflakes in various sizes and papers from coordinating vellum and solid patterned papers. The beautiful Snowfall Thinlits Dies belong to a set created by Sizzix for Stampin-Up! The final step was adding some enamel dots from the Welcome Winter collection to the large snowflake in the cut file.

This layout did take some time to complete, but I am so happy with the end result. Don’t be afraid to experiment and play while you create your scrapbook pages. It’s a fun way to complete a page, and to strengthen your paper crafting skills!

May your Valentine Day be filled with love and joy! Thanks for stopping by, and until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Moments Happen Everywhere

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment
I love impromptu pictures and how they capture precious moments in time. This picture speaks to me in so many ways. First, it captures the love these two hold for each other. Second, it shows that a great photo doesn’t have to be staged. And third, I love how the sun rays are wrapping themselves around these two. This photo gives me all the feels!

I chose the Hike patterned paper from Reminisce’s Take a Hike collection pack as the foundation page for this layout. It was a perfect fit for a picture from Sean and Tanis’ camping, hiking and climbing adventures last summer. I loved how the colours in the patterned paper and the photo matched so well. The long blades of grass on the left-hand side of the page mirror the sun rays coming in from the right-hand side of the photograph. Photographic background papers are a real asset when you wish to create a layout quickly. Not only do they fill the page, but they also help set the mood of the page right from the start.

The title, Moments happen Everywhere, also reinforced the impromptu photograph and the setting in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. The cut file came from Peartree Cutfiles as part of my September 2021 Pearscription. After resizing and cutting the file from black cardstock, I backfilled it with a patterned paper from the Simple Stories Snow Patrol collection that depicts the cross-section of a tree trunk. It was perfect for enhancing the woodsy feel of this layout.

I enjoy digging into my scrapbook stash to complete a layout. For this one, I pulled out embellishments and ephemera from Heidi Swapp’s Wolf Pack collection. They all fit perfectly and reinforced the outdoor, hiking focus of the layout. Mixing and matching paper collections and ephemera is a great way to use older products you don’t want to give up. The final touch was to add a couple of copper brads to the sign of the hiker on the trail post.

And that’s a wrap on today’s layout. Thanks for joining me and I hope you’ve enjoyed the warm walk down a hiking trail on this cold, snowy February day. Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

‘Tis the Season to Sparkle

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Christmas keeps popping back onto my scrapping desk! I fell in love with this beautiful photo of my granddaughter with the Christmas lights in the background. She was with her family as they took a walk through Victoria Park after dark to enjoy all the beautiful Christmas lights and displays. It was a fun evening that I wanted to document for her scrapbook.

This layout came together quite quickly. Peartree Cutfiles, Tis the Season to Sparkle, cut file seemed like the perfect fit for the dazzling Christmas lights in the photo. I chose to cut it quite large for this layout to emphasize this point.

The paper in this layout comes from the equally named Tis the Season paper collection by Pretty Little Studio. Specifically, I used the Jack Frost paper for the layout background and Tidings – Red paper to back the words.

All of the stars found in the title were cut from Lawn Fawn‘s Holographic 2.0 paper. They were added to the layout using small foam dots to provide dimension and emphasis.

All the ephemera used to complete the layout belongs to the Tis the Season collection. The gorgeous tree limbs, holly and pinecone came from the Holiday Greenery Die-Cuts sold with this collection.

And that’s a wrap on this quick and simple, pretty little layout! Thanks for checking in and until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!