Scrapbook Layouts

Winter Moments

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

This layout makes me smile for so many reasons. Last winter, my grandson hated winter. Every time my daughter bundled him up and took him out, he’d stand there, stiff as a board and with the saddest face ever! I’m so pleased to say that this winter is a whole new ball game! Ben is in love with winter. He enjoys everything about getting outside to play in the snow. A new world of winter activities has opened up for this young man. This layout celebrates that feeling!

The Winter Market collection of patterned papers, stickers, ephemera and chipboard accents by Carta Bella was used to create this page. The design process for this layout started with the cut file, Winter Moments. It was an exclusive January Pearscription cut file from Peartree Cutfiles. The first step in preparing the cut file for this layout was backing the word Winter with a patterned paper from the Winter Market collection. Next, I carefully punched holes approximately every 1/4″ on the snowflake to prepare it for stitching. Because the arms of the snowflake were not very wide, I used a sharp needle and three strands of white DMC floss to complete the straight stitch. This step did take some time and patience! At this stage, I set the cut file aside to focus on the lower section of the layout.

I planned on ripping patterned paper to create hills to rest the photo. However, I settled on cutting the paper instead. I made a template of the hill shapes first and then traced the designs onto the patterned paper. Each hill was inked on the top edge to add dimension and then stitched with white DMC floss to represent snow. I used six strands of floss and a chain stitch to create a strong effect.

I was aiming for the illusion of looking over rolling hills in this layout. I placed fun foam between the top two layers to help achieve this effect. This also provided a convenient place to tuck the photo and some of the accents.

The next stage in completing this layout was to adhere the Winter Moments title to the layout. Given the layered hills at the bottom, I chose to pop up the title as well. I used double-sided adhesive foam to achieve this effect. I feel this provides better balance and weight to the overall layout. For the smaller letters in moments and the arms of the snowflake, I used Taylored Expressions Foam Sticky Strips.

The final stage in completing this layout was adding the ephemera and accent pieces. Coordinating blue and green sequins were glued to the tips of each snowflake. Taylored Expressions Bits & Pieces Snowflakes were arranged and glued to the dark background paper and picture. I used several Chipboard Accents from the Winter Market collection and tucked them in the rolling hills for a fun, playful effect. The snowman figure was a sticker from the paper collection pack. He was adhered to fun foam to provide the same depth as the chipboard accents. The blue HAPPY SNOW DAY! square came from the coordinating Frames & Tags ephemera pack.

I’m really tickled with how this layout turned out. Every stage was a delight to create and I hope Ben thinks it’s fun as well! Thanks for stopping by and until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy

’twas the Night Before Christmas

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

I couldn’t resist scrapbooking one more Christmas page. This picture is just far too cute to leave until next season! There’s nothing quite like the build-up to Santa’s big arrival for children. Christmas Eve was so special this year. The smiling faces of my grandchildren in this picture says it all – it was a wonderfully joyous evening! It was the first year our youngest grandchild Ben understood the concept of Santa Claus. He was very excited and, when asked what he asked Santa for this year, he’d always say “a Hammer!”.

I created this layout using three separate cut files from Peartree Cutfiles. The Snowflake Background cut file was cut from white cardstock to fill the entire page. I layered it directly on top of a piece of Twill cardstock from Bazzill.

Black cardstock was used to cut the outline of the title, ’twas The Night Before Christmas. I used coordinating patterned papers from Photoplay Paper‘s Christmas Cheer collection to fill the cutout letters. I chose to backfill the word “Christmas” and used Talyored Expressions‘ Foam Sticky Strips to adhere to the word “Night”. The result provided texture and dimension to the upper section of the layout.

The third cut file used is called Stockings. I downsized the file considerably to fit my project. Doing so made backing the presents a bit tricky, but not impossible. Before cutting this file, I completed a mock-up in Silhouette Studio to ensure I would be happy with the sizing. Glitter paper backfills each of the presents and holly in this garland.

The final touches on the layout included adding some strategically placed holographic snowflakes and a couple of stickers from the Christmas Cheer patterned paper collection. The stickers were dusted with baby powder to remove the sticky side and then glued to some fun foam for dimension. The holographic snowflakes were attached using small white brads.

I couldn’t be happier with the results of this layout. It is the first time I’ve utilized three cut files on one page. Thanks for stopping by today, and until next time, stay safe, stay well and Happy Scrapping!

Get Lost in a Good Book

~ dddesignz ~ 1 Comment

For as long as I can remember, I have loved reading. For me, the best part of reading is the ability to let your imagination paint the picture from the written word. I’ve yet to meet a movie that did a book proper justice. Reading and scrapbooking have a lot in common. Both hobbies take me away from the stress found in everyday life. I read before going to sleep every night, even when the light annoys my husband! It’s part of my nighttime ritual that helps me relax, unwind and put the troubles of the world aside.

For several years now, I’ve made a list of each book I’ve read within a calendar year. January 1st, I take a picture of all the books I’ve read throughout the previous year. I’ve always had grand plans of scrapbooking the photo, and this year those plans became a reality. I dug into my stash of patterned paper for this layout and used the 12″ Noel Joy paper by BoBunny for the foundation of the page. I’ve always loved the antique books on this patterned paper.

I chose the Get Lost in a Good Book cut file from Peartree Cutfiles to document my reading list from 2020.

I began by cutting the file in black cardstock and then backed the words with a gorgeous patterned paper by Bazzill Basics Paper called Antique Script. I love how the title stacks on top of a book. Because some of the books I read in 2020 were quite old copies, it is hard to see their titles in the picture. I wanted to include the book titles in this layout and decided on creating a little book from the book base in the cut file.

I started by cutting a duplicate book cover to mimic the front and back covers. Next, I cut multiple “pages” from heavy vellum to fill the book. I used these vellum pages to record the names of each book found in the picture. Using vellum tape, I adhered these pages together on the left-hand side and secured the second book cover to the top to complete the book. The result is a 3D embellishment that mimics a book.

To help balance the weight of the newly created book on the right-hand side of the layout, I mounted the picture on fun foam before adhering it to the background paper. I found coordinating stickers from the Photoplay Holiday Cheer paper pack to create the subtitle 2020 Reading List. The final touch was adding the three chipboard stars found around the picture. These stars also came from a very old paper collection in my scrapbook stash – My Mind’s Eye, Vintage Christmas.

And that’s a wrap on my first layout for 2022! I appreciate you stopping by and hope I’ve enticed you to look at cut files in new and different ways.

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

Anywhere With You

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

I love the downtime between Christmas and New Years Day. For me, it’s a time to relax and work on some Christmas layouts. Today’s scrapbook layout focuses on my son Sean, and his fiance, Tanis. With Sean’s career choice, it seems they spend more time apart than together. So when opportunities to slip away to spend precious time together arise, they seize the day. Just before Christmas, they spend a wonderful weekend in Canmore, Alberta. These two love every second they spend in the mountains, regardless of the time of year. You can see it in their faces in this beautiful photo.

I picked the gorgeous Patterned Christmas Trees cut file from Peartree Cutfiles as the central focus for this layout. I chose this cut file because it represented the beautiful treed background in the photo and the holiday season. I also turned to Peartree Cutfiles for the title Anywhere With You. It seemed so fitting as Sean and Tanis are getting married next year.

All cut files on this layout were backed with gorgeous patterned papers from the Joyful collection by Cocoa Vanilla Studio. Once the cut files were complete, I adhered them to the background paper. I chose a coordinating Ready-to-Use Mixed Media Paper from Vicki Boutin’s Color Study collection. I love how the green background mimics a forest background.

Once the picture and cut files were in place, the rest of the layout came together quickly. The cute woodland animals, gifts and branches (around the title) all came from the Joyful Die-Cut Ephemera pack. Gold-Glitter Puffy Stars, also from the Joyful collection, were used to embellish the top of each patterned tree. They are gorgeous fabric embellishments that add a lovely texture, dimension, and feel to the overall layout.

The final touch was placing the ALL I want for Christmas banner directly below the picture. This phrase is so representative of these two beauties. All they do want is time together!

Thanks for stopping by the blog today. I hope you’ve had some time to enjoy your hobby this holiday season. I wish all of you a very Happy New Year! May 2022 be the year we start to get ahead of this pandemic!

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

Gingerbread Fun

~ dddesignz ~ 1 Comment

HO HO HO! It’s just two more nights until the big day! Where did December go? Today I’m sharing a layout that documents Maddie building her gingerbread house last December. She had a blast putting it together, but I think she enjoyed eating the candy best of all!

I chose the Gingerbread House Two cut file from Confessions of a Paper Addict (COAPA) as the main focal point for this layout. The whimsical lines in this cut file reminded me of the fun I had with Maddie as she decorated her gingerbread house. The cut file comes in SVG format, so I used the trace function in Silhouette Studio to trace it before ungrouping it to backfill the sections. I also find that using the Fill section to colour in each piece facilitates a quicker process when preparing to cut.

The main paper line for this layout is Hot Cocoa from American Crafts. It came in a paper pad of 48 papers. I used this paper collection in November 2019 to make a Christmas Album for a class at ScrapFest. It also has a whimsical feel and was an excellent fit for this cut file. I chose the kraft paper with the snowmen and falling snow for the base page of the layout. The red paper with snow falling, black paper with snowflakes and black paper with peppermint candies were all used to construct the gingerbread house cut file. I fussy cut the peppermint candies to fit the scalloped border of the roof and the pinwheel candy to the left of the front door. I chose an embossed white paper for each section laden with snow. I turned to glitter papers from My Favorite Things paper collections to back the windows and fill the wreath. For added dimension, I used pop dots to add the wreath to the front of the house. A red acrylic dot from doodlebug design worked perfectly for the doorknob.

The Christmas Tree to the right of the gingerbread house comes from Memory Box Inc. It is called the Flowering Christmas Tree. I slid it partially behind the gingerbread house and wrapped some of its limbs in front. I added rhinestones to the centre of each flower to complete the Christmas tree.

All of the snowflakes in this layout came from a collection by Sizzix called Snowfall Thinlits Dies. This set was made exclusively for Stampin’ Up! a couple of years ago. It is an extensive set of snowflake dies in multiple sizes. I’ve used this set multiple times and have never regretted the investment. I purchased them through a good friend and Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, Margie Stares. Check out Margie’s Stampin Up! blog for lots of inspiration. To enhance the magical feel of this layout, I added rhinestones to each snowflake. The final touch was adding the title using doodlebug designs teensy type letters in white. I chose the round letter stickers to mimic the falling snow and snowmen on the patterned paper. 

I appreciate you stopping by today and hope you’ve found some inspiration for your Christmas layouts. May your holiday season be full of magic, incredible moments and lots of love!

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

Mr Grinch

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Here we are one week away from Christmas, and thanks to Omicron, we’re facing yet another Christmas of restrictions. The recent developments in this new variant is a worry for the world. Here in Ontario, we are disappointed that our plans to try and return to a “normal” Christmas are dashed once again. I decided to turn my negative feelings from this recent development into positive creative energy. For me, Omicron reminded me of Mr Grinch, Dr Seuss’ immortalized character that tried to keep Christmas from coming.

The background paper for this fun layout came from an older collection of patterned papers called Mistletoe by Bo Bunny. I used Sophie Gallo’s Christmas Grinchy Ornament cut file found on Etsy to create this layout. The Grinch’s arm and hand were created by tracing the outline of the cut file onto coordinating coloured felt and cutting by hand. I adhered it to the paper cut file using Ranger’s Glossy Accents. To complete the preparations on the cut file, I used glossy gold cardstock to back the top of the Christmas ornament. I used Silhouette Studio software to accurately size my photo to fit the hanging ornament before printing. Once these steps were completed, the cut file was adhered to the background paper using large Glue Dots. To further the whimsical feel of the layout, I placed my journaling around the Grinch’s fingers. To emphasize COVID and MR GRINCH, I turned to colour coordinating letter stickers from Simple Stories. The text reads: Dear COVID, you are a mean one, like MR GRINCH. But you won’t keep our Christmas from coming!

The Christmas Tree, found in the bottom right-hand corner, was embellished with small red felt pompoms and a clear acrylic star.

The final element for the layout was adding a direct quote from Dr Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas:

Christmas Day will always be

Just as long as we have we

Try as you might COVID, you WILL NOT stop our Christmas from coming! It’s going to look different for sure, but these happy faces will have a wonderful day, just the same!

Thanks for checking in today. From the bottom of my heart, I wish you and yours the merriest of holiday seasons!

Stay safe, stay well and Happy Scrapping!

Christmas Fun

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

It’s hard to believe that we’re only nine days away from Christmas! I love watching my grandchildren get excited about the end of school and the break at Christmas. They love to be involved in the preparations and anticipation of Christmas day. Last year, Owen made a beautiful gingerbread tree to help decorate the dining room. He did a great job and had so much fun decorating it. It was such a special memory that it deserved a unique page in his scrapbook!

I was looking for an excuse to try the recent trend of paper folding, and this project presented the perfect opportunity. To create this gorgeous tree, I cut strips of paper 3″ long by 1″ wide in each of the coordinating patterned papers from Photoplay’s Kringle & Co collection pack. Each strip was folded in half, lengthwise, and adhered with strong double-sided tape. Then they were secured to the background using the same double-sided tape. I ran a bone folder over each section at the top to ensure a good stronghold.

I embellished the tree with a variety of Bits & Pieces Snowflakes from Taylored Expressions. The star at the top came from an older collection of Basic Grey‘s chipboard pieces. It was painted yellow and embellished with gold glitter. The banner in the top right-hand corner was created using a die-cut from Your Next Stamp from the Fishtale/Banner set. I use this set quite often and the versatility it provides. The paper banner was adhered to fun foam for dimension and also embellished with a few of the snowflakes as found on the Christmas tree.

The Christmas Fun title comes from Peartree Cutfiles and includes a second option called Holiday Fun. Once again, it is a wonderfully versatile cut file that can be used for many layouts over the years. Once the cut file was resized to fit my project, it was backed with the back-side of the Snow is Falling patterned paper from the Kringle & Co paper collection.

To complete the layout I used a couple of the present stickers found in the main Kringle & Co paper pack and adhered them to the bottom left of the Christmas tree. I added the date using doodlebug design inc‘s black teensy type number stickers.

Creating the Christmas tree was a time-consuming part of this layout. However, it was well worth the perseverance, I am thrilled with the result! Once it was completed, the rest of the layout came together quite quickly. What new skill will you add to your scrapbooking toolkit this coming year?

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

Believe

~ dddesignz ~ 6 Comments

Getting excited yet?! It’s only 17 days until Christmas! With the warm weather these past few months, it seems to have quickly snuck up on us this year. With my Christmas Cards in the mail and presents ready to go, I finally have time to do some pre-Christmas scrapbooking! Our fingers and toes are crossed that our Christmas plans won’t be altered again this year. Sadly, we await new restrictions due to the arrival of Omincron in our home town. I will choose to remain optimistic and look for every opportunity to find joy this season, regardless of how we celebrate.

The foundations for this fun page were all purchased from an online store called Scrapbook Your Joy. I highly recommend this shop! Not only is the customer service exceptional and quick, but you will also likely find some collections that rarely show up in other local scrapbooking stores. Pretty Little Studio‘s Tis the Season is an example of this. I chose the Festive plaid paper for the background of my layout and used ephemera from the coordinating Christmas Morning Vintage Die Cuts, Holiday Greenery Die Cuts, and Falala Die Cuts to embellish the page. The cute bear holding the present, found in the bottom left-hand corner, was attached using fun foam for added dimension. Additionally, two stickers were added around the corner of the picture from the coordinating Be Merry sticker pack. You can be sure you’ll see me use this collection again!

It’s rare for me to scrapbook things versus people, but the cut file A Sack Full of Presents by Peartree Cutfiles was the perfect cut file to help me document the Santa Sacks I purchased for my grandchildren. After cutting it in black cardstock, I used the offset feature in Silhouette Studio to back it with coordinating papers from the Tis the Season collection. The only exception is the centre holly and leaves. I used glitter papers from My Favorite Things (Sunset and Mermaid) to back this section.

The final touches on this layout included stitching around the outside edges of the patterned paper and adding the clear star stick pin to the sack of presents cut file. Doodlebug Designs Inc.‘s teensy type cardstock stickers were used to add the date.

I hope your Christmas planning and activities are in full swing now. I wish you and yours the very merriest of this Holiday Season! Until next time, stay safe, stay well and Happy Scrapping!

Sweet Moments

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

How can it be December already? I’m not quite ready to jump on the Christmas bandwagon just yet. So today, I’m sharing another Fall layout using some of my October Peartree Pearscription files. It was a family tradition to take our children to the Pumpkin Lady each year to pick out the best pumpkin we could find. I’m so thrilled that my daughter carries on this tradition with her family. I love everything about this photo she captured from this year’s trip to the pumpkin patch. I wonder what my grandchildren’s children will say when they see their parents with face masks. We can only hope and pray that this pandemic will be a story from their past.

The stunning Pumkin Corner from the October Pearscription was a foundation piece for this layout. I dug into my stash of textured papers to create the warm Fall feeling for this cut file. The pumpkins were backed with a heavily textured burnt orange cardstock and the leaves were backed with a suede style paper with a green tye-dyed effect.

The title for this layout, Sweet Moments, was the free cut file offered by Peartree Cutfiles in October (purchase 5 cut files, receive one free). It’s highly versatile and could be used on so many different layouts. I highly recommend taking advantage of the monthly freebie from Peartree. When you sign up for the monthly Pearscription, it is included automatically with your purchase. A pretty “sweet” deal! I chose to back the title with a buffalo plaid patterned paper that coordinated with my youngest grandson’s jacket.

The large picture and cut files were placed on patterned paper from Simple Stories from their Simple Vintage Country Harvest collection pack. The specific paper is Item #16309, called Give Thanks. I chose this paper for its rustic feel and the way it offsets the picture.

Just a few embellishments were added to complete the layout. I selected the Pumpkin Time phrase and several hearts in different sizes and coordinating colours from the Foam Stickers that belong to this Simple Stories collection to complement the picture and cut files.

Overall, this was a fairly easy layout to assemble and I am thrilled with the result. Perhaps next year my grandchildren will be able to visit the Pumpkin Lady without wearing a face mask!

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

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!