Guest Designer

Christmas Market Vienna

~ dddesignz ~ 2 Comments

Who’s ready to go on a ride with me?! On a recent visit to see family in Austria, we had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Christmas Market in front of Vienna’s City Hall (Rauthausplatz Christkindlmarkt). To say it was magical, would simply be an understatement. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the tastes – every turn was a new and exciting discovery. The roots of this market date back to the late 18th century and over 3 million visitors are expected to attend this year. I am so fortunate to count myself among them! A highlight for me was taking my grandchildren on this gigantic, two-tier carousel.

I am thrilled to share with you my second layout as a Guest Designer for Paige Evan’s 25 Christmas Cut Files! Paige’s Carousel cut file was perfect to help me document this wonderful moment. This cut file is part of the 25 Christmas Cut Files released this year. It can also be purchased separately in Paige’s shop at https://bit.ly/digitalcutfiles. To start this layout I cut the file from white card stock and backed it with several patterned papers from the Sugarplum Wishes collection.

The trees at the top of the carousel were fussy-cut from paper #11. They fit perfectly in the canopy. I included a bit of gold foil cardstock for the star medallions, pony poles and at the base of the carousel. Once I completed this step, I placed the cut file on my background paper and offset it slightly to the right. After trimming the cut file on the right, I adhered fun foam to the entire back to help lift it off the page. This technique aided in the illusion of being able to jump on the carousel. The stars adorning the canopy and at the base of the carousel were cut from red glitter fun foam.

The green enamel dots at the base of the carousel and the pink enamel dots on the noses of the ponies both come from the Sugarplum Wishes collection. Clear rhinestone dots were also used at the base of the carousel and at the top of the flag pole. The large glitter dots that fill in the hanging ornaments were purchased at a stationary store in Austria.

All of the embellishments on this page came from the Sugarplum Wishes Ephemera Die Cuts and the Floral & Snowflake Die Cuts packages. The word FUN! and the stars at the top of the page belong to the Foam Stickers sheet. The title, Christmas Market Vienna, was added using the multi-coloured alphabet stickers from the large Stickers package.

And there you have it! A special memory with my grandchildren that we will reflect on for years ahead! Thanks for stopping in today. I wish each one of you the Happiest of Holidays! To quote my Mom: “Go and make wonderful memories!”

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

The Best Gift

~ dddesignz ~ 1 Comment

I am extremely excited to share my first project as a Guest Designer for Paige Evans Christmas Cut & Stitching Files for 2023! Here’s where you can purchase each bundle: 25 Christmas Stitching Cut Files https://bit.ly/25christmasstitchingcutfiles, 25 Christmas Cut Files https://bit.ly/25christmascutfiles. Any of these cut files can also be purchased separately in Paige’s shop: https://bit.ly/digitalcutfiles. With the release of these beautiful bundles, Paige is releasing a free cut or stitching file every day from December 1 – 25th, so don’t miss out on all these beautiful designs. This stitching file is one of Paige’s freebies, and you can grab it from her Happy Scrappy Place Facebook Group.

Embroidery and cross-stitching have been part of my crafting adventure for decades. I jump at any chance to incorporate these skills into a scrapbook layout! This cut file is called Christmas Tree Circles for Stitching. And it’s yours free at https://www.facebook.com/groups/happyscrappyplace! To begin this project, I cut the plain white cardstock to 11 & 1/2″ x 11 & 1/2″, and cut the stitch cut file using my Silhouette Cameo. I chose non-traditional colours for the tree and selected coordinating hues of pink, red and white DMC pearl cotton floss to stitch the tree.

I used a simple back stitch technique, alternating the reds and pinks as I worked through the circles in this cut file. I used the white pearl cotton floss on the smaller circles and filled in the circles using a string art technique. To create a string art effect, randomly stitch your thread from one point to another, working in opposite directions and inserting in another point anywhere to create the effect. Make sure you pass the floss through each point in the pattern. I like the completed result. It made these circles look like 3D ornaments on the tree and integrated more texture into the overall layout. I used this same string art technique on the gold start at the top of the tree. I used a chain stitch in brown floss around the tree trunk. This stitch helped provide a sturdy look to the large tree.

I turned to Paige’s magical Sugarplum Wishes Collection to create this whimsical layout. Sugarplum Wishes transport me to a world of wonder and enchantment. How fitting for the Christmas Season! Once I completed the stitching I centred and adhered the page to the bright red candy cane paper (paper 7) from the collection. My photo was also matted on this bright, fun paper. To build the title for the design, I used coordinating Christmas Sweater Thickers and the red foil letters found in the generous sticker pack.

I used a combination of embellishments from the Sugarplum Wishes collection to complete this layout. In addition to placing several poinsettias from the Floral & Snow Flake Die Cuts package to frame the design, I used the Santa and sweater from the collection of Ephemera Die Cuts to add to the page. I love adding texture and dimension to my layouts, and one of the poinsettias and Santa were backed with fun foam to achieve this effect. I randomly filled the centres of the poinsettias with enamel dots from the Sugarplum Wishes collection and added a small white pompom to Santa’s hat to further enhance this effect.

The presents below the tree belong to the Sugarplum Wishes Foam Stickers sheet. I punched the number 25 found on coordinating patterned paper in the collection (paper 8) and adhered it to the layout using more fun foam. I “hung” the remaining ornaments (penguin, candy canes, gingerbread men & reindeer) on the tree using matching puffy stickers.

Be sure to visit Paige’s Happy Scrappy Place Facebook Group to collect the free Christmas Cut File each day (December 1 – 25)! Thanks for joining me today and I hope I’ve inspired you to try some stitching and playing with Paige’s fabulous products! Stay tuned for another one of my layouts from these incredible cut files next week. Until then, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!