Peartree Cutfiles

’round Venice

~ dddesignz ~ 2 Comments

This past June, we experienced the delight of travelling to Venice with our daughter and family. To say that it was a magical time would be an understatement! We soaked in as much of the old city as possible in our time together. My highlight was a gondola ride with my daughter and three grandchildren. The beauty and mystique of this unique city really come to life when you ride a gondola down the winding canals. This layout was a way for me to capture the highlights of our incredible trip all on one page. I was honoured to have this layout published in Creative Scrapbooker Magazine’s Winter 2023/24 edition (page 96)!

Trying to fit ten photos on one page was no small task. When I saw the Circles Within Circles cut file from Peartree Cutfiles, I immediately visualized a way to make it happen. My first step was to cut the file from white cardstock. Next, I imported the pictures I planned on using into my Silhouette software and resized them to fit into the designated circles on the cut file. The easiest way to ensure success with this technique is to use the “Bring to Front” option in the Silhouette software. Right-click on your cut file and select “Bring to Front”. Your photo(s) are now behind the cut file. Now, you can easily resize them to fit the section of the cut file you chose. Once sized and printed, I cut each photo with a circular die to fit each corresponding position on the cut file.

I turned to PinkFresh Studio’s Tourist Mode collection to design this layout. I focused on a monochromatic effect and chose blue to mirror the jewel tones of the water surrounding Venice. The next stage in creating this page involved backing parts of the larger cut file with blue-toned cardstock. I turned to the Silhouette software to assist in this task as well. By utilizing the “Fill” panel, I coloured sections in the cut file with corresponding shades of blue. Once I was happy with my selections, I copied, offset them, and cut them out using the Silhouette. Once all these pieces were adhered to the back of the cut file, the cut file was centred and secured to the background paper.

In preparation for completing the layout, I matted each photo on the page in blue cardstock with a slight offset for framing. Next, the strands of blue and white twine were secured to the layout, starting from the centre and ending at several pictures. This effect helps draw the eye to the photos and emphasizes the story of being all over the city. I secured each photograph to the page with a smaller piece of fun foam beneath. A small gap underneath the edge was filled by wrapping embroidery floss in coordinating colours.

The rest of the layout came together quickly with additional elements from the Tourist Mode collection. The title was adhered with Puffy Alpha Stickers. Items from the Ephemera Pack, Chipboard Stickers and Puffy Stickers were all selected to coordinate with the monochrome effect.

I really stepped outside my box to create this layout. I traditionally focus on one or two photos per page when I scrapbook. I am really thrilled with the results and hope you agree. One scrapbook layout that sums up our activities in Venice! Thanks so much for stopping by today. Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Have Bags Will Travel

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

One of my favourite post-Covid activities is travelling! We are truly blessed to have family living in Austria that allow us to visit and use their home as a base to travel from. We made several trips overseas during the last twelve months, and have additional adventures planned ahead. I keep pinching myself that I should be so lucky! The picture in this layout is from Venice, Italy, where we met our family for more exploration and to make unforgettable memories together!

I chose the Tourist Mode paper collection and ephemera pack from PinkFresh Studio to document this romantic picture of Venice. I love how the colours in this collection complemented the beautiful colours of the canal.

The title cut file, Have Bags Will Travel, comes from Peartree Cutfiles. It perfectly encompassed my feelings for these great adventures we’ve been taking.

I was also attracted to this cut file because it let me personalize the suitcase. Many friends know I travel with a pink and red rosed suitcase with gold fixtures. This beautiful cut file allowed me the ability to mimic this look. I used an older sheet of patterned paper in my stash from Creative Imaginations called Prom Paper to recreate this look. I turned to gold foil cardstock to create the gold accents. 

To achieve the blue ombre effect in the title, I offset the letters slightly and cut them from white textured cardstock. Using Altenew inks in Blueberry and Winter Lake, each letter was inked to create the overall effect. Once I was happy with the overall tone and gradation of each letter, they were adhered to the back of the title. The entire title was secured to the layout using black dimensional fun foam for added texture and visual impact.

The bottom three phrase strips came from the Tourist Mode ephemera pack. The wording perfectly captured my thoughts and feelings on this trip. The origin of the “Are we there yet?” chipboard accent is unknown, as I have had it in my collection for many years.

The foam “Fav Photo” phrase and all the coordinated foam dots on the layout belong to Vicki Boutin’s “Loving This” thicker collection. The two additional pieces of ephemera belong to the Tourist Mode collection. Each piece of ephemera was inked along the edge with a colour-coordinated Altenew ink (Orange Sherbert, Orange Cream, Caribbean Sky, and Limestone). Doodlebug Designs teensy-type stickers were used to note the date and location.

I hope everyone finds an opportunity in their life to travel. For me, it is not only educational and enlightening, it is truly life-changing. Thanks for taking this trip with me today, and until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Happiness Right Here

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Oh, the pure bliss of swimming! And what could be better than swimming in the South Aegean off Naxos, Greece?! My daughter, son-in-law, and family vacationed in Naxos this summer; as you can see from the picture, it was a huge hit! Madison has always been a water baby, so this vacation was right up her alley. When I saw this picture I knew it was the perfect match for the Happiness Right Here cut file from Peartree Cutfiles. Peartree is celebrating its third birthday this month, and this cut file is free for the month of August. You can find the free version here. Come play along with the birthday celebration!

After cutting the file from white cardstock, the letters in the title were inked using Altenew’s Blueberry and Winter Lake inks. The lighter shade (Blueberry) was applied to the top of each letter and the darker (Winter Lake) was applied to the bottom to mimic the colours in the sea and the differences you see as the light hits the water.

I chose the backside of the Seashore patterned paper from Paper House’s At the Beach Collection to document this special moment.

The soft jewel tones and gentle waves of the sea in the picture drew me to the Waves Border cut file to compliment this layout.

Rather than cut the file from coordinating paper with my Silhouette, I chose to stitch it. My first step was to flip the file horizontally and use a sketch pen to draw the design on the back of the patterned paper. I then used a paper piercer to hand pierce the pattern in preparation for stitching. I then gathered coordinating jew tone embroidery floss to mirror the colours of the sea in the picture and began stitching. A total of 8 colours were used to complete this design (Anchor Embroidery Floss: 130, 131, 160, 161, 185, 186, 187, 188). A chain stitch was used and I randomly changed threads as I worked my way through the design. I purposefully choose lighter tones for the top of the wave, and darker tones for those below. This process took several hours, but the results were well worth it!

The final touches to complete the layout were adding the date and the location of the picture. These were done by using the Swimming Pool Doodlebug Designs Alphabet Sout Puffy Stickers.

I’m so happy to share in the celebration of Peartree Cutfiles 3rd Birthday. Their birthday challenge was a lot of fun and made me think outside of the box. Thanks for joining me today, and until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Rollercoaster

~ dddesignz ~ 3 Comments

Who’s in for a good roller coaster ride this summer? While visiting our family in Austria, we took another trip to the Prater, Vienna’s renowned amusement park. Emperor Joseph II opened the park to the public in 1766. It has been serving up smiles ever since! Our 10-year-old grandson somehow convinced his Mom to ride this wicked (lying down) roller coaster. I’m the one safely on the ground, filming for prosperity! This picture captures them as they pause before being loaded into a corkscrew lift to start their ride.

The paper selected for this layout is from Webster’s Pages and it is called Dream in Color – Drifting. It fits beautifully with my design when I rotate it upside down. I chose Peartree Cutfiles Rollercoaster cut file to document this fun event. I wanted my layout to provide the illusion of a roller coaster. To achieve this effect, I took several steps. 

First, the cut file was cut out in black to help the title stand out. Next, the letters of the title were cut in blue to match the sky in the photo. The third step included cutting the file once again in red to imitate the red steel girders of the actual roller coaster. The cut file was cut once again in yellow to mimic the yellow rails the roller coaster cars travelled on. Once all 4 colours were cut, I carefully cut the elements away that I didn’t need and glued each section into place to recreate the coaster my family was riding.

To further the illusion of the actual roller coaster, I used Taylored Expressions Black Foam Sticky Strips to back the cut file and provide dimension. Each sticky strip was cut in half lengthwise and then carefully adhered to the back of the cut file to achieve this look. While somewhat tricky and time-consuming, I am very happy with the result.

The sticker phrases and journalling box came from an older Echo Park paper collection called hello Summer. The large colour-coordinated FUN sticker is from Photoplay’s Those Summer Days paper collection. The final design element was adding brightly coloured stars in the sky. These stars are Puffy Stickers from Cocoa Vanilla Studio’s No Limits collection.

I may not be a roller coaster enthusiast myself, but I certainly had a blast documenting this ride for my family. My grandson is very excited this layout will be included in one of his scrapbooks!

Have I convinced you to get out to the amusement park this summer? Be sure to take every opportunity to enjoy this glorious summer and all the opportunities it offers! Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Explore Dublin

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Last Fall we had the good luck to travel to Ireland. We spent 4 wonderful days exploring Dublin. The history of this beautiful city is simply outstanding. This double-page layout focuses on Christ Church Cathedral, just one of many treasures in this gem of a town!

Those of you that regularly follow me, know I have an addiction to designing with Peartree Cutfiles! Therefore, this layout is no exception, as I have used two Peartree cut files to complete this design. I love the versatility of these cut files, as you can use them over and over. This is not the first layout that I’ve used the Explore cut file with, and likely not the last time either. This cut file was also an excellent fit with the paper collection used in this layout. I used Echo Park’s Getaway collection and found the backside of the Adventure patterned paper worked perfectly. The black and white compasses tied in nicely with the compass in the cut file. I used the Adventure paper to back the cut file with the exception of the compass itself. I used the backside of the Planes patterned paper for this element. A small black brad was used to complete the compass.

Drawing on the circle theme of the compass, I used one of the Radiate Stencils from Vicki Boutin’s StoryTELLER collection to stencil a random background on the right-hand side of this page. I was looking for a very subtle background for the Walnut Cream cardstock from Bazzill, and I turned to Tim Holtz’s Pumice Stone Distress Ink to achieve this overall look.

The right-hand page of this double-page layout uses the Film Strips Background cut file. It was part of the March 2023 Pearscription package. I highly recommend you investigate the Pearscription packages. You receive 5 exclusive cut files each month, and I can honestly say that I’ve never been disappointed! This cut file was the perfect way to add multiple photos with lots of detail from our visit to the Cathedral.

To balance the film strip, and draw your eye to the multiple pictures, I filled 3 separate frames with embellishments. The compass and word travel were stickers in the Getaway paper collection. The rustic star-shaped element comes from a package of Mechanicals by Finnabair and is called Steampunk Blades. I secured it to the layout with a small bronze brad. The third embellishment, Road Trip, is a glazed chipboard piece that’s been in my supplies for years. To complete the layout, I added the date with small round Doodlebug Stickers.

Thanks for stopping in today, I hope you’ve enjoyed a quick tour of Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Hit the Reset Button

~ dddesignz ~ 2 Comments

I am so honoured to have a couple of layouts published in the Summer 2023 edition of Creative Scrapbooker Magazine! If you don’t subscribe, be sure to get a copy. This magazine is chock full of inspiration! This layout (found on page 122) is very special to me. It marked the official beginning of my son’s and his wife’s honeymoon last summer. They are avid campers and they headed to the mountains to decompress following their wedding. This little cabin in the woods was a perfect getaway for their first few nights away.

Peartree Cutfiles had the perfect cut file to complement this photo. The Hit the Reset Button was an excellent fit for the mood and feel of this layout.

I turned to Paper Rose’s Mountain Trek collection, once again, to create this layout. The background paper, Mountain Trek – B, provided the backdrop for this design. The cut file was backed with sections of Mountain Trek – D patterned paper. I love to incorporate stamping into my scrapbook pages and I turned to an older stamp set from Technique Tuesday, called Words We Love, to stamp the words EXPLORE and Adventure around the title. The Memory Misti is a perfect tool for stamping on your scrapbook pages. If you’re like me, you need a tool that allows you to stamp in the same place more than once!

I found some tri-coloured skeleton leaves in my scrapbooking supplies from at least a decade ago. I added a few of these leaves around the picture to help enhance the colours of the layout, provide a woodsy feel, and add some texture.

The final touches included fussy cutting the cabin and trees found on the coordinating Mountain Trek – C paper. They were simply glued directly onto the page. The date was added using Doodlebug Designs stickers.

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about my process to create this layout. I am so grateful to have it included in the Summer 2023 edition of Creative Scrapbooker Magazine! Until next time, stay safe, stay well and Happy Scrapping!

Life is a Beautiful Ride

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

When Canadian cousins get the opportunity to meet up in Austria, a good time is guaranteed! As the Nana to Ben, and the Aunt to Raquel, I have to tell you this picture gives me all the feels! It is so difficult being so far away from your family, but when you see them get together on another continent, and see the love and joy on their faces, it makes one’s heart burst! It certainly makes me count my blessings to be part of such a loving family.

If you are familiar with Peartree Cutfiles, you’ll know their tagline is “There’s a Cut File for That”. I can’t think of a better cut file for this photo than Life is a Beautiful Ride. This picture of Ben and Raquel was taken at the historic Prater Amusement Park in Vienna, Austria. (Photo credit to my talented daughter, Lindsay!) I cut the file in black using American Crafts Precision Cardstock. It was backed with gorgeous papers from Craft Consortium’s Ink Drops – Ocean collection. I loved how the hues and tones of this paper blended with the blue watercoloured background foundation page from Vicki Boutin’s Color Study Ready-to-Use Mixed Media Paper collection.

The rest of this layout came together quite easily. After adding a bit of journalling to describe the photo, I used Thickers from 3 of Vicki’s collections to embellish the layout. I pulled hearts, words, phrases, stars and an arrow from the Loving This, Stories of US, and Perfect Day Thicker collections.

Every time I look at this layout my heart, and maybe even my eyes, fill up! So much love, so much fun, so much to experience and share together. I am so thankful these two had the opportunity to make such great memories together!

Thanks for stopping in today. Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Tour – Salzburg

~ dddesignz ~ 1 Comment

I’ve been having so much fun creating these past two months! Today’s layout focuses on a photo my husband took in Salzburg, Austria. Although it wasn’t one of the best weather days on our trip, the colours and perspective in this photo instantly take me back to that moment every time I look at it. Most of you would know Salzburg from the musical “The Sound of Music”. This magical city is full of breathtaking discoveries around every corner.

Before I describe the details of creating this layout, I must give a shout-out to Lisa Furtney, owner of ScrapFest. Lisa owns and operates this event-based business and hosts large and small face-to-face and virtual events throughout the year with her wonderful team. I am a member of ScrapFest Connect – a virtual membership group of fellow crafters on Facebook. ScrapFest Connect offers members several virtual events a year, plus they run a monthly challenge open to all members. I was honoured to be the March Challenge Winner this year, and I used products from my prize package to create this layout. I have plenty of leftover products from my prize package, so you can expect more designs using them. Thank you Lisa and Team for this beautiful prize package!

My prize pack included the 49 and Market 12′ x 12′ Paper Collection Pack of Vintage Artistry Everywhere and several coordinating embellishments, including the Chipboard Set, Laser Cut Elements, Epoxy Coat Sticker Embellishments and Tag Set. Absolutely perfect for all the pictures we took on our recent travels overseas! I chose the back side of the Great Big World patterned paper for the background of this layout. Each patterned paper comes with a strip at the bottom that provides details on the brand and name of the paper. In this case, the back side of this strip had a coordinating row of tickets. I decided to keep this element in my layout and therefore trimmed off the top part of the patterned paper to fit the 12″ x 12″ layout.

I used two cut files to create this layout. The first cut file comes from Peartree Cutfiles and is entitled Travel Words. I find it very helpful to use the software in Silhouette Studio to size all my files and pictures before cutting or printing. For this layout, the cut file was reduced considerably to fit the space. I backed each word with a coordinating piece of cardstock to complete the title.

The second cut file comes from Bea Valint at My Shiny Studio and is appropriately titled World Map. Bea’s file is a free download from her blog. To replicate a perfect alignment of the cut file on my page, I cut the outline of the cut file from a 12″ x 12″ piece of vellum. The vellum was then positioned over the patterned paper and used as a template to secure the cut file in place.

To complete the design, I added some epoxy coat sticker embellishments on either side of the photo, and the geotag with the “Right Here” bauble to the world map to indicate Austria. Two rubons were added to the centre of the layout for added depth and texture. The large blue geotag, “On the Bucket List” and “A Perfect Day” banners were utilized from the Chipboard Set. The final embellishment is the set of binoculars that hang off the end of the word Adventure. These were found in the Laser Cut Elements package. The location of the photo was added using Thickers “Happy Life” foam stickers. And last, but not least, I included the date by writing it on the inside of one of the date stamps on the patterned paper. It can be found to the left of the photo.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope I’ve inspired you to scrapbook a few of your own travel pictures. Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Roarsome

~ dddesignz ~ 1 Comment

In late June, we travelled out west for our son’s wedding. My daughter and her family planned a few side trips while we were there, and Drumheller was their first destination. Drumheller, Alberta, is located northeast of Calgary. It is known as the dinosaur capital of the world, and it was a huge hit with our grandchildren!

I chose the Roarsome title from Peartree Cutfiles to showcase a picture from their trip. I loved the addition of the dinosaur on top and wanted to make it a bit whimsical as I designed the layout. The patterned papers in the title come from an older Carta Bella Paper Co collection aptly entitled Dinosaurs.

While I backed the words in the title, I chose to lift the pieces of the dinosaur by securing a piece of black fun foam underneath each piece to create dimension and the illusion of flight. I added green googly eyes to the dinosaur to enhance the whimsical feel of the layout. Once the title was complete, both the picture and title adhered to the fun background paper 12″ Life in Color Bricks. This background page also belongs to an older BoBunny collection called Life in Color.

The final elements of the layout came together quite quickly. The “vacay” puffy phrase and accent stickers came from a Vicki Boutin collection of Thickers called Loving This. The date and location of the picture were documented with Doodlebug Design Inc.’s teensy-type stickers.

And there you have it, a simple and whimsical page that focuses the attention on the picture and title. Thanks for stopping by today, and until next time, stay safe, stay well and Happy Scrapping!

Rainbow Vibes

~ dddesignz ~ 2 Comments

Well, life derailed me these past three months, but I’m happy to say I’m back in my craft room and starting to get creative again! After a few false starts, I’m pleased with the results of this layout. It seemed fitting to work on a layout about rainbows after the ups and downs we’ve been through lately. This fun picture of our youngest grandson, Ben, captures the joy he was feeling at that moment. And let’s admit it, who wouldn’t want to play on that rainbow xylophone?!

I was excited to use Pretty Little Studio’s Wildflowers collection to create this layout. The background paper is called Color Palette. I paired it with a cut file from Peartree Cutfiles called Rainbow Vibes. I used black American Crafts Precision Cardstock to cut the main title and backed it with coordinating cardstock colours matching the page’s rainbow. I took the liberty of adding a soft green to mirror the colours found in a rainbow. Once I reached this stage with the title, I set it aside.

The next step was to add stitching to the rainbow on the patterned paper. A paper piercer was used to punch holes in the small white channels found between each colour of the rainbow. Each channel was stitched with a separate colour using a simple straight stitch. Seven colours were used overall, including a soft green to bring continuity to the layout. The following DMC embroidery threads were used, moving from left across the layout (718, 3689, 725, 907, 3761, 0851, 554). One exception is the teal embroidery floss; it is an Anchor product. I love the bit of texture these stitched channels add to the design. After the stitching was completed, I placed the title and photo in their respective positions. The title was elevated slightly by using Taylored Expressions Foam Sticky Strips. These strips are highly flexible and come in both black and white options.

The final steps included adding ephemera from the Wildflowers collection. Three hearts and the rainbow phrase were added from the Chocolate Bunny Word Die-Cuts package. The pink and yellow hearts were included in the package, but the third heart, teal in colour, came as a black and white image. I used a Copic marker to colour the centre to coordinate with the Rainbow Vibes title and the rainbow on the patterned paper. Doodlebug Designs “my type” stickers were used to add “Storybook Gardens”.

To complete the layout, I used more ephemera from the Wildflowers collection found in the Spring Mix Die-Cuts package. These elements include the tab above the picture where the date was stamped and the two small flag banners in the bottom right-hand corner of the completed design. Foam Sticky Stips were used to raise these two small elements.

And there you have it! Such a fun layout to design and work on as I try to get back in my creative groove! I hope it’s brought a smile to your face today. Thanks so much for checking in.

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