svg

#MomLife

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful Mom’s out there!!! I am extremely lucky to be called Mom by two incredibly special people (Lindsay and Sean) and loved every stage as they grew from babies, toddlers, children, teenagers and into adults. I am extremely blessed that my children remain close and involved in our lives, even when one lives out west. And I am most fortunate that they both chose amazing life partners. Jeffrey and Tanis fit into this family perfectly. They just make our family bigger and better!

Today I am celebrating my beautiful daughter Lindsay. Lindsay was my firstborn and the first to make me a Nana. Two special reasons to celebrate today! Like so many other Mom’s out there, she has had to navigate raising a young family amidst the Covid crisis, health concerns and an ever-changing world of uncertainty. I’m so proud of her, she has more patience and grace than anyone I know. She has guided Madison and Owen through online learning all while raising a toddler. Any parent who’s in the same situation knows that’s enough stress to drive any Mom or Dad over the edge. She’s done the best she can for these 3 beauties and they are safe and secure in their loving home.

The #MomLife cut file, by Marcy and Milly SVG, was the perfect cut file to create this page with.

I love both the script and block versions of this cut file and quickly decided to make use of both. To start this project I cut the script version of the cut file onto HTV (Heat Transfer Vinyl) with my Silhouette Cameo and pressed it onto a t-shirt for my daughter. I thought it would be fun to have a picture of her with her children wearing the t-shirt in the layout. You can see the #MomLife t-shirt in the right-hand picture of this layout. I use a Cricut EasyPress 2 (9″ x 9″) to transfer the HTV to t-shirts. It works perfectly for my needs. Cut files are so versatile, there are so many things you can do with them. I love it when I can maximize the use of a cut file in additional ways to scrapbooking! Here are a couple more photos of the t-shirt.

Once the t-shirt was completed, I turned my attention to the layout. Using PinkFresh Studio’s Let’s Stay Home collection, I selected the Better Things are Ahead patterned paper for my background. The next step was to resize the block cut file of #MomLife and cut it out of white cardstock. I carefully matched the colours of the background paper to various pieces of coordinating cardstock. Each of the letters in the title was offset and cut using Silhouette Studio software. Once all 8 pieces were cut, they were adhered to the backside of the title to create the coordinating rainbow effect. The final stage included backing the completed file with double-sided adhesive foam to provide the title with a slight lift from the page.

The remainder of this layout fell together quite quickly. I enhanced the title with blue Puffy Alpha Stickers from the Let’s Stay Home collection. Both photos were matted with coordinating blue cardstock and adhered in place. All remaining embellishments came from the Let’s Stay Home collection including, Cardstock Stickers, Puffy Stickers, and the Ephemera Pack.

I would like to give special mention to my Son-in-Law, Jeffrey, who willingly took the beautiful photo on the left-hand side of this layout. Many, many, thanks Jeff, for helping me bring this layout vision to life!

In closing, I hope you all find special ways to celebrate today. Even though we can’t get together physically to celebrate, our families can take great pictures for us to scrapbook! And when you do, don’t forget to make use of this wonderful cut file from Marcy and Milly SVG to celebrate the Mom or Moms in your life that mean the world to you!

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

Great Idea

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Do you remember the game Twister? Did you ever think of playing it with shaving cream….on a water trampoline? Well, these crazy cousins thought it would be a lot of fun, and they were right! These beauties, and several more, got together on a perfect summer day in Muskoka to celebrate family and friendship. The pictures speak for themselves, a great time was had by all!

My second Design Team layout for Marcy Milly SVG is designed around the Great Idea cut file. When I first saw this cut file, so many ideas and possibilities went through my head. I love the light bulbs in this title and knew instantly that I could turn them into shaker boxes. As I pondered different ideas I was drawn back to this fun day in July 2018 when these cousins got together for some fun. Of all the games they played that day, the Shaving Cream Twister, on top of a floating trampoline, was the best!

My process to create this layout began in Silhouette Studio where I imported the Great Idea cut file and the photos I planned on using. By resizing these elements in the software program first, I can create a page map to complete the layout before anything is cut or printed. Once I settled on the design of the page, the selected pictures were printed and put aside while I focused on the cut file.

I chose colours for the title that matched the coloured circles on the Twister mat – red, blue, yellow and green. The offset tool in Silhouette was used to cut and back these letters. To create the light bulb shaker boxes, the knife tool in Silhouette Studio was used to separate the light bulb from each of the words. I also used this tool to cut away the filament to ensure the inside shaker had more room for sequins and movement. Once completed, this allowed me to cut 5 more copies of each light bulb from black cardstock without having to cut the full title out multiple times. These multiple layers of bulbs created the pockets required to turn the bulbs into shaker elements. I then traced the bulb section onto clear transparency film and cut two copies for each bulb. The transparency sections were glued to the bottom and top levels. The bottom parts of the bulbs were backed with shiny silver cardstock on the top light bulbs only. Next, all layers of the bulbs – except the tops – were glued together to create the pockets to hold the gold sequin mix. Once the gold sequin mix was in place, the top and final layer was glued in place. Here are some closeups of the completed light bulbs.

The background paper for this layout is called Box of Crayons from Shimelle. The bold repetitive circles were a perfect fit for the game Twister. To play up the whimsy of this layout, I expanded on the title using small white Thickers to complete the “It seemed like a GREAT IDEA at the time!” phrase. A large circular die was used from Lawn Fawn’s Large Stitched Circle Stackables to create a space for hand journaling. All of the cardstock embellishments came from the Hello Friend – Silver Holographic Chipboard Stickers that coordinate with the Vicki Boutin StoryTeller collection. The small colourful directional arrows complemented the spinner board within the Twister game. The hello Summer sticker came from a collection with the same name by Lori Whitlock and was added to the top right of the large photo. The sticker helps draw your eyes towards the action in the picture.

Are you tempted to pull out that old Twister game now?! Thanks for stopping by to share the fun today, and be sure to stop by MarcyMillySVG to pick up this fun cut file. I’d love to see what you do with it! Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Obsessed With You

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

I’m very excited to share my first project as a Design Team member for Marcy and Milly SVG Cut Files! This is a new Canadian company with an online store on Etsy. You can find their shop here: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/MarcyMilly?ref=usf_2020. Before you shop, be sure to follow them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/marcymillysvg and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/marcymillysvg/. In coordination with their Grand Store Opening, they are currently running a 50% off sale, so be sure to follow them on one of these accounts to get the discount code before you shop!

I was attracted to the Obsessed With You cut file for more than one reason. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a slight obsession with my grandchildren, Maddie, Owen and Ben. These beautiful siblings have an extremely tight bond and the oldest two are also a little obsessed with taking care of their younger brother. So the obsession is mutual all around! We are so very lucky! Here’s a direct link to the Obsessed With You cut file: https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/976615088/obsessed-with-you-svg-cut-file-digital?ref=shop_home_active_11.

The patterned papers, chipboard accents and enamel dots used in this project all came from Carta Bella’s Flower Garden collection. The first step in creating this page was to open the cut file and photo in the Silhouette software. This allowed me to play with the sizing of the photo and the cut file before the photo was printed or the cut file cut on the Silhouette. The title was cut with white cardstock and backed with coordinating papers from the Flower Garden collection. When this step was completed, I decided to pull in some colour and texture and made the decision to add the hand stitching to the solid letters. To achieve this, I used a paper piercer to make the stitching lines within each solid letter. A simple backstitch was used to stitch the letters using #776 DMC floss. To pull more pink into the layout and to provide a bit more dimension, I traced the solid heart in the word YOU onto coordinating pink patterned paper. I used the same pink paper to cut the small pink heart found in the word “with”. Both of these hearts were secured using pop dots. The following pictures provide a closeup of all these details.

I just love the colour combination of this paper collection. The black and white striped paper was perfect for creating a border on the top and bottom of the page. While I could simply have adhered the 12″ x 11″ aqua base paper on top of the striped paper, it would have resulted in using up the whole black and white page. The backside of this paper is lovely, and I know I could use it on another project, so I decided to cut 12″ strips of black and white paper and adhered it to the top and bottom of the aqua sheet to save on paper. Two coordinating sheets of patterned paper were used to mat the photo and helped to pull these colours through the entire page. At this stage, I centred and adhered the photo and title to the base page.

I wanted to find a way to pull more of the black and coordinating patterned papers into the layout. Creating the small cut-ins on both sides of the layout helped me achieve this. These small elements provide pops of colour and balance to the overall design. I love how the backside of the aqua paper provides a light flowery backdrop to the bold black and white flowers underneath. To achieve this look I used an Exacto Knife and cut a straight horizontal line 1 & 1/4″ from each edge. A bone folder and ruler were used to mark the folding lines and ensured a clean, straight line to fold the papers back. Small strips of the black and white flower paper were cut to fit in behind these openings. To complete the layout, the Love Grows Here sticker was added to the photo, the chipboard accent was “hung” from the title, and coordinating enamel dots were added to the page.

I hope I’ve encouraged you to try some of these techniques on your next layout. While you’re thinking of your next page, take some time to look through the lovely Marcy and Milly SVG Cut Files. I know you’ll find something special for your next project! Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Explore

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Our youngest grandson Ben is now 2 & 1/2. He is on the move from the time he opens his eyes in the morning until he closes them at night. He’s full of curiosity and loves to explore everything around him. Like many boys his age, his favourite things are cars, trucks, and airplanes. But nothing gets Ben more excited than Garbage Day! It is his favourite day of his week, and he can often hear the garbage truck coming from a few blocks away!! When I saw the Cut to You Pie Graph cut file, I knew it would be perfect to visually represent how my grandson spends his day. You can find the cut file here https://createdbygwen.com.au/product/pie-graph-cut-file/.

My first step in creating this layout was to resize the Pie Graph cut file and then cut it from white cardstock. I used the Little Dreamer Boy paper collection and chipboard accents from Echo Park to complete this layout. The star background is the backside of the Little Dude patterned paper. I then decided which coordinating papers I would use to backfill the pie graph, and cut those accordingly. These pieces were set aside at this stage. To add some texture and dimension to the page, I hand stitched each section of the pie graph in a coordinating colour using DMC floss. The specific colours used in this layout were 336, 522, 816, 921, and 932. To prepare the cut file for stitching I took a paper piercer and pierced holes approximately 1/4″ apart around each section of the cut file. A simple backstitch was used to complete the stitching. When all the stitching was completed the coordinating patterned papers were adhered to the back of the cut file to complete the pie graph. The completed cut file was then positioned and adhered to the background paper.

Once the cut file was completed and in place, the layout came together quite quickly. Two patterned papers were used to mat the photo. The coordinating elements on this layout came from the Little Dreamer Boy 12 x 12 Element Sticker sheet and the Chipboard Accents. The date was added with white Happy Life Thickers, by American Crafts. Here are some further closeups of the detail in this layout.

I’m very pleased with how this page turned out. It will be put in a frame for Ben to hang in his room. I know he’ll love looking at the vehicles on the page – especially the garbage truck! I hope I’ve brought a smile to your face today, thanks for stopping by. Until next time, stay safe, stay well and Happy Scrapping!

Never Grow Up

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

We have been blessed with beautiful spring weather for the last couple of weeks. It’s such a relief to be able to get out and enjoy the outdoors – especially since we’re under our third “Stay at Home” order. Our youngest grandson Ben is now two and a half. Every day is a new day of discoveries for him. He loves being outdoors and he and his siblings have a wonderful treehouse in their backyard. My daughter managed to get Ben to slow down long enough to capture this beautiful photo of him in the upper level of their treehouse.

The perfect cut file to complement this picture was the Tree House cut file from Peartree Cutfiles. You can find it here https://www.peartreecutfiles.co.uk/product/tree-house/

While it does take some time and patience to back this large cut file, it was worth all the effort. I used patterned papers for the background and the tree trunk from Shimelle’s Never Grow Up paper line. I also used a Copic marker to colour the rope ladder found to the left of the tree trunk. When I’m working on a cut file this large, I use the fill option in the Silhouette Studio software to map out the colours first. This ensures I don’t miss any of the pieces as I cut the backing, and also speeds things up overall.

I wanted this cut file to take centre stage on the layout, so I kept the embellishments to a minimum. The Never Grow Up title, get OUTSIDE banner, snail and vellum ant all came from a coordinating ephemera package from the Never Grow Up line. I adhered some fun foam to the back of the Never Grow Up title, to provide a bit of dimension and texture to the layout. The two little layered butterflies belong to the Flower Wild Free collection by Prima Marketing Inc. The date was added using Doodlebug Design Inc‘s, my type stickers.

Thanks for stopping in today, I hope I’ve inspired you to get outside to enjoy the spring weather! Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!