svgs

Boo to You Too!

~ dddesignz ~ 2 Comments

With Halloween just around the corner, it’s time to get your Boo on! Last Halloween, Benjamin was only two, and he wasn’t much impressed with Halloween – until the candy came out! We did our best to coax a smile out of this sweet boy, but he wasn’t having any of it. He was the saddest Marshall from Paw Patrol you ever did see. Whether happy or sad, it’s still important to document these moments in our lives. I know Ben will find this moment amusing when he’s a bit older.

The Boo to You Too! cut file from Marcy Milly SVG was an excellent fit for documenting this story. 

Echo Park’s Halloween Party patterned paper collection and stickers provided the foundation for this layout. The background page is the orange/black sheet, and three patterned papers – Gleaming Gourds, October 31st, and Candy Corn Craze, were used to back-fill the words in the title cut file. Once the title was complete, it was centred and adhered to the orange background. Some space was left free to slide the pictures underneath. Before securing the pictures, the entire page was sprinkled with black Liquidex Heavy Body Acrylic paint. The small black paint splotches help fill in some of the empty spaces and enhance the Halloween mood.

I love the bat in this cut file and like how there are cut-outs in the wings to give it the effect of flying. To emphasize this on the layout, I cut the bat six times. The next step was to create three bats from the six cut files. To create this look, adhere two of the bats together with a strong, permanent adhesive at the centre of the body only. Be careful to leave the wings free of glue. To produce the illusion of flapping wings, place small black 3D foam squares by Scrapbook Adhesives between the wings of each bat.

To complete the layout, I added a couple of stickers from the coordinating sticker sheet found in the patterned paper collection. The final touch was to add personalized journaling in the bottom right-hand corner.

Ben’s all ready for Halloween this year and looking forward to being a penguin! I’m hopeful I’ll manage some pictures with him smiling in his costume this year. But if not, you can be sure, I’ll be scrapbooking it anyways! I hope you have a safe and fun Halloween with those you love.

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

Summer

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Cottage season is over, and crafting season is back on! While I love summer and the cottage, I am always happy to get back into my craft room. It seemed fitting to share a summer layout with you as I get back into my crafting groove.

This summer, my son Sean, and his fiancé Tanis traveled from out west to our cottage in Muskoka. It was Sean’s first trip back in six years and his first trip to bring Tanis. We had a wonderful week with them and loved introducing Tanis to everything we love to do in the summer at the cottage. Tanis had a go at tubing and enjoyed a fun-filled, action-packed ride with Maddie and Owen! This picture represents the fun they all had!

To document this moment I used the FREE SUMMER SVG cut file from Marcy Milly SVG.

I selected a photo of our dock to backfill the cut file. You can accomplish this effect in two different ways. You can trace the outline of the cut file onto your photo and then fussy cut, or you can open the photo in Silhouette software and then open the SVG cut file over the top. This positioning allows you to move the cut file exactly where you want it cut. To achieve this, release the compound path of the cut file and remove the outline of the cut file and any extra inside pieces. This isolates the six letters that spell SUMMER. Then create a slight offset of the individual letters (0.05 works well) and delete the original (internal letters) before you cut. The result gives you a slightly larger backing to securely adhere the letters to the back of the cut file. The following pictures provide some close-ups of the title.

This layout was designed using Cocoa Vanilla Studio’s Boys Rule collection. The specific paper was called Entitled, and I used stickers, word phrases and chipboard embellishments from the collection to complete the layout.

Thickers Happy Life foam letter stickers were used to add the subtitle Tubing with Auntie Tanis and the date.

We had such a lovely summer this year and made exceptional memories that I look forward to documenting this winter. I hope you all have wonderful summer memories to get you through the long cold winter ahead. Thanks for visiting, and until next time, stay safe, stay well and Happy Scrapping!

The Girls!

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

With summer just around the corner, it’s time to share a highlight from summer 2020. We’ve just come out of a very long lockdown and I can’t wait to make some fun memories this summer with my family and friends! This photo is one of my favourites from last summer as it captures 3 generations. We get so busy having fun together that we often forget to pause for a minute to take some pictures. This picture includes me, my daughter and granddaughter on a beautiful summer day at the cottage – our favourite place to be in the warm weather! I’m so thrilled that Marcy Milly SVG designed thegirls! cut file. It was exactly what I was looking for! This title lends itself to so many possibilities – sisters, reunions, weddings, sororities, girls night out, and many more – so many options!

I decided to use the Vicki Boutin Color Study paper, ephemera, and stickers for this layout. The bright bold colours remind me of beautiful summer days. I cut the title in Fushia cardstock and then offset the title 2 separate times to layer it in coordinating (orange and teal) cardstock. This also helps draw more attention to the title cut file. Once my picture was printed and matted I added fun foam to the back of the cut file to pop it up further and to create some dimension on the layout.

The rest of the layout came together quite quickly. Several embellishments came from the Vicki Boutin Color Study Journal Ephemera and Icon Ephemera packages. I also utilized a sticker (This is the Stuff That Matters) and the gold foil dots came from the 6 x 12 Sticker sheets that belong to the same collection. The date was added using teal glitter foam letter stickers from Thickers called Sunny.

As we start to see daylight in this pandemic, I hope the summer of 2021 is one of love and laughter for you. I can’t wait to hug so many important people in my life!! And don’t forget to grab pictures of your reunions and events that bring us back together. This is going to be a summer to celebrate!

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

Master Gardener

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Let me introduce you to my Grandpa, Harold Russell. He was a gifted carpenter by trade, but a master gardener in his retirement. My grandparents lived in Mississauga in a house he built. They lived at the end of a dead-end street with a huge lot to the left of the house that Grandpa turned into a massive vegetable garden. I often spent a couple of weeks with my grandparents during the summer months when I was young. My memories of these times included lots of time in the garden with Grandpa and watching my Nana cooking, canning and freezing all the bounty that resulted from his hard labour. Grandpa built a large cold cellar in the house and it was always fun to get inside to see all the filled jars from Nana’s canning efforts.

My favourite memories of Grandpa’s garden were visits in June when we were allowed to pick fresh strawberries ourselves, and later in the season when we picked fresh carrots. There’s nothing quite like a freshly picked carrot washed under the garden hose! It was one of my favourite treats from his garden! I also remember baskets of fruit and vegetables begin loaded into our car before we returned to London after a visit. Grandpa was a kind and patient man, and he treated his treasured vegetable garden with as much love and tenderness that he afforded his grandchildren. You can see how proud he was of his produce in these pictures. That squash! I wish I knew how many pounds it weighed, but you can see the delight on his face with the result. Grandpa introduced us to many new vegetables that we have never experienced before. Spaghetti squash was our favourite of all.

Marcy and Milly SVG‘s #freebiefriday cut file called Garden Words Background was the perfect file to document this story. You can find all the free cut files on the Marcy Milly SVG Facebook page. Once the file was sized to my liking for the layout, I created an offset of the cut file using Silhouette Studio software. The small sections that made up the centres cutouts of all of the letters were removed to provide a solid base. Then both sections of the cut file were cut on respective green and black cardstock. I chose not to centre the cut file on the offset background, and offset it slightly to the right to provide a more dramatic effect.

Simple Stories recent Simple Vintage Farmhouse Garden collection worked beautifully to help tell this story. Not only did I love the colour graphics in The Sweet Life patterned paper, but I loved the subtle pictures of garden vegetables in the rest of the paper. I used various pieces to embellish this layout from the coordinating Bits and Pieces and Garden Bits ephemera packs. The From the Garden sticker, seen in the photo with the large squash, came from the Cardstock Stickers found in the 12×12 Collection Kit. The title – Master Gardener – was added using doodlebug designs inc my type cardstock stickers.

I had a great time working on this layout and going down memory lane! So pleased to have a cut file that fit my Grandpa’s passion perfectly! Be sure to follow the Marcy Milly SVG page on Facebook to grab this #freebiefriday cut file and many more! Also, look for the post announcing a new monthly newsletter to keep informed on new monthly cut files. Sign up is via email. For all my gardening friends out there, I wish you the best growing season yet! Until next time, stay safe, stay well and Happy Scrapping!

My Rose Garden

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Thank goodness Spring has finally arrived in all its glory! Our gardens are beginning to grow and we can look forward to beautiful summer days ahead. These two beauties make me smile every day. They are my perpetual garden that just keeps blessing me day after day. The Bouquet of Roses cut file from Marcy and Milly SVG was a perfect fit for this recent photo. It is a 3 layer cut file and I found it very easy to assemble.

The pink blossoms in the photo and the peach in my granddaughter’s shirt were the inspiration for the colours in this layout. I chose the soft peach/pink combination background from the Vicki Boutin Ready-to-Use Mixed Media Paper pad entitled Enjoy Today. I love these papers, they have beautiful colour combinations and a lovely texture. They are also perfect for scrapbookers like me who remain a bit intimidated by the whole mixed media process! I matched the colours of the roses in the cut file to this pretty background paper.

To create some texture and dimension on this layout I cut the base leaf section of this cut file twice. The bottom level is sage coloured (formally the Green/Black paper) and came from the Carta Bella Flower Garden coordinating cardstock package. The top leaf level was cut from the backside of the 3×4 Journaling Cards paper found in the same collection. I liked the small flecks of white in this patterned paper. These papers were layered one over the other. To create the dimension, small foam squares were added between the leaf layers in the areas that fell outside of the centre roses.

As I create a layout I usually get all the elements ready first before committing to adhering them in place. This allows me to move things around and decide on the final positioning and determining if anything else should be added. I always find that the final layout is not exacting what I envisioned at the beginning. This process is something I love about creating, it allows me to continually grow and develop skills. When I laid out the cut file and photo on this beautiful background paper, I felt the edges of the layout were missing something. There was just too much white space on the borders for my liking. I settled on a stitched border to fill this void. I’ve stitched for many years and find it very relaxing and rewarding. It also provides another level of texture to the completed layout. To create this border I altered the Stitched Diamonds cut file from COAPA Cut Files. I removed all the cut lines from the centre of the file to leave the scalloped border. This scalloped border was stitched using DMC floss that coordinated with the background paper and roses. I used colours 605, 760, 893 and 895. I changed the colour for each singular scallop, so it did take a bit of time to complete the border. I feel this border helped pull the whole page together.

With the border completed the photo and cut file were added to the page. It was at this stage that I added the foam adhesive squares to the leaves. The final touches included adding the title and date using Thickers Happy Life foam letter stickers. These pale rose coloured stickers blended in beautifully.

I’m so glad you stopped by today and I hope I’ve inspired you to create with this gorgeous cut file! Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

#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!

You Are Some Bunny Special

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Did you know the Easter Bunny is 6′ tall and that he has a kind and generous heart equally as large? I am very lucky to have a dear friend Gerry, who rented an Easter Bunny costume to spread some joy to young and old this past Easter. He offered to come and surprise our grandchildren and even brought the chocolate eggs to spread more cheer! We were very honoured to be on his list of visits this past Easter. Maddy and Owen couldn’t figure out who was in the costume. Owen asked me where he came from and I replied that I found him hopping around in my backyard. Owen quickly responded with “No Nana, he drove here – I can see his van in your driveway!”. That boy doesn’t miss a trick! Ben was quite taken with the Easter Bunny. After the visit was over, he kept asking his Mom if the Easter Bunny could come to Easter Dinner! Wouldn’t that be something to see!

Coordinating papers from 3 separate Doodlebug Designs collections were used to complete this layout; Springtime, Hello Spring and Easter Parade. Two cut files were used to create this fun page. The large title cut file comes from Cut to You and is called Some Bunny Special. You can find it here https://createdbygwen.com.au/product/some-bunny-special-title-cut-file/. I selected 5 coordinating patterned papers from the 3 collections listed above to back the title and add further whimsy to the layout.

The bunny cut file in the bottom left comes from Peartree Cutfiles and is called Floral Bunny Ears https://www.peartreecutfiles.co.uk/product/floral-bunny-ears/.

I only wanted to use the head and ears of this file and did not want the floral sections. To achieve this and minimize wasted paper, I positioned the cut file at the bottom of the white cardstock, leaving the floral portion outside the cutting area of the Silhouette mat. Hopefully, this tip will have you looking at some of your cut files a bit differently and get you thinking about how you can manipulate them to fit the vision of your project. The bunny ears were cut from white cardstock and backed with a soft textured white cardstock and coordinating pink patterned paper. This picture provides a closer look.

The banner in the top right of the layout was made by cutting 5 triangles from coordinating patterned papers. Each of these was backed with fun foam to add some dimension to the project.

The finishing touches on the layout included adding sticker hearts (between the bunny ears) and sticker arrows to the left of the word SPECIAL in the title. The photo was matted with 2 coordinating patterned papers. The journaling found in the bottom right was printed on white cardstock and cut to size. These strips were also backed with fun foam. The 3 hearts found at the end of the journaling come from the Rainbow Hearts Shape Sprinkles by Doodlebug Designs. The date was added using Doodlebug stickers called Sunshine.

It has been such a tough year with COVID, the ongoing restrictions, and multiple lockdowns. Thank you Gerry for providing a welcome diversion from our current situation. Your kindness and generosity were so deeply appreciated! This visit by the Easter Bunny was such a bright spot this Spring and a reminder of better times to come. Maybe next year the Easter Bunny will get to come to Easter Dinner! 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!